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Chapter 28 Chapter Thirteen How to Learn Classical Poetry

Chinese poems and songs 刘耕路 2491Words 2018-03-20

Reading and appreciating classical poetry has many benefits. It can not only improve the cultural level and increase the knowledge of literature and history, but also provide a wonderful spiritual enjoyment. It can be influenced by art, help to get rid of vulgar tastes, and cultivate noble and beautiful sentiments. Marx once said: "If you want to enjoy art, then you must be a person with artistic cultivation." Just as if you want to appreciate music, you must listen to more music, and if you want to appreciate fine arts, you must read more paintings and sculptures. Poetry must also be read more works from the shallower to the deeper. Gradually, as you understand more, your interest will increase, and your appreciation ability will increase. When reading classical poetry, the first difficulty you encounter is the difficulty of understanding the language.The so-called difficult to understand does not mean that you do not understand it at all, but that some words are uncommon or not found in modern Chinese, making it difficult to read.There is a way to solve this, that is, first read the notebooks (chosen ones) with annotations added by contemporary people, memorize the content of the annotations, read them repeatedly, accumulate a lot, and become familiar with the habits of poetry and words. It's over.Classical poetry also often uses allusions, which is also a language barrier for ordinary readers.Regarding poetry dictionaries, some people have always said that they are good and some people say they are not. Regardless of whether people agree with them or not, many poetry dictionaries are already a fait accompli.Whether it is practical or not does not determine whether the work is good or bad.For example, Li Yu, the posthumous master of the Southern Tang Dynasty, wrote clear and fluent cis, and generally did not use dictionaries, which are top-grade ci; while Xin Qiji often "dropped the book bag" (using allusions) in his ci, which were also top-grade ci, and were more valuable than Li Yu's ci.The question is whether the allusion is used properly.If you make a fuss and pile up allusions bluntly, it will be superficial, boring, and boring; but allusions will naturally flow into the work and integrate with the content of the song, which can expand the content of the content, increase the rhyme beyond the rhyme, and the taste beyond the taste , to increase the reader's interest.Let’s take a look at Xin Qiji’s "Partridge Sky · Goose Lake Returning to Disease":

There are two allusions in the word. "Book Duo Duo" comes from Liu Yiqing: After Yin Hao was dismissed from office in the Jin Dynasty, he felt wronged and wrote with his hands in the air all day long.Someone watched secretly, only to realize that he only wrote four words: "Duuuu strange things." Duuuu, it's a sound of exclamation. "And Xiu Xiu" is published in "New Book of Tang Sikong Tu Biography": In his later years, in order to escape political persecution, Sikong Tu abandoned his official position and lived in seclusion in Wangguan Valley of Zhongtiao Mountain. He built a pavilion called "Xiuxiu".He explained to himself, "Xiu is beautiful, and when you are resting, you are beautiful."I think that my talent, status, age and character are not suitable for being an official.Retirement is best.Xin Qiji was dismissed from office and lived in the countryside, unable to display his talents and ambitions, feeling depressed, so he used the allusion of Yin Hao to express his complaints and allusions; he also used the allusion of Sikong Tu to ridicule himself and comfort himself for the time being.With only six words, so much content has been added, and it is used naturally and not jerky.To understand this kind of allusion, the emergency method is to read other people's annotations and look up dictionaries, and the fundamental method is to read as many historical and literary books as possible.Both methods are good, not only can understand poetry, but also can increase knowledge. Poetry has its own special means of expression, which should be paid special attention to when appreciating poetry.In ancient times, someone once analyzed the connotation of poetry into three categories: "physical environment", "situational situation" and "artistic conception".The so-called "physical environment" refers to the description of objective things. Generally speaking, the more vivid, vivid and vivid the description, the better. "Spring grass grows in the pond, and willows in the garden turn into songbirds" (Liu Song Xie Lingyun), who wrote a beautiful spring scene in a language that is not fake, which is praised by people. "Hai Ri Sheng Night, Jiang Chun Enters the Old Year" (Tangwangwan), the last sentence says that the water surface where the river and the sea meet is flat and wide, the remnant night has not yet receded, the sun has risen above the sea, and the dawn is early; the next sentence refers to the Jiangnan area The old year is not over yet, and the breath of spring has sprouted in nature, and spring comes early.This is a verse written after painstaking thinking and tempering. It expresses the feeling that people feel but cannot express. It is also a wonderful sentence.Reality and accuracy are not the only criteria for describing the physical environment, because this is the state felt by the poet, not all the true colors of objective things.For example, Li Bai said that "the water of the Yellow River comes from the sky"; you are wrong; the Yellow River originates from Bayankala Mountain in Qinghai!It would be bad if we use scientific knowledge to ask poetry. Li Bai is not talking about geography, but writing poetry, which is the surprise and admiration of the majestic landscape of the Yellow River. This is the so-called "poet's language". The so-called "situation" refers to the emotion of joy, anger, sorrow and joy, which is the soul of poetry.You can't write good poetry without strong emotion, but you can't make poetry if you don't express it well.If it is said that the clearer the object environment, the better, then the more subtle the situation, the better.What is said about "do not use a single word, make it romantic" (Sikong Tu's "Poetry") is talking about the situation.Such as Li Bai's "Resentment":

The four lines of the poem outline a sketch: inside the bead curtain, a young beauty sits for a long time, her brows are tightly furrowed, and tears gradually flow out again.What exactly is she complaining about?The poet doesn't say a word, let the reader experience and imagine.Usually this kind of poem is written about a court lady who has been imprisoned in the deep palace for a long time, so you can imagine her depression.She may resent her parents for not marrying her off, her lover for not marrying her early, the officials who dragged her into the palace, the emperor who neglected her, and more likely her ruthless fate... In short, it is up to you to imagine , is of course a reasonable imagination.If a certain kind of resentment is clearly stated in the poem, then the realm will be limited, and the poetic flavor will be limited. The so-called "artistic conception" refers to certain thoughts and principles expressed in poems.Here is a piece of Du Mu's "Passing the Huaqing Palace":

This is a side of the chanting Tang Xuanzong and Concubine Yang's luxurious life in Lishan Huaqing Palace.Concubine Yang Gui likes to eat lychees, but Chang'an does not produce them, so they can only be transported from Sichuan.In order to keep fresh, people ride horses from station to station to deliver at speed day and night.It is precisely because of the ruler's extravagance that the internal affairs were not repaired, and the Anshi Rebellion occurred, and the Tang Dynasty almost perished.Du Mu's poems express sarcasm and negation, and also remind future generations to remember the lessons of history. The meaning is beyond the words and is not said, but readers can understand it.In other cases, some poets are willing to express their thoughts directly. For example, in Su Shi's "Litchi Sigh" about the tribute to Concubine Yang Guifei, there is "I hope that the gods will pity the innocent son, and that no beauty will be born as a sore (wei false). Reasonable arguments such as the rain is smooth and the wind is tuned, and the valleys are full, and the people are not hungry and cold are Shangrui, etc., are also good poems that attract people to read.Of course, this kind of argument must be integrated with the description of images, and all empty arguments cannot become poetry. In order to be familiar with and master the expressive techniques of classical poetry, on the basis of reading a certain number of poems, it is also necessary to browse some books such as "Shihua" and "Cihua", such as Yan Yu's "Canglang Shihua", Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Shihua, Wang Guowei's and so on.This kind of book has comments on the style, genre, artistic means, and quality of works of poets of all ages.The statements in these books vary from person to person, and may not all be correct, but the authors are all experts in this field, and often have insightful insights to inspire people. How to really understand a poem?In fact, there is no absolute standard.The ancients said that "poetry cannot be understood", which was originally meant. Because it has been handed down for a long time, various interpretations vary, and there is no absolute authoritative explanation.Later, because many poems often use metaphors, analogies, symbols, allegories, etc., and the meaning is not so sure whether Ding Mao is Mao or Ding Mao, this sentence is used in all poems.Differences in understanding of the same poem are a common phenomenon due to differences in readers' experiences, ways of thinking, values, and artistic tastes.On such issues, unity cannot be sought, and there is no need to seek unity.In order to have a deeper understanding of the poems, one must read them carefully, like chewing an olive and savoring them over and over again.It is often said that "reading a thousand times, its meaning will manifest itself", which is especially suitable for poetry. In order to learn and appreciate poetry, it is very necessary to recite some good poems.Like a cow eating grass, it is first swallowed into the rumen, then moved into the reticulum, and then chewed carefully in the mouth when it is free.Good poetry tastes endless after chewing.Some physiologists say that reciting poems can enhance memory and prevent memory degradation.If this is the case, it kills two birds with one stone, so why not do it?

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