Chapter 7 5. Read poetry

If you want to appreciate poetry, you must read it; if you want to compose it, you must read it.As the saying goes, "If you are familiar with three hundred Tang poems, you will be able to chant them even if you don't know how to recite them."What capital do you need?Let's talk about it later; it is assumed that we are still outside the door, so it is advisable to talk about something that will help you get started.Then start with reading, because that's the only way to go from alienation to intimacy.Reading includes two aspects, one is what to read, and the other is how to read.It is quite troublesome to try to cover everything. For example, if you read something, you have to copy the history of poetry, or you have to open the bibliography.I don't want to do this, because, for the sake of beginners, it will chew more than one can chew; and, if you want to eat more, there are literary history and bibliography (not just one), so I don't need to waste my time talking.But not at all.Finding a way out of the dilemma is based on the principle of pragmatism I envisioned. It is estimated that certain knowledge will help beginners, so I will say it, and if it is very helpful, I will say more, and I will not talk about what is dispensable.The following starts with what to read, and then proceeds by category, works, authors, how to read, what to pay attention to, etc., are all arranged by the train of thought.The order will be a bit messy, this is a trivial matter, and it has to be like this.

The analogy is that if you want to travel to the country of poetry, of course it is best to find a tour guide first.If you're only looking for one, use literary history.Poetry here refers to old China, of course, the history of Chinese literature.In this regard, there are not many well-known and easy-to-see ones. If you don’t seek authority and don’t want to believe everything, you can just find any one.Or just use the three-volume book compiled by the Institute of Literature.In the history of literature, there are also those who specialize in poetry. The "History of Chinese Poetry" co-edited by Lu Kanru and Feng Yuanjun decades ago is quite famous.History is a kind of account that lists both writers and works (examples). It is comprehensive (not leak-free), and it also talks about origins and comments. It can be regarded as a good guide.If you still want to find an assistant, then look through the bibliography. In 1980, China Youth Publishing House edited "Explanations of Chinese Classical Literature" (written by Yin Menglun, etc.), which collected many books and introduced them in detail for easy reference.For the old bibliography, you can also look at the "Bibliography Answers and Questions" edited by Zhang Zhidong in the late Qing Dynasty (some say it was written by Miao Quansun) (Fan Xizeng's "Bibliography Answers and Answers Supplement" is more suitable).After reading the bibliography of history, you will have many writers and poems in your mind.Then what?One way is to make a big effort, that is, to find out what you want to read first and what to read more, just find it and read it.In my opinion, it is better to make a small move, that is, to find an anthology and read it first.Anthologies can be seen as a supplement to the history of literature, or a history of literature centered on works.Among them, the poems have been screened. Although the screening eye may not be very reliable, it can always be said that it is generally not bad.There are many anthologies, old and new, which ones should be read, or which ones should be read first, and which ones should be read later, it is difficult to describe in one word.I can only speak roughly according to the times. , "Songs of Chu", Yuefu Poems, and Poems of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties all have new anthologies.There is also a popular old anthology of these early poems, Shen Deqian's "The Source of Ancient Poems" (not accepted).Below the Six Dynasties, in the heyday of poetry, there are too many to choose from.Tang people are already interested in doing this kind of thing. If Tang people choose Tang poems, there are as many as ten kinds.Later, there was a special collection of quatrains, which became "Ten Thousand Poems of Quatrains in Tang Dynasty".For beginners, in order to save effort and money, it is better to read the well-known "Three Hundred Poems of Tang Dynasty" first.The collection of this anthology is not large, if you are willing to eat a few more, you can read Shen Deqian's "Tang Poetry Collection".Shen also selected works from the Ming and Qing dynasties, also known as Bie Cai Ji, which can be used after the Tang Dynasty.There are many new anthologies of Tang and Song poetry, one of which is "Selected Notes on Song Poems", which was written by Mr. Qian Zhongshu, and it is worth reading more carefully.There are also new anthologies of Liao, Jin and Yuan poems.There are also anthologies from previous dynasties, such as the four volumes of "Selected Poems of Past Dynasties" annotated by Ji Zhenhuai and others, from selection to Liu Yazi, which can be read as an introductory book and is economical.I have read a lot of anthologies, and although I have just tasted them, I will have a preference.This can do whatever you want and expand your territory.For example, if you like Sancao and Tao Yuanming, you can read it through, because the volume is not large.For example, if you like Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, and Lu You, it is best to use the anthology, because the complete works are large and time-consuming, and I am afraid it is not cost-effective.If you like it too much, or if you are very happy, you have to skip the anthology and read the complete works. This is a personal freedom, and there is nothing wrong with it.This laissez-faire idea can also find a reason for learning. It is that reading poetry is different from learning mathematics. You must first add, subtract, multiply and divide, and then do calculus. "Three Hundred Tang Poems", must it not be understood suddenly?Not necessarily.In short, as long as you are willing to read and love to read, you can go from one to the other, and from the other to this.

I mentioned laissez-faire above, and here I want to say a few words about recovery.Because the purpose of this book is very small, not to cultivate poets and poetic theorists, but to let ordinary people who are active in the streets and alleys, if they have a little affection, they can also use this Chinese broom to read or write, and get more or less environmentalization.Ordinary people have their own jobs, and they have spare energy to get close to poetry, but not a lot of spare energy, so we still have to talk about economy, that is, to get to the destination quickly without detours, without too much effort.This requires listening to people who have been there to talk about the situation on the road.The situation is not simple, so I want to talk about what I think of casually, omissions, bias, and even fallacies are inevitable, at most it is just for reference.

Talk about it from the early days.That is the poem three hundred, commonly known as.Classical Chinese, based on the written language of the Warring States Period and the Han Dynasty, belongs to the ancient classical Chinese system and is difficult to read, so it is necessary to use annotations, or simply use selected annotations.It is difficult to read, but it can be done without too much effort.There are two reasons: one is that the volume is not large, and the poems are divided into Feng, Ya, and Song. Feng can read most or all of them, Ya can read a small part or half, and Song can not be read; Feelings and forms of expression are far away from us. To put it bluntly, we no longer use that form of poetry, so it doesn't matter if we are not familiar with it.But you still have to read it, because you will still get something. This is a straightforward and simple style. After that, it will be difficult to find other than Tao's poems.Also, reading, for the purpose of the poem, although you have to look at the old interpretation, but in some places, you should rely more on your own understanding and less wear other people's colored glasses.For example, there are two kinds of glasses: one is made by companies in the Han Dynasty, and when you wear them, you can see (King Wen's) "virtue of empress and concubine" in "whatever you want" and "tossing and turning"; the other is the modern company Wearing it, I saw civilians stomping and scolding in "Hey gentleman, don't eat vegetarian food".By my own comprehension, at least I think that the best ones are "The reeds are green, the white dew is frost, the so-called Yiren is on the side of the water" in "Qin Feng·Jianjia", but it often ranks at the bottom, which is always too unfair .

The second place in time is "Chu Ci".According to the traditional stylistic classification, "Chu Ci" is a Fu, or Sao Fu.This is in terms of appearance; in terms of heart, at least some of it, such as "Li Sao" and "Nine Songs", should be counted as poetry.Especially "Nine Songs", such as "The Emperor's Son Comes to Beizhu in "Madame Xiang", His Eyes Are Dim and Sorrowful, the Wind Comes in the Wind, and the Waves in Dongting Come to the Tree Leaves", the writing is so beautiful, it cannot but be said to be excellent poem.Compared with "Chu Songs", "Chu Ci" uses description and exaggeration to describe the imaginary blurred state, which is more poetic, so it should be read as poetry.The language of "Chu Ci" is ancient and mysterious, and it is also difficult to read due to the mixed dialects of the southern countries, so an annotation version is required.It is not necessary to read them all, but the selected books are enough.

It was followed by Yuefu poems.The vast majority of Yuefu poems come from the folk, with simple language and sincere feelings, without the pretentiousness of literati's prose.Poems from the Tang Dynasty onwards, especially those in modern style, are metrical and skillful. Although they have a different flavor, they lack the simplicity and naturalness of Yuefu poems.Poetry, in terms of its source of affection and its shape as a poetic realm, requires simplicity and nature, so we should focus on reading Yuefu poems.Anthologies are available.If the excitement is not exhausted, it is also good to look at Song Guo Maoqian's compilation.The book consists of 100 volumes, divided into twelve categories including Yuefu poems, including "lyrics for suburban temples", with a lot of content.You can read it selectively. For example, you can ignore the parts of Jiaomiao and Yanshe at the beginning, and you can focus on reading the lyrics of Xianghe and the lyrics of Qing and Shang songs.

Almost parallel to the Yuefu poems are the five-character poems of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties.This generally refers to those written by literati; it is called Wuyan, which is also roughly, because Wuyan accounts for an overwhelming majority and has the highest achievement.Writers, starting from Cao's father and son at the end of the Han Dynasty, to Jiang Zong and Yu Xin at the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there are many writers.Let me talk about before that, there is a big family that must be paid special attention to, yes.Such five-character ancient poems may not have been very rare in the archives until the Southern Dynasties, because "Wen Xuan" only collected 19 poems, so we can only see this little.There has always been controversy about who wrote it. Some people say that some of them were written by Mei Cheng, which means that it is as early as the early Western Han Dynasty.Most people now believe that it was written by people in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Perhaps after continuous revision, the author will not be tested.What matters is the color.The poems are all five-character, the length varies slightly, and they are not very long.The content describes the situation and various feelings of ordinary people. It uses a flat and straightforward pen, with deep affection and no exaggeration, but it can see movement in the stillness, thickness in the light, and eternity in the homely.Or to describe it in one word, it is "thick", thick in love, thick in taste, and thick in language.Personally, I think that if we have to judge the position of superiority and inferiority, it is inappropriate to say that it is unprecedented or inferior, because there are still some previous ones; , It is simple and honest to the point of "ignorance", which is something that literati poetry can't catch up with anyway.Then talk about Tao Yuanming.Tao also wrote four-character poems, which are not many, and far less important than five-character poems.Among the writers in this paragraph, Tao should be placed at the top.This is the common view after the Six Dynasties, and it was not the case during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. For example, when Zhong Rong wrote "Poetry", he put Tao Yuanming in the middle grade.Since the Tang Dynasty, pastoral poetry has become a major category of poetry. Tao's status has risen, and it has become even more important in the Song Dynasty.Is this too much?It's not too much, because Tao Shi's artistic conception is high, such as Meng Haoran and Wang Wei tried their best to catch up, but they couldn't catch up after all, let alone after that.The reason why this can't catch up, in my opinion, is the same as that, because later generations don't have that kind of simplicity.It is exaggerated to say that this is talent plus time, and it cannot be learned.On the positive side, Tao's poems were written by people who did not lose their innocence, so they are simple, sincere, and natural. Not only are they not profitable, they also lack rhetorical skills.What about the artistic conception?Hard to say.To put it bluntly, perhaps the Peach Blossom Spring he envisioned can still be quite similar. ——This is all superficial talk. If you want to know the truth, you should read it yourself.The amount of Tao's poems is not large, so there is no need to use anthologies.In addition, there are many well-known writers from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, including Cao's father and son, Ruan Ji, Zuo Si, Xie Lingyun, Bao Zhao, Xie Tiao, He Xun, Yu Xin, etc. That's it.By the way, second thank you, Xie Lingyun is more famous, I think it's better to think of Xie Tiao more because he is more refined.This is how Li Bai sees it, and there are poems to prove it: "The solution to Chengjiang is as quiet as practice, which makes people remember Xie Xuanhui forever."

After the Six Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty was short and insignificant.Then came the heyday of poetry, the Tang Dynasty.There are four meanings of prosperity.One is that there are many authors, blown by the wind of the times, almost anyone who can hold a pen can write, and can write; therefore, there are many works. Afterwards, after countless natural and man-made disasters, when the "Complete Tang Poems" was compiled during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the authors were still required to write. There are more than 2,000 people and nearly 50,000 poems.The second is high achievement, which should be regarded as first-rate writers in the history of literature, such as Shen, Song, Wang, Meng, Gao, Cen, Li, Du, Han, Liu, Yuan, Bai, Wen, Li, and so on. Find hundreds; there are naturally more works worth repeating.The third is that the poetic style can be considered to have reached its peak so far. After that, the writers of the Song Dynasty could only move a little in the old circle, and there were no more actions to go out of the circle.The fourth is for the sake of application. We appreciate it now, mainly reading Tang poetry; writing, mainly learning Tang poetry.Thus, when it comes to reading, engineering is not easy.In order to do less and get more work, it is best to use the slow rolling method, or the triple jump method.For example, read "Three Hundred Tang Poems" first, or other anthologies, such as "Tang Poetry Collection", "Tang Poetry Selection" and the like, which is the first level.After reading it, you will have a preference. For example, Li (Bai) and Du (Fu) were liked in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and Li (Shangyin) and Du (Mu) were also liked in the late Tang Dynasty. Then read the anthology of these writers. second level.After reading it, for a certain person or a few people, there is still something to be done, and if you want to expand it, it’s okay, then read the complete works, this is the third level.In my opinion, if you don’t engage in specialized research, it is enough to skip to the second level; for the third level, that is, to read the complete works, the number of people should be as small as possible.When reading, it's better to know the small things about the priority.For example, Li and Du in the prosperous Tang Dynasty have different poetic styles. Li is elegant and Du Shenhou is elegant and difficult to learn. If the focus is on learning, you should read more about Du.In addition, Li is good at ancient style and Du is good at law. Whether it is appreciation or learning to write, each has its own emphasis.Another example is that Han Yu likes to use prose as poetry, and Li He always deliberately seeks to be strange, and they are biased, so we should also pay attention to them.

After the Tang Dynasty, there was still some lingering rhyme in the Song Dynasty, and some famous poets came out, such as Mei Yaochen, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Chen Yuyi, Fan Chengda, Yang Wanli, Lu You, Jiang Kui, etc. Among them, Huang also created the Jiangxi School of Poetry. , Drilling into the dead end of skills.For reading, you can half use the slow spread method of reading Tang poetry, that is, focus on the first level and read the selected books; skip to the second level, there are not many people, I will look for the selected books of Su and Lu, and read them That's it.Both Su and Lu's poems are large in number, and it takes a lot of time to read the complete works, so it is better to transfer them to Tang Dynasty poems.In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties after the Song Dynasty, there were not many famous writers such as Yuan Haowen, Gao Qi, Wu Weiye, Wang Shizhen, Gong Zizhen, etc., and, compared with reading Tang and Song poetry, they were not the focus. It's enough to see it.Of course, if you are particularly interested in a certain person, such as Wang Shizhen, who promotes Shen Yun, then you can look for "The Essence of Yuyang Mountain People" and read it all.

Reading, with a purpose, can also be divided into three levels, one is understanding, the other is in-depth, and the third is imitation.Understanding is preliminary, but it is not easy, because compared with writing, poetry expresses artistic conception, not as substantial as the meaning of writing.For example, simple sentences, such as Song Zhiwen's poem "The North Pole Huaiming Lord", Meng Haoran's poem "Qingshan Guowaixie", "Beiji" means the capital, "Xie" means standing (together with Liuma rhyme), are not suitable for reading. Literal solution.In-depth is to get an accurate understanding, and can further judge the superiority and experience the ups and downs.For example, Du Fu and Li Bai's seven-character quatrains both mentioned the scenery of the Yangtze River. Du said "the window contains the snow in the Xiling Mountains, and the door is parked (reading the tone) Dongwu Wanli Ship", and Li said "the lonely sails are far away, the shadows are clear and the blue sky is gone, only the sky of the Yangtze River can be seen." "Flow", after reading, you should know that Du is not as good as Li, because Du has traces of patchwork, and Li is natural; especially in artistic conception, Du is rigid, tasteless, and Li is broad and full of charm.

Obviously, this depth is the more important capital for appreciation and imitation. The question of imitation is reserved for later, and here we only talk about how to get an accurate and in-depth understanding.In my experience, just like learning other subjects, I also need to use the old way of saying: "Learning without thinking will lead to death, thinking without learning will lead to death." It is based on reading more and building a pagoda of your own opinions on it. .Or to be more specific, you need to read more, including reading poems, and reading the opinions of predecessors on poetry. During the period, especially in the later period, you should think more, distinguish between high and low, and try to answer, high, why, low, why, In the end, the one who believes in himself is temporarily uncertain and doubtful. Is it difficult?It is neither difficult nor difficult.Difficult, the reason is that not only can't solve it quickly, but also think; thinking also has capital, a part of the capital, or a considerable part, can't just come from reading poems.It's not difficult, because as long as you persevere, you will succeed naturally.As for the difficulty, I will talk about it in many places in the future, and here I will only talk about the natural success of the work.Take the Forbidden City as an example. When you first visit, for example, you will suddenly enter the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and you will also see buildings, furnishings, etc., but it is not clear what status and value these occupy in the Forbidden City.After traveling many times, for example, knowing the history of the palaces of Ming and Qing Dynasties, and then looking at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the understanding is different.The same is true for reading poetry. Beginners, when reading "raise your head to look at the bright moon, bow your head to think of your hometown", you will not think of there are sentences like "Zhuang Shengxiao dreamed of butterflies, Wangdi Chunxin entrusted azalea".So read on.It is a metaphor that the mind is an empty room, and poets and poems are goods, and reading is stuffed inside. Over time, one can know the other and reach the other (for example, Li Shangyin knows that there is Xikun style, and look for "Xikun Chou Sing Collection") , Many poets and poems came in, and gradually arranged them in a reasonable order.This is having "knowledge" about poetry.If you have more knowledge, if you think about it (and experience it), you will have "insight".In order to speed up the cultivation of knowledge, we must also use the stones of other mountains, that is, refer to other people's opinions.This view is expressed less in notes and more in comments.Comments, the old ones are mostly found in Shihua, and the new ones are mostly found in the so-called analysis or appreciation (in order to attract customers, or dictionaries).The initiator of Shihua is Ouyang Xiu, who once wrote "June 1 Shihua".Afterwards, more and more people imitated, and there were more and more tricks.The content is mainly in two aspects: one is personal opinions on poetry, and the other is anecdotes about poetry.So reading, big ones help to increase knowledge, small ones can pass the time, in short, you can gain more or less without much effort.But if you really want to eat a few more bites in this area, it is not without difficulty.One is that the volume is quite large, not to mention the number of species, and some of them are very long. The early ones are like "Tiaoxi Yuyin Conghua" (quoting a variety of poems), as many as one hundred volumes; the later ones are like "Suiyuan Shihua". ", it is also a few thick books that have been turned into typefaces.There are also poems that are difficult to read, such as Sikong Tu's "Shipin" and "Canglang (reading Pingsheng) Shihua" that talk about poetry with Zen principles.In the gap between interest and difficulty, the magic way to deal with it is to taste first and then buy.For example, if you want to have a bird's-eye view first, you can look for "Poet Yusha" and Wu Jingxu's "Shihua of Past Dynasties". Read He Wenhuan's "Shihua of Past Dynasties" and the new edition of "Qing Shihua"; no matter which one you read, you can start from the beginning to the end if you find it interesting, and throw it away if you don't.Today's analysis has the advantage that mothers-in-law say it tirelessly, but the disadvantage is that you don't have to talk too much, and there are too few non-popular opinions; but as long as you don't believe all the books, you might as well read it.Shelan means to rely on one's own opinion and not rely solely on it. To have insight is to go deep, and only with insight can one go deep.Going deep has an end, or a purpose, which is to gain the benefit of entering the poetic realm, which is usually called appreciation.Understanding and being useful may not have a clear line.But it can also be barely separated.To understand is to know; to benefit from it, you need to go further and be emotional.After understanding, you can go outside, that is, it doesn't matter to others; to be useful, you must enter it, that is, breathe with the author and share fate.You can also give an example. When you read "the bright moon rises above the sea, the horizon is at this time", knowing that it is the dusk before and after the hope day, the land is many and the time is the same, it is understanding; while understanding, it is not easy but difficult, so melancholy and sorrowful , or even cry, it is worthwhile.There are few subjective components in understanding, but there are many subjective components in learning.Still taking these two sentences as an example, the silly elder sisters must not feel anything; Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu will both feel it, but it must be Xue Qian and Lin Shen.The depth depends on the character and experience.Different depths can also be manifested as qualitative variations. If you read these two sentences, Qin Huang, Han Wu and others may feel that the books have the same text and the cars have the same track, right?So deep that we can feel it, we should admit that poetry is beyond comprehension. Finally, a word about sound.According to legend, the quatrains of the Tang Dynasty can still be sung, but that was a matter for kabuki at that time, and things change with time, so we can ignore it.The ancients said that reading poems is chanting, and presumably they have different accents than speaking.What accent?There are no rules, but it is presumed that at first it was to adapt to the mood and feel it out; then it was passed on from teacher to student.Mr. Shou from Sanwei Bookstore has an accent in reading Fu, and of course reading poetry is even worse. Unfortunately, there is no audio recording for our reference.Younger than Mr. Shou, some people who are not young now, it is said that after tea and wine, they still use the half-singing chanting method when reading poems.Is this necessary?Obviously to see if there is any benefit.There will be benefits, I think, that is the often said yin taste, yin must be slow, it will help the taste.But it will also be accompanied by difficulties: to learn is one; to know whether what you have learned is right or not is two; and three, it takes time and you have to be alone.Then you might as well consider it from the other side, whether it is okay not to sing.I don't think it will hinder the transformation of the environment.In this way, at least one thing is worse than one thing for more. Read it without any accent.But having no accent does not mean that there is no priority and cadence.This, when we read texts and speak ordinary words, will be obvious with different meanings and sentiments, so we will not have any difficulty in figuring it out.Difficulties center on pronunciation.For example, in Du Fu's poem "Tonight is the moon in Fuzhou, I only look at it in my boudoir", the last line is flat and flat, and it is pronounced in Mandarin, guizhongzhidukan, which becomes flat and flat, destroying the musical beauty of the poem.In ancient times, it was quite troublesome and lost something. From now on, the sacrifice is not small, and there is also something lost. What should I do?This is a question of ancient and modern sounds and how to deal with them. The content is too complicated, so I have to save it for a future topic.