Chapter 67 On Elegant and Popular Appreciation

On Elegant and Popular Appreciation Tao Yuanming has a poem that "appreciate the strange texts together, and analyze the doubts and meanings", which is the joy of some "pure-minded people", who are of course elegant people, that is, scholar-bureaucrats.These two lines of poems were later condensed into an idiom of "appreciating wonders and resolving doubts".However, the idiom "both elegant and vulgar" appeared again. "Shared appreciation" is obviously a simplification of "shared appreciation", but this is the appreciation of the elegant and the layman or the layman and the elegant. .I don't know when this idiom originated. Judging from the tone, it seems that the elegant people have to pay attention to or even accommodate the common people. This probably happened in the Song Dynasty or later.

It turns out that the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty can be said to be a watershed in the changes of our society.After that, the family status quickly collapsed, and the social hierarchy was not as fixed as it was before. , up and down.However, there are more people who go up than those who come down. After all, fewer scholars are exiled among the people, but more and more ordinary people join the scholars.Princes, princes, generals and ministers have not planted them for a long time, and scholars have not planted them at this time; as long as the family can barely provide some, and they are talented and willing to work hard, they are "study seeds"; If you do it, you will be an official, or at least you will be a gentleman.This progress was accelerated by the long-term events in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, coupled with the development of printing technology, there were more schools and more scholars. The status of scholars was strengthened, and their responsibilities were also increased.Most of these scholars are new elements from the folk, and they more or less retain the folk way of life and attitude towards life.On the one hand, they learn and enjoy the elegant things, but on the other hand they cannot get rid of or transform the vulgar ones.Since there are many people and everyone is like this, they don’t feel the cold dust; not only do they not feel the cold dust, but they have to re-evaluate the value, or at least adjust the old standards and standards. "Admiration for both refined and popular tastes" seems to be a newly proposed criterion or standard. This is not to overthrow the old standard, but to ask those refined scholars to pay attention to or accommodate the tastes of some common people so that everyone can get along with each other.Of course, the so-called "proposing" and "requiring" are just unconscious and seemingly natural trends.

In the mid-Tang period, earlier than the Anshi Rebellion, Zen monks began to record the master's sermons in spoken language.The purpose of using spoken language is to seek the truth and transform the vulgarity, and to transform the vulgarity is to win over the masses.After the Anshi Rebellion, monks' spoken records became more popular, so the name "Quotes" came into being, and "Quotes" became a style of writing.In the Song Dynasty, Taoists gave lectures and left many quotations more widely; they used quotations for the purpose of seeking truth and changing customs, or to win over the masses.The so-called truth-seeking "truth", on the one hand, means truthful and direct.Zen scholars believe that the first meaning is unspeakable.Words cannot express the infinite possibility, so it is illusory.However, in fact, language and writing are a kind of "convenience" that cannot be avoided. Naturally, the closer the recorded text is to the actual and direct speech, the better.On the other hand, "truth" means nature, and nature is kind and easy to understand, that is, it can have the effect of transforming vulgarity and attract the masses.Daoism is mainly the orthodox thought of China. Taoists use quotations as a tool, which greatly enhances the status of this new style of writing, and quotations have become a kind of tradition.Slightly later than the Quotation style, there also appeared a thing called "notes" in the Song Dynasty.This kind of work records interesting miscellaneous events, and the scope is very wide. On the one hand, it expresses the author's own opinions, so-called comments, that is, criticism, and these criticisms are often very interesting.When the author writes this kind of book, he only treats it as a casual chat, not in a serious manner. Although it is mainly in classical Chinese, it is very close to speaking.This is also for everyone to read. After reading it, it can be used as a "talking aid" to increase the fun.The notes in the Song Dynasty were the most developed and prevailed at that time, and many of them were handed down.Catalogists classify this kind of notes under the item of "fiction", and modern bookstores reprint these notes, and they are even more directly titled "note novels"; the so-called "novel" in ancient China originally refers to interesting works that describe miscellaneous things.

Here we have to specifically mention the "legend" of the Tang Dynasty. "Legend" is said to reveal the author's "historical talent, poetic style, and discussion." It was used by scholars in the Tang Dynasty to show some adults to introduce themselves and ask them to promote themselves before applying for Jinshi.Among them are nothing more than three types of stories: ghosts, love affairs, and swordsmen. Obviously, they are mainly to provide "talking aid" and arouse interest.No matter according to traditional ideas or modern ideas, these "legends" are undoubtedly novels, and on the one hand, they are similar to the writing attitude of notes.According to Mr. Chen Yinke's opinion, this kind of "legend" probably originated from the folk, and the scribes imitated it, and the text is mostly colloquial.Mr. Chen also said that the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty started here.He pointed out that Han Yu's "Biography of Mao Ying" written by Han Yu, the leader of the ancient prose movement, was written in imitation of a "legend".We can see that Han Yu's theory of "vigorous speech is appropriate" and his uneven sentences are more or less colloquial.The "Very Difficult" and "Very Easy" factions under his sect seem to be experimenting with colloquialism.However, the "Very Difficult" faction put too much emphasis on themselves and overly tried to win by surprise. Regardless of whether ordinary people can understand and appreciate it or not, they were finally regarded as "weird" and "weird" and failed. Therefore, Ouyang Xiu of the Song Dynasty inherited the idea of ​​"Very Easy". The efforts of one school laid the foundation of ancient prose. ——The above mentioned are all natural trends in the hundreds of years after the Anshi Rebellion, that is, the trend of appealing to both refined and popular tastes.

In the Song Dynasty, not only ancient prose took the road of "respect for both refined and popular tastes", but also poetry.Mr. Hu Shizhi said that the advantage of Song poetry is that "writing poetry is like speaking", and pointed out this way in one sentence.Naturally, there are still many twists and turns on this road, but just like the difficult-to-understand Huangshan Valley, he also put forward the idea of ​​"taking the vulgar as elegant", and enlightened many common sayings into poems.In practice, "taking the vulgar as elegant" does not start with him. Mei Shengyu and Su Dongpo are both good players, but Su Dongpo is even better.According to records, both Mei and Su said that "the vulgarity is elegant", but it is not very reliable; Huang Shangu solemnly stated in the "Yin" of the poem "Yang Mingshu Yun Again" that "the vulgarity is elegant, and the old For the new", it is said to be "one outline and ten thousand eyes".He puts "taking the vulgar as elegant" first, because this can be said to be the general style of Song poetry, and it is also the way of "appreciating both elegance and vulgarity".But with the addition of "making the old new", the road becomes tortuous.However, although Huangshan Valley is difficult to understand, Song poetry has finally returned to the road of "writing poetry as speaking". This "like speaking" is indeed a great road.

Elegant poetry had to return to vulgarization. The words that just came from the folk, needless to say at the time, were "both refined and popular".Don't look at some of Huang Shangu's poems are difficult to understand, some of his little words are quite vulgar.Liu Qiqing is even a popular poet.Although Ci gradually became more elegant or literati, it still could not reach the status of poetry, and it was just "poetry".Words are changed into tunes, not in the hands of literati, but among the people; tunes have become more vulgar than Ci, although they have also been refined or refined by literati, but they are still not as elegant as Ci. .On the one hand, the "speech" of the Song Dynasty, which evolved from the vulgar talk of monks in the late Tang Dynasty, is storytelling, and later Pinghua and Zhanghui novels, as well as Zaju and Zhugongdiao of the Song Dynasty, etc. Zaju and operas of the Yuan Dynasty, and even later The legends and Pihuang operas are more likely to be "vulgar literature" that are "unrefined".These novels and dramas have almost no status in the past literary tradition, except for Yuan Zaju and later legends, which can be regarded as "remnants of words". status.But although it is vulgar, it is generally "vulgar without hurting elegance", and although it has no status, it is always a thing that "appreciates both refined and vulgar".

"Admiration for both the refined and the vulgar" is based on elegance. From the Song people's "respect the vulgarity as elegance" and the common saying "vulgarity does not hurt elegance", this kind of distinction between guest and host can be seen.At first, crowds of common people swarmed up, although the original refined scholars had to pay attention to and even accommodate their tastes, but these common people needed to get rid of more.They are learning, enjoying, and transforming, so they gradually adapt to the Nayahua tradition, so that the old and the new merge together, and the tradition has more or less changed its quality and continues.The various changes in style and style of poetry mentioned above are the process of adjustment between the old and the new. As a result, those who adapt gradually do not realize that it is accommodation, and those who learn gradually become accustomed to it. The tradition has indeed changed slightly, but it is still classical or elegant. For the Lord's sake, even if you get closer to the people, it's not too close.

As for the lyrics and music, it can be regarded as new in the common world. In fact, music is the most important thing, and diction is of no importance; "both refined and popular" is the function of music.Later scholars also refined those words, but because the music was too heavy, they could not complete that kind of refinement, so the lyrics and music could not reach the status of poetry in the end.But the music has always been matched with the music, so it is more difficult to be elegant, and the status is lower, and it is even lower than the words.But when the lyrics and music have reached the stage of elegance, there are more elegant people and fewer vulgar people who "appreciate together".What truly "appreciate both refined and popular tastes" are the Ci poems of the Tang, Five Dynasties, and Northern Song Dynasties, Sanqu and Zaju of the Yuan Dynasty, as well as Pinghua, Zhanghui novels, and Pihuang opera.Pihuang opera is also based on music, and everyone is still humming those vulgar opera words, so it is difficult to start to refine it, although it has been trying to start in the past 10 or 20 years.Pinghua and Zhanghui novels do not exist in the tradition, and there is no suitable model for elegant transformation, so it is not easy to carry out.Although classical Chinese was used, it was vulgarized classical Chinese, which was close to colloquial Chinese, and the later "Water Margin", "Water Margin", etc. all used vernacular Chinese.Works that cannot be fully elegant cannot have a place in the tradition of elegance, at least not a decent one.The deep line of the degree of refinement determines whether this status is high or low. On the one hand, it also determines the scope of "respect for both refined and popular tastes"-the deeper the refinement, the fewer people "share the appreciation", and the shallower it is more.The so-called how many are mainly ordinary people, small citizens and educated peasant children.Works that have no status or only low status in the tradition are just playthings; however, these are only close to the people, and they can teach "both elegance and vulgarity". After all, elegance and vulgarity have something in common. up.

As far as crafts are concerned, although the "both elegant and vulgar" is based on elegant standards, the "shared appreciation" is mainly laymen.Of course, this has to be lowered in the elegant side, and it has to be raised in the vulgar side, and it must be "vulgar"; the elegant side seems to be too vulgar, so that it is "unbearable" and cannot be "shared". of.But under what conditions can the ordinary people "reward" and the elegant people also come to "reward"?We are reminded of the phrase "there is a reward for all".Mencius said, "Those who don't know the beauty of Zidu are also those who have no eyes." "Have eyes" is the other way around, "shared appreciation" or "shared appreciation" of Tao poetry

the meaning of.Zidu's beauty is easy for anyone with eyes to distinguish, so naturally they can "share it".Mencius went on to say: "Mouth has the same addiction to taste; ears have the same hearing to sound; eyes have the same beauty to color." This refers to human nature, which is the so-called Human feelings are not far away.But this not far away seems to be limited to some concrete, common sense, realistic things and tastes.For example, in Beiping, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, including the architecture, scenery and exhibited handicrafts, seem to be "both refined and popular", and the overpass seems a bit too vulgar in the eyes of refined people.When it comes to articles, what ordinary people can "reward" is only common sense and reality.Wang Chong of the Later Han Dynasty was born as a layman, and he more or less spoke on behalf of the layman, opposing difficult and impractical Fu, but praising official document experts.Official documents are related to the practical interests of elegance and vulgarity, and they have never been completely refined.Let’s talk about the later novels and dramas. Some elegant people say that they are prostitutes and robbers. This is a "high theory."In fact, both this play and this novel are works of "both refined and popular".Ignoring traditional ethics, "Water Margin" ignores traditional loyalty, but "men and women" are one of the "great desires of people", and "officials force the people to rebel" is also human nature. The heroes of Liangshanbo are oppressed. desired by the people.Laity people certainly sympathize with these things, and some elegant people, who are not too far away from them, are not unhappy that these two books have said what they want to say but dare not say.This can be said to be a kind of pleasure, a kind of fun, but it is not a low-level taste; it is related, and it is not without restraint. "Teaching obscenity" and "teaching robbers" are just words representing the interests of the ruler.

The turn of the nineteenth century and the turn of the twentieth century was a new era, which brought us a new culture and produced our intellectual class.This intellectual class is not quite the same as the former scholars, it includes more elements from the folk, and they gradually break up with the rulers and go to the folk.As a result, there is an authentic new literature in the vernacular, and lyrics, music, novels and dramas have a serious status.There are also all kinds of European new art.This kind of literature and art cannot be "appreciated" by ordinary citizens, not to mention the peasants and workers.So some people pointed out that this is the Europeanization of the new gentleman, that is, the new elegant people, regardless of whether ordinary people can understand or appreciate it.They advocated the "popular language" movement.But the time was not right, and the results were insignificant.Since the Anti-Japanese War, there has been a "popularization" movement, and this movement has already begun to turn to popularization. "Popularization" still distinguishes between refined and vulgar, and is still the way of "receiving both the refined and the popular", while popularization goes one step further to achieve a situation where there is no distinction between the refined and the vulgar, but only "the common appreciation".This may also be the so-called change from quantitative to qualitative. Made on October 26, 1947. (Originally published in Issue 11, Volume 3, "Observation" on November 18, 1947)