What are the three wonderful flowers in the history of China ancient literature?

Historical Records was originally named Taishi Gongshu, and was called Historical Records at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Historical Records is the cornerstone of China's biographical history and the beginning of China's biographical literature. Lu Xun's "Outline of China Literature History" called it "the historian's swan song, leaving Sao without rhyme".

"A historian's swan song" refers to his historical achievements. Sima Qian initiated a new style of writing history books that considered the past and the present. Since then, the historical books of all previous dynasties, especially the Twenty-Five History, are not within its scope. Twelve biographies, thirty biographies, seventy biographies, ten tables and eight books are all classified and analyzed in detail. General history, biographies, classics, general examinations and chronicles are all derived from this. Historical Records is indeed a private work that combines the achievements of pre-Qin and early Han dynasties. The weight, volume, content, structure and system are unprecedented. Ban Gu said that Historical Records is "a true record, because its writing is straightforward, its core is not empty beauty, and it does not hide goodness." The spirit of "record" can also be called peerless.

"Li Sao has no rhyme" refers to his literary achievements. Sima Qian's writing of history is by no means limited to the collection, collation and textual research of documents, nor does he observe history objectively from the outside with a cold attitude. He understands the struggles and successes of the characters in his works with deep pain, so his works are often full of grief and indignation. Especially for people in Buyi Lane, hermits in caves, and people whose talents are suppressed without regrets, they are full of passion and empathy. Sima Qian dared to write the facts in the narrative, so that "showing hegemony" was almost the same as Qu Yuan. His "writing from the heart" is also consistent with Li Sao. The difference is that "Li Sao" is a direct expression of the soul, while "Historical Records" is sent to his characters. The kind of grief and indignation that Historical Records is close to Li Sao does not necessarily come from learning. I am afraid it is mainly because Sima Qian's anger is consistent with Qu Yuan's. It can even be said that Sima Qian was born in the Han Dynasty. He saw more human injustice than Qu Yuan, and those who felt angry were deeper than Qu Yuan.

The so-called Yuefu in Han Dynasty refers to wind music. Besides writing and producing poems praising literati and playing new songs and dances, it also collects folk songs and lyrics for entertainment. Han Shu Yi Wen Zhi: "Since the establishment of Yuefu by Emperor Xiaowu, ballads have been adopted, so Zhao, Qin and Chu have taken their place, all of them are influenced by sadness and joy, and they can also observe customs and know thick clouds." Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty collected poems not only to inspect people's seclusion, but also to enrich Yuefu's music for entertainment. During the Six Dynasties, Yuefu changed from an organ name to a poetic name with music.

Following the Book of Songs and Songs of the South, a new poetic style, Yuefu, appeared in the literary history of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. It was once brilliant and became an organic part of the excellent cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.

"Yuefu", formerly the official name, is responsible for composing music, training musicians, collecting poems and folk songs for the court to sing at sacrificial banquets, observing local conditions and customs, and examining political gains and losses. China's poetry collection system has a long history, and Xia Shuyin recorded it. The Book of Songs, which has been handed down to this day, was originally a standard anthology officially promulgated and recognized by the society. After the Spring and Autumn Period, the system of poetry collection could not be implemented because of the collapse of rites and the constant battles. The unification of the Qin dynasty was short, and everything had to be done. Although there is the name of Yuefu official office, there is still no collection of poems. The Han dynasty inherited the Qin system and the economy was depressed. Yuefu organs can only learn from the past and barely maintain it. After 60 or 70 years of recuperation, by the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the national strength was already very strong, so Yuefu expanded its scale and collected poems at night. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, poetry collection had become a major event in political life. Emperor Guangwu once "invited people to listen to folk stories", and the emperor sent messengers "traveling incognito to listen to folk stories in counties". This fashion was followed in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. During the period of Xiao Liang, the society has changed Yuefu from an official name to a poetic style. Liu Xie's Wen Xin Diao Long has a special chapter in Yuefu besides Ming poems. Selected Works of Zhaoming and New Poems of Xu Ling Yutai also set up Yuefu columns. Among them, there are both literati poems and folk songs, that is, all poems and songs that can be sung through music are called "Yuefu". Among these two kinds of poems, folk songs and poems are the essence, and literati's songs and poems germinate and grow under the dew of folk songs and poems, so we should attach great importance to them.

The system of collecting poems carried out in the gap between wars in the Northern Dynasties is in the same strain as that in the Han Dynasty. Guo Maoqian's Yuefu poem "Two Drums Blowing Across the Horn" preserved the Yuefu folk songs of the Northern Dynasties, some in Chinese, some in translation. Although there are only 60 or 70 pieces, they are profound in content and wide in subject matter, reflecting the broad social life, full of rough and bold spirit completely different from that in the south, and showing another picture of local conditions and customs. Due to the long-term scuffle between the rulers of all ethnic groups in the north, there are many themes reflecting the war, some describing the suffering caused by the war and the corvee, and some praising the brave spirit. Mulan's poems, in particular, are legends who enthusiastically praise Mulan as a woman disguised as a man and joined the army instead of her father. Mulan, together with the Ancient Poems of Lady Jiao Zhongqing, is known as the "double gem" in Yuefu folk songs. Yuefu in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties is a wonderful flower in the history of China literature, which has a strong vitality and directly influenced the face of China's poetry. It not only opened up a new field of five-character poetry, but also played a bridge role in seven-character poetry, singing and even law.

China Music House

New Yuefu refers to Yuefu poems written by the Tang people themselves. In the early Tang Yuefu poems, most of them were plagiarized from the old Yuefu poems, but a few of them were found in another way. Yuefu, a new theme, has developed greatly since Du Fu, "that is, things have a name and nothing to rely on." , Wei, Dai Shulun, Gu Kuang, etc. There are also new Yuefu works. They can be said to be pioneers of the new Yuefu movement. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty declined. During Zhenyuan and Yuanhe years, the social crisis was further exposed, and some people of insight had a clearer understanding of reality, hoping to get rid of the disadvantages and revive the dynasty. Reflected in the literary world, there appeared the ancient prose movement advocated by Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan and the new Yuefu movement advocated by Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen.

In the fourth year of Yuanhe (809), Li Shen first wrote twenty poems (modern poems) about Yuefu for Yuan Zhen. Yuan wrote Yuefu 12, which is a new subject for proofreading books. Later, Bai Juyi wrote 50 new Yuefu poems, which officially marked the name of the new Yuefu. In this way, the massive new Yuefu movement began. As a poetry movement, the creation of new Yuefu is not limited to writing new Yuefu, but also ancient Yuefu. However, although ancient poetry is used, it can be innovative and reflect the direction of poetry innovation.

The basic purpose of the new Yuefu movement is "writing articles for the time, writing songs and poems for things" (Bai Juyi's Nine Books with the Same Yuan).

Types of Yuefu Poems in Han Dynasty

Judging from its content, it can be roughly divided into three categories:

First, the ode made by noble literati.

Poetry of suburban temples: used to worship heaven and earth, ancestral halls, Tang Ming and the country. Today, there are songs of worship in the suburbs and songs of Anshifang.

Yanshe Pavilion: used for banquets in the imperial court.

Dance lyrics: elegant dance, miscellaneous dance. Elegant dance is used in suburban temples and banquets; Miscellaneous dances are used for banquets.

Second, military music

Advocating lyrics: it is military music, and the flute is short and the drum is short.

Cross-wind lyrics: it is military music riding on a horse and playing drums.

Third, folk songs.

Harmony Poems: Street Ballads in Han Dynasty. At first, it was just recited at will. The orchestra that is gradually being merged into one is a harmony song.

Lyrics of Qing merchants: originated from three tones, and their contents mostly reflected the life, thoughts and feelings of the people at that time.

Miscellaneous songs and words: there are poems that write the truth, express feelings, tell stories about banquets and travels, and express grievances and struggles. They are called miscellaneous songs because of the old Buddha or foreigners.

Artistic feature

1. Simple language

The folk songs in Han Yuefu use vivid spoken language, which is cordial and simple, narrative and lyrical, and the feelings are really touching. For example, Journey to the Orphan is about orphans being abused by their brothers and sisters-in-law. Although the poems are uneven, the feelings and circumstances of the orphans are vivid. The sentence length of poetry varies from two words to eight words, from neat seven-character poems to complicated miscellaneous poems. Yuefu folk songs in Han Dynasty have no fixed rules and syntax, and their length is arbitrary, scattered and informal, flexible and free. If there are miscellaneous words, the syntax is free and changeable, and the whole dispersion is not limited: for example, the upward slope and the children's song "Up slope!" I want to know you, and I will live long. There are no graves in the mountains, rivers are inexhaustible, lightning in winter shakes rain and snow in summer, and heaven and earth are in harmony, so I dare to be with you. " There are also two, three, four, five, six and seven words, which are extremely free to change. There are many complete five-character poems in Han Yuefu, such as Picking Lotus in the South of the Yangtze River and Peacock Flying Southeast, which have one syllable more than the four-character poems, adapted to the development of social language at that time and enhanced the expressive force of poems. There are both lengths, the longest is more than 350 sentences, and the shortest is a few. The length of folk songs in Han Yuefu is different. The longest is more than 350 sentences such as Peacock Flying Southeast, and the shortest is only four sentences such as Zaqu and Dead Fish Weeping across the River. There are only seven sentences in "Picking Lotus in Jiangnan".

Flexible rhyme

The rhyme of Han Yuefu folk songs is free and flexible. There are rhymes, such as "Ping Ling East": "Ping Ling East, pine and cypress are green, I don't know who robbed Gong Yi", "My heart is so tired, my blood is leaking, and I tell my family to sell yellow calves" is it; There are rhyming sentences, such as "East Gate", "Yan Ge" and "Fu Liangyin". There are also rhymes between two sentences and three sentences, such as "the southeast corner of sunrise" and "calling yourself Luo Fu" in Shang Mo Sang rhymes with two sentences, and "According to my Qin family" and "Guizhi as a cage hook" rhymes with five sentences. This shows the diversity of rhymes.

3. Narration in the form of dialogue or monologue

Yuefu poems in the Han Dynasty ingeniously cast dialogues to depict characters, which are full of sound and emotion, making people feel like hearing their voices and seeing their people. For example, "Picking Weeds on the Mountain" even consists almost entirely of questions and answers from the abandoned wife and her dead husband, which shows the kind character of her wife. There are also monologues throughout, such as the plight of orphans written in monologues in "The Journey of Orphans".

4. Romantic color

Although the folk songs of Han Yuefu mostly express reality, many works also use romanticism. For example, Shangxie is as passionate and highly exaggerated as a flash flood; The crow's soul in Vu Thang attracts people. The rotten fish in "Dead Fish Cry Over the River" can cry and write letters. These rich and peculiar fantasies show the characteristics of romanticism.

5. Even sentences

Even sentences can also be said to be the characteristics of Han Yuefu in all aspects, such as: "There is a bun on the head and a bright moon in the ear." It means "Qi is the lower skirt and Zi Luo is the upper skirt".

6. Cycle, harmony and rhyme

There were many beautiful poems in the folk songs of that day, such as "Picking Lotus in the South of the Yangtze River": "Picking Lotus in the South of the Yangtze River, Hetian Tian brings lotus leaves, and fish play among the lotus leaves. Fish plays lotus leaf east, fish plays lotus leaf west, fish plays lotus leaf south and fish plays lotus leaf north. " This poem echoes back and forth, with vivid image, harmonious rhyme and lively words, which is the true nature of folk songs.

The genre of Yuefu poetry also has an influence on the formation of singing style in later generations. Bao Zhao, a poet in the Six Dynasties, is good at five-character poems and miscellaneous poems, and Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, is also unprecedented in Yuefu poems, which are obviously influenced by the folk songs of the Han Dynasty in artistic form. Narration in the form of dialogue and monologue. Yuefu poems in the Han Dynasty ingeniously cast dialogues to depict characters, which are full of sound and emotion, making people feel like hearing their voices and seeing their people. For example, "Picking Weeds on the Mountain" even consists almost entirely of questions and answers from the abandoned wife and her dead husband, which shows the kind character of her wife. There are also monologues throughout, such as the plight of orphans written in monologues in "The Journey of Orphans". These techniques also inspired the rhetorical devices of later poems.