Take the historical evidence poetry method of flat discussion - take the Nguyen Book's "Yong Huai" poem as an example

Author: Zhang Jianwei (Associate Professor, School of Literature, Shanxi University)

Classical Chinese poetry has a type of poetry that reflects history and implicitly expresses political attitudes, which is called micro-speech political poetry. In order to explore its subtle meaning, the research method of historical evidence poetry was born. Mr. Deng Xiaojun said: "To prove poetry with history is to examine the poet's ability, current events or historical background in the poem to interpret the poem. ("On The Poetry of Historical Evidence", see "Interpretation of the History of Poetry") Mencius's interpretation of poetry pays attention to knowing people and discussing the world, and under this influence, starting from the "Preface to Mao's Poems", the use of historical evidence poems has become an important method for interpreting classical Chinese poetry, and after the Song Dynasty Tang Han's annotation of "Mr. Tao Jingjie's Poems", The Qing Dynasty Qian Qianyi's "Qian Zhu Du Poems", Ni Fan's "Yuzishan Collection Notes", Chen Xun's "Shi Bi Xing Notes", etc., until Chen Yinke's annotation method of classical literals and modern canonical actually refers to in the article "Reading the Southern Fu of The Lamentations" has reached maturity.

Ruan Yuan, who lived in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, had long been by Sima Shi's side, heard and witnessed many political events, and was intimidated by Sima Shi's political high pressure, and could not express his opinions directly, so he expressed them euphemistically and tortuously in the poem "Yong Huai". Therefore, his "Yong Huai" poem is closely related to history and can be called a micro-speech political poem. The ancients commented on this, and the Qing Dynasty Wang Shouchang's "Poetry talk in Xiao Qinghuayuan" volume said: "Emperor Sizong's "Yong Huai", which can be taken a few strokes that can be followed by the "Spring and Autumn". (Edited by Guo Shaoyu and Edited by Fu Shousun in "Continuation of Qing Poetry") Fang Dongshu's "Zhao Ming Zhan Yan" Volume III, Zhu Jiazheng's "Broad Preface to the Poetry Collection" Volume VIII compared to Ruan's "YongHuai" poems with "Spring and Autumn", they all focus on the praise and depreciation of current affairs implied in Ruan's poetry.

By analyzing the allusions in Nguyen's poems, especially the "present classics" that allude to current events, or exploring its Bixing art, it is of great value to reveal the subtle meaning of the poems of "Yong Huai". For example, the poem "Yong Huai" is fifty-one:

Dan's heart is lost, and it is appropriate to lose his virtue. Kindness can be long, and kindness is not easy to give. There is no south flying swallow, and the wings are in the pool. Takako complained about the new poem, and Sanlu mourned and departed. What is the Chaos Clan, and the appearance of the Chaos Clan.

Huang Jie's "Notes on the Poetry of the Ruan Infantry Wing Huai" points out that the first two sentences of ruan's poem, "Dan's heart loses grace, and it is appropriate to mourn and mourn", writing that Wei gave grace to Sima Shi, but could not get his Dan heart, then "grace" and "heavy morality" were lost. "Kindness can be long, kindness is not easy to give", Wei Ming Emperor was alone with Sima Yi, and if his "kind words" before his death failed to move Sima Yi, then "Kindness" was not easy to give. The two sentences "Gao Zi complained about the new poems, and the three Lu mourned and departed", using the interpretation of the "Book of Poetry, Xiao Ya Xiao Ben" and "Mencius", and the example of Qu Yuan's wounding of the mourning room, alluded to Cao Wei's abandonment of the clan room. The last two sentences use the canon of "Zhuangzi Ying Emperor" to refer to the current events of Sima Shi's failure to repay favors and reverse usurpation. Understanding the main theme of the whole poem, the two sentences "Do not see the southern flying swallow, the wings are just the pond" are indeed not simple scene descriptions, but use the allusion of "Shijing Shaofeng Yan Yan", "Zheng Zhi" reveals the historical background of "Yan Yan": "Zhuang Gong Xue, complete, and the state calls for killing." Dai Fei then returned to the field, and Zhuang Jiang sent her to the wild, composing poems to see his own ambitions. The state called for a vassal to kill the king, which was the same as sima Zhao's behavior, so the "YongHuai" poem used this code to condemn Sima Zhao for not knowing how to repay the favor and usurped it.

Using the method of historical evidence, it is also possible to reveal the hidden views of Ruan Yuan on political events in the poems of "Yong Huai", such as "Two Concubines You Jiangbin", eleven "Zhanzhan Yangtze River Water", sixteen "Wandering on the Pond", and seventy-nine "Strange Birds in the Forest".

However, not all of Nguyễn's Yong Huai poems allude to current events and express their own political attitudes. The tradition of Chinese poetry is "poetry and speech", and poetry is mainly lyrical, showing the inner world of poets. Volume 23 of Xiao Tong's Anthology of Literature selects seventeen poems from the Ruan Book of Yonghuai, and the Tang Dynasty li shan and the five ministers just represent the two opinions of the ancients on the interpretation of the poems of the Ruan book Of Yonghuai. Li Shan's annotation to the Anthology of Texts says of the Nguyễn Nguyễn Đồng poem "Yong Huai": "Although the intention is to satirize, Wen Duo is hidden." Under a hundred generations, it is unpredictable. (Edited by Xiao Tong and Li Shan's Annotated Anthology, vol. 23) He only annotated the allusions of the Ruan dynasty, and did not speculate on poetry. Unlike Li Shan, the Anthology of the Five Ministers' Notes strives to reveal Nguyen's intentions, but many of the explanations are far-fetched and criticized by later generations. For example, in the poem "Yong Huai" of the Ruan Dynasty, "The Lonely Hong Trumpet Is Outfield, the Birds Sing the Northern Forest", Lü Xiangzhu believes that the Lonely Hong Metaphor refers to the solitude of the Xianchen outside, neither not noting the classics nor indicating the present classics. As for the release of birds with vultures, it is even more subjective speculation and has no solid basis, so it is difficult to convince people that the so-called birds are more convincing than Sima Zhao, the minister of power.

Along the path of the five ministers, others who continue to excavate the poems of the Ruan Book "Yong Huai" are the Yuanren Liu Lu's "Supplementary Notes on Selected Poems", the Qing Ren He Zhuo's "Yimen Reading Secretary", Chen Xun's "Shi bi Xing Notes", Jiang Shimu's "Yong Huai Poem Notes", Gu Zhi's "Ruan Si Zong Poetry Notes", Huang Jie's "Ruan Infantry Yong Huai Poem Notes", as well as the modern scholar Chen Bojun's "Ruan Book Collection Annotations", Guo Guang's "Ruan Book Collection School Notes", Jin Jicang's "Ruan Book YongHuai Poems Detailed Interpretation", etc., they use the method of historical evidence to interpret the Ruan Book's "Wing Huai" poems, etc., they use the method of historical evidence to interpret the poems of The Ruan Book of Yong Huai. An in-depth analysis of the subtle meaning of some of the poems, but also far-fetched. What really puts aside current events and explains poetry from the poetry itself is Huang Kan's "Supplementary Notes on Yonghuai Poems".

Regarding the ills caused by historical poetry, Huang Tingjian has a profound understanding, and he said in the "Record of DayaTang": "The beauty of Zimei's poetry is unintentional in the text. Fu unintentionally and intentionally arrived, not Guangzhi with "National Style", "Ya", "Ode", deep with "Departure", "Nine Songs", An can chew its meaning, and break into its door evil! Therefore, if the descendants ask for it, they will get it deeply. Those who have ascended to the hall of great elegance in the future, who can ask for it with the rest of the words, have thought about it for half a day. He likes to wear chisels, abandons his great purpose, takes his prosperity, and encounters the characters of linquan, grass, trees, fish and insects, thinking that everything is entrusted, such as the world's merchant degree of hidden language, then the poetry of Zimei is entrusted. Because Du Fu is regarded as a model of loyalty, some people interpret Du Fu's poetry completely compared to historical events or historical figures, believing that people and things in Du's poems have sustenance, and interpreting poetry has become a guessing game, which Bian Dongbo calls "over-interpretation" ("Selected Poems of the Southern Song Dynasty and The Examination of Poetics of the Song Dynasty").

Mr. Qian Zhongshu believes that even if poetry reflects history, poetry also has a unique value, he said: "Perhaps the historical materials describe an event in more detail, but after some refinement and cutting in poetry, it is more concentrated, more specific, and more distinct, producing a strong and profound effect." (Preface to the Selected Poems of the Song Dynasty) Poetry refined and sublimated from history will achieve effects that cannot be achieved by history books. As Mr. Zhu Guangqian said: "The truth of poetry is higher than the truth of history, because the world of natural phenomena is an unexplored pit, and the world created by literature and art is pure steel of pure gold that has been refined without a little dregs." ("Imagination and Realism", Zhu Guangqian Aesthetic Anthology, Volume II) Both gentlemen pointed out the uniqueness of poetry different from history, even if it reflects history, poetry is more distinct and concrete, both abstract and figurative.

Mr. Luo Zongqiang commented on Du Fu's poems: "Entering poetry with current events is not a 'current affair' of poetry, and 'history of poetry' is not a history book written with poetry... A history book that provides us with much richer historical materials... Historical science summarizes the laws of human activity and records the situation of human historical activities... It uses rational observation, analysis, judgment, generalization, and narration. It provides a rational understanding of history. What Du Shi provides is an incomparably rich picture of social life in a historical period. Although Mr. Luo commented on Du poetry, it is actually universal and also applies to Ruan's poetry. As one of the methods of poetry interpretation, historical evidence poetry has its scope of application, in the specific method, annotation of allusions, it is necessary to find the similarity between classical and modern classics, to explain the Bixing method, but also to know the world, in line with the poet's environment.

Great poetry is both historically related and transcendent universal. The driving factors of poetry creation are related to the times, and at the same time poetry has a kind of eternity, explaining the universal laws of human nature or human society. For example, Ma Gao, a Qing dynasty, held a seemingly contradictory attitude towards tao yuanming's poems with political tendencies, such as Tao Yuanming's "Shujiu", and he quoted a large number of historically verifiable poems in the Tao Shi Benyi, saying that these poems were "in the affairs of the Jin and Song Dynasties, and did not specifically talk about the Jin and Song Dynasties" (Tao Shi Benyi, vol. 4, Qianlong Thirty-five Years Wu Zhaoyuan and Shantang Inscription). Poetry is not only related to the times, but also a generalization of the law of historical development, such poems have polysemy, often more intriguing and evocative, compared with the works with a definite theme, the artistic value is higher and has greater charm.

Ruan's "Yong Huai" needs to be interpreted with such a masterful eye, such as the second "Second Concubine You Jiangbin", and the poem 'How to Make Love Between Gold and Stone, Once More Injured'" at the end of the poem, which can be understood as a monarch, expressing Ruan's dissatisfaction with Sima's conspiracy to usurp the throne, or it can be seen as the final betrayal between husband and wife and friends, reflecting Ruan's feelings about a phenomenon prevalent in the world. Its thirty-one "Driving Words to Send The Capital of Wei" is an ancient irony of the present, using the metaphor of the demise of the Warring States of Wei to refer to the decline of Cao Wei today, and it is not a historical law that arrogance and lasciviousness lead to the fall of the country. In short, to interpret the poems of Ruan's "Yong Huai", it is necessary to understand the world, go deep into history, and explain ruan's subtle political attitude, but also need to jump out of history, start from the poetry itself, and realize that poetry reflects a historical law or the essence of human nature. In this way, we can understand the value of Ruan's "YongHuai" poem and appreciate the charm of "Yonghuai" poetry.

Guangming Daily (2021-01-04 13 edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily