Comments on Yung Wing's Poems

Yong Shi, written by Rong Hong, a poet in the middle Tang Dynasty, is a famous epic in the Tang Dynasty. He is particularly good at discussing this problem. The poem says: "In the history of the Han family, clumsiness is kindness. Society depends on the Lord, and safety depends on women. How can you act like a jade? It will be quiet. Underground Millennium bone, who is the assistant minister? " According to Fan Bang's Friends of Yunxi, Tang Xianzong had discussed intimacy with courtiers. Xianzong claimed to remember Rong Yu's poem "Ode to History" and said, "Jiang Wei's contribution is so timid!" Courtiers' theory of peace and tolerance. Jiang Wei was a minister of the Jin State in the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated harmony and tolerance, and finally brought Rong Di close to him, and the Jin State regained its hegemony. He was the initiator of the ancient national policy of harmony and glory, so Xianzong denounced him as "cowardly". The so-called "affinity" is the concrete practice of harmony. In order to win over the Huns, the Han Dynasty sent princesses (often under the guise of their families) or maids to marry the Huns, and Wang Zhaojun was one of the most famous people. As a diplomatic means, it has advantages and disadvantages, but when the Han Dynasty was in a weak position, it was always humiliating, which is also Rong Yu's view in this poem. Of course, Rong's poems are actually satirizing the present through the ancient. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty repeatedly resorted to intimacy. At this time, the Tang Dynasty was unable to resist the intrusion of Uighur, Tubo and other foreigners, which was also the sum of humiliation. Du Fu said in the poem "Urgent Police" written in Chengdu: "The princess knows her relatives and is clumsy, and there is no return." Feel it. For Rong Yu, Princess Pugu Huai 'en was the daughter who worshipped the emblem during the Daizong period, and Princess Xian 'an was married to the princess of Huihe during the Dezong period. These are all examples he has heard personally. The so-called "in the history of the Han family, it is a criticism of real politics."

So, what is the argument in Yung Wing's Ode to an Epic? Generally speaking, there are always narratives about poems, but there are discussions. However, this poem is unconventional. They are all discussions, and they are not aimed at a specific historical event or historical figure, but at the historical phenomenon of "affinity" as a whole. As far as the discussion itself is concerned, later generations have many good comments on this poem. For example, Amin scholar Xu Chong said, "This poem is strict and just. Although he is good at judging history, he cannot ignore it. About the original text of the first two sentences. Third, fourth, it is not appropriate to put it mildly. Five, six, to be honest, this matter can't be relied on. Finally, he said that the minister who set up the court at that time could not save the right. Isn't it a crime of goodness and peace? If you don't know, you will feel deeply responsible for death. " (General Comment on Notes on Selected Poems of Tang Poetry by Lin) The court official said: "On the history of couplets, it is appropriate for Xian Zong to recite them and for courtiers to discuss them." (A Brief Introduction to Dali Poetry) As far as the way of discussion is concerned, A Qing and Feng Ban said, "Famous articles. The same is the discussion of ears, and the smell is naturally different. I am enthusiastic, not exclusive, so I am from the Tang Dynasty. " Ji Yun said, "Too straight and tired, it's good to sigh." (Comment on Ying Kui Fa and Sui Hui, Volume 30) The former seems to be affirmative, while the latter is negative. It should be said that the argument of this poem does have advantages, mainly reflected in its solemnity and proper wording. The first couplet comes straight to the point and will be denied with the word "clumsy". Minister Liu Jing was the first suitor in Han Dynasty. He suggested that Emperor Gaozu take princess royal's wife Xiongnu Khan as his son-in-law: "In the husband's family, it is the son-in-law. When you die, your grandson is Khan. Have you ever tried to resist the grand duke's grandson? Soldiers can gradually become ministers without fighting. " (Historical Records of Liu Jingchuan) It can be seen that pro-intimacy was indeed a strategy of the Han Dynasty to deal with the Huns, and it was also effective at that time. Rong Hong denounced the plan as "clumsy" and it was like a loud noise. Where is "clumsy"? The following will be introduced. Zhuan Xu argued from the front that the power of the country lies with the monarch and the responsibility lies with the monarch. Even if the enemy is under siege, the monarch should take up the responsibility of defending the country. Women are weak, men and women have social division of labor, and they can't bear the heavy responsibility of national security at all. However, now the important task of national security is pinned on women who have no status and power! So, is the reigning monarch still the "wise Lord"? On the surface, this couplet is just an objective narrative without emotion, but in essence it is sarcasm. The neckband goes with the flow, and direct condemnation and intimacy can't eliminate the troubles of the border. Although there were some special cases of marriage in past dynasties, such as Wang Zhaojun in Han Dynasty and Princess Wencheng in Tang Dynasty, most of them were "accompanying their wives to fold their soldiers" and failed to achieve the goal of preventing chaos in the frontier. There is a simple reason. When the Hu nationality can threaten the Central Plains dynasty, it must be that the power of both sides is out of balance. Hu people's bullying invaded the Central Plains, and its purpose was at least to plunder the jade of future generations and even to annex land. Just to get one or two beautiful women? This couplet is traced back in a cold tone, and it is righteous and strict, and there is no doubt. Because of this, it is reasonable for the United front to investigate the ancient ministers who put forward the marriage plan. Xu Chong thinks that "underground Millennium Bone" refers to "good and flat", namely Sean and Chen Ping in the early Han Dynasty. Today's historical records do not include Sean and Chen Ping's kiss plan, but when Emperor Gaozu was surrounded by Xiongnu in Pingcheng, he made use of Chen Ping's strange plan to do Khan in E Shi and was rescued. Chen Shijia, the Prime Minister of Historical Records, said that "its secret plan is not known to the world", and Xieji quoted Huan Tan's new theory, arguing that the strange plan was to tell Korea to give a beautiful woman to Khan, who would alienate at such a time to provoke and save the war. Even if this is true, Chen's plan seems to be different from his own marriage, because its nature is not flattery but provocation. Therefore, "good peace" is only the title of the minister in the early Han Dynasty, but actually refers to Liu Jing's generation. Anonymous commented on this couplet, "It was a shame for a while, but Liu Jing was a figurine, especially when he was the first to be punished." (Comment on Ying Kui Fa and Jing) Criticism is not excessive.

If it is placed in the overall background of the history of Tang and Song poetry, what is Rong Hong's achievement in chanting epic poems? In the existing Tang and Song poetry literature, it seems that all the pro-Qin works, such as Rong's poems, are isolated cases and can only be compared with the poems of specific objects. First of all, Li Shanfu, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, wrote "The Handwriting of Princess Guan in the Shady Land": "If you stretch the fiber marks, if you don't accept them, the moss will spend several autumn days. Who is Chen He's pro-policy? I am a person who is ashamed of my country. The cold rain washed away the fragrance, but the light smoke retained the long-lasting hatred. Poor water knows people's wishes and can't bear to swallow. " According to legend, Princess Hui Chong married into Huihe Road and passed through Yindiguan (now Lingshi, Shaanxi Province), leaving palm prints on the stone wall for later generations to carve a monument to commemorate. This poem is a general way of chanting epic poems, that is, describing historical sites and expressing feelings about history. Only the second couplet is a discussion, expressing dissatisfaction with the princess and the pro-state policy, and saying that men are ashamed of not being able to defend their country and resist aggression. Obviously, although the artistic level of this poem is not lower than Rong Yu's poem, it is not as profound as Rong Yu's poem in terms of its exposition. It can be seen that the discussion of Rong Hong's poems is superior to that of the Tang Dynasty.

Coincidentally, in the Song Dynasty, there was also a work with the same theme as Li Shanfu's poems, which was Ouyang Xiu's "The Handwriting of Princess Hui Chong of the Tang Dynasty": "Birds in my hometown are still singing, not mentioning sadness. I don't know whether the soul is buried in the grave, but to whom did Cui Ya's remains leave? Yuyan has been tired since ancient times. Who wants to eat meat with the country? The road is still sighing, and the rock flowers and weeds have been in the spring and autumn. " The neckline of this poem won the admiration of future generations for its exposition. Zhu said, "Poetry is a first-class good poem. As far as discussion is concerned, it is the first discussion. " (Zhu lei, volume 139) Zhao yi, a Qing dynasty man, also praised him: "what argument is this? It is naturally brilliant to cast it in fourteen words." ("Ou Bei Shi Hua" Volume 11) So, what's good about Ou's argument? Judging from the content of the discussion, there is nothing unique about European poetry. The woman who sympathized with and was close to her got into trouble because of her appearance, so that she buried her soul in a foreign country. The latter sentence condemns that officials and officials are not good at managing the country, but they can make peace at the expense of weak women. However, the artistic level of European poetry discussion is far more than two Tang poems. Try to compare: Rong's poems and Li's poems are direct expressions without any implication. Ji Yun commented that the former was "too straight and too tired", but the latter had the same disease. European poetry is full of lamentation. The previous sentence expresses deep sympathy for the princess's misfortune: it's her fault to marry in a foreign country until you die? Is beauty a drag on fate? The latter sentence criticizes the courtiers for bringing disaster to the country and the people: as the old saying goes, "Carnivores despise and fail to make long-term plans", and the "meat" attacked in the poem is not only a failure to make long-term plans, but also an "accomplice with the country", meaning that being in a high position is only for wealth, but is indifferent to national security. Therefore, the discussion of Ou Shi is not only profound and enjoyable, but also meaningful and thought-provoking after reading it. In addition, the antithesis of European poetry is exquisite, which means twists and turns, and it is far superior to Rong poetry in art. Of course, the method of discussion only developed by leaps and bounds in the Song Dynasty, so although Rong poetry's discussion is slightly inferior to European poetry, it does not affect its position in Tang poetry.

(Author: College of Literature, Nanjing University)