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Chapter 19 Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty——Yang Guang

Appreciation Dictionary of Emperors' Poetry in Past Dynasties 陈贻焮 2182Words 2018-03-20

Yang Guang (569-618), also known as Ying, has a small character Amo.The second son of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. He succeeded to the throne after killing Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty and his elder brother Yang Yong.Historical Records: Yang Guangmei is handsome, Shaominhui, studious and good at writing.Pretending to be pretentious, to catch a false name.During his reign, Yang Guang favored ministers, punished and punished harshly, carried out large-scale construction projects, traveled around, resorted to military affairs, and the people suffered. Peasant uprisings broke out.The Sui Dynasty fell apart, and Yang Guang was hanged and killed in Jiangdu (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu) by Yu Wenhuaji, a general of the forbidden army, and buried in Leitang (northwest of Yangzhou, Jiangsu today).His posthumous title is Emperor Yangdi. Yang Guangtong is good at music, and there are many colorful articles.He is also good at writing, and often takes pride in his literary talent.Most of the poems are in palace style, empty in content and lustful in style.But his frontier poems, such as "The White Horse", are vigorous and upright, with a magnificent momentum.Qing Shen Deqian's "Origin of Ancient Poems·Examples" says: "Emperor Sui Yang's erotic articles are the same as those of the empress, while the works on the frontier fortress are unique and unique, and the atmosphere will change." There are more than forty poems in existence, Ming Dynasty There is "Sui Yangdi Collection" in his collection. Evening Jiangping does not move, and the spring flowers are full of blooming.

This poem should have been written by Yang Guang in the early years of Renshou (601) when he was ordered to be the governor of the southeast.At this time, Yang Guang had been established as the prince, and he was full of ambitions, so there was a chant of "spring flowers are full and blooming". Yang Guang is a famous tyrant in history.In his later years, he was licentious and cruel, and his resentment spread in Kyushu.But he wrote many beautiful poems that are full of praise.This may seem like a contradiction.To explain this contradictory phenomenon, it is bound to involve the problem of the combination of dual personalities. Wei Zheng pointed out at the end of "Sui Shu Yangdi Ji": "Yangdi loves at a weak age, and he has heard about it for a long time. The Wuhui in Nanping, but the Xiongnu in the north. Among the Kundi, he is the only one. Jue treacherous." From this we can see that Yang Guang was not born a mediocre person.The reason why he later became an only husband was because of the growing desire for power that pushed him to the ugly side.His fundamental weakness lies in "hypocritical appearance".When reading his poems, we should also look at the problem from this aspect. "Chunjiang Huayueye" is the title of a piece of "Qing Shang Song Ci Songs of Wu Sheng" by Yuefu.According to "Old Tang Book·Music Record II", Chen Shubao was the first to compose this song.Guo Maoqian's Anthology of Yuefu Poems Volume 47 contains seven poems of this song, the first two of which were written by Yang Guang.What I appreciate here is its first song. This poem describes the scenery throughout.In just 20 words, the spring, river, flower, moon, night, etc. in the title should be clarified one by one.The first two sentences show a quiet picture: the empty night covers the calm river, and spring flowers are blooming on both sides of the river.The last two sentences turn static into dynamic: the waves are rolling, the shadow of the moon is sinking; the tide is raging, and the stars are shining.The first two sentences go from face to point, and the last two sentences go first and then come later.From big to small, from far to near, the sense of hierarchy is extremely obvious.From this group of pictures, we seem to hear the footsteps of spring, see the flow of the river, smell the fragrance of flowers and plants, feel the softness of the moonlight and appreciate the tranquility of the night.We will feel that this poem is quite like a kaleidoscope of various colors, in which there are many wonders, endless changes, and gorgeous colors.This is indeed a fresh and meaningful poem. Although Yang Guang acted recklessly in his later years, in order to seize power in his early years, he had to "pretentiously pretend to be false" (see "Sui Shu · Yang Di Ji").In addition, he was intelligent and eager to learn, and was influenced by the gradual fusion of southern and northern writing styles at that time, so "although he intends to be arrogant, his words are not frivolous" ("Sui Shu·Volume 76").Mr. Cheng Qianfan said: "Emperor Sui Yang is a writer that cannot be ignored in the history of Chinese literature. He has a unique duality. He is the successor and reformer of palace style poetry." "Understood and Misunderstood") I agree with Mr. Cheng.Zhang Ruoxu's "Moonlight Night on the Spring River", which is known as "the solitary chapter" in the whole Tang Dynasty, was written on the basis of Yang Guang's transformation of palace style poems. Today, when we appreciate Yang Guang's poem, we can still get aesthetic enjoyment from it.Because Yang Guang, who is good at "pretentious appearance", has hidden his false, evil, and ugly features in his poems, and only deliberately dyed a wonderful image of nature.In this charming image of nature, each of us can find our own artistic space for re-creation. We don't need to paint the emperor, but we don't need to intentionally uglify him either.Analyzing everything realistically is the proper attitude of a Marxist.

The jackdaws fly to count points, and the flowing water circles the isolated village.

This poem can be found in Cai Tiao's "Tieweishan Congtan".Since Qin Guan changed it into his Ci "Man Ting Fang", this poem has also become famous.It seems that when a son becomes a high-ranking official, he is bound to bestow his father and even his ancestors.This is also common in the field of aesthetics.Looking at it from the other side, it shows that the discovery of aesthetics is not easy, and it often needs to span a considerable amount of time and space. In fact, the poem was written very well.Why has it been four or five hundred years since the fall of the Sui Dynasty to the late Northern Song Dynasty, but this poem has never been talked about.Is this due to Yang Guanghuang's obscenity and violence, and the world dismisses his words because of him? We are appreciating this poem now, not trying to restore Yang Guang's political reputation.We just talk about the works realistically from an aesthetic point of view. The first three sentences of this poem all describe the scenery, purely using the technique of painting.A little bit (jackdaw), wired (flowing water), and a face (solitary village).And then dyed with "the setting sun is about to fall", a fascinating picture of the end of the world is presented in the reader's imagination. "Jackdaw" is black, "flowing water" is white, "sunset" is red, plus the yellow walls, blue tiles, blue sky of "lonely village", etc., the color of the picture is gorgeous enough.The jackdaws are flying and the flowing water is gurgling, all of which are dynamic; but the lonely village and the setting sun are silent.The movement and the sound correspond to each other, showing the loneliness and helplessness of the traveler more and more. The last sentence of romance.The poet looks far away, the wilderness is dark; coupled with the chill, sadness arises from it.Therefore, blurting out the five characters "Yi Wang gloomy and ecstasy" is by no means a simple imitation of Jiang Yan's "Farewell Fu" to moan without illness.It seems to be the finishing touch, so that the whole story is alive. Whether this poem was really written by Yang Guang or not, we don't care.Because whether it is positive or negative, I can find no new evidence.But Yang Guang is a man of talent and learning after all. Just because he is a bad emperor, we can't insist that he can't even write such poems. Lu Shiyong of the Ming Dynasty said it well in "General Theory of Poetry and Mirrors": "Sui Yang rises up, and his character is condensed." He also said: "Sui Yang obtained elements from Hua, such as the bright red bushes, and the clear standard came out. Although the Hua Xie The color is colorful, but the gorgeous quality is still there.” That is to say: Yang Guang strives to correct the declining literary learning atmosphere of the Six Dynasties, and pays attention to style.He opposes flamboyance and pursues natural beauty.This is absolutely true.Chao Buzhi called the three sentences in Qin Guan's "Man Ting Fang" "outside the setting sun, the jackdaws count, and the flowing water surrounds the isolated village" as "naturally good words" (see "Tiaoxi Yuyin Conghua · Chapter II · Volume 3 Thirteen"), it seems that its copyright should be attributed to Yang Guang first.Ma Zhiyuan's Sanqu "Tianjingsha": "Withered vines, old trees, dark crows, small bridges, flowing water, people, ancient roads, west winds, and thin horses. The sun sets, and heartbroken people are at the end of the world." Although the scenery is complicated, the content is more complicated. There are many, but the basic image and artistic conception are obviously still born from this.

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