Chapter 15 Section 2 Poems of the Southern Song Dynasty
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.