Chen Jiru (Chinese: 陈吉儒; pinyin: Zhīn Đại), courtesy name Zhongluo ( 仲醇 ) , was a famous writer and painter of the Ming Dynasty. His people are well-read, rich in writing, and his works are clear in style, which is widely praised.
Chen Jiru was born free-spirited, informal, and indifferent to fame and fortune all his life. In his early years, he was a student, but because of the inability to pass the examination, he lamented that "the order of life is like a stream, what is the name of the merit", decided to abandon the career path, but "took the Confucian crown and burned it", abandoned the examination, lived in seclusion in the East Sheshan Mountain, quietly read the hut to cultivate the state of mind, and idly watched the flowers blossom and fall in front of the court.
But at the same time, Chen Jiru's friends all over the world and the country and the people are worried, which can be described as "a crane in the clouds, flying around and flying to the prime minister", writing a wonderful life story that although he is a hermit, he is not an "idle person".
Hidden mountain forest, the name is outside——
Chen Jiru lived in an era in which factions at all levels of the imperial court competed for power and profit and fell for each other. The struggle for power and the seizure of interests made Chen Jiru avoid it, retreat to the mountains and forests, and cultivate himself.
According to historical records and related works, Chen Jiru lived in seclusion in the mountains and forests, listened to springs to taste tea, read books and paintings, collected medicines and played with fish, felt the tranquility of life, sensed the righteousness of nature, and enjoyed the artistic conception of "a scoop of wine on the lake, and the shadow of the reed flowers and flowers", and could also "hold a bamboo hoe, sleep and delete flowers and grass", and experience secular life in the leisure of the mountain residence.
Although Chen Jiru lives in the mountains and forests, he is not isolated from the world, let alone a "mountain man" who is hidden from the world. He did not only read the "book of the sages" and did not hear "the things outside the window", but often worried about "the state affairs seem to be fixed and shaken, and the words and roads seem to be clear and solid.". Faced with the floods in the Susong area, Chen Jiru went to the university and asked the imperial court to respond urgently to stabilize the situation.
However, on the whole, Chen Jiru had no income from official salaries, was not good at farming, and lived in poverty. As he himself said: "The ancient hermits worked hard and cultivated more, and the remaining muscles and bones were thin, one could not; more fishing, the rest forbidden to kill, the second could not; there were more than two acres of land, eight hundred mulberries, the remaining barren, three could not; more water belt ropes, Yu was intolerant of hunger, four could not." It is possible, only hey in the light meal writing. ”
In order to solve the problem of livelihood, Chen Jiru tried to set up a library to give lectures in the retreat, and his life gradually improved. Because of Chen Jiru's talent, although he lived in the mountains and forests, he was well-known, and the poets were recruited one after another, and the people who climbed the mountain to visit were endless, including many powerful people.
According to historical records, Chen Jiru maintained good relations with local officials and actively participated in local affairs. Some of his insights have been praised by the world. For example, he said in the "Words of the Elders of Ande" that there are two words for governing the country: idle when busy, busy when busy, "those who are in charge, when they are outside the interests, the proponents, should be in the interests."
Wide interest, abundant writings——
Although Chen Jiru was a hermit, he was by no means an idle person, but a "signboard" in the social and cultural circles of the late Ming Dynasty. He has a wide range of interests and unremitting pen cultivation, and has made extraordinary achievements in writing, painting, calligraphy and other aspects.
For example, Chen Jiru is one of the founders of the "Songjiang School", and his painting style is natural and leisurely, ethereal, elegant and plain, and he sees magic in nature. He is known for his ink plum, pine bamboo and landscape, and his works include "Plum Bamboo Double Qing Map", "Fog Village Map", "Jiangcun Cloud Tree", "Plum Blossom Map", "Xiaoxiang Smoke and Rain Map", "Autumn Water Fishing Map" and so on.
In terms of calligraphy style, Chen Ji Confucian masters Such as Fa Sushi, Mi Fu and Huang Tingjian have changed their ways, gathered the strengths of the crowd, and become their own style, paying attention to "fat and thinness", "complete with divine intentions" and "aiding books into paintings". His calligraphy works are deeply loved by people, and even there is a situation of "getting a piece of paper with only a word, such as winning one hundred and two".
In addition, Chen Jiru also wrote notes on the palm of the past and genealogy, and wrote history books and edited the Songjiang Fu Zhi.
As Chen Jiru's representative work, "The Secret of the Little Window" is a philosophical collection of Qingyan essays. The book is divided into twelve volumes, each volume is independently divided into chapters, respectively titled "Awakening, Love, Steep, Spirit, Plain, Jing, Rhyme, Qi, Qi, Hao, Law, Qian", with a clear context, a clear theme, "the secret of the heavens and the earth, the essence of the history of the scriptures", with a philosopher-style transcendent interpretation of the wisdom of the world, the coldness of the sight, to promote people's vigilance, but also without losing the taste of life.
For today's people, in the face of the troubles of the world, "The Secret of the Little Window" is still a good remedy for spiritual comfort.
Make friends, wander around——
Chen Jiru made a wide range of friends, mainly with scholars, monks, hermits and businessmen. He is well-rounded, has no arrogance, does not feel poor and loves the rich, and is not swayed by worldly concepts, emphasizing that "there is no need to live without evil neighbors, there is no need to harm friends, but the self-sustaining ones have both."
In the eyes of his friends, Chen Jiru has an easy-going temperament, shows charisma between talks and laughs, and behaves smartly in the world. He knew that "the writer Chever refuted the sages, but when he was right, he did not have to witness the wrongs", and he understood even more clearly that "three points of seriousness are left to live, and seven points of dementia are left to prevent death".
Wang Heng, Xu Xiake, Li Rihua, etc., were regular guests in Chen Jiru's home and had close contacts. Although Xu Xiake and Chen Jiru met late and had a large age difference, they became "year-old friends" as soon as they saw each other. Xu Xiake's original name was "Hongzu", and "Xiake" was later sent by Chen Jiru to praise his "ambition to yanxia".
In Chen Jiru's initial impression, Xu Xiake "ink cheek cloud teeth, six feet long, look like a dry passage person, there is a sleeping place between the mountains, and the real inner diaphragm, more gall bones." Talking with it, the rocks are falling, all are strange and dangerous, and their footprints are half wrong in the world."
Chen Jiru admired Xu Xiake's perseverance in his adventures and provided him with a lot of help in life. For example, when Xu Xia visited Jizu Mountain, he sent a letter to Yunnan Celebrities, hoping that the other party could take care of him. Later, Chen Jiru was old and rarely met guests, but in the face of Xu Xiake's visit, he always gladly "came back, held hands in the forest, and drank until late at night."
Abandoning the career path, worrying about the people——
Although Chen Jiru did not have an official and a half-position, he "ran away with cloth for a lifetime." He wrote articles such as "Matters Concerning Saving Deserts and Cooking Porridge", "Repairing Bridges and Road Strips", and "Restoring Tao Taishou to Save the Wastes", calling for lightening the burden on the people; in view of the rampant treachery, he proposed countermeasures and methods for governance.
In the late Ming Dynasty, floods and droughts occurred frequently in the Songjiang area. Chen Jiru reflected the disaster situation to the local government and the imperial court through various channels, advocating that "the landlord provide disaster relief to tenants". At the same time, he also donated generously and donated money to give porridge.
According to historical records, Chen Jiru was also recommended by the officials of the DPRK and China many times, and his character and talent gradually attracted the attention of the imperial court, and the emperor repeatedly summoned him to requisition, but he politely refused, believing that he was "a certain grass grass, there are not many teachers and friends, and he has not seen and heard accurately, how dare he use the grass grass to make a big plan."
In short, Chen Jiru went into hiding all his life, but he was not idle. His idle attitude is not idle, but reveals calmness and calmness, reflecting the thorough understanding and practice of life, which can be described as a literary message, proficient in world affairs, "performing fame and fortune" and sympathizing with the people.