Those who fly violently to the sky look at the peaks and rest their minds; those who are economical in worldly affairs glance at the valleys and forget about it. Translation: Like a ferocious bird flying into the sky, people who strive for fame and fortune and pursue high positions see these beautiful valleys. , you will forget to leave. Those who are busy with government affairs all day long will never want to leave when they see these beautiful valleys.
Source: "Thinking of Books with Zhu Yuan?"
"Thinking of Letters with Zhu Yuan" is a famous landscape sketch written by Wu Jun, a Liang writer in the Southern Dynasties. It was written by Wu Jun to his friends A fragment from the letter of Zhu Yuansi (originally known as Song Yuansi, also known as Yushan, whose life is unknown) is regarded as a masterpiece of landscape description in parallel prose. This article not only reflects the beauty of the landscape with human feelings, but also expresses the disdain for fame and wealth, the weariness of officialdom and government affairs, and implicitly reveals the love for the beautiful nature and the noble aspirations of retreating from the world.
"Sishu with Zhu Yuan" maintains the characteristics of parallel prose. The article basically follows the requirements of parallel prose, mainly using four-character sentences and six-character sentences, and uses a large number of couplets in the second half of the article, such as "Spring water stirs rocks, There is a cool sound; good birds sing to each other, and their chirping becomes a rhyme." "Cicadas turn a thousand times without end, and apes make a hundred calls without end." This achieves the expression effect of neat sentence structure, harmonious phonology, contrasting ideas, and contrasting ideas. It is catchy to read and has a strong sense of rhythm.
But the article is different from the ordinary parallel prose at that time. It breaks the formal constraints of parallel prose to a certain extent and reflects valuable breakthroughs and innovations. First, in four-character sentences and six-character sentences, an alternating pattern of five-character and four-character sentences is used, such as "Those who fly violently to the sky will look at the peaks and rest their minds; those who are economical in worldly affairs will peek into the valley and forget to rebel." This avoids It overcomes the shortcomings of rigid and uniform parallel prose and makes the language appear lively and free.
Secondly, there is almost no duality in the first half of the article, which is no different from ordinary prose (especially the first section), while the second half is basically full of neat duality sentences, so that the parallel and prose are combined and dense. The alternating arrangement makes the language flexible and more rhythmic; thirdly, the article does not pile up allusions like ordinary parallel prose, and even deliberately uses cold and uncommon words. When writing about scenery, we strive to accurately convey the spirit, which makes the language of the article appear fresh, natural, vivid and smooth, and it appears to be outstanding and extraordinary in the parallel prose that was dominated by gorgeous and unrestrained prose at that time.
Although "Books with Zhu Yuansi" is short in length, it is very organized. The first paragraph of the article leads the whole article with the character "strange mountains and strange waters, unique in the world". The second and third paragraphs respectively inherit the two aspects of "strange mountains and strange mountains", and develop and describe around the word "unique". , Structurally, the outline is clear and the context is clear.
The sequence of describing the scenery is first "water" and then "mountain", unfolding layer by layer from near to far, which is in line with the viewing habit of "drifting with the current" and is clear and organized. When describing the scenery, write "mountain" in detail and shorthand "water" in the whole text; write "water" in detail, write static in detail and shorthand dynamic; write "mountain" in detail, write dynamic in detail but shorthand static. This not only highlights the main features of the scenery, but also makes it appear detailed and appropriate, with a moderate degree of importance.
About the author
Wu Jun (469-520), courtesy name Shuxiang, was born in Guzhang, Wuxing (now Anji, Zhejiang). A writer and historian in the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty. He was studious and talented, and his poetry was highly praised by Shen Yue. His poems are fresh and mostly reflect social reality. His literary skills were focused on describing scenery, and his poetry and prose were of his own. He often described landscapes and scenery, which was called "Wu Jun style" and created a generation of poetry style. Appreciated by Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, he was appointed as a court official. He is the author of 30 volumes of "Qi Chunqiu", 90 volumes of Fan Ye's "Book of the Later Han", etc.; he is also the author of 20 volumes of "Wu Jun Collection", but unfortunately it has not been handed down. The preserved works are collected in "Quan Liangwen" and "Yiwen Leiju".