"Classical Spring Water: Twelve Lectures on Ancient Poems of Pan Xiangli" by Pan Xiangli
Text / Pan Xiangli
Writing a woman's smile with the fragrance of plum blossoms, and writing a woman's temperament and personality with the high purity of plum blossoms, I think this is the most intelligent and wonderful sentence in classical Chinese poetry to write about female beauty.
"When you laugh, you still have the fragrance of lingmei", writing out the beauty of feminine temperament, and the beauty of life philosophy, which is the great beauty of reaching the realm of "people and heaven and earth".
Who is the most outstanding depiction of women's beauty? I think the most outstanding is Su Dongpo.
His "light makeup and thick wipes are always appropriate", although he borrowed Xizi to write about West Lake, is still a wonderful poem about female beauty. Beauty is beautiful in its true color, light makeup and thick wipes are appropriate, light makeup and thick wipes are not important, how beautiful people are beautiful.
Another sentence in "The Song of the Cave Immortals" -
When the servant was seven years old, he saw the old nun of Meizhou, surnamed Zhu, and forgot his name, at the age of ninety. He said that he had followed his master into the palace of the Shu lord Meng Chang, and one day it was very hot, and the Shu lord and Lady Huarui were on the cool Maha pond at night, and zhu gu could remember it. Forty years now, Zhu has been dead for a long time, and people are ignorant of this word, but remember his first two sentences, and spend time looking for taste, is it not the "Song of the Cave Immortals"? It is a cloud of feet.
Ice muscle jade bone, cool without sweat. The water temple wind comes dark incense. The embroidery curtain is open, a little bright moon peeps at people, people do not sleep, and the pillow is chaotic. Get up and take the hands of the plain, the court is silent, and when you see the stars crossing the river, you will see the thin stars. How about the night? The night has changed three times, the golden wave is light, and the jade rope is turned low. But when the west wind came, it was not secretly changed for many years.
"Ice muscle jade bone, cool without sweat." This sentence suddenly cuts from the characteristics of the skin phase directly into the inner world of people, from the ice muscle jade bone of that beauty, crystal clear, directly into her spiritual temperament - elegant, indifferent, floating out of the dust. Such a temperament, very special, is desirable to read. However, the copyright of these two sentences cannot be attributed to Su Dongpo, because he himself said in the small preface, which are the two Mengzi words that have been handed down.
However, "ice muscle jade bone, cool without sweat", reminds me of a sentence in Su Dongpo's "He Groom Xia Jing": "The hand makes a white ball fan, and the fan hand is like jade for a while." Write about noble and lonely beauties, excellent. Here an allusion is vaguely used, from the "World Speaks New Language Rongzhi": "Wang Yifu has a beautiful appearance, is wonderful in Xuan Tan, and constantly catches the white jade handle and tail, and there is no difference between him and his hand." ”
Or think that the white tuan fan implies that the autumn fan is a donation - the loneliness of being snubbed, but because it is written in the summer, the tuan fan is just in time, and may not have this intention. Probably mainly borrowed the hand to hold the fan, the fan hand like jade to write this beauty's spotless, ice clean jade. "Like jade", it is not just the hand, but the whole person.
Women with bad temperament and poor character naturally have fair skin and slender hands, but poets will not write so. This does not contradict the truth of life, but it goes against the aesthetic truth of poetry: beauty must be holistic, unified in appearance.
Mr. Gu Sui said that Li Shangyin "the east wind is warm and smells the blowing sheng", and it must be a sheng to write warm; Du Mu "a flute wind on the sunset platform", writing cool, must be a flute; "When the east wind is warm, no one plays the flute? Some people can't write it when they blow it", this is a very willful witty remark of Mr. Gu Sui. In the same way, a woman who is vulgar or mediocre in temperament, even if her skin is like gelatin and ten fingers, the poet will never use "fan hand like jade for a while" to write about her, because in that case, this woman's hand is only snow white and only delicate, but she cannot say "like jade", and her whole person cannot say "like jade". In fact, only when the whole person is "like jade" from the inside out, can the hand be "like jade" - can it be written "like jade", otherwise it is white and tender, "can not be written".
Writing about women's beauty, "light makeup and thick smearing is always appropriate", and "ice muscle jade bone, cool and sweatless", can be included in the top three.
Ren Bonian has no bones and twelve flowers
If I say that the best written, in my opinion, comes from Su Dongpo's "Dingfeng Bo • Chang Envying the World of Yulang". There is a small sequence before this "Dingfeng Wave", and Su Dongpo recorded the origin of creation in this way——
Wang Dingguo Song Er Rou Nu, surname Yuwen Shi, Mei Mu JuanLi, good response, family lineage living in The Beijing Division. Dingguo moved south, Yu asked Rou: "Guangnan terroir, should it be bad?" Rou said, "This place of peace of mind is my hometown." "Because of the word cloud.
Often envious of the world's Jade Lang, Heaven should beg and point crispy lady. As far as the song is sung, the wind rises, and the snow flies and the sea becomes cool. Wanli returned with fewer faces, smiling, and smiling with lingmei fragrance. I asked "whether Lingnan should be good", but said: "This peace of mind is my hometown."
Su Shi's good friend Wang Gong (Zi Dingguo) was relegated to Pennsylvania, a deserted place in Lingnan, because he was implicated in the "Wutai Poetry Case". His singer, the slave, asked to accompany him.
This slave is very beautiful. Dongpo first wrote about the beauty of her appearance, not only in the small preface to her "eyebrow Juanli", but also praised her in the words as a "dot crisp lady" and "dot crisp" worthy of the handsome "Qiu Yulang", saying that her skin was crystal clear.
Then he wrote about the beauty of the craftsmanship of this juanli girl. Her singing voice is beautiful, and once she sings a song from the cherry mouth of her teeth, it is like a gust of wind, even in a hot place, it is like snow, making people feel cool. The singing is intoxicating, forgetting the harsh and boring environment and refreshing - what a superb skill!
But this kind of appeal has revealed the temperament behind the song.
Of course, this Jonobu is not bad. She followed Wang Dingguo in guangxi for five years, one of Wang Dingguo's sons fell ill and died, Wang Dingguo himself was seriously ill, almost lost his life, and the hardships of climatic conditions and living conditions are self-evident. However, in such a situation, which should have been very difficult spiritually, they were not sad or depressed, they were open-minded and peaceful, they lived tenaciously and optimistically, and five years later, when they returned to the north, their faces were rosy, their faces were rich, and their style was better than before--this did not seem to be an exaggeration of Dongpo, and Sima Guang, Li Tao, and others recorded this, which greatly amazed Su Dongpo, and was also extremely pleased and extremely happy.
Dongpo and Wang Dingguo got together, Rou Nu came out to pour wine, dongpo chatted with her, and asked her: These years in Lingnan should be very uncomfortable, right? Unexpectedly, this little woman replied with a simple and light answer: This place of peace of mind is my hometown. There is nothing to adapt to, and the place where my heart can settle is my hometown.
Rou Nu was obviously familiar with poetry, because Bai Juyi had expressed similar meanings many times: "The place where the body and mind are safe is my land, and it is not limited to Chang'an and Luoyang", "I was born without a hometown, and peace of mind is the place of return", "No matter the cape or the end of the world, the peace of mind is home". Su Dongpo had always quoted Bai Juyi as a fellow, of course, he would not be unaware, but he did not expect this meaning, can be spoken from the mouth of a friend's concubine, and so natural and so appropriate. Su Dongpo himself has always held the outlook on life that "life is indispensable" and "there is no wind and rain and no sunshine", so Rou Nu's words are in line with Su Dongpo's heart and temperament, which makes him greatly surprised and resonates, so that he specially wrote this word for Rou Nu.
Some people say that this word is written for Wang Dingguo, and they think that Dongpo means: Servant is still like this, let alone master? It is through the attitude of Rou Nu to write Wang Dingguo's calm and open-mindedness. Objectively speaking, of course, it can be understood in this way, but reading the small preface and the whole word carefully, it is precisely Rou Nu that stimulates Su Dongpo's creative impulse. Why must it be said that Su Dongpo is writing old friends around the bend? Isn't Yuwen Rounu, this little girl, a person with an independent personality, a detached personality, and an extraordinary backbone? Wasn't it she who gave Su Dongpo great surprise and even encouragement? Such a person, of course, deserves Su Dongpo to write a special word for her to admire.
In the mind of the dashing and open-minded Su Dongpo, Rou Nu transcended the humble identity of reality and became a friend and a fellow traveler. As a result, Jonu gained the status of being on a par with his master Wang Dingguo. Qiu Yulang, the Point Crisp Lady, a pair of heaven-made bi people, and at the same time a pair of wise men who transcend difficulties with spiritual strength.
What is very amazing is that Su Dongpo, who treats people equally, paid deep attention to the changes in Rounu, "the return of thousands of miles is less and less", after several years of suffering, wanli returned, but young, this is a miracle, but also the poet's great praise for the spiritual strength of female flexibility.
Not only that, Dongpo noticed that when she met and talked to herself, Rou nu's mental state was pleasant, and she was always smiling. This smile, as wise as Su Dongpo, knows its preciousness and is also appreciated by the beat. This kind of spiritual temperament and outlook on life has always been admired by Su Dongpo. So he used this sentence to praise: when laughing, it is like a lingmei fragrance.
When writing about a woman, from the beauty of appearance to the beauty of temperament, and the image of plum blossoms that usually praise the people of Gao Jieshi is used, this is the highest praise for women. If you think again, even the famous beauties such as Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, and Mink Cicada, who have remained in history and poetry, basically only have beauty, and no one knows their three views, temperament and temperament, you will feel that the luck of Rou Nu and Su Dongpo's concept of "all people are born equal" are precious.
Ren Bonian has no bones and twelve flowers
The "Lingmei" of "Lingmei" refers to Dayuling, and the plum blossoms on the ridge are famous, and this "Lingmei" refers to the plum blossoms of the Lingnan generation.
"When you laugh, you still have a plum fragrance", this sentence from appearance to appearance, straight to temperament, and then to the outlook on life. At a young age, Rou Nu is not only born beautiful, ice and snow smart, but also has been enlightened, she can calmly face the suffering of life, get rid of spiritual difficulties, and appreciate and implement such a philosophy of life: be at ease with the encounter, and adapt to the fate.
"This place of peace of mind is my hometown." What Rou Nu said was "this heart", this heart, not someone else's, is her own heart, which has something in common with Daiyu's so-called "I am my heart" in "Dream of the Red Chamber". Here, women are not appendages, not dependent, subordinate, and dependent on others, but have their own hearts, their own personalities, their own choices, their own feelings. Therefore, "with" is the "follow" of one's own choice, and "an" is the "an" that one achieves by oneself. Rou Nu was bittersweet, looked down on gains and losses, and suddenly returned with her own spiritual strength, which even helped and supported her master and husband.
Writing a woman's smile with the fragrance of plum blossoms, and writing a woman's temperament and personality with the high purity of plum blossoms, I think this is the most intelligent and wonderful sentence in classical Chinese poetry to write about female beauty.
"When you laugh, you still have the fragrance of lingmei", writing out the beauty of feminine temperament, and the beauty of life philosophy, which is the great beauty of reaching the realm of "people and heaven and earth".
When beauty triumphs over its enemies, the things that destroy it, beauty has power. And beauty faces its mortal enemy - setbacks, suffering, pain, toil, time... Not to be crushed, but not to confront, just to transcend; not to complain, but also not to pity, not to appreciate, just to see lightly, to think clearly, beauty becomes a real strength.
Not hurt by external objects, not inclined with the world, full of vitality in peace, calm and self-comfortable, clear in the surface, overflowing with fragrance, how much freedom! The beauty of women, the beauty of the human spirit, can be so free, so open, so flexible, so transcendent over the world. The great Su Dongpo remembered this scene. As a result, the fragrance of plum blossoms has still floated, and the beauty of women's temperament and temperament have shone brightly over thousands of years, illuminating the dim eyes and the soul of Wei Dun at this time.
This article is excerpted from Pan Xiangli's "Classical Spring Water: Twelve Lectures on Pan Xiangli's Ancient Poetry", authorized by the People's Literature Publishing House)
Good books to read
Classical Spring Water: Twelve Lectures on the Poetry of Pan Xiangli
Pan Xiangli
People's Literature Publishing House
March 2022
"Classical Spring Water: Twelve Lectures on Ancient Poetry of Pan Xiangli" is the latest collection of essays on ancient poetry by the famous writer Pan Xiangli. Tang poems and Song poems wander at the end of their pens, and the writer's sensibility and academic rigor, modern stance and classical feelings, beautiful elegance and cheerfulness, are all properly integrated.
The twelve lectures in the book focus on Tao Yuanming, Du Fu, Li Shangyin, Yan Shu, Yan Jidao, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Zhou Bangyan, Lu You, Xin Zhiyi and other literati. The author is ingenious, his eyes are penetrating, he is quoted from the side, but he has never spoken before; deep into the soul of the ancients, the pen edge wanders, persistently exploring what the ancients think, and the classical poetry and the true taste of life are blended.
A small incision into the pen, but the writing is free and deep, the weather is endless. There are not only nostalgia for the past and the beauty of women, but also idleness, fate sighing, but also the ancients in the depths of time have been written alive, everyone has flesh and blood, vivid, coming to us.
A book understands the beauty of ancient poetry, and even more understands the human anger and spiritual secrets hidden in the hearts of ancient Chinese children.