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Chapter 15 Section 2 Poems of the Southern Song Dynasty

Chinese poems and songs 刘耕路 5633Words 2018-03-20
In 1126 A.D., northern Jin soldiers invaded Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and captured Emperors Hui and Qin, and the Northern Song Dynasty perished. In 1127, Song Gaozong established a political power in the southern half of China, and later made Lin'an (now Hangzhou) his capital. This is the Southern Song Dynasty. Although the poems in the Southern Song Dynasty were still influenced by the Jiangxi School of Poetry, the huge ups and downs changed the mood of the poets, making the poems in the Southern Song Dynasty have the characteristics of the times. The greatest achievement is the patriotic poems represented by Lu You, followed by Pastoral poems represented by Fan Chengda.

The outstanding poet at the turn of the Northern and Southern Song was Chen Yuyi.Chen Yuyi, styled Qufei, named Jianzhai.He admired Du Fu, and had a deeper understanding of Du Fu's poems after traveling to the south, and gradually formed his own generous and desolate style.Such as "Fu Haishan Tower in the Rain":
Haishan Building is located in Guangzhou.The poem is filled with strong feelings of mourning the time and the country.The railings at the top of the building stand facing the sea, and the magnificent scene in front of you just symbolizes the poet's broad mind to serve the country.The land on the shore and the sky above the head are brought into the poet's eyes along with the tide, and the spring scenery around the Haishan Tower comes to the front of the building with the drizzle.The great rivers and mountains naturally arouse the poet's patriotism.Half of the mountains and rivers have fallen, and I have no power to return to the sky. I can only write poems to express my ambitions with deep regret, and use long voices to relieve the depression in my chest.It is a national tragedy not to see the "Warrior to Exterminate Hu".Although the poems written by himself climbing the tower are similar to those written by Du Fu when he climbed the Danfu platform, the emotions are quite different.Du Fu's visit to Shanfutai was at the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, when the monarchs and ministers were in harmony, and the country was prosperous and strong; but what he was facing at this moment was the reality that the mountains and rivers were broken, and the country and the nation were in misery.Shanfutai is located in Shanxian County, Shandong Province, where Mi Zijian, a disciple of Confucius, used to play the piano.Chen Yuyi wrote a famous little poem "Peony", which is very meaningful:

Chen Yuyi is from Luoyang.Yi and Luo mean Yishui and Luoshui, and Luoyang means the north of Luoshui.Qingdunxi is in Tongxiang County, Zhejiang.Long Zhongke refers to the elderly and infirm.Since the Jin people invaded and the land north of the Huaihe River fell into the hands of the enemy, the author has not seen the face of his hometown for 10 years.Luoyang is famous all over the world for its rich peonies. At this moment, the author stands alone in the spring breeze in a distant foreign land, watching the famous flowers in his hometown. How much does the phrase "independent Dongfeng" mean?Roughly speaking, it can be said to be the resentment of the country's ruined family; in detail, it may include memories of various past events, various predictions and longings for the future, and so on.The author doesn't say it out, but readers can make reasonable associations.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a saying of "Four Great Poets of Zhongxing", which refers to You Miao, Yang Wanli, Fan Chengda, and Lu You.The four are about the same age and are good friends.Among them, You Mao's surviving poems are few and poor, so he is not praised, and the other three are very famous. Yang Wanli, courtesy name Tingxiu, nickname Chengzhai.In his poems, he first learned from Huang Tingjian, and later changed to the poetry of the late Tang Dynasty, forming his own lively, easy and natural style.Such as his "Planting Yangko":
The husband of the field, the husband of the field, the children, the elders, the whole family mobilizes.Planting seedlings in rainy days, the rain hat is like a warrior's helmet, and the coir raincoat is like armor, even though it is still soaked from head to shoulder.When rushing to farm, I can't even take care of breakfast, just keep my head down and work.Before the seedlings are ready, I have to take care of the geese and ducks.The whole poem vividly depicts the word "busy", but the word "bitter" is also revealed, and the poet's sympathy is self-evident.This is "beyond words".His short poem "Su Lingjiu Temple" is both a scene description and an argument, which is very interesting:

Lingjiu Temple is located in Guangfeng County, Jiangxi Province.Living in the temple at night seemed like it had been raining heavily all night. When I woke up in the morning, I realized that there was no rain at all. It was the rushing mountain spring that disturbed the poet all night.The spring water kept ringing in the mountains, but the stream flowing down the mountain was silent.Those who have had this experience know that the poet describes it very well.Some people say that this is an allegorical poem, using spring water as a metaphor for a scholar, who had many passionate discussions when he was in the field, but he was silent when he became an official.This understanding is also very appropriate, and the author's original intention is probably a pun.

Fan Chengda, courtesy name Zhineng, called himself Shihu Jushi, was famous for his good writing of pastoral poems.Ancient China was an agricultural society, and rural life naturally became an important theme for poetry creation.In the works of poets like Wang Wei, they only write about the tranquility and leisure of the countryside, not the sufferings of the countryside; in the works of poets like Wang Jian, the suffering of farmers is fully expressed, but there are very few descriptions of simple and kind customs and life tastes.Fan Chengda wrote both, with love and superb artistic attainments, so it can be said that his pastoral poems surpassed those of the past, and no one surpassed him later.Let's enjoy a few selected songs from his "Four Seasons Pastoral Miscellaneous" (48 songs in total):

The countryside in summer is very quiet, pairs of butterflies flutter silently in the cauliflower field, at this moment suddenly chickens fly and dogs bark, a merchant appears in the village, everyone comes out to buy tea one after another, calling brothers and sisters-in-law, bringing their children to hug each other Sun, haggling with the hawker, the small village suddenly became lively, what a genre painting!The poet wrote it with the same feelings as the peasants, which is beautiful in itself.
Farming by men and weaving by women is the basic content of labor in rural areas, and both men and women should perform their respective duties.This is what young children see all day and all year long, so their play is also imitation of grown-up labor.Why not plant hemp instead of melons, because melons are sweet, which is the only blessing that rural children can enjoy, and the innocence of children is revealed here, which makes people feel affection and pity.

Here is a picture of a bountiful harvest.Food is the life of a farmer. If there is hope that the whole family will have enough to eat, they will be willing to die of exhaustion.The flail is a tool for threshing rice, and it makes a crackling sound when it hits the ears of rice.They worked until dawn amidst singing and laughing.The above three capitals describe the scene of perennial or abundant years.In order to survive, farmers have to endure many hardships: Farmers who had no money to buy or rent fields went to the water to beg for a living, planted water chestnuts and sold them for money to survive, their fingers were pricked to bleed, and due to fatigue and hunger, people became black and thin like living ghosts.However, the government will not let go of such farmers, and they will also ask for taxes on the surface of the water.In a year of calamity, the suffering is even more indescribable. The following poem is really vivid:

"Yellow paper" refers to the emperor's edict, and "white paper" refers to the county magistrate's document.The emperor issued an edict to exempt the victims from taxes, but the county magistrate still issued a letter asking for rent.Tolerances in black went to the countryside to urge the peasants, and this was their opportunity to extort money.They said to the peasants: "Our chief is confused (Dong He is confused), so foolish, as long as you give me enough money to buy wine, I will leave, and I will not embarrass you." The soap slaves are not a group, and the peasants have to bribe them again and again, entertain them with good wine and meat, and have to swallow as much bitterness as they want.

The poet with the highest achievement in the "Four Great Poets of Zhongxing" is undoubtedly Lu You.Lu You (AD 1125-1210), courtesy name Wuguan, was born in Shanyin (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province) with the name Fangweng.He was born in a family of officials and spent his childhood in turmoil. Influenced by his family and society, he grew up to be a passionate patriot.In his middle age, he served in the army in Nanzheng. Until his death at the age of 85, he spent most of his life ups and downs in the officialdom.The ideals and beliefs that run through Lu You's life are to kill the enemy and serve the country, regain half of the northern mountains and rivers, and rebuild a unified motherland.He left more than 9,000 poems in his life, most of which are works that worry about the country and love the people.When he was young, he wrote the heroic poem "Thousands of miles in his life, he is the pioneer of the king of war. All the soldiers who died in battle, the shame is restored and the wife takes it".This belief has always been firm, and the old and the strong, until he died.Let's read his ancient poem "Guan Shanyue" first:

This poem was written in the 14th year (15 years is an approximate number) after Song Xiaozong humiliated and sued for peace with the Jin people. During this period, the Southern Song court has been struggling with peace, which aroused the poet's great grief and indignation.The rich and powerful are singing and dancing, their war horses are fat and dead, and their bowstrings are rotten, and they dare not go to war.The frontier guards did not have a chance to fight for the country until their heads turned white. Who can understand the heroic feelings they expressed in the sound of the flute?The bones of soldiers who died in battle in the past are still exposed in the wild, and no one will avenge them.The people in the Central Plains have been brave and good at fighting since ancient times. How can the Jurchen invaders reproduce here?The people in the enemy-occupied areas are looking forward to the Southern Song Dynasty court to rescue them in dire straits. How many people are weeping in humiliation at this moment!In 1178 AD, Lu You returned to Lin'an from Sichuan and passed by Zhongzhou. He paid homage to Du Fu's former residence and wrote "Dwelling of Mr. Shaoling in Xinxing Temple": When An Lushan rebelled, the Central Plains were in turmoil, and the two capitals (Luoyang and Chang'an) of the Tang Dynasty fell. Du Fu, an old official who served the emperor, was forced to live in Sichuan.Lu You expressed his concern for the country just like Du Fu by paying homage to Du Fu.The author once saw Huang Tingjian and Lu You sitting on both sides of Du Fu's statue in Du Fu's Thatched Cottage in Chengdu. People thought they were Du Fu's descendants.If Huang Tingjian mainly inherited Du Fu's artistic skills in writing poems, then Lu You mainly inherited Du Fu's patriotism.Also on the way back from Sichuan to the east, Lu You wrote another poem "Chu City" in tribute to Qu Yuan: At this time, more than 1,500 years have passed since Qu Yuan's time, and the times have changed greatly, but readers can think of one thing in common, that is, both the mourners and the mourners are living in times of national crisis, and they are all patriots. I wrote this poem with affection.From Qu Yuan to Du Fu to Lu You, the great patriotic spirit has been inherited in one continuous line.The famous poem "Book Anger" written by Lu You when he was 60 years old: When I was young, I didn't understand the hardships of the world, and looked north to the Central Plains with full of energy, ready to gallop on the battlefield and do a great cause.He once experienced the Southern Song Dynasty's war faction building tall warships to resist the southern invasion of the gold master Wan Yanliang at Guazhou Ferry, which greatly inspired him spiritually.He himself had the experience of riding a war horse from Rongnan Zheng to the front line of Dasan Pass, which made him quite proud.However, the march into the Central Plains finally failed to become a reality.Tan Daoji, a general in the Liu and Song Dynasties of the Southern Dynasties, once compared himself to the "Great Wall" that defended the country.When the poet was young, he also promised himself to "fortify the Great Wall", but now the ruthless years have made his temples gray, his ambitions have failed, and he can only sigh.At this time, the poet remembered that Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms period had exhausted his whole life for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, and "died before leaving the teacher" (Du Fu's sentence). compared to his accomplishments.In the end, the writing suddenly changed to praise Zhuge Liang, who has never lost his ambition, which aroused many associations of readers, and the aftertaste was endless. The court of the Southern Song Dynasty was a corrupt and incompetent court, and it was difficult for people with lofty ideals to make a difference, which made Lu You often feel bored.His famous Qilu "Spring Rain in Lin'an" expresses his feelings: The bureaucrats in Lin'an, the capital city, scrambled for power and profit, and their indifference made the poet feel self-pity and helpless.Spring is here, and when it rains in the morning, there are girls selling the first-bloomed apricot flowers along the street. Such a beautiful scenery still cannot make the poet happy.When I am bored, I practice calligraphy and taste tea to pass the time.Lu Ji, a poet of the Jin Dynasty, had a poem "There are many winds and dusts in Jingluo, and the plain clothes turn into black". Lu Youhua used his meaning to say that you don't have to worry about the dust in the capital staining your clean clothes (metaphor: don't let the corrupt world pollute your pure soul) , You can rush back to your lovely and lovely home before the Ching Ming Festival.Lu You loves his hometown very much, and has a harmonious and affectionate relationship with the farmers and elders.In a poem, he described the situation when he went to the countryside to deliver medicine to the poor people to treat diseases: "Every time the donkey shoulders carry a medicine bag, the village alley is filled with joy. It is said that I have always lived, and most of my children are named after Lu. "Simple farmers, in order to commemorate Lu You's life, many people use the word "Lu" to name their children."Traveling to Shanxi Village" written by him in his middle age also describes the beautiful relationship between him and the peasants: La wine is a wine brewed by farmers for their own use. It was brewed in the twelfth lunar month, hence the name.A dolphin is a pig.In harvest years, farmers have wine, chicken, and pork to entertain Lu You.The couplet is a famous line that people are familiar with. When people encounter a problem and suddenly find a solution, they often quote this line of poetry.Spring Society is a festival held in spring to worship the God of Earth. Farmers rely on the land for their livelihood, so this festival is very grand and lively, and they also take this opportunity to entertain themselves.The consistent simple life and pure feelings of the peasants made the poet nostalgic, and he was willing to visit them often in his spare time. Lu You is a passionate and loving person.He and his first wife, Tang Wan, had a strong relationship after marriage, and because Lu's mother didn't like Tang Wan, they finally broke up.Later, they met unexpectedly in Shenyuan, and they exchanged poems and reciprocated. Tang Wan died shortly thereafter.Lu You still wrote poems to miss her in his later years: This is a tragedy of love, which happened to Lu You, and we still regret it for thousands of years. Lu You died in 1210.Before he died, he still wrote a poem to tell his descendants: "Wang Shibei set the Central Plains Day, and the family sacrifices will never be forgotten." He is one of the great poets in the history of Chinese literature.Some people call him "Little Li Bai", and some people compare his poems to Du's poems and call them "poetry history", which shows that later generations have a high evaluation of him and a deep love for him.His persistent and consistent patriotic emotion, his talented and vigorous artistic style are rare in the history of poetry.Patriotism is an eternal emotion, especially when the country is facing the invasion of foreign enemies, Lu You's poems are even more valuable.Liang Qichao, a modern scholar, once wrote: "The poetry world has been in vogue for thousands of years, and the souls of soldiers are exhausted. The soul of the country is empty. Nineteen of them are concentrated in military music, and the ancient men let go!" In the late Southern Song Dynasty, some poets called "Yongjia Four Spirits" and "Jianghu Poetry School" appeared, and they appeared as opponents of "Jiangxi Poetry School". "Yongjia Four Spirits" (named because of the word "Ling" in the names of the four members Xu Zhao [word Linghui]) is not high in poetry. Liu Kezhuang and Dai Gugu are relatively well-known in the "Jianghu School", but their overall achievements are not great, and they cannot be compared with their predecessors, so I won't introduce them here. At the end of the Song Dynasty, a group of patriotic poets emerged, the most prominent of which was the national hero Wen Tianxiang.Wen Tianxiang (AD 1236-1282), courtesy name Lushan, took the name Wenshan.He won the number one scholar first, and then served as the prime minister, so he is known as the "number one prime minister".In the chaos at the end of the Song Dynasty, he led the anti-Yuan struggle without hesitation, and was captured in 1276 after going through many hardships.Yuan general Zhang Hongfan was forced to surrender. Wen Tianxiang showed the poem "Crossing Lingdingyang", in which there is a sentence "No one in life has died since ancient times, and keep the loyalty to reflect the history". Zhang Hongfan knew that he could not be forced, so he sent him to Dadu (now Beijing).Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, persuaded him to serve as an official for the Mongols, but he still refused. After three years of imprisonment, he died in Chaishi.After his death, people found a note in his belt, which said: "Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Mencius said to obtain righteousness; only when righteousness is exhausted, so benevolence is supreme. What do you learn by reading sages' books? No shame." For the righteousness of the nation, he would rather die than surrender, and his devotion really shines through thousands of years of history.Let's read his poem "Zhenzhou Station" first: This was written when the author was captured and went to Dadu via Zhenzhou (in today's Jiangsu).The mountains and rivers are still the same, but the old people are scattered; there are traces of war everywhere, and the prison cars are driving among the dust and horses.Looking back on his experience in the past few years, he felt that the imperial court failed to make full use of its role, which led to its downfall.I was sent to the direction of Yanshan, the night was over, and another bleak morning was ushered in.Wen Tianxiang's immortal work is of course "Song of Righteous Qi".The beginning of the poem is extraordinary: Starting from the Confucian worldview, the author believes that there is a majestic righteousness between heaven and earth, and this righteousness forms everything in the universe.The mountains and rivers on the earth and the sun, moon and stars in the sky are all symbols of eternal righteousness.Only by adhering to this kind of righteousness can a person become a human being.The awe-inspiring righteousness fills the universe and is everywhere.When the world is peaceful, righteousness is manifested in the harmony of the court's political situation; once in danger, people's noble integrity is manifested, and it will be immortal in history.Then the author listed 12 historical heroes who showed awe-inspiring righteousness, looked at death as home, and did not lose their integrity, and praised them.The author thinks that he has become a prisoner, locked in a dark prison cell, and lived an inhuman life, but he can't get any diseases, because he has such awe-inspiring righteousness and survived by virtue of his great spiritual strength.At the end of the poem, the author writes: Wen Tianxiang is loyal to the country and the nation, and regards honor, disgrace, life and death as indifferent.But the heart of worrying about the country and the people is still as endless as the sky!The sages in history (such as Confucius and Mencius) have been far away, and the heroes in history have passed away, but their thoughts and spirits are always there, and they are reading history under the roof, and the immortal national spirit is still shining on themselves , Motivate yourself to achieve a noble and perfect personality. "Song of Righteous Qi" has inspired countless people with lofty ideals in history.Especially when the nation is in danger, "Song of Righteous Qi" becomes an excellent teaching material.Wen Tianxiang's name is always associated with "righteousness".Wen Tianxiang and "Song of Righteous Qi" will never be forgotten by people. Wang Yuanliang is one of the poets who experienced the demise of the Song Dynasty.He was originally a luthier serving Empress Dowager Xie.After the death of the Song Dynasty, he was captured to Dadu together with the Empress Dowager Xie and the young master Zhao Bing (an ancient character for "Xian").During his stay in Dadu, he visited Wen Tianxiang in prison.Some of his poems describe the process of being captured and going north.Let's try two of them: In the court of the Song Dynasty, one night was divided into six watches, one more than the folks.The drumbeat of the watch watch has passed, and the torches lighting up in the courtyard have been burning until dawn.At that time, the little emperor Zhao Bing was still a child, and the Empress Dowager Xie (named Daoqing) was in charge, so the surrender form written by the courtiers had to be signed by her.The dignified Empress Dowager of the Song Dynasty was originally a supreme and noble figure. At this moment, she had to sign her own handwriting and surrender, and she also bowed her knees and called herself a "concubine". The author's irony and grief are beyond words. This is what the author saw in the boat when he was escorted northward.The scene after the war was desolate and dilapidated, and the maids did not know what fate awaited them next, so they stayed up all night.At this time, I heard someone on the shore singing a sad song in memory of the soldiers and civilians killed by the Yuan army in Xiangyang. How did it feel?Wang Yuanliang was a commoner. He witnessed the whole process of the Southern Song Dynasty's demise. He never lost his patriotic heart and wrote these sad and tearful poems.
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