What influence did Chu Ci Yuan You have on Han, Wei and Jin literature?

A Brief Comment on A Passage to South Chu

( 1)

Songs of the South occupies a special position in the history of China literature. China's poems about immortals have a long history, and Yuan You is the first one. However, the appearance of Journey has not only its social reasons, but also its literary origin.

During the Warring States Period, a number of alchemists appeared in Qi Weiwang, Qi Xuanwang and Qiyan area. They "acted as the immortal way for the square, solved the problem, and regarded ghosts and gods as things." The prosperity of immortal thought is accompanied by the worship of gods and the vacillation of beliefs since the Yin and Zhou Dynasties. Immortals claim that everyone can live forever and soar to immortality; The greatest happiness of immortals is that they can travel freely in space, be friends with God and serve ghosts and gods. This concept of freedom in the divine world not only denies the supreme authority of God, but also ignores the strict hierarchy of the divine world.

Just like the dream of Qi Yan Wang in the Warring States Period, the concept of immortals has been widely spread in the south and brought many magical romantic colors to the southern culture. Zhuangzi and Chu Ci are the representatives of Chu culture in the Warring States Period. Inspired by the idea of immortals, both of them launched a wild imagination: the wind and cloud opened and closed, ghosts and gods changed, immortals soared, and so on. The complexity of its content, the richness and strangeness of its imagination show a completely different style from the pure northern culture.

Many places in Zhuangzi talk about saints, gods and real people. They represent the highest ideal of Zhuangzi's philosophy and life, and they all have the qualities and skills of immortals. For example:

The mountain that was photographed in the past is inhabited by gods. If the skin is ice and snow, a virgin is graceful; Don't eat grains, suck the wind and drink dew; Ride the clouds, descend the dragons and travel around the world. ("Xiaoyao Tour")

If Zhuangzi created the idol he yearned for, which is beyond the dust, free from vulgarity and has infinite power, then Qu Yuan's "Li Sao" takes soaring and traveling as a means to seek his ideal and relieve his mental depression.

However, the travel of Li Sao was obviously influenced by the immortal thought. In the poem, the dragon rides the phoenix to drive away the gods of the sun, the moon, the wind and the thunder, and even knocks at the door and writes to the Western Emperor, the so-called "servant of ghosts and gods". On the basis of religious thought, it is obviously different from the worship of gods since Yin and Zhou Dynasties, but it is quite consistent with the idea of immortals. This has attracted the attention of people in the Western Han Dynasty, such as Huainan Mountain. They already think that Qu Yuan's works, "climb the sky and ride the clouds, serve the gods like immortals".

What it really says is "travel far". Compared with Li Sao and Zhuangzi, it is full of the style of a fairy family, with obvious changes and differences. On the other hand, they do have an inheritance relationship. According to the description of space travel, Yuan You was obviously influenced by Li Sao. In terms of poetic interest and pursuit, Travel Far is closer to Zhuangzi. If we study these problems carefully, we may make more appropriate explanations for some long-standing controversial issues in our travel.

(2)

At the beginning of Journey, it is clearly explained why I want to visit immortals: "When customs force me, I feel sad @ (1) Xi, and I want to swim far away." What is this "forced @ (1)"? The poem also said: "Turbidity is filth. Who are you talking about? " The author suffered a political blow, not only depressed and painful, but also lamented that the boss had achieved nothing: "Chatting is easy, and nothing has been achieved over the years!" Who can play with the legacy and be comfortable with the wind? "(3)" legacy "refers to its unfinished business and ideals, and now no one has come to continue. If the above feelings are based on the consideration of personal small circle, then the following two sentences link the personal future with the destiny of the country: "Levin is far away, but what will happen to the rest?" "This kind of feeling, think Levin, the distant ancestor, career is quite slim, let a person feel a little voice of national subjugation. At least, the country is ruined and there is no hope of revival. Therefore, this lament about "how to travel" is not without despair. There is no doubt that the author is from Chu, and many feelings of injustice in the poem are quite close to Qu Yuan. But his despair of the cause of Chu was something that Qu Yuan did not have. Qu Yuan also despaired, but that was only "nobody in the whole country knows me", which made him unable to understand the despair of American politics. I'm afraid this emotional difference is a reflection of the changes in Chu. The appearance of Journey was about the time when Chu was about to perish or perish.

The author of "Journey" sincerely praised the immortal: "The beauty of real people is also immortal. I can't see it, and my reputation is getting bigger and bigger. " These last two sentences can really explain why the author yearns for immortals so much. The so-called "harmony without seeing" means, like Fu Shuo and Han Zhong, "being immersed in the distance, leaving the crowd and passing away". In this way, we can "avoid all kinds of troubles without fear, and the world will never know what it looks like." The purpose is nothing more than avoiding disasters. This idea of avoiding disasters is probably related to his deep feelings about the sinister situation. In the face of powerful social forces, the author lacks the strength to change the status quo and the courage to fight, nor does he have Qu Yuan's indomitable determination to die, so he has to escape. As for "increasing fame", it can be seen that the author has not forgotten his fame. Because the fame of reality has become a mirage, we can only send our feelings to the fairy family. Moreover, although the name of the world can cause "writing", it is difficult to "delay"! But on closer examination, this pursuit is also quite empty, because the reputation of the immortal family is illusory, although it is both "writing" and "long".

This spiritual emptiness affects the description of the whole poem. Traveling far describes traveling in a vast space. Most of its contents and expressions are not divorced from the model of Li Sao, but lack the persistent spirit of seeking in Li Sao, which makes the whole description appear vague, sluggish and lacking artistic appeal. This is related to the emptiness and confusion of the author's whole thought.

Yuan You's description of Xianyou also changed, that is, it was carried out in the order of China's east, west, north and south. The five-party thought is very clear, which is not found in Li Sao or even Nine Arguments. The appearance of this route of wandering immortals is probably the product of the confluence of the wandering immortals' family and the Five Elements Theory. "Historical Records of Feng Chan's Biography" said: "Since the era of harmony, Xunzi's scholars have written five virtues, which were played by Qin Huang and Qi people, so the first emperor adopted them ... Yan Yan was mainly transported to princes by Yin and Yang, while Yan Qi people at sea could not pass on their skills, but flatterers became prosperous times. This is very strange. It can be seen that the fusion of immortal thought and five elements flourished in the middle of the Warring States period and before and after the reunification of Qin. Five parties with five emperors and five gods first appeared in Chapter 12 of Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals and The Book of Rites and the Moon Order, all of which were products before and after the reunification of Qin. Except that the central deity didn't make it clear, the deities in the other four directions in Journey are basically the same as those in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals and The Book of Rites. Judging from the cooperation of five parties, five emperors and five gods, Yuan You's era should be similar to Lv Chunqiu and The Book of Rites.

What touches me most about traveling is the contradiction between becoming immortal and homesickness. The author's greatest emotional resistance to Xianyou is homesickness. However, in solving the contradiction between homesickness and Yuan You, Yuan You is different from Lisao. Qu Yuan's homesickness cannot be calmed down. Even in the case that "no one in the whole country knows everything about me, so why care about his old capital", he is reluctant to leave. On the other hand, traveling far away can not only "restrain one's ambition" and "outsmart oneself", but also "raise the distance" to suit the distance. Although this difference can be explained by the depth of feelings, careful analysis is not enough. The purpose of Li Sao's long journey is to seek an ideal kingdom that can realize American politics, but Qu Yuan already felt that it was just an illusion created by himself, so he refused to leave Chu, because there was only "living in the first place of Peng" and there was no other way. However, the author of Journey is not as sober as Qu Yuan. At this moment, he is full of fantasy and yearning for the immortal, which gives him the strength to overcome homesickness and seek the realm he yearns for:

Zhu Rong withdrew his troops and called Luan Bird to see him. Zhang Xianchi plays Cheng Yunxi, and two women sing Jiu Shao songs. Let Xiang Ling fix color, let Hai Ruo dance Feng Yi. Mysterious insects fly in and out like snakes. There is no ultimate development of female music, but it is fleeting and uncertain. This passionate mood and joyful scene is actually just a set of indulgence, pleasure and pleasure, and there is no noble emotion. It is reasonable for a repressed soul to yearn for an exciting spiritual stimulus to forget the pain that is hard to get rid of, but this longing itself shows that the author has lost his ideals and beliefs of struggle and his spirit is very empty.

In fact, all the pursuits of travel are illusory. He tried to get some kind of spiritual satisfaction with illusory fairy travel and illusory joy. But the illusion is bound to be shattered. At this time, what will happen to a person with empty spirit? Only by falling into the nothingness of Taoism.

(3)

Although Yuan You dreamed of becoming an immortal, it was based on the Taoist thought in his bones.

"Travel" once lamented life: "Only the infinity of heaven and earth laments the long diligence of life. I can't smell the past. " This outlook on life easily reminds us of Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi also lamented that life is short: "If there is a gap between heaven and earth, it will be sudden." (4) I lament the hardship of life: "Sadly, once I am constrained by its shape, I will not die, and my actions will stop when I rub against the blade of matter." Life-long service has not been achieved, and tea does not know its return. Don't mourn evil! "(5) So, how does Zhuangzi treat life? This is the attitude of "taking things as they are" (⑥), "not blaming right and wrong for worldly things" (⑥) and "being content with life knowing that there is nothing to do" (⑧), that is, conforming to the existence of secular society and not touching any contradictions. To do this, we must eliminate our own ideology, live and die together, forget right and wrong, and get rid of contradictions in the mental state of "no self", that is, the so-called "selfless person calls heaven", so that the differences and opposition between things and me will no longer exist, and the subjective spirit will be able to reach a "carefree" situation beyond things and me. This is what Hegel said, "We have to seek satisfaction in his heart in an abstract way that we can't find in reality".

How does Journey view its own life pain? Poetry cloud:

Step by step, I rely on Hans Robert Jauss Xi, I care about you, and I am kind. I was suddenly wandering, and my heart was sad and sad. God SH @ [6] suddenly left without looking back, withered and lonely. The only reason to seek justice is to save. The desert is quiet, happy and complacent with inaction. The author tries to get rid of the pain of life by "traveling far and traveling light", so he pays more attention to health preservation. This is not the same as Zhuangzi's, but closer to the idea of "keeping the whole shape true and not being tired of things" in Qin and Han Dynasties. The author of "Journey" is really tortured by the troubles of life, so that "God sh ū @ [6] suddenly doesn't look back, and he is haggard and left alone". This separation of form and spirit violates the health principle of "keeping mental state and prolonging life". Taoist health preservation is based on form, spirit and qi: "A husband who is in shape gives up his life; Angry people are full of life; God, the system of life. If you lose your position, all three will be hurt. " [13] If form and spirit are harmonious, demand will be enriched by "righteousness". Disturbance, evil is ok, so it is necessary to "introspection" and "exercise" in order to be "positive" "Taoism's' introspection' is to ask people to keep their inner emptiness and lust, so that Qi and God can be settled in form. The so-called "complacent by doing nothing" in Travel is also an "upright" person.

For the education of immortals, Travel also has its theory, and its cloud:

Tao can be accepted, but it cannot be passed on. Small and boundless. If there is no slip, the soul is happy, then it is natural. A blowhole is charming and exists in the middle of the night. Wait, do nothing yet. Ordinary people are successful, which is the door of virtue. This unremarkable didactic article is about the purpose of the column and the simplicity of the painting. To sum up, its main significance has three points:

The first is the characteristics of preaching. The "Tao" in travel has a characteristic that it is acceptable, but it cannot be passed down. This statement comes from Zhuangzi, a great master: "A husband's way is to be affectionate and trustworthy, to do nothing without seeing it, to pass it on without receiving it, and to get it without seeing it." Its "infectious but unacceptable" is regarded as "infectious but not contagious". Tao is invisible and nameless. The so-called "image is invisible, Tao is hidden and nameless", so it can only be tolerated, learned, but not expressed.

The second is to talk about how people get the Tao. Lu Yuan believes that as long as you keep your inner peace, have no desires and desires, your soul will not slip, and Tao will naturally come. "Tao" cannot be described in words, but can only be achieved by cultivating peace of mind. Song Xí ng @ ⑺, Yin: "Another way of love, bad voice and voice. Meditation, the Tao can be obtained "[14]. "Travel" also thinks that "Tao" and "Qi" are very important. "Yiqi", which Lao Tzu called "special qi" and Song He called "qi", all refer to a pure spirit of reunion. This is the meaning of the so-called "one-hole god" in travel. The "one breath" mentioned in Journey is "midnight", that is, "when it is quiet in the middle of the night, it exists in itself and does not leave each other." This is the best time for people to get angry. Although the theory of "night god" first appeared in Mencius, it is closer to the Taoist thought of emptiness, quietness and simplicity in essence.

The third is the great power of preaching. "Travel" said: "Ordinary people succeed, which is a virtue." What is "virtue"? "Cultivating everything is called virtue" and "Everything can be born as virtue". In a word, Yuan You thinks that Tao is the method and way on which all things exist, that is, the so-called "door of virtue". This is exactly the same as the Taoist view that the power of Tao is omnipresent and omnipresent.

At the end of Journey, it depicts a realm of spiritual sublimation after becoming immortal and gaining enlightenment:

Management is the Four Wastes, surrounded by six deserts. From top to bottom, I looked down at the Grand Canyon. Without the majesty of the land, it is vast and lawless. See sh @[6] and suddenly disappear, listen to Hu m: ng @ [5] and suddenly disappear. Super inaction and clearing, starting with neighbors. This state of impossibility, landlessness, ignorance and ignorance is what Taoism calls the chaos of heaven and earth. According to Taoism, although everything begins with "Tao", it eventually returns to "Tao", that is, nothing. Laozi said, "Be empty, be quiet, and at the same time, I will turn back. Everything goes to its roots. In the final analysis, it is static. This is called life. " (2 1) "Reviving life" means returning to nature and Tao. How can people return to the Tao? Laozi's method is "the heart of a fool", while Zhuangzi thinks that "if the shape is a skeleton, if the heart dies", it can override everything. Therefore, the return of Taoism to "Tao" is nothing more than denying self and annihilating people's subjective will.

In order to get rid of the depression of life, the author of "Travel Far" traveled far and wide, but as a result, his spirit had an epiphany and he converted to the nothingness of Taoism. He sought inner "clarity" from nothingness and finally reached the realm of "being neighbors with the beginning". In fact, this is the inevitable result of the author's ideological development, because Xianyou itself has shown that he has lost his pursuit of the meaning of life, so the result can only make him feel that all struggles and all pursuits are meaningless and nihilistic. In the end, he can only abandon everything and escape from Taoism without distractions.

(4)

Judging from the existing ancient books, the relationship between Taoism and immortals generally follows such a tortuous route: for a long time, immortals only talked about the medical skills of becoming immortals, without systematic theoretical works. Because Taoism attaches great importance to the health classics of longevity and long knowledge, it is easier to accept the influence of fairy alchemists. From Laozi to Zhuangzi, the immortal thought became stronger and stronger, and Huainanzi reached its peak. This period was only the absorption and utilization of immortal thoughts by Taoism. In the Western Han Dynasty, immortal works began to appear, such as Liu An's novella Huai Nan Zi, The Secretary of the Red Baoyuan at the Pillow, and Liu Xiang's Biography of Immortals (22). However, the immortal works in this period are only limited to the records of immortal deeds and alchemy, and have no close relationship with Taoist thought. However, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the immortal thought gradually evolved into Taoism, and the theoretical achievements were put on the agenda. As a result, the immortals began to deify and religiousize Laozi and his works on the basis of Taoism, and Wei Boyang's "magical spirit" and Ge Hong's "embrace the park" appeared.

If the above analysis is basically in line with historical facts, then the creation of Yuanyou should be the period when Taoism absorbed and utilized the immortal thought. However, the immortal thought in Farewell is much stronger than that in Zhuangzi, which almost formally raises the banner of the immortal family. At this point, it seems to be closer to Huai Nan Zi. However, Yuan You's Taoist thought is relatively pure, unlike the integration of Taoism, Confucianism, Dharma and Fame in Huai Nan Zi. So we say that Journey was written in Zhuangzi that night, earlier than Huainanzi.

If Yi Cheng is just a fairy's coat, but its essence is Taoist thought, then Sima Xiangru's Adult Fu is a fairy's thing. This difference is the result of the times. However, some scholars have ignored the essential difference of this thought, but because they are quite similar in terms of words and structure, they speculate that it may be the first draft of Renda Fu (23), which seems difficult to establish. If we compare Yuan You's and Ren Da's Fu slightly, we will find that the Fu has been copied in many places, but all Taoist things have been deleted. Although the sentences at the end are similar, the ideas are completely different. Commenting on Ode to Adults, Yao Nai said: "The last six sentences are the same as Yi Cheng, but Qu Zi's original intention is to die far away, so the clouds are light and the wind is clear, which is close to the beginning. Changqing said, if the emperor can become an immortal, he will live here and be there or be there. Why suffer this evil? It is the same as the language of Qu Zi, but it has different meanings. " (24) This is their ideological difference.

But Journey was not written by Qu Yuan. As mentioned above, in the face of contradictions in life, Yuan You took evasive action and finally took nothingness as his spiritual destination. This is an authentic philosophy of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi. The principle of flexion is absolutely different. In the face of setbacks and hardships in life, he is closer to the Confucian attitude of "knowing what to do". This attitude makes him show a strong love-hate relationship, persistent pursuit and unyielding struggle in the realistic contradictions and struggles. So the contradiction between him and reality can never be reconciled. Qu Yuan's tragedy of throwing himself into the river is the inevitable result of his inability to solve it and his refusal to yield to the hostile forces in society.

Article notes:

(1) Historical Records and Zen Buddhism.

⑵ Wang Yi's Preface to Recruit Hermits.

(3) The original text is "the morning light is relaxing with the wind", and "morning" is a mistake of the word "long". See Chapters and Sentences of Songs of the South and Wen Yiduo's Revision of Songs of the South.

(4) "Zhuangzi Know the North Tour".

5) Zhuangzi's Theory of Everything.

[6] "Zhuangzi Health Lord".

Once "The World in Zhuangzi".

Being "Zhuangzi Life".

Levies 10 Zhuangzi heaven and earth.

⑽ Lecture Notes on the History of Philosophy, Volume III, page 8.

⑾ On the Training of Huainan Yanzi @ ⑻.

⑿ Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals.

[13] The Biography of Huainan Zi Yan Quan.

[14] See Wen Yiduo's Collation and Interpretation of Zhuang Zi Zhang Sentences and New Interpretation of Classical Chinese, p. 267.

⒂ "Lao Zi" Chapter 41.

[14] pipeline industry.

Zhu's "Notes on the Songs of the South", travel far.

⒅ See Mencius Gao Zi.

The trick is "tube, tube".

(2 1) Lao Tzu Chapter 16.

(22) The Biography of the King of Huainan in Han Dynasty records that Liu An "attracted thousands of guests to learn magic. For example, there are 21 volumes of internal books, many volumes of external books, eight volumes of Chinese books and more than 20,000 words. " There is another cloud: "There is a book in Huainan called" Secretary Hong Baoyuan in the Pillow ",which records that the gods turned ghosts into gold and Zou Yan extended his life. The world did not see it, but gave birth to its father's virtue. When Emperor Wu ruled Huainan Prison, he got his book. " The Old Biography of Liexian was written by Liu Xiang, or it was disguised. In my opinion, Biography of Liexian was decorated by later generations, but it basically belonged to before the Western Han Dynasty became an emperor.

(23) Postscript of Guo Moruo's Modern Translation of Qu.

(24) Collection of Ancient Chinese Vocabulary (Volume 66).

Notes on words not stored in foreign fonts:

@ (1) The original word is traditional Chinese.

@ (2) The original word is dirty and traditional.

@ (3) The original words are the left half of the worm's right slaughter.

@ (4) The original word is the right half of Worm and Ni.

[5] The original words are the history of the left half and the right half of the dream.

@ [6] The original word is Shu's traditional.

@ ⑺ The original word was added by Eugene.

The original words are pan-traditional.