Rhyme", a popular song of the Song people
Why is it "Song Yun"?
It is appropriate to summarize the wonderful thousand-year-old Song Dynasty culture with a "rhyme" word, because this was originally a hot word favored by the Song people.
The original meaning of the word "rhyme" refers to a harmonious sound, which belongs to the more subjective and abstract concept of hearing. "Sayings": "Rhymes, and also." "Jade Zero Volume, Sound Department": "Rhyme, Sound Class: 'Sound and Rhyme Also.' And human perception is extremely rich and complex, the various meanings generated and transmuted by the word "rhyme" are therefore more diverse, and in addition to hearing, they integrate perception concepts such as vision, touch, smell, etc., such as demeanor, interest, wind, Peugeot, elegance, style, look and meaning, etc., both the temperament side of people and the charm side of things.
So, what is the special meaning of "rhyme" in the eyes of the Song people? Zhou Xuan, who lived near the Qingbo Gate in Lin'an City (present-day Hangzhou) during the Southern Song Dynasty, wrote a book called "Qingbo Magazine", which recorded in Volume VI that Emperor Huizong's favorite concubine Liu Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty died, and Dazai Wang Yi was ordered to write an epitaph for her. This article is indispensable to praise Liu's appearance, so after describing her appearance, it summarizes a sentence: "The six palaces are called 'rhyme'. The article here, under the guise of the "public comments" of harem beauties, highly summarizes and praises the extraordinary beauty of Liu's family.
▲ Part of the Southern Song Dynasty's anonym "Seated Portrait of Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty", depicting the makeup of the concubines of the Song Dynasty (collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei)
Zhou Xuan also said that this "rhyme" word was a word that was popular in Tokyo (present-day Kaifeng) during the reign of Emperor Xuanhe of Huizong, and it seems that a single word "rhyme" is not enough to describe all beautiful things. For example, call Peugeot's beautiful women "Rhymes", praise novelty dresses as "Rhyme Valerian", delicious fruits call "Rhyme Plums", and beautiful songs call "Rhymes". The third volume of Zhang Shinan's "Chronicles of Eunuchs" of the Southern Song Dynasty also said: "Between Xuanhe and Ichijing, the city sang rhymes. ”
Another song person who described the costume was Cai Shen's "Little Heavy Mountain": "Xiayi Crane and Peach Crown." Newly installed, the charm is more and more ethereal. "It depicts the charm of a friend wearing a new dress with a fairy wind dao bone."
The word "rhyme" is also a criterion for evaluating "custom" in Song Dynasty calligraphers. Huang Tingjian believes that Su Shi's calligraphy is "round and rhymed", and the ultimate of "rhyme victory" is the "two kings" of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. "Yunsheng" became the essence of Huang Tingjian's book, and at that time, people commented that the magic of his calligraphy was "only rhymed ears". Liu Xizai of the Qing Dynasty also said in his "Outline of Art": "On the Yellow Valley, the heaviest word is 'rhyme'. ”
▲ Fan Zhongyan's "Taoist Clothing Praise Scroll", which praises his friend Xu Brother's new Daoist costume as an act of "clearing his mind and cleaning his body". People at the time called this post "mellow and vigorous, both beautiful and proverbs" (the collection of the Palace Museum)
The famous lyricist Xin Renjie's "Little Heavy Mountain Jasmine" wrote: "Mo will take him to be more than Di Shu, it is clear that he is more rhymed." The "rhyme" here describes the beauty of Jasmine. In contrast, the dragon flower, that is, the flower, is also said. The Southern Song Dynasty Xie Weixin's "Collection of Ancient and Modern Combined BiBi Events" volume 31 "酴醾 (荼蘼) Flower" records that Zeng Yu (Zi Duanbo) at the turn of the two Song Dynasties compared the ten kinds of flowers to "ten friends", of which the dragon flowers were called "yunyou". This is a praiseworthy name for the flower.
It can be seen that the "rhyme" in the Song people's popular language refers to the characters, costumes, songs, calligraphy, food and flowers and trees. Most of the objects described by the word "rhyme" have the aesthetic meaning and fashion meaning of high elegance and beauty.
What is the "Song Yun" mentioned today?
In today's view, the aesthetic significance of the "Song Yun" as the Song people call it still has the cultural value of inheritance. With this as a revelation, what we call the cultural concept of "Song Yun" should focus more on the personality, wind and bone, thought, cultivation, taste and style of the aesthetic subject at that time, and is not limited to the six "rhymes" involved in the Song people.
"Song Yun" and "Tang Feng" are completely different, and the cultural connotations of the two have their own characteristics of the times and are also quite contrasting. For example, in the case of ceramic culture, Tang Sancai emphasizes the beauty of brilliance, publicity, abundance and abundance, while the porcelain of the Southern Song Dynasty official kiln pursues the beauty of simplicity, restraint, simplicity and beauty. This is inseparable from the different historical backgrounds and conditions of the Tang and Song dynasties, such as political ecology, cultural pursuit, and level of productivity. The aesthetic tendency of the era in which "Song Yun" takes "Qingli" as beauty is especially accepted by today's aesthetic fashion. But this is only a small, visual cultural comparison, and it cannot be said in a word about "Song Yun".
▲ Tang Sancai riding camel dance figurines (collection of the National Museum of China) and Southern Song Dynasty official kiln-style bottle (collection of the British Museum)
Mr. Chen Yinke said: "The culture of the Chinese nation, which has evolved over thousands of years, was created in the world of Zhao and Song Dynasties. Mr. Deng Guangming said: "The height that the cultural development of the Song Dynasty can reach was (at that time) in the leading position in the world. "The scholars of the previous generations have given high affirmation and praise to the Song culture. But none of them generalized or enumerated the "height points" or "classics" of the culture of the Song Dynasty. This is, of course, because the cultural achievements of the Song Dynasty are extremely high, and they cannot be summarized and covered in two words. Moreover, for the study and evaluation of history and culture, people in each era will have their own positions, perspectives and positions, and any interpretation of the results is not the only standard.
So, as a cultural phenomenon, how should we understand, summarize and express "Song Yun" today?
It can be defined that the historical coordinates in which "Song Yun" is located refer specifically to the two Song dynasties (960-1279); the Song cultural heritage displayed by "Song Yun" not only has the connotation of representation, uniqueness and enthusiasm of this era, but also can express the beauty and artistic conception of elegance, high style and charm, such as a certain cultural peak, mainstream aesthetics, and ideological realm. What needs to be emphasized here is that the Song Dynasty was not perfect, and the "Song Yun" mentioned today refers to the cultural achievements of the two Song Dynasties in the wonderful millennium, referring to those outstanding cultural heritage of the Song Dynasty that are worth inheriting and promoting today. Relatively speaking, it does not involve the negative phenomena of the two Song Dynasties in the political, economic and military fields.
What is difficult to summarize is, what should the specific cultural connotation of "Song Yun" point to? Or you can try to summarize and interpret the following eight aspects: the beauty of literature, the beauty of calligraphy, the beauty of painting, the beauty of opera, the beauty of architecture, the beauty of customs, the beauty of style, and so on.
"Song Yun" eight said
The beauty of literature covers poetry, prose and other lexical culture. One meaning of "rhyme" refers to "rhyme". Song Ci is another literary peak in the history of Chinese literature that is on a par with Tang poetry, and the philosophical rationality of Song poetry has also formed a unique poetic style. Other literary forms of the Song Dynasty, such as prose, which are different from poems, fu, words, songs, etc., are also famous works, outstanding achievements, and the "Eight Greats of the Tang and Song Dynasties" that posterity admires, and the Song people account for six of them, which shows the success of a generation of literature. The theory of literary creation also led or blended with the fashion and creation of calligraphy, painting, opera, architecture and other fields at that time. The outstanding literary achievements of the Song people laid the lofty pattern and aesthetic realm of "Song Yun" as a whole - the beauty of literature is a touch of the background of "Song Yun culture".
▲ The Southern Song Dynasty anonymity "Eighteen Scholars' Diagram", the literati's piano and chess paintings and paintings also have "four ya": incense burning, tea ordering, hanging paintings, flower arrangement (Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei)
The beauty of calligraphy covers the inkblots, inscriptions, inscriptions, cliffs and so on of the major masters. The beauty of the Tang calligraphy's strict "Shangfa", like Tang poetry, is an insurmountable monument, but this does not mean that the Song people are willing to bow down to the wind. Every reader under the Song Dynasty's "Wenzhi" national policy has a dream of a brilliant life, which also stimulates their active exploration in the field of calligraphy. Whether it is the unique realm of "Shangyi" calligraphy, or the new path of Jigu, or the origin of Epigraphy and "Lanting Learning", the "Thesis" generated by the "Chunhua Ge Ti" that inherits the style of Wei and Jin, the Song people's ruler calligraphy style is not trapped by a party bookstore, but has created a new realm of art that is very different from Tang calligraphy, and has become the mainstream of calligraphy for nearly a thousand years since then - the beauty of calligraphy has formed a clear stream of "Song Yun culture".
The beauty of painting covers landscape paintings, flower and bird paintings, figure paintings, genre paintings and so on. Compared with calligraphy, the Song people were more proficient at painting. The establishment of the court painting, the flourishing of the literati painting, the ink and color design are good at each other, and the brushwork and freehand fly together, which are the epitome of the hundred flowers blooming in the painting world at that time. The spirit of the Song Dynasty's "GeWu Zhi Zhi" influenced the observation and thinking of the literati and painters at that time, and what between heaven and earth could not be included in the painting? What can't be beautiful? The artistic exploration and practice of lofty intentions, pure brushwork, profound realm and continuous excellence have promoted the arrival of the heyday of The history of Chinese painting, and the peak of Song painting art is still admired today - the beauty of painting has outlined a scene of "Song Yun culture".
▲ Southern Song Dynasty painter Lin Chun's "Loquat Mountain Bird Diagram" (collection of the Palace Museum)
The beauty of opera covers Song opera, southern opera, puppet drama, shadow puppet opera, song and dance hundred opera, etc. Wang Guowei said that opera is a story performed by song and dance. During the Two Song Dynasties, the drastic social changes, population flows and cultural integration between the north and the south brought new opportunities for the development of ancient opera art. From the court teaching workshop to the Goulan Washe, songs and dances are everywhere, all the time. Endless joys and sorrows, inexhaustible songs of good and evil, and the secularized big stage carry the collective dreams of the people. The "story" and "chanting" of Song opera established the two basic elements of Chinese opera. At the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, the "ancestor of a hundred operas" Southern Opera shined, it flew in parallel with song opera, each good at wind, so that Chinese opera eventually formed an independent art - the beauty of opera spread a rhyme of "Song Yun culture".
The beauty of architecture covers urban architecture, court architecture, garden architecture, etc. The fangxiang system created by the Song Dynasty city completely broke through the shackles of the previous lifang workshop wall, and commercial, school, entertainment and other buildings coexisted with residential buildings, forming a new type of urban building complex and social relations, and urban development stepped onto a new level because it was oriented to economic laws and the needs of citizens. The architectural engineering work "Constructing the French Style" created by Li Jie in the Song Dynasty is like a peak, building a new model, it talks about the mechanical technology of wooden beams five or six hundred years before the West, and the architectural forms and styles it records are reasonable in structure and soft shape, which has become a model for classical architecture after that. The "Royal Street - Thousand Steps Corridor" system of palace architecture has become the standard of similar buildings in later generations. The freehand gardening art shines the ideal of poetic residence into reality, and it is still a classic of oriental life aesthetics - the beauty of architecture has created a three-dimensional poetry painting of "Song Yun culture".
The beauty of wind and objects covers silk, tea wine, printing, porcelain, jade, gold and silver, scenery and so on. The song dynasty's agricultural economy was stable, the commerce and trade industry was unprecedentedly prosperous, and the handicraft industry was highly developed, which achieved the quality and charm of many famous things. In the Song Dynasty, the silk production and flower color varieties in the two Zhejiang regions ranked first in the country, and the silk creativity gave silk culture the ultimate artistic beauty. The annual output of tea in the Song Dynasty exceeded the 60 million catties of the Tang Dynasty, reaching 150 million catties; tea was the national drink, becoming one of the seven things that opened the door; the tea horse trade and the export of tea from the south to the north made the tea drinking in the wider region continue endlessly. Drinking consumption has entered the era of quality, brand wines, high-quality wines and new products have emerged, disputes have been over the world, and the advent of the "Beishan Wine Classic" has brought about a significant improvement in wine. Printing technology formed three major publishing centers in Zhejiang, Shu and Fujian, and valuable knowledge was rapidly transformed into the spiritual wealth of the masses, and the Song edition became a monument to Chinese culture.
▲ Southern Song Dynasty Su Hanchen's "Cargo Lang Dan", reflecting the development of handicraft industry and the prosperity of the market economy in the Song Dynasty (Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei)
The five famous kilns of Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun, and Ding in the two Song Dynasties jointly created the "Golden Age" of ceramics that influenced thousands of years. For a long time, the beautiful jade ware that has been high in the temple has entered a new field of literati, secularization and life, and the decorative beauty of jade has become a new social trend. The gold and silver ware of the "Old Wang Xie Tang Qianyan" also "flew into the homes of ordinary people", realizing a gorgeous turn, and the craftsmanship and artistic achievements contained in its square inches led to the aesthetic interest of ceramics and lacquered wood making. The eight scenic spots of Xiaoxiang and the ten views of the West Lake have completed the beautiful transformation of natural landscapes to the spiritual homeland, and the "finishing touch" of the name of the scenery can be poetry, words, books, paintings, songs, songs, music, and dance, prompting various types of arts to enlighten and open up each other between the splendid rivers and mountains, and setting up a unique model of Chinese culture and art - the beauty of the scenery reflects the ingenuity of "Song Yun culture".
The beauty of customs covers food, clothing, festivals, flower ornaments, incense and so on in the daily life of society. From the founding school of northern cuisine, southern food and Sichuan rice, to the ubiquity of dim sum, drinks, fruits and snacks, the diet has sublimated from the needs of the stomach to the culture of food; a simple "tea tasting" of the Tang people has evolved into "tea hundred plays" such as "fighting tea", "dividing tea" and "ordering tea", and the Tang people's liquor order has evolved into "small words" and "scattered songs", and the Three Dining And Food of the Song Dynasty is full of cultural taste. The typical urban street scene of the Song Dynasty is "moth snow willow golden wisps, laughter full of dark incense to go". Influenced by Cheng Zhu Lixue, the Song costume changed the wide sleeves of the Tang costume and gorgeously revealed, becoming a fitted and elegant, beautiful literary show, creating a new aesthetic fashion at the same time, showing the elegance of a generation of clothing. The fifteenth day of the first month of the Lantern Festival, the Qingming Dynasty to worship the ancestors, the Dragon Boat Race in the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival to admire the moon and watch the money tide, the Song people's festivals brought about a thousand years of unbroken customs. The four "elegant things" of burning incense, ordering tea, hanging pictures, and arranging flowers have been made into four "idle things", and the Song people have turned elegance and refinement into the norm of daily life - the beauty of customs conveys the life customs of "Song Yun culture".
The beauty of style covers the feelings of home and country, moral ethics, philosophical concepts, scientific ideas, patriotic spirit, etc. The civilization of the Two Song Dynasties reached an unprecedented height in Chinese history. On the positive side of civilization, there is righteousness and demeanor; behind civilization, there is a mind and feelings. The ideological realm of "taking the world as one's own responsibility" and "taking the world as one's own responsibility" and "worrying about the world before the world, and enjoying the world after the world" have become the feelings of the governance of the family and the country of the scholars. Ideological theories in the fields of science, historiography, and literature contributed to the overall flourishing of education and influenced mainstream education in China since then. The fields of agriculture, medicine, arithmetic, and astronomy have produced valuable scientific ideas. "Mengxi Pen Talk" expounds and analyzes a large number of natural science phenomena and technological problems, involving astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and other disciplines, and is known as "a milestone in the history of Chinese science". The cry of "serving the country with all sincerity and loyalty" burst out in the depths of foreign insults has made patriotism and heroism the spiritual backbone of the Chinese nation from now on. The enduring "Song of Righteous Qi" makes a generation of culture particularly dazzling, and the afterglow is endless - the beauty of the style highlights the wind and bone temperament of the "Song Yun culture".
The concept of "Song Yun culture" may be expressed as follows: it is the essence and brilliance of the two Song cultures, and it is the cultural values of progressive thought, noble sentiments, philosophical concepts, aesthetic concepts, literary attainments, artistic style, ingenuity and life customs expressed in the material and intangible heritage, and has the humanistic characteristics of positive progress, harmony and tolerance, exquisite elegance and poetic feelings, representing the height of material civilization and spiritual civilization at that time.
Author: Jiang Qingqing
The author is the former director of the Institute of Journalism and Development of Hangzhou Daily Group and a part-time researcher of the Research Center for the History of the Southern Song Dynasty
This article was published in Hangzhou Magazine, No. 19, 2021
Original title: Song Yun said
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Typesetting Editor: Mao Ting