Chapter 17 Three Songs of Shape, Shadow and God

The noble and the humble, the virtuous and the foolish, are all struggling to cherish their lives, and they are very confused; therefore, the bitter words of the shape and shadow are extremely expressed, and the gods can naturally explain them.Gentlemen who do good deeds take their hearts together. In shape The sky and the earth will never disappear, and the mountains and rivers will never change.The grass and trees are common sense, and the frost and dew are glorious.It is said that people are the most intelligent, and it is not as good as this alone.It is suitable to see that in the world, it is time to return to the dying.There is no one in Xi Jue, so how can you love each other if you know him personally.But Yu Ping's eyes were filled with sadness.I don't have the ability to transform, so I will never doubt it.May you take what I say, and don't give up when you have wine.

shadow answer Survival is indescribable, and hygiene is hard and clumsy.Sincerely wish to travel to Kunhua, Miao Ran hereby absolutely.It's not a joy to meet with Zi.If you rest in the shade, you will be good for a while, and you will not say goodbye until the end of the day.This sameness is difficult and permanent, and it will disappear at any time.Even if the body is nameless, the five passions are full of passion.There is a legacy of love in the establishment of good deeds, and the inexhaustible behavior?Jiuyun can relieve worries, so this is not bad! Shinto Dajun is selfless, and Wanli is self-sufficient.Among the three talents, is it not for me.Although you and the king are foreign objects, you are born to depend on each other.The endowment is both happy and the same, and the peace is not acquainted.Where are the Three Emperors and Great Sages now?Peng Zu loves Yongnian, but he can't stay if he wants to.The old and the young die together, and the virtuous and the foolish are innumerable.Drunk or forgetful, will not be a tool for promoting age.Li Shan is always pleased, who should be your honor?I miss my life very much, so I should be transported.In the midst of the waves, neither joy nor fear.Everything should be done, and there is no need to worry about being alone.

The problem of form and spirit is an important proposition in Chinese philosophy. In particular, there are many discussions on the relationship between form and spirit in the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi. Huainanzi·Yuan Dao Xun said: "Those who focus on the gods will benefit from the shape; those who use the shape as the control, the gods will harm." They all show that the gods are the main ones, and the shape is supplemented, and the gods are more important than the shape. idea.At the same time, it also pointed out the inseparable connection between form and spirit, such as "Huainanzi·Yuan Dao Xun" said: "The shape of the husband is the giving of life; the energy is the filling of life; the spirit is the control of life. ; if it loses its position, the three will be injured." That is to say, although the shape, qi, and spirit have their own functions for life, the three are interrelated and cannot be separated.Another example is Sima Tan, who admired the thought of Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty, said in "On the Six Schools of Essentials": "What is born of a mortal is a god; If the body and spirit are separated, you will die." More directly pointed out the unity of body and spirit, which is the embodiment of the simple materialism thought in the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi.However, after the rise of Buddhism, Buddhists advocated the idealism of the immortality of the form and the immortality of the soul. Theory, "Buddha Shadow Inscription" said: "The outline is like an elephant, the reason is mysterious and nameless, the body is divine, and the shadow is separated from the form." It is intended to promote the separation of god and form, and the independent proposition. The views on the relationship between God and God represent Buddhists' understanding of body and spirit, and had a wide influence on the intellectual circles at that time.Huiyuan once ordered his disciple Dao Bingyuan to go to Jiangdong, and asked Xie Lingyun, a famous writer who was deeply influenced by Buddhism, to make inscriptions for engraved stones.This group of poems by Tao Yuanming was written under such a background.Huiyuan himself also had friendship with Tao Yuanming. For example, in the 10th year of Yixi (414), Huiyuan called 123 people to form a Bailian Club at Lushan Mountain Temple to teach Buddhism. He once invited Tao Yuanming to participate, but Tao Yuanming "went away with his eyebrows together." , it can be seen that they are not consistent in their academic interests, such as their views on the shape, shadow and god.Tao Yuanming’s understanding of this can be said to be basically based on the natural thought of Taoism, which has been explained in his own preface. Tao Yuanming thinks that ordinary people in the world, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, wise or foolish, are desperately maintaining their lives. In fact, they are very confused. Therefore, he tried his best to explain the distress of the shadows, and used God to discern the truth of nature and relieve people's doubts.He exposed the word "natural" to clarify the root of his argument. "Laozi" said: "Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows the nature." It can be seen that Taoism also takes the law of nature as its core, which shows the origin of Tao Yuanming's thoughts.In this group of poems, he let the dialogue between the three figures of form, shadow and god express his views.

First of all, the form said to the shadow: the heaven and the earth exist forever, the mountains and rivers are like this, the grass and trees follow the laws of nature, are attacked by wind and frost and wither, and are nourished by rain and dew, but human beings, who are the spirits of all things, cannot do this .People living in this world are like a passing guest, who was there just now, then passed away suddenly, and can never come back, and people have forgotten him since then, as if there has never been such a person in the world.Relatives and friends no longer miss him, leaving only some relics of his life, which makes people feel very sad.As a body, I don't have the ability to fly into the sky and become a fairy, and your shadow doesn't need to doubt my final destination. I hope you will listen to my advice, drink to your heart's content, and don't have to refuse. It's better to seek temporary happiness in the drunken land.

Then the shadow answered the body's words: It is unreliable to seek immortality to maintain life, and to maintain life often ends in distress and clumsiness.If you want to go to Kunlun Mountain to practice immortality and learn Taoism wholeheartedly, you will find that this road is elusive and impractical.Ever since my shadow met your body, we have been sharing joys and sorrows, joys and sorrows as one.If I rest in the shade of a tree, you will part with me temporarily; if I stay in the sun, you will never part with me.It is also difficult for this kind of shadow to last forever. Once I pass away, you will cease to exist.The name of the person died along with it. Thinking of this incident makes people feel anxious and full of emotions.Therefore, Ying persuaded Xing Xing: Only being good can establish a good name, why not try hard to leave a name for future generations?Although wine can relieve worries, but compared with Lishan, it is not equal to it!

Finally, there is the interpretation of God’s work: there is no preference in nature, and all things grow and reproduce according to their own laws. The reason why human beings can be among the "three talents" (heaven, earth and human) is not because of my spirit.Although I and you are different in shape and shadow, we are born to depend on each other. Since we are combined and supported in one body, how can we not express my opinion frankly: the three emperors in ancient times were called great sages, but now they are in where?Peng Zu, who lived to be more than 800 years old, tried his best to live forever, but he couldn't keep the lives of others. The old, the young, the smart, and the stupid will all go to the grave, and there is no luck of resurrection to save them.Indulging in wine every day may be able to forget your worries, but wouldn't this lead to the end of life as soon as possible?Being good is often something people like to do, but who will praise you when you are behind?Trying to think about these things will inevitably kill yourself, let it be, and go with the arrangement of fate.Indulging in the universe, there is nothing to be happy about in life, and there is nothing to be afraid of. When the end of life comes, then let the fire of life be extinguished, and there is no need to worry about it.

Tao Yuanming expressed his philosophy of life in these three poems, and later generations even said: "Tao Yuanming's life's heart resides in the three poems of "Shadow and God", and it is a pity that no one knows it yet." The Original Meaning of Tao Poems Volume 2) Therefore, the three poems are extremely important for understanding Tao Yuanming's thoughts throughout his life.According to Mr. Chen Yinke's "Relationship between Tao Yuanming's Thoughts and Clear Talks", Tao Yuanming adhered to the belief of the Heavenly Master and Dao worshiped by his predecessors, so he took the Taoist view of nature as the basis of his arguments, which was different from the admirers of nature in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. People like Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, etc. are different from those who respected Confucius and Mencius and praised famous teachers in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Tao Yuanming accepted Lao Zhuang's thoughts , and felt the social reality in the Jin and Song Dynasties, so he created a new theory of nature. This kind of thinking is typically reflected in the group of poems "Shadow and God".Therefore, this poem not only reflects Tao Yuanming's personal philosophy, but also has great significance for understanding the evolution of political thoughts and life concepts of scholar-bureaucrats from the end of Cao Wei to the Eastern Jin Dynasty.According to this statement, the poem "Xing Yu Ying" is to imitate the old natural theory and criticize it.The main purpose is to explain that the eternity of nature is not as good as the shortness of life. This is exactly the view that Ji Kang, Ruan Ji and others hold on nature.Most people who hold the old theory of nature seek longevity and imitate immortals, but Tao Yuanming said in his poem: "I don't have the art of transformation, so I will never doubt it again."At the same time, people who advocated nature in the Wei and Jin Dynasties often sought relief from wine in order to survive in troubled times, such as Ruan Ji and Liu Ling. Therefore, Tao's poems also imitated the saying "you can't give up when you get wine".

"Shadow and Shape" is a criticism of the old theory of nature relying on the tone of the master's name teacher, and puts forward his views on life.This poem first points out that longevity cannot be expected, and gods cannot be sought, which means to criticize the nihility and absurdity of the main naturalist.Therefore, they advocated that one can become immortal only by establishing a good name and leaving a name, and hope to achieve eternity through spiritual longevity. It can last forever and last forever, so I am dissatisfied with the attitude of drinking to relieve my sorrows, and advocate the pursuit of fame after death.

The poem "Shen Shi" embodies Tao Yuanming's new theory of nature, and uses the words of God to criticize the form representing the old theory of nature and the shadow of representative name teaching. The words "Three Emperors and Great Saints, where are you now?" and "Li Shan is always happy, who should be your honor" are meant to slander the saying that Li Shan can be immortal advocated by the master; "Peng Zu loves Yongnian" The six sentences break the theory of longevity, immortality and immersion in the country of the old naturalists.In the end, it is proposed to adapt to the waves, follow the nature, and make the individual a part of nature without seeking the art of ascending to immortality. In this way, one can be fully minded, never die, and coexist with the heaven and the earth.

Tao Yuanming's idea of ​​adhering to the nature of meditation and harmony with nature is obviously taken from Lao Zhuang's philosophy. For example, in "Zhuangzi·Heaven and Earth", he said: "He who holds the Tao is complete in virtue, and he who is complete in virtue is complete in form. It is the way of the sage." That is to say, it fully affirms the importance of God, and at the same time, it is based on the integrity of virtue and form, that is, it emphasizes the relationship between God, form and virtue (called "shadow" in this poem). consistent.In Tao's poems, the equal view of virtuous and foolish, longevity and heaven is also based on thought, so Fang Dongshu said: "The three poems of "Shadow, Shadow and God" use the principle to see that life is virtuous and foolish, noble and humble, poor, longevity, and whether it is God's destiny. When commissioned and appointed, doing nothing to rejoice and be afraid of it, to harass the mediocre and useless, even if you want to get drunk and do good, it is not the way." ("Zhao Mei Zhan Yan") also explained Tao's poems The main purpose is from.Tao Yuanming has a very different view on the understanding of form and spirit than Buddhists, that is, he believes that form and spirit are interdependent and consistent. In "Shen Shi", it is said that "they are born with each other", and "the relationship between the knot and the same" both express This point of view is similar to that of Fan Zhen, a later materialist thinker, who said: "The shape is the quality of the god, and the god is the use of the form; There should be no difference between God and God." ("God Extinction Theory") also said: "God is the form, and form is the god; if the form exists, the spirit will exist, and if the form fades, the spirit will disappear." (Ibid.) Tao Yuanming can Said to be the pioneer of Fan Zhen, his views on the problem of form and spirit obviously have elements of simple materialism.

This poem is also quite unique in art. The whole poem uses the form of fable, and discusses it with the question and answer between shape, shadow and god. Lively and interesting, even in the reasoning, he always notices the personality that fits the image in the fable.In the gift words like the shadow of the form, it is said: "May the king take my words, and I will not give up when I get wine." Just as a host invites a friend to drink and fears that he will refuse, later Li Bai said in "Drinking Alone under the Moon" The cup invites the bright moon, and the shadows form three people. The moon can't drink, but the shadow follows me" and so on, which obviously also take the meaning of Tao's poems.Another example is the saying of shadow and form: "I sincerely wish to travel to Kunhua, and I will never leave the way." Because the shadow itself has no ability to act, the word "wish" is used to explain its wish to become a fairy, but it is just an unrealizable wish only.Another example is "meeting with my son, it's not a joy or sorrow" to describe the inseparable scene, which can be described as lifelike. The words and sentences of this poem are streamlined, natural and vigorous, without too many embellishments. For example, it is said in "Shen Shi": "Man is one of the three talents, so is it not because of me?" The reason why God is the master of the body is very concise. powerful.As far as the four sentences of "Zonglang Dahuazhong", the momentum is open, straight out of the chest, and the tone is so high that throwing the ground can be used as the sound of gold and stone. It comes out of the Chinese tune, and it is not humble to make a rational language." ("Selected Ancient Poems of Caishutang") This poem can be used as a rational language without falling into the familiar formula, and can be used to explain the theory in Full affirmation is made in the vigorous and lively verses.