Wang Anshi's poem "Guizhixiang Jinling Nostalgia" describes the mountains and rivers around Jinling, summarizes the lessons of the fall of the Six Dynasties, nostalgic for the past and hurts the present, and uses the past to satirize the present, criticizing the absurdity of the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty who did not know how to learn from history and indulge in pleasure.
This poem contains a wealth of cultural information, implying the rise and fall of all dynasties in ancient Chinese society.
One or two rivers, two cultural memories
"Guizhixiang Jinling Nostalgia" wrote about two rivers: the Yangtze River and the Qinhuai River. These two rivers are not identical, carrying two very different cultural memories.
The Yangtze River is a symbol of boldness, masculinity and enterprising, the majestic and unrestrained of "the great river goes east", the majestic atmosphere of "the opening of the Chu River by the gate of heaven", the galloping magnificence of "the endless Yangtze River", the speed and swiftness of "a thousand miles of Jiangling in one day", and the surging of the "moon surging river", all convey a strong and courageous national spirit. Wang Anshi's "Thousands of Miles of Chengjiang Like Practice" writes the gentle side of the Yangtze River.
"Return to the sail to go to the remnant sun" writes about the coming and going of ships on the Yangtze River, busy and full of life. It can be seen that the Yangtze River played a role as a major road in transportation in the Song Dynasty.
"The colorful boats are light, and the stars and herons rise" writes about the Qinhuai River: in the evening, the colorful painting boats on the Qinhuai River make the brilliant clouds dim. When the night rises, the Milky Way in the sky is brilliant, and the lanterns on both sides of the Qinhuai River are brilliant, and they reflect in the water, like another Milky Way on earth;
It is not difficult to find that the "color boat" on the Qinhuai River is not a cargo ship, nor a ferry, but a pleasure boat, for entertainment and sightseeing, it is a boat for singing and dancing, it is a boat for chasing joy and laughter, it is a boat for drunken gold fans, and it is a boat for spending all day and wine.
The "colorful boat clouds are light, the galaxy is rising, and the drawing is difficult" also lays the groundwork for the "merchant girl who still sings, and the song in the backyard" that appears in the upper rhyme, and can echo each other.
It can be seen that unlike the Yangtze River, the Qinhuai River is a symbol of grace, femininity and beauty. How did this style come about?
The Qinhuai River flows through Jinling, and the inner river passes through the Confucius Temple, with a total length of five kilometers, which is the famous "Ten Miles of Qinhuai" in ancient and modern times. From the beginning of the Six Dynasties, the banks of the Qinhuai River became the place where famous families lived.
The Southern Dynasty poet Xie Hao's "Song of Entering the Dynasty" describes the Qinhuai River as follows: "The beautiful land in the south of the Yangtze River, the imperial state of Jinling. With green water, Zhu Lou was handed up. It depicts the beautiful scenery of ten miles of Qinhuai green waves rippling and Zhu Lou.
The "galaxy" of "Xinghe Heron" in "Guizhixiang Jinling Nostalgia" vividly depicts the song towers on both sides of the Qinhuai River, the taverns are lined up, the lanterns are hung high at night, a piece of brightness, the lights reflect the river, the water waves are colorful, just like the scene of the Milky Way in the world, the virtual and the real are reflected, and the scene is beautiful. "Heron rises" depicts the egrets perched on the riverside being frightened and flying up, and the side highlights the noise of the painted boat.
宋代词人贺铸有《浣溪沙》（其三），词云：
The sunset greets Suzaku Street. Take a ride on the Qingfang to Qinhuai. Laughing and flying, the golden hairpin.
The cave lantern returns to the annex, and the red medicine covers Xiao Zhai. I wish to enter the arms of the king with the bright moon.
This poem takes the Qinhuai River as the background, uses exquisite and gorgeous imagery, and writes the love between men and women like water, which can be called a swan song of beautiful fragrance.
In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xianzhi doted on his concubine Taoye, leaving the soft and charming place name of Taoyedu. In the Ming Dynasty, the coquettishness of "Qinhuai Bayan" made the style of celebrities even more crispy, and even brought the Ming Dynasty to the death of the country, and the Han nation lost the country!
To sum up, we can define the Yangtze River and Qinhuai as follows:
The Yangtze River is a busy river, Qinhuai is a leisurely river, the Yangtze River is a magnificent river, and Qinhuai is a beautiful river;
The Yangtze River is an unrestrained river, and Qinhuai is a low-back river;
The Yangtze River is a masculine river, Qinhuai is a soft river, the Yangtze River is an enterprising river, and Qinhuai is a river of pleasure. This is the difference between the Yangtze River and Qinhuai.
2. The history of rise and fall, two cultural choices
The spirit of the Yangtze River and the Qinhuai mood are two essential cultural qualities for human beings. Marx divided human needs into three types: survival, development, and enjoyment. Maslow also tells us that enjoyment is a must, development is a must. When the two cultures are in harmony, the society can develop healthily and enter the peak, and when the two cultures are out of balance, the society will either decline or be in the process of creation.
When the Qin-Huai mood dominated and overwhelmed the spirit of the Yangtze River, society began to decline, and the country quickly slipped into the abyss of destruction. This is the real reason for the fall of the Six Dynasties, and it is also the underlying logic and ultimate password of the rise and fall of the dynasties in ancient Chinese society.
3. Honor and disgrace, the sobriety and wisdom of the social elite
Ordinary people are very easy to fall into the trap of pleasure, and indulge in the gentle township that ecstasies and eats bones, and even more so for high-ranking officials and nobles. Like Wang Anshi, although he is rich and wealthy, he still does not repair his appearance, does not abandon the dregs, does not love food, does not love splendor, does not obsessed with lust, does not be greedy for money, and is not still luxurious, which is very rare in Chinese history. It is precisely because of this unique advantage that he maintained a valuable sobriety and wisdom, penetrated the truth of the fall of the Six Dynasties at a glance, issued a sigh of "insulting honor and disgrace", and stabbed the ruler of the dynasty with the sharp edge of criticism.
Unfortunately, due to historical limitations, although Wang Anshi made great efforts to govern the country and was determined to reform, he still failed to find a plan to break the law of historical cycles, and his reform also ended in failure.
Fortunately, we have found powerful weapons to break the law of cycles, one is called democracy, and the other is called self-revolution.
We look forward to the longevity of the people!