Written by | Three books
01
In the spring, I thought of Gangnam
《Gangnam Spring》
Thousands of warblers cry green and red, and shuicun mountain guo wine flag wind.
Four hundred and eighty temples in the south, how many buildings in the smoke and rain.
In the spring of Jiangnan, the grass is long and the warblers fly, the flowers are red and willowy, the small bridge flows, the painting boat listens to the rain... It is included in four verses and can only be freehand. The poem is titled "Jiangnan Spring", which was composed when Du Mu first traveled to Jiangnan, feeling the beauty of the scenery and reminiscing about the grand sun of the Southern Dynasty. The poem not only has a spring scene freehand, but also expands the vastness of space and the depth of history, which shows its great strokes.
"Thousands of miles of warblers cry green and red, water village mountain Guo wine flag wind", if these two sentences are like filming, the camera quickly skimmed the land of Jiangnan, we see them one by one, there is nothing wrong, but the imagination of the poem is actually too much.
How can a film shot on a limited frame and timeline show "a thousand miles of warblers"? Although it can be expressed by the rapid movement of the lens, it still does not have immediate synchronicity. And the text in our imagination, it can immediately present a vast scene of thousands of warblers crying green and red.
For the first sentence, Yang Shen of the Ming Dynasty once said in the "Poetry of Sheng'an": "Who can hear the cries of thousands of warblers?" Thousands of miles of green and red, who can see it? If you do ten miles, then the warbler cries the green and red scenery, the village, the terrace, the monk's temple, and the wine flag, all of which are in it. Raising such a question really makes people suspect that Yang Shen does not understand poetry. Heaven and earth can be one in the present, so why must they be seen and heard with their eyes and ears? If he will see and hear what he hears, he will not know that he will be blinded by his eyes and ears, and he will paint the earth as a prison. Thousands of miles and moons, no need to see, the heart is clear.
Look at the scene of the first two sentences. If it is expressed in painting, I am afraid that the ten jinping screens will not be able to lay out that vast sense of space, let alone the historical depth of the last two sentences. This also shows that poetry, as the art of language, has places that are difficult to reach in other art forms, and as human beings, we have poetically inhabited language from the beginning.
"Thousands of warblers cry green and red", how bright, how fresh, spring scenery clear jumped on the paper. "Water Village Mountain Guo Wine Flag Wind", the village and the city, hidden in the green mountains and green water, the warm wind blows the wine flag, blowing intoxicated. Such a Jiangnan may still inspire many people's imperial imagination to this day.
The poet then went on to think about the Empire from afar, "Four hundred and eighty temples in the southern dynasty, how many buildings are in the smoke and rain." From the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Southern Dynasty, the northern nobles who were exiled to Jiangnan, from the initial Xinting Weeping, to the later reconstruction of cultural identity, the landscape gave them important spiritual comfort.
Whether these two poems are satire or praise has always been controversial. Judging from the scene spread out in the previous two sentences, it is a praise for the prosperity that Jiangnan once had as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. The view that advocates borrowing from the ancient irony of the present believes that Du Mu is satirizing the indiscriminate cultivation of Buddhist temples in the Tang Dynasty. Du Mu did oppose the people's livelihood caused by the monastery economy, but he liked to visit the monastery everywhere he went, and often went to the Kaiyuan Temple when he was in Xuanzhou, and inscribed the poem "Water Pavilion of the Kaiyuan Temple in Xuanzhou", and even said that he "leaned on the Jiangnan Temple Building" in "Remembering the Past Tour".
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism flourished. Reading the "Luoyang Jialan Record", it can be seen that there are nearly 2,000 Buddhist temples in Luoyang, the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty alone. "Four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasty", the "four hundred and eighty" here is not an exact number, but an expression of the Tang people's emphasis on the number of quantities. "How many buildings are in the smoke and rain", the pen turned sharply, bringing out the depth of field of history.
Did Du Mu really see those Buddhist temple platforms? Perhaps the question is more confusing than the smoke and rain itself. Most of the Buddhist temples built in the Southern Dynasty were annihilated by the late Tang Dynasty. "How many buildings" means that there are more buildings, or less buildings? The beauty of poetry lies in this, in fact, less here is more, more is less. There are few remnants of the Southern Dynasty, so I think about the number of buildings in the past; if I think about the number of buildings in the past, I feel that there are fewer buildings today, so more and less are actually the same.
"How many buildings" are not real, nor are they real, they are scenes reproduced from memories, and they are both virtual and real. Rainy days will change people's experience of time, time becomes slower, becomes blurred, the past and present and the future are intertwined, if you listen carefully, you can even hear the footsteps of the past walking in the rain.
The great poet Borges had a poem called "Rain", in which he wrote: "Suddenly the dusk becomes bright / Because at this moment there is a drizzle falling / or it has fallen." Rain/undoubtedly something that happened in the past. Whoever hears the rain falling / Whoever remembers / At that time, the fate of happiness was presented to him / A flower called a rose / and its wonderful bright red color. (Translated by Chen Dongbiao)
Du Mu's "Jiangnan Spring", not only how many buildings, but also the Southern Dynasty that once existed, also emerged from the smoke and rain. The reason why this poem is well-known is that it is only four short sentences, which not only covers the spring scenery, but also spreads out the vast time and space, and there is a deep and mysterious contemplation, and the capacity is really amazing.
Ming Anon. "Wanghai Lou Tu"
02
Spring Breeze Ten Miles is not as good as you
Two songs of "Farewell"
More than thirteen years, cardamom stalks in early February.
Spring breeze ten miles Yangzhou Road, rolling up the bead curtain is always better.
Amorous but always seems to be ruthless, only to feel that the smile in front of the bottle can not be achieved.
The candle has the heart to say goodbye, and weeps for people until dawn.
Reading Du Mu's seven words, the most intuitive feeling is the beauty and harmony of his tone. Although it is not as intoxicating as Li Shangyin's voice, nor as deep as Li Shangyin's affection, it has its own peaceful and sweet beauty.
Du Mu was born in the Jingzhao Du clan, and his grandfather Du Youguan was the prime minister. When he became famous at a young age, he wrote "Afang Gongfu" at the age of 23, and at the age of 26, he entered the army and the first noble prince of the capital, and he was a talented man in Yangzhou, and he was only in his early thirties at that time. During the two years, Du Mu was quite good at feasting, letting loose skeletons, and interacting with women in the Qinglou.
The beauty of "Farewell" is one of the singers. The first song about the beauty of the girl is really beautiful. "Lou Lou Yuan" is more feminine than the nickname. The girl was thirteen years old, still a child by today's standards, and in ancient times she was the age when she was ready to marry. Cardamom is produced in the south, and the southerners pick its buds to be released, called "fetal flowers", and cardamom refers to thirteen or fourteen years old. "Cardamom tip head in early February", Du Mu not only compares the little singer to the cardamom flower, and the flower is on the top, and in early February, he feels even more pitiful and cute.
However, no matter what kind of flower it is compared to, the girl's beauty can only be pleasing to the eye, and it is difficult to enter the heart. No matter how beautifully written one or two sentences are, they are also laying the groundwork, first look at the appearance, leave a superficial impression. Three or four sentences to see its true heart, "Spring wind ten miles Yangzhou Road, rolling up the bead curtain is always better." Yangzhou was a city with convenient transportation and developed economy at that time, and the spring breeze was ten miles away from Yangzhou Road, and the endless prosperity and infinite scenery on the road were all erased by "better than" a stroke.
Who is slightly ambiguous is "rolling up the bead curtain", is it the other women of the many song and dance halls on Yangzhou Road, or is the girl rolling up the bead curtain waiting for him? If you say that other high-rise buildings have red sleeves rolling curtains, but they are not as good as her, poetry is also clear. If the girl is waiting for the curtain, it is the spring breeze ten miles is always inferior to you. The image of spring wind ten miles is richer, it not only includes all the dance halls on Yangzhou Road, but also includes all the beauty of spring. Everything in the Spring Breeze Ten Miles is not as good as yours.
In fact, this poem also has a potential good, that is, the girl in the poem has no name. Unlike those singers and dancers who are often written in poetry, called Xiaolian Xiaoping Xiaoyu Xiaohong, the girl must have a name, but Du Mu did not mention it. Only when it is precious is not mentioned, only private, and can also be regarded as golden detachment.
The second song is time to part. "Amorous but always seems to be ruthless, only to feel that the laughter in front of the bottle can not be done", these two sentences are written very sincerely, writing out the common feelings and true feelings of people. At the time of parting, the amorous seems to be ruthless, and he wants to force a smile but cannot laugh. "But it is similar" and "only sense" can be the poet's perspective to see each other, can be the poet's own mood, or can be the situation shared by the two.
"Candles have the heart to say goodbye, weep for people until dawn", no words were spoken, no tears were shed, candles were made for people. Ancient poems often use candle tears to write about the sorrow of departing people, and Du Mu's two sentences are plain, not as painful as Li Shangyin's "wax torch into gray tears and begin to dry". The three words "to dawn" can be imagined on the night of parting, the sleeplessness and suffering of the two.
Du Mucai is high, the love is not deep enough, the second song of "Farewell" is written skillfully, and I always feel that it is a little light, far less than Li Shangyin's "Untitled" written with pity: "It is difficult to say goodbye when we meet, and the East Wind is powerless to have a hundred flowers." Spring silkworm to the end of the dead silk, the wax torch into gray tears began to dry. Xiao Jing but sad clouds changed, night groan should feel the cold moonlight. Pengshan has no more roads to go, and the blue bird is attentive to visit. Word by word, full of affection.
Qing Yuan Yao's "Four Views of Yangzhou"
03
Ten years of Yangzhou dream
"Remembrance"
The rivers and lakes carry the wine line, and the waist of Chu is slender and light in the palm.
Ten years of Yangzhou dream, won the Qinglou Bo fortunate name.
Ten years after leaving Yangzhou, Du Mu still misses it. What does he miss?
He misses that time. In fact, at that time, it was not a disgrace, but the life of the staff was not satisfactory. When it comes to memories, when it comes to writing down memories, the unsatisfactory things of the past, even if they are really downcast, seem to be as beautiful as legends.
He missed the girl. "Chu waist slender palm light", she is still ten years ago, the "cardamom tip head in early February". In the poet's memory, in the poet's poems, she never grows old. Twenty years, thirty years from now, she will still be what she was then. But if you return to Yangzhou, if you meet again, you may not have any characters, and even this nostalgia will be lost.
He misses Yangzhou. "Ten years of a dream of Yangzhou", when he left Yangzhou and returned to Beijing to serve as the inspector of imperial history, he was divided into Eastern Capital, and seemed to have an infinite future. The world is uncertain, ten years later, still nothing has been achieved, and looking back on Yangzhou is really like a dream.
He missed her nostalgia. "Win the name of The Qinglou Bo Xing", if ten years is not long enough to forget a person, at least can change the nostalgia. It is no longer a daily nostalgia, no longer treats nostalgia as a meal, and occasionally nostalgia is only out of habit, and I am used to living without each other. When he missed Yangzhou again, he seemed to hear that her nostalgia for him had also changed, and she probably thought that he was a bo lucky person.
The late Tang Dynasty poet Wei Zhuang's "Bodhisattva Man" composes five poems, the last one is also how the person who wants to stay in Luoyang will think of him, and when the wait is repeatedly frustrated, she may also think that he is a person with thin feelings. However, his mood, the last two sentences of the word: "Condensation hate against the oblique, remember the junjun does not know." The situation is similar, although Wei Zhuang came out with words, it was deeper and more painful than Du Mu's poems.
Mr. Liu Yongji commented on this poem in the "Essence of Tang Dynasty Absolute Sentences": "Talented people must not see the meaning of the times, and send it to this poem, but read it but see its arrogant and uneven state." In other words, it is self-injurious to not meet, not to miss the Qinglou woman, nor to miss Yangzhou.
It makes sense to think about it. Du Mu is a person who is keen on fame, if those ten years have been smooth and successful, will he still have the above kinds of nostalgia? "Winning the name of Qinglou Bo Xing" is not for the girl in the end, but his self-pity and lamentation of his own fate.
Edit | Zhang Jin, Miyako
Proofreading | Liu Baoqing