Chapter 18 Chapter Eight Songs of the Yuan Dynasty

After the creation of Ci declined, a poetic style that followed was the Sanqu in the Yuan Dynasty. "Sanqu" exists opposite to "drama".Opera is a script for performances, including libretto, speeches, actions, etc. for various characters; Sanqu is just lyrics for a cappella.In terms of form, Sanqu and Ci are very similar, but in terms of language, Ci should be elegant and subtle, while Sanqu should be popular and lively; in terms of rhythm, Ci should be strict, while Sanqu should be more free.Sanqu can be divided into two categories according to its style: "Xiao Ling" and "San Tao".Xiao Ling is also called Ye'er, and has a short system, usually just one independent piece of music (a few include two or three pieces of music).The loose set is composed of multiple pieces, and it is required to always use one rhyme.The tune cards of Sanqu also have various names, such as "Dawling Ling", "Blowing the Earth Wind", "Happy Spring Comes", "Hillside Sheep", "Red Embroidered Shoes" and so on. Most of these names are very vulgar, which also shows that Sanqu Closer to folk songs than words.There are more than 200 authors of Sanqu in the Yuan Dynasty whose names are known today, and more than 4,000 works have been left behind.Famous Sanqu authors are about Han Qing, Ma Zhiyuan, Zhang Yanghao, Zhang Kejiu, Sui [sui] Jingchen, Qiao Ji, Liu Zhi, etc.

We know that the Mongolian rulers in the Yuan Dynasty implemented a policy of ethnic discrimination. The majority of the Han nationality had the lowest status.In Liu Shizhong's loose set "Duanzheng Shanggaojiansi" describes the life of the people in the famine: Killing cattle, chopping mulberries, burying naked, selling fields, separating relatives, drowning babies, how can the people survive!The author also sighed: "The rich buy concubines and concubines and the population tends to prosper, while the poor love and starve and fill the ravines and suffer disasters. Brother Xiaomin is so miserable (interjection), brother Xiaomin is so miserable, brother, then In the autumn harvest, the wife sells the son and the family for a funeral!"

In the Yuan Dynasty, there was a so-called "nine Confucianists and ten beggars", and the social status of intellectuals was very low."Chaotianzi·Zhigan" by an unknown author says: Those who don't read have rights, those who can't read and write have money, and those who don't know things are praised.God is only partial, and there is no difference between the virtuous and the foolish.Frustrating heroes, killing goodness, the smarter you are, the luckier you are.Zhi Gao is like Lu Lian, virtue is like Min Qian, and only those who fall according to their duties are despised.

Bad luck, bad luck.Lu Lian, also known as Lu Zhonglian, was a native of Qi during the Warring States period. He was generous and ambitious. He traveled around the world and did many good deeds without any reward.Min Qian is Min Ziqian, a student of Confucius, known for his noble character.This small order reveals the upside-down of right and wrong in Yuan Dynasty society. Many talented and virtuous talents were buried and destroyed. How can this society be good?No wonder the Yuan Dynasty perished in only 90 years. Satire on bad human feelings and state of the world is an important content of Sanqu.For example, "Drunken Taiping: Criticizing Those Who Greed for Small Gains" by an unknown author:

With only six ingeniously exaggerated and vivid metaphors, the psychology and face of a greedy person who wants money and shame is vividly outlined. It has the characteristics of folk literature and is a wonderful work in Sanqu. Disgusting politics and praising the secluded life is another important content of Sanqu, and many famous authors have such works.Among them, Ma Zhiyuan's loose set "Night Cruise·Autumn Thoughts" is very famous, let's look at the last piece of it: Crickets, crickets.Pei Gong refers to Pei Du, a famous official during Tang Xianzong's time. He built the "Green Field Thatched Cottage" in his later years and retired from office to live in seclusion.Tao Ling refers to Tao Qian who was the magistrate of Pengze County. He had some ties to the Buddhist group "Bailianshe" organized by monk Huiyuan in Lushan.Beihai refers to Kong Rong, the prefect of Beihai in the late Han Dynasty, who was a celebrity.Dongli is Ma Zhiyuan's number.The author uses ants fighting, bees fighting for honey, and flies fighting for blood to describe the ugly fights in the officialdom.He envied the secluded life of Pei Du, Tao Qian and others. In autumn, he picked yellow flowers, boiled fat crabs, and drank fine wine. Mr. Ma is drunk and sleeping, and no one is there!"

Literati in the Yuan Dynasty hated politics, and they also vented it from their "nostalgic" works.For example, Zhang Kejiu's "The Sound of Selling Flowers Nostalgia": Turning to the history books, there are many disturbances: for a while, Xiang Yu's beauty committed suicide in Wujiang River, for a while Zhou Yu burned Cao Cao's hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in Chibi, and for a while Ban Chao, a famous general of the Han Dynasty, lamented outside Yumen Pass that he could not return to his hometown.The history of the Qin and Han Dynasties is sad, and it is the common people who suffer.Facing the history of human disasters, scholars can only sigh.Zhang Yanghao's "Hillside Sheep·Tong Caring for the Ancients" also expresses the same kind of sadness:

The towering peaks line the banks of the Yellow River, and the roaring Yellow River is full of resentment.Looking westward at the ancient capital of Chang'an, I can't help but feel a lot of emotion: what makes people sad is that the place where many influential figures in the Qin and Han Dynasties used to be active, the palaces and halls have been turned into dust, and there are no traces.Thinking about it, all of this is the blood of the people. No matter which dynasty rises or falls, the suffering will eventually fall on the people.The last two sentences tell a very simple truth, which makes people think.It opened very aggressively at the beginning, and it ended very powerfully.

Sui Jingchen's Sanqu "Shaobian·Gaozu Returns Home" is a unique "Historical" work among Sanqu.It observes Liu Bang's return to his hometown through the eyes of a rural farmer, and writes this grand ceremony in a strange, posturing and ridiculous way.Write about Liu Bang's appearance when he got off the car: (Sansha) The car that the big man got off, everyone saluted.The big man looks at [qu] and sees people as if they are nothing.All the villagers stretched their feet and stretched their waists to worship, and the big man moved his body to support him.Meng Keli raised his head and recognized it after a long time, his viciousness broke my chest!

The farmer recognized at a glance that this domineering "big man" turned out to be the "Liu San" back then!Then he and his wife's family history were criticized, exposing Liu Bang's rascal behavior when he was poor and humble, and the old man revealed that the "emperor" was originally a "rogue".It is really rare to be able to write such a tune in a feudal society.The whole set of tunes is full of ridicule and sarcasm, and is extremely humorous. It is a rare masterpiece among Sanqu. There are many works about love between men and women in Sanqu, and they are also unique.For example, Zhang Kejiu's "Hillside Sheep · Boudoir Thoughts":

The woman closed the door and fell asleep, dreaming of reunion.The little girl Qiongji mistook Liu Xu for Feixue, and woke her up with a cry of "It's snowing!", interrupting her dream.She was angry and complained, and she scolded the little girl by asking herself questions.The first half is elegant, the second half is popular, and the wonderful pen is in the second half. The language is sharp and interesting, which best represents the style of Sanqu. There are also excellent landscape works in Sanqu, such as Ma Zhiyuan's "Withered Vine, Old Tree and Faint Crow", which has been widely recited for more than 600 years.Georgie's "Water Fairy: Zhongguan Waterfall" has a very strange imagination:

The author imagines that the waterfall is a piece of white cloth (xuelian) woven by the Weaver Girl using the moon as a shuttle, and hung high on the stone wall to dry.It uses ice as silk, splashes raindrops, and floats in the sky, making people who approach it feel cool. "Thousands of years are not dry", the imagination is unexpected and surprising.Finally, three metaphors are added to complete the style.The works of chanting things are the most avoiding stereotypes, and the most expensive are new ideas. This song Xiaoling writes new ideas and new interests, so it is a masterpiece. Wang Guowei, a famous modern scholar, said when talking about the development law of Chinese poetry: Covered by four words, there are Chu Ci, covered by Chu Ci, there are five words, and five words are covered, but there are seven words.Ancient poems are hidden but have rhythms, and rhythms are hidden but have words.Gai's style has been popular for a long time, and he has become more and more involved. He has formed a routine, and it is difficult for a hero to come up with new ideas in it, so he escaped and made another style to liberate himself.All literary styles are flourishing and declining all because of this. This passage roughly outlines an outline of the relationship between the development of Chinese poetry: from four-character poems to Chuci, to five-character poems, to seven-character poems.After the ancient poems, there are rhythmic poems, and after the rhythmic poems, there are long and short sentences.From simple to complex, from rough to fine, and the inevitability of this development is stated.