Shen Yun Theory is a poetry creation and commentary proposition in ancient Chinese poetic theory. It was advocated by Wang Shizhen in the early Qing Dynasty. In the early Qing Dynasty, he dominated the poetry world for almost a hundred years. The emergence of Shen Yun theory has its historical origins. The word "Shen Yun" appeared as early as in the "Ancient Paintings" written by Sheikh of the Southern Qi Dynasty. Xie He commented on Gu Junzhi's paintings: "The charm and power are not as good as those of the predecessors. They are subtle and cautious, and have the wisdom of the past." Here, "charm" and "power" are used simultaneously, which does not reveal the meaning of "charm". Xie He also said: "Qiyun means vividness." Here, "vivid" is used to describe "qi", and "rhyme" is not mentioned. Zhang Yanyuan of the Tang Dynasty said in "Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties - 6 - 1 On Six Methods of Painting" that "as for ghosts, gods and figures, they must be vivid and full of charm", which is not beyond Xie He's opinion. The "rhyme" mentioned in the poetry theory of the Tang Dynasty mostly refers to the rhyme and the meaning of the poem, and does not involve poetry theory. For example, Wu Yuanheng's "Preface to the Collection of Liu Shang Lang" said: "It means breaking the complex sounds into arc rhyme", which refers to the rhyme of poetry; Sikong Tu's "Discussing Poems with Li Sheng" said "the result outside rhyme" refers to poetry. What he said in his "Shipin 6.1 Spirit" is that "the vitality comes out far away", but it can be seen as an elucidation of "rhyme". Qian Zhongshu, a modern man, said: "'Qi' means 'qi', and 'yun' means 'yuan'. The creation of Hecao came first, and the polishing of pictures came after. The theory of "qi" is from rough to gradually refined. "Qi" means "yuan" "Shen" is different from the body. "Yun" is different from the sound. "Shen" is in the body, which is not the same as the body. "Yun" is not the same as the sound, but the sound is clear. You must rely on the body to see it, and the rhyme must follow the sound. It is neither one nor different, neither immediate nor separate." ("Guan Zhui Bian") This passage explains the concepts of "qi", "spirit" and "rhyme". Their relationship is well explained. Those who talked about "charm" in the Song Dynasty have always been represented by Yan Yu. He said in "Canglang Poetry Talk": "The ultimate in poetry is to enter the mind." In fact, there is a discussion in Fan Wen's "Qianxi Poetry Eyes" The content of "Yun" (the "Poetry" in Volume 807 of "Yongle Dadian" quotes the lost text of "Qianxi Poetry Eye", and is elaborated and elaborated in Qian Zhongshu's "Guan Zhui Bian"), there are thousands of words, and the "Yun" is analyzed from all aspects. This incisive and thoughtful analysis not only represents the major transformation from the "rhyme" of painting to the "rhyme" of poetry starting from the Qi and Liang Dynasties, but also "integrates and comprehensively integrates the core, not only Yan Yu's failure, that is, Lu Shiyong and Wang Shizhen" It seems difficult to succeed in beauty.” "Fan Wen explains that 'yun' is the remnant of the sound outside the sound, and the remaining meaning behind the words or images, which fully reflects the 'yun' of the character's style and artistic style. This is based on the way of sound" ("Yun") Tube Cone Edition"). This is very noteworthy. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the term "Shen Yun" was commonly used in various senses. Hu Yinglin's "Shi Sou" talks about "spirit" in about 20 places. For example, when commenting on Chen Shidao's poems, he said: "The charm is not clear at all." When commenting on the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, he said: "The atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is mixed. The charm is grand." Wang Fuzhi also talked about it many times. When it comes to "spirit", for example, "Selection of Ming Poems" commented on Beiqiong's "Autumn Embrace" and said: "A vast expanse of land, the charm rushes forward." "Selection of Ancient Poems" commented on "Song of the Wind" and said: "The charm is beyond discussion." Commenting on Xie Tiao "Tongque Terrace" said: "The desolation lies in Shen Yun." They all praised "Shen Yun" before Wang Shizhen. Zhong Rong's "Preface to Poems" proposed that poetry should have "taste"; Yan Yu's "Canglang Poetry Talk" advocated "trance" and "the sound in the air, the color in the image, the moon in the water, the reflection in the mirror" "Like an antelope hanging its horns, there is no trace to be found"; the "purpose outside of taste" advocated by Sikong Tu, the taste "outside of salty and sour", as well as what Xu Zhenqing of the Ming Dynasty talked about in "Talk about Art" "Shen Yun" is the origin of Shen Yun theory. Wang Shizhen once said: "When discussing poetry among the ancients, I most like Zhong Rong's "Shi Pin", Yan Yu's "Poetry Talk", and Xu Zhenqing's "Talk about Yi Lu"." ("Taijingtang Poetry Talk") Although he also said "Zhong Rong "Poetry", I was very fond of it when I was young, but now I know that it is full of errors" ("Yuyang Poetry Talk"), but his opinion is mainly about Zhong Rong's practice of criticizing poems in three categories, rather than "Preface to Poetry" 》The theory itself proposed. Wang Shizhen has repeatedly expressed praise for Sikong Tu and Yan Yu's poetry theory. For example, he said, "Biao Sheng (Sikong Tu) has twenty-four articles on poetry. I like the most "without a single word, all the romantic" eight characters. He also said that the two words "collecting flowing water and fluffy spring" describe the poetic scenery wonderfully, and have the same purpose as Dai Rongzhou's "The sun is warm in the blue field, and the good jade produces smoke" ("Taijingtang Poetry Talk"); he also said that he " "There are different understandings of what the two schools of thought (Sikong Tu and Yan Yu) said." According to the principles of poetry discussion by the two schools, the poems of 42 people including Wang Wei of the Tang Dynasty were selected and compiled into "The Samadhi Collection of Tang Xians". There is also the discussion of Nanzong landscape painting by Dong Qichang, a painter of Nanzong in the late Ming Dynasty, which also influenced Wang Shizhen's poetry theory. For example, Wang Shizhen discussed the relationship between poetry and Nanzong paintings in his "Preface to the Anthology of Zhijiang", and highly praised Dong Qichang, calling him the "top painter" during the "two hundred and seventy years" of the Ming Dynasty. In "Xiangzu's Notes", he also believed that the beauty of poetry should be like what Jing Hao, a great painter of the Southern Sect, said: "People in the distance have no eyes, the water in the distance has no waves, and the mountains in the distance have no cracks." Yes, I thought that hearing this would lead to the poet's samadhi. Before Wang Shizhen, although many people had talked about Shen Yun, they had not regarded it as a fundamental issue in poetry creation. Moreover, for a long period of time, because Fan Wen's essays on rhyme were not spread, the concept of Shen Yun had not been The fixed and clear term is generally used to refer to content such as spiritual resemblance, charm, and wind spirit that are opposite to physical resemblance. It was not until Wang Shizhen that Shen Yun was put forward as the fundamental requirement for poetry creation.
In his early years, he edited and selected the "Collection of Shen Yun" and consciously advocated the theory of Shen Yun. However, he never made a special discussion on the connotation of the theory of Shen Yun. He only expressed his opinions in many fragmentary comments about poems. To sum up, we can roughly see the fundamental characteristics of his theory of verve, that is, in the artistic expression of poetry, he pursues a state of emptiness, tranquility, elegance, mirror-like flowers, water and moon, and an invisible realm. Verve is the highest realm in poetry, and it is understandable that Wang Shizhen advocates verve. But it is not only emptiness and tranquility that can have charm. "Canglang Poetry Talk? 6? 1 Poetry Analysis": "There are five methods of poetry"; "There are nine qualities of poetry: high, ancient, deep, far, long, majestic, muddy, and elegant. It is said to be tragic and solemn, and it is said to be sad and graceful. There are two kinds of it: it is said to be leisurely and leisurely, and it is said to be calm and happy. "It can be seen that charm is not unique to the best poems, but is unique to all good poems. Wang Shizhen regards the charm as unique to Yipin, which is exactly where he goes wrong. Starting from the requirements of the theory of Shen Yun, Wang Shizhen expressed deep praise for Yan Yu's "Zen metaphor for poetry" or Zen metaphor for poetry. At the same time, he further advocated that poetry should enter Zen and reach the state of "emptiness of form and color" as described by Zen scholars. He said: "Yan Canglang (Yan Yu) used Zen as a metaphor for poetry, and I deeply understand what he said; and the five-character poem is particularly close. For example, Wang (Wei) and Pei (Di)'s "Wangchuan Quatrains", every word is Zen. ""The five-character quatrains of the Tang Dynasty often enter Zen, and there is a wonderful feeling of forgetting the words when you are so proud. They are the same as the pure name of silence and the marrow of Dharma." He also said: "Poetry and Zen are the same, and there is no difference." He believes that there is no difference between the "transformation state" of poetry, which is rooted in reality, and the "enlightenment state" of Zen, which aims at emptiness. The best poetry is the "Yipin" ("The Poems of Dai Jingtang") that "the color and appearance are all empty" and "the antelope hangs its horns and there is no trace to be found". From the point of view that poetry reflects reality and should not be too obsessed with actual writing, his poetic theory has certain reasonable factors; but fundamentally speaking, he aims to stay away from reality. Starting from the requirements of the Shen Yun Theory, Wang Shizhen also repeatedly emphasized the importance of "interest" in the creative process (that is, Yan Yu's so-called "interest", see "Interest Theory"). He said: "Most of the ancient poems and paintings were just for fun, and they were wonderful." He also said: "The ancient poems were just for fun, and they were wonderful." He believed that creation is "a word that is suspended in a moment" and "completed in a moment" ( "Taijingtang Poetry Talk", "Yuyang Poetry Talk"). Poetry creation is not the product of ideas. Of course, it should be "inspiring" and inspired by feelings; but a temporary "inspiring" can only be meaningful if it comes from broad and profound life experience. Without these fundamental conditions, only emphasizing temporary "wish and inspiration" can only be a tree without roots and water without a source, and it will also lead to the tendency of art to stay away from reality. Starting from the requirements of Shen Yun Theory, Wang Shizhen also placed special emphasis on the artistic style of dilution, transcendence and subtlety. Regarding dilution and detachment, for example, he once praised Kong Wengu's idea that "poetry should express nature, but it must be clear and far-sighted". In Ming poetry, he especially praised the "ancient Dan school" represented by Gao Qi and others, commenting on the poet's praise of "elegance" ", "Yipin" ("Taijingtang Poetry Talk", "Yuyang Poetry Talk"), etc. For Sikong Tu's "Twenty-Four Poems", he also specifically praised the three qualities of "dilute", "natural" and "qingqi", emphasizing that "it is the best of the three", without mentioning "vigorous" and "powerful" at all. "Calm", "vigorous", "bold", "sad" and other poems, which further develops the aesthetic point of view of dilution and transcendence in "Twenty-Four Poems". Regarding implicitness and implication, for example, he opposed poetry that "takes calmness and joy as its ultimate goal" and repeatedly emphasized that Yan Yu's "words are limited but the meaning is endless" and that the taste of Sikong's pictures is "beyond the salty and sour" and "without a single word, everything is achieved" "Fengliu" and so on, and believes that "Tang poetry focuses on emotion, so it is more implicit; Song poetry focuses on Qi, so it is more revealing" (ibid.). The most obvious one is his comments on several poems about Mrs. Xi. He thinks that Du Mu's "What is the fate of death? Pity the man who fell from the building in Jingu" is "just words and righteousness to blame", and he does not agree with it; he thinks that only Wang Wei's "Looking at the flowers brings tears to my eyes, I don't understand the words of the King of Chu", "Not even a word of judgment, that's why the prosperous Tang Dynasty is so high". This further develops Yan Yu's point of view of "do not interfere with the road of reason, and do not fall behind the words". Because of this, Wang Shizhen did not select the poems of Li Bai and Du Fu when he selected "The Samadhi Collection of Tang Xian". It is said to be an example of imitating Wang Anshi's "Selected Poems of One Hundred Schools of Poetry", but in fact it means not appreciating the poems of Li and Du. Zhao Zhixin's "Talk about the Dragon" once said that he "didn't like Shaoling" and "he was too conceited". Weng Fanggang's "Seven Character Poetry Samadhi Juyu 6.1 Dan Chun Yin Tiao" also said that he "only belongs to the Chonghe Danyuan school, which is a descendant of Gu Youcheng, not the heir of Li and Du." This is well founded. For example, he repeatedly praised the poems of Wang Wei and Wei Yingwu as "interesting and clear", and said: "Wei is like the words of the Bodhisattva, and Wang Youcheng is like the words of the ancestor." According to Li Chonghua's "Zhenyizhai Poetry", he once met Wang Shizhen He smeared Du's poems privately, so he was accused of being a "dwarf watching the scene". Not only Li and Du, but also many other realistic poets such as Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen, Liu Yuxi, Du Mu, Du Xunhe, Luo Yin, etc., also adopted an attitude of rejection and criticism. For example, he used the words of Sikong Tu to criticize the Yuan and Bai Dynasties as "just urban magnates"; he believed that Liu Yuxi's famous lines such as "Thousands of sails passed by the side of the sunken boat, and thousands of spring trees in front of the diseased trees" were "the worst"; he considered the poems of Du Mu and Du Xunhe to be the worst. They are all "evil poems" ("Taijingtang Poetry Talk") and so on. This fully reflects his interest in poetry. Before Wang Shizhen, due to the restoration movement of the seven scholars before and after the Ming Dynasty, they compared the Han, Wei, and the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which resulted in the shortcomings of poetry becoming superficial and superficial. The Gong'an School corrected the mistakes of the seven scholars before and after the Ming Dynasty, and its shortcomings became superficial. .
Wang Shizhen tried to correct the mistakes of the two schools, advocating the theory of verve, advocating that poetry should be clear, dilute, and transcendent, and should be implicit and implicit in expression, which stems from "the spirit of excitement" or "the spirit of wonder", and one-sided emphasis on poetry The realm of emptiness, tranquility and transcendence, mirror flowers and water moon, opposed to realistic poetry and the joyful and hearty style, absorbed and further developed the negative factors contained in Sikong Tu and Yan Yu's theories under new historical conditions, resulting in poetry Taking the path of being divorced from life and reality has obliterated the positive social role of poetry. Wang Shizhen once praised some poems as "all without fragrance" and considered them valuable. Many of the praises he received from others focused on this point. For example, Shi Yushan once praised him to his disciples: "The Master's poems are like the Huayan Pavilion, which appears at the snap of a finger, and like the twelve towers of the Immortal's Five Cities, which are ethereal and misty." All in the sky." ("Taijingtang Poetry Talk") These just illustrate the essence of Wang Shizhen's Shen Yun School of Poetry. Wang Shizhen's own creations also prove this point. His poems mostly depict natural scenery, such as "Zhenshu Quatrains", "Under the Fujihua Mountain", "On the River", etc. The scenery is very delicate and full of poetic and picturesque flavor; however, except for his early works, they reflect the people's suffering or are more realistic. There are very few poems written by him, and they often eulogize the scene of peace, intentionally or unintentionally. This is completely consistent with his poetic theory. Weng Fanggang once said: "The reason why Yuyang expounds the charm is especially for those of the Li and He generations in the Ming Dynasty." ("Fu Chu Zhai Collected Works? 6? 1 Preface to the Aotang Poetry Collection") But with this Theory and creative practice, trying to correct the shortcomings of the Seven Sons of the Ming Dynasty, cannot lead poetry to a prosperous road. Therefore, his poems and poetic theories were criticized and ridiculed by many at that time and by later generations. Wu Qiao once said that he was "the comely Li Yulin" ("Answers to Wan Ji Poetry Questions"), which meant that his poetry was only more comely than that of Li Panlong, one of the seven later sons. Yuan Mei also said that his "happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy are unreal"; and said that his poems, like Fang Bao's prose, "are both authentic and of limited talent" ("Suiyuan Poetry Talk"). Even Weng Fanggang, who also praised Shen Yun and disagreed with the fact that "familiar foreign poems are often discussed for the sake of Shen Yun writers", also disagreed with Wang Shizhen's views on Shen Yun, criticizing him for "still being stagnant" (" "Fu Chuzhai Collected Works? 6.1 Preface to Aotang Poetry Collection"), "It is inevitable to fall into one bias" ("Fu Chuzhai Collected Works? 6.1 Shen Yun Lun"). Weng Fanggang believes that "the divine charm is from top to bottom, and everything should be done", while Wang Shizhen only talks about the divine charm in silence, "it is just self-defeating" (ibid.). This comment should be said to be pertinent. Poems of all styles should have charm, not only "yipin" has charm. The style theory was advocated by Shen Deqian during the Kangxi and Qianlong years of the Qing Dynasty. "Ge Liao" originated from Yan Yu, who advocated that thoughts and feelings are the determining factors of form and style. It advocates the creation of works that are conducive to gentle and honest "poetry" and "righteousness and peace" that complement the world's people and people's hearts. Therefore, they are attributed to the "style" that has laws to follow and is based on Tang pronunciation. Therefore, his poetic theory has the color of safeguarding feudal rule and is conservative to a certain extent. Most of his creations include singing to promote peace, singing to make peace, and so on. But on the other hand, he also advocated useful views with aesthetic theoretical value such as "implication", "rational interest", the chemical realm of poetry, and emphasis on the leading role of works. The theory of style appeared in the so-called prosperous age of Kangxi, and was more suitable for the needs of the ruling class than the theory of "charm theory". Because it obviously excluded the bitter side of poetry, it constrained poetry creation. Texture theory is a poetic theory proposed by Weng Fanggang in the Qing Dynasty of China. Texture originally refers to the texture of muscles. Weng Fanggang borrowed the poem "Ji Li" from "Ji Li". "Li" refers to moral principles and literary science, and "Ji Li" refers to Confucian classics and knowledge, and sometimes also refers to liberal arts. He regards Confucian classics and knowledge as the foundation of poetry. Weng Fanggang's theory of texture is actually the reconciliation and revision of Wang Shizhen's theory of charm and Shen Deqian's theory of style. He used texture to give a new interpretation to the charm and style, with the purpose of revitalizing the ancient poetry theory and competing with Yuan Mei's theory of nature and spirit. Xingling theory is an idea of ??poetry creation and commentary in ancient Chinese poetic theory, most advocated by Yuan Mei in the Qing Dynasty. It is one of the four major poetry theoretical schools in the early Qing Dynasty along with the theory of verve, style and texture. The theory of human nature and spirit is generally regarded as Yuan Mei's poetic theory. In fact, it is the inheritance and development of the Ming Dynasty's poetic theory of "expressing nature and spirit alone, without sticking to any stereotypes" (Yuan Hongdao's "Xiao Xiu Shi") represented by the Gong'an School. The core of the theory of nature and spirit is to emphasize that poetry creation should directly express the poet's soul and express true feelings. It believes that the essence of poetry is to express emotions and is the natural expression of human emotions. Yuan Hongdao once said that good poetry should be "sincere and straightforward" ("Tao Xiaoruo's Mouth in the Pillow"), and "unless it flows from one's own mind, one will not write" ("Preface to Poetry"). What Yuan Mei calls "Xing Ling" is synonymous with "Quality" in most places. He said: "Poetry reflects human temperament." "All poets have their own nature and spirit, regardless of stacking" ("Suiyuan Poetry Talk"). He also said, "Poems are difficult to be true. They have temperament and then become true" ("Suiyuan Poetry Talk"). "Poetry is the voice of the heart and the expression of one's temperament" ("Suiyuan Ruler's Letters: Answer to He Shuibu"). It is believed that poetry is born from emotion, and the true and natural expression of temperament is the "foundation of poetry" (Answer to Shi Lan on Poetry). The original meaning of Xingling refers to the human soul. Liu Xie said in "Wen Xin Diao Long·Yuan Tao": The reason why people are "instruments with a heart" and different from the "unconscious things" in nature is that people are "loved by the soul" and have human nature. Spirituality. "The Preface to "Wen Xin Diao Long" said that "the years are fleeting and the spirit is not inhabited", which also refers to the human soul. The so-called "Yuan Dao" chapter states that "the heart is born with words and established, and words are established with civilization", which means that articles are the external material expression of the human soul.
Later, Zhong Rong highlighted the characteristics of "emotional chanting" in poetry, emphasized "direct search", and described the poet's "eyes" and "seen", giving it the "true beauty" of "natural and heroic purpose" , and praised Ruan Ji's poems as being able to "cultivate the soul and inspire deep thoughts", etc., which are close to the later ideas of the theory of soul. Therefore, Yuan Mei said: "On the day when he copied Zhong Rong's "Shi Pin", it was time for him to know the nature and spirit." ("Imitation of Yuan Yishan on Poetry") Yan Zhitui said in "Yan Family Instructions Articles" that "Biao Ju Xing" "Meet, trigger the spirit", this is also the meaning. The poetry theories of Jiao Ran and Sikong Tu in the Tang Dynasty also attached great importance to the characteristics of poetry expressing emotions. Jiaoran said: "Seeing the emotion without seeing the words is the ultimate way to achieve the goal." He also said: "The truth lies in the emotion, but still focuses on the function, regardless of the brilliance of the words, and is romantic and natural." ("Poetic Style") Li Shangyin once said: "If a person is gifted with the five elements and is equipped with seven emotions, he must have chants to connect his soul." ("Xian Xiangguo Jing Zhao Gong Qi") These were all learned by Yuan Mei. This is where he comes from when he said in "Continued Poems" that "I am a poet. I have many wonderful things to support my wisdom, but I only see my temperament without writing about it." The writing of "Continuation of Shipin" was also due to his "love for Sikong Biaosheng's "Shipin", but cherished that it only represented the wonderful scenery and did not write about the painstaking efforts". In the Song Dynasty, Yang Wanli opposed the Jiangxi Poetry School's bad habits of imitating plagiarism and "dropping book bags", and advocated "writting specifically on human nature and spirit", which also had a great influence on the theory of human nature and spirit. Yuan Mei also highly respected Yang Wanli. Although the theory of nature and spirit has a long history, as a poetic idea that was widely popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was mainly the product of the specific social and political conditions and literary and artistic ideological struggles at that time. Therefore, it is very different from these relevant discussions in history. The main characteristics of the theory of human nature and spirit in theoretical criticism of poetry during the Ming and Qing dynasties are as follows: ① The theory of human nature and spirit was directly inspired by Li Zhi's theory of childlike innocence, and was a concrete manifestation of the anti-Confucianism struggle in literary theory at that time. After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, with the collapse of the feudal autocracy and the emergence of capitalism, the academic ideological circles launched criticism and struggle against Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. Li Zhi pointed out in his famous article "The Theory of Childlike Innocence" that the biggest characteristic of Confucianism is "falseness", and what he advocates is "truth". He uses real people's true words, real things, real things, and true writings to oppose fake people's false words, false things, and false writings. He advocates literature To write about "child's heart", that is, "sincerity", it is the "innocent heart" that has not been influenced by hypocritical Neo-Confucianism. We believe that all the best literature in the world is the embodiment of "child's heart". Literature must describe "childlike innocence", and the essence is to express "true feelings" and oppose the description of "false feelings" that are bound by Confucian etiquette. This laid the ideological and theoretical foundation for the proposal of the theory of nature and spirit. Li Zhi's best friend Jiao □, under the influence of his theory of childlike innocence, once clearly pointed out: "Poetry is not his, it is the place where human spirit and spirit reside." ("Preface to the Collection of Yayu Pavilion") advocates that poetry creation should be "full and natural" "Flow out from the chest" ("Bi Cheng"), "come from nature", "say what you want to say" ("Preface to the Zhulangzhai Poetry Collection"), if "the feelings are not felt" and "the feelings are not deep", "then there is nothing to be surprised about" The dramatist Tang Xianzu, who admired Li Zhi very much, was also consistent with Li Zhi in terms of literary thoughts. Tang Xianzu emphasized "emotion" and opposed "reason", believing that "emotion" If there is reason, there will be no reason; if there is reason, there will be no emotion." ("Ji Da Guan"), which points directly at the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism's teaching of "preserving natural principles and destroying human desires". The "emotion" mentioned by Tang Xianzu is actually That is to say, "spirit". For example, in "Xin Yuan Chang Xi Yunxuan's Preface", he praised the article "Those who have unique spirituality are themselves Long Er". As the disciples of Li Zhi and Jiao □, the "Three Yuan" of the public security ─ Yuan. The theory of human nature advocated by Zongdao, Yuan Hongdao and Yuan Zhongdao came from this. Yuan Mei emphasized the human nature and inherited the anti-Confucianism tradition of his predecessors to a certain extent. In his Reply to Shen Da Zongbo on Poetry, he opposed it. Discussing poetry based on gentleness and honesty, he believed that "gentleness and honesty are the teachings of poetry" are "Confucius's words, but there is no basis for them in Dai Jing". In the article "Reply to Li Shaohe's Book", he also clearly said: "Confucius's discussion of poetry can be said. Those who believe are happy, optimistic, group, and resentful; those who are not trustworthy are gentle and honest. " He believed that writing poems to be gentle and honest would inevitably hinder the expression of the true spirit. Starting from advocating for spirituality, he also boldly affirmed the relationship between men and women. His love poems are contrary to the Taoist theory of "sexual love", which holds that "Yin and Yang couples are the ancestors of erotic poetry" (Zai Yu Shen Dazong Bo Shu), which has obvious implications for feudal ethics, especially Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. The rebellious meaning. The theory of spirit requires that poetry can freely express the poet's personality and truly reflect his desires and feelings. This is the result of the initial demand for individual liberation arising from the emergence of capitalist factors after the mid-Ming Dynasty. It was progressive at that time. ② The theory of Xingling was also proposed in response to the trend of opposing retro imitation in literature and art at that time. The Seven Masters of the Ming Dynasty advocated the retroism of "literature must be based on the Qin and Han Dynasties, and poetry must be based on the prosperous Tang Dynasty", which gave great influence to literary and artistic creation. It has brought serious consequences, causing poetry and prose to generally fall into the dead end of imitation. In "Tongxinshuo", Li Zhi raised the question of "Why should poetry be ancient "Xuan", and why should literature be pre-Qin?" He believed that as long as he wrote "Childlike Heart". " is a good work, and it is a powerful attack on retro-ism in literary and artistic thought. The Gong'an School further developed Li Zhi's thought and put forward the word "change", pointing out that literature in each era has its own characteristics and must have its own characteristics. Originality is what makes a good work. The principle of "poor newness and radical change" proposed by Yuan Hongdao in "Xue Tao Pavilion Collection Preface" and the imitation of the past by the previous and later seven scholars are fundamentally different in terms of creative principles. The Gong'an faction's idea of ??"change" is based on the theory of Xingling.
Because poems and essays are all expressions of spirituality, and spirituality is inherent in people and is different for different people in different eras, so the standard for commenting on literary works cannot be based on the era, but should be based on whether the true spirituality can be written. in accordance with. As Wang Euzhi said: "Everyone owns his or her soul, and without lending it to others, there is no way to open a convenient method and let the poor borrow it." ("Zhai Shihua") Yuan Mei lived in an era where retroism was no longer like that of the Ming Dynasty. So crazy, but the other clues are inherited by Shen Deqian's style theory. Therefore, Yuan Mei made a sharp criticism of Shen Deqian's style theory based on the theory of nature and spirit. He clearly pointed out in "Reply to Shen Dazongbo's Poetry Book": "Poems are clumsy in workmanship, but not modern or ancient"; because "everyone's temperament encounters me". He also believed: "When there is temperament, there is rhythm, and rhythm is not outside the temperament." ("Suiyuan Shihua") He is not denying rhythm entirely, but advocates a natural and living rhythm that is based on temperament, rather than restricting people. The death rule of temperament. Yuan Mei is more valuable than the Gong'an School in that he is not absolute. He believes that the ancients should also learn from their creations, but they should not follow the ancients, but should take their own spirituality as the basic starting point: "In ordinary life, there are ancients, and the academic ability is profound; when writing, there are no ancients, and the spirit begins to emerge. "(ibid.) He advocated "multiple teachers": "Shaoling said: Multiple teachers are my teachers, and I don't just have to learn from those who can learn from them. The village boy Mu Shu, every word and smile is my teacher. "("Suiyuan Poetry Talk") He also firmly opposed the popular view of judging the quality of poetry by Tang poetry or Song poetry, saying: "Poetry has nothing to do with Tang and Song Dynasties. The temperament and emotions of each person are incompatible with those of the Tang and Song Dynasties. If you hold on to the Tang and Song Dynasties in a rigid way, you will have a lost country in your heart and no self-satisfied temperament, which will lose the original purpose of the poem. (Reply to Shi Lantuo's Book of Poetry) ③ The theory of Xingling starts from the requirement to express feelings truly and directly, advocates the beauty of nature, freshness, simplicity and smoothness in the art of poetry, and opposes the use of elaborate sentences, piling up allusions, and Knowledge is poetry. The Gong'an School emphasizes the "truth", "interest" and "lightness" of poetry, believing that this is the embodiment of "true nature and spirit". They advocate simplicity and oppose elegance: "The quality of the husband is just the same as the appearance, which is not flashy." Decorated with vermilion powder, if it is beautiful, it will be reduced, and if it is beautiful, it will be increased. " (Yuan Hongdao's "Xingsuyuan Manuscript Quotation") advocates that literary language should be close to spoken language: "In terms of confidence, it is expressed in the wrist. "(Yuan Hongdao's "Manuscript of Xu Mei Zi Ma Wang Cheng Manuscript") "The words and tongue are the substitutes of the heart, and the articles are the substitutes of the tongue. " (Yuan Zongdao's "Thesis") However, the Gong'an school has the disease of being superficial. Yuan Mei is different from the Gong'an school. He advocates achieving natural beauty through algae decoration: "The food of a bear's paw and a leopard's fetus is the most precious. also. Eaten alive and peeled, it is not as good as a vegetable; peonies and peonies are the most beautiful flowers, but cutting them is not as good as wild polygonum and wasabi. The taste is fresh and the interest is true. People must know this, and then they can discuss poetry with it. "("Suiyuan Poems") emphasizes the attainment of plainness and naturalness through skill and tempering: "The pearl is not white, the gold is not yellow, the beauty is in front of you, and it is like the rising sun. Even if you hold the bones of immortals, they are still made up with strict makeup. How can they be cleansed if they are bathed in them, and how can they be fragrant if they are not incense. Xi Shi's hair is fluffy, but she is still shy in the end. If it weren't for Hua Yu, I would say goodbye to Feng Huang. "("Continued Poems·Zhencai") believes that "poems should be simple but not clever, but they must be large and clever; poems should be dull and not thick, but they must be thick and then dull"; and quoted Ye Shushan's words: "However, artificial intelligence has not yet been developed. If it is extreme, then the sound of nature will come without any reason. "("Suiyuan Shihua") There are also differences between Yuan Mei's "Xing Ling theory" and Gong'an San Yuan's Xing Ling theory. If Yuan Mei's "Xing" is "emotion", then "Ling" is close to talent, such as "conceiving with a pen, It all depends on talent", "People can be imitated, but poems cannot be imitated" (ibid.), etc. "Mu" is the expression of lack of talent. The advocates of the theory of nature and spirit are opposed to the "book bag dropping" trend of using knowledge as poetry. Zhong Rong criticized this tendency of "giving credit to genius but showing knowledge" in his "Preface to Poems". Yuan Mei expressed himself clearly in his criticism of Weng Fanggang's texture theory characterized by "dropping the book bag". He pointed out: Poetry is mainly about expressing one's soul, not "for the purpose of textual research". If one "mistakes copying books as poetry", then why write poetry? This does not mean that allusions cannot be used in poetry, but it is not Poems should be written based on textual research. For example, for Li Shangyin's poems, he believed that although there were "slightly more allusions, they were all driven by talent and not just filled in" ("Suiyuan Poetry Talk") ④ The theory of character and spirit is due to the ability. Whether it expresses true feelings or not is the criterion for evaluating the quality of poetry, thus breaking the traditional feudal class prejudice that despises folk literature and greatly improving the status of popular literature. Yuan Hongdao said: "Today's Lu Yan woman and child sang "Breaking the Jade". ", "Drawing a Grass Rod" and the like are still unheard and uninformed, written by real people, so they have many real voices. "("Preface to Xiao Xiu Shi") Yuan Mei also praised "The Book of Songs" for being "partially about laboring people and thinking about wives, expressing their feelings freely", "Women, village gangsters, and simple learners, occasionally have one or two sentences, although Li and Du Fusheng, He must be one who bows his head" ("Suiyuan Shihua"). They also attach great importance to operas and novels. They believe that whether they are bureaucrats or ladies and common people, as long as they can sing about their true temperament, it is a good work. The theory of human nature also exists It has serious shortcomings. First of all, the philosophical foundation of Xingling Theory is idealism, which regards the heart or soul as the source of literature. Yuan Zhongdao said that due to the influence of Yuan Hongdao's literary thoughts, "the wisest people in the world can only know." There is no limit to the soul, and the more you search, the more you will find, each of them presents its own uniqueness, and each has its own changes." ("Preface to the Complete Works of Mr. Yuan Zhonglang"), this is consistent with Li Zhi's view of "childlike innocence" as the source of literature in "Theory of Childlike Innocence" It is consistent. Although Yuan Mei also talked about the role of knowledge, he still fundamentally emphasized that "a poet must not lose his innocent heart" ("Suiyuan Poetry"), and failed to break through the idealist view of literature.
Secondly, the Xingling theory emphasizes that literature is the expression of emotions and opposes being bound by Confucian etiquette. This is correct; however, they often go to the other extreme and believe that anything that truly expresses emotions is a good work, regardless of whether it is What kind of emotions do not impose progressive political and moral norms on emotions, and the result is that pornographic palace works are also affirmed. For example, Yuan Mei said, "The palace style of erotic poetry is naturally unique to the poet" (Zai and Shen Dazong's Uncle Shu). After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, a large number of pornographic and vulgar contents appeared in literature, which was partly related to the drawbacks of literary trends such as the theory of human nature and spirituality. The above-mentioned shortcomings of the theory of nature and spirit have had a bad impact on later generations. In the history of modern Chinese literature, some writers advocated the theory of nature and spirit in the 1920s and 1930s, turning literature into knick-knacks and playthings.