2. Wang Chong's thought and writing style were unique at that time, which should be grasped emphatically.
course content
First, essays in the late Western Han Dynasty
In the late Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism occupied a dominant position, and politics became increasingly corrupt and dark. Dong Zhongshu's elegant and elegant writing style, with a strong flavor of Confucian classics and theology, was very popular in this period. Liu Xiang (79-8 BC) is a typical representative of this style of writing. His book "Persuade Ying Yanling" quoted facts many times, deeply analyzed the advantages and disadvantages, and advised Emperor Cheng of Han Dynasty to build a mausoleum on a large scale regardless of the fatigue of the people. The article is full of words, graceful, soothing and profound, with the characteristics of persuasion. Mao Kun in Ming Dynasty once called it "the first play in Xijing". Liu Xiang's plays, such as The Book that Changed People's Things, Various Disasters and Letters of Apology to the Console, are all deep and mellow, showing the sense of saving the disadvantages when talking leisurely and Kan Kan. But articles often talk about yin and yang disasters. His purpose was to sound an alarm to the rulers, intervene in real politics under the banner of heaven, and crack down on consorts and eunuchs at that time. After Liu Xiang, Yi Feng, Jing Fang, Gu Yong and other writers used disasters to attack the current disadvantages.
Liu Xin, the son of Liu Xiang, strongly advocated the study of China's ancient classics when the study of modern Chinese classics was prevalent, but was opposed by the doctor of modern Chinese studies. He wrote the article "Transferring Books to Dr. Tai Chang", slamming Dr. Jin Wen's corruption and selfishness, accusing them of "not thinking about the shortcomings of abolishing the legacy, being poor because of ignorance, and analyzing words for a penny, which is boring, and scholars are too old to study one of them." Word of mouth is useless to the country, not to go to ancient times. "I still want to hold on to the remnants, and I am afraid that I will see private intentions, but I can't do good for the public interest; Or envy, don't test the truth, follow the same, follow the right and wrong ",while rejecting the study of China's ancient classics, in fact, it is" committed to self-defense, being in the same party, jealous of the truth. " Originally, the rulers of the Han dynasty advocated the study of Confucian classics for political purposes, but Dr. Jin Wen tried his best to maintain this tedious and superstitious study of chapters and sentences in order to monopolize his official career and keep his vested interests. The author's exposure to them can be said to hit the nail on the head, and the article is also spicy and sharp, with a sharp breath. This is obviously different from the current popular style of writing, which is gentle and sincere and permeated with Confucian classics.
Another important writer in the late Western Han Dynasty was Yang Xiong (53 BC-A.D. 18). He is good at imitating writing. He once imitated Zhouyi as Taixuan and Analects of Confucius as Fa Yan, both of which were elegant and ancient. He also imitated Dong Fangshuo's "difficult answer" as "laughing with laughter". In this paper, the subject-object question-and-answer method is used to summarize the situation of people all over the world under the unified conditions of the Han Dynasty, that is, "those who pass by the road enter Qingyun Mountain, those who fail to entrust ditches, those who once held power were Qing Xiang, and those who lost power at night were ordinary people". Comparing the Han Dynasty with the Warring States Period, it is pointed out that "today's county magistrate does not invite scholars, the county magistrate does not welcome teachers, and the ministers do not bow their eyebrows. Those who say strange things see doubts, and those who do different things remove doubts. It is because people who want to be light are talking while rolling their tongues, and those who want to step on them are going to make a mark. " He added, "If anything happens, there will be no peace without Xiao, Cao, Ovary, Ping, Bo, Fan and Huo; When it dies, there is no disaster for those who sit and watch it. If the past is chaotic, sages will be lacking; If the world is ruled, it will be more than enough. " He expressed great indignation at the phenomenon that the rulers suppressed talents, which led to the obvious progress of mediocre people and the difficulty of accommodating rare people. The works are sharp and eloquent, more imposing and more literary than answering guests. But at the end of the article, he indicated that he should adopt a clean, lonely and silent attitude, which is different from the anger of Dong Fangshuo and others, showing a helpless mood. In addition, when Wang Mang was in power, Yang Xiong also imitated Sima Xiangru's "Feng Chan Wen" and wrote "Qin Meixin Drama" to praise Wang Mang's new dynasty. There are many sayings about fate in the article. This article was criticized by later generations, but after Liu Xiu established the Eastern Han Dynasty, this kind of eulogy became the mainstream of prose creation.
Second, essays in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty
From the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the period of Emperor Zhang of Han Dynasty, the political situation was relatively stable, and the rulers strongly advocated prophecy superstition and encouraged intellectuals to write praises. Zhang Zhao, Emperor of the Han Dynasty, once criticized Sima Qian's Historical Records in front of Ban Gu, saying that it was "slightly sarcastic, derogatory to modern people and unfriendly to the world". Praise Sima Xiangru's "boundless merits" in his illness and write "enchanting Zen books", which can be called "loyal ministers" and "sages move far away". Under this guidance, it is difficult to see works that belittle the present, but articles that praise merit appear. Ban Gu's Classic Quotations is such an obedient work to praise. The article is full of superstition and empty praise of destiny, which can be described as "classic but unreal". Ban Gu also wrote an essay "Answering the Guest", in which he first expressed his ambition of "devoting himself to Confucianism and taking literature as a career", and then praised the virtue of the great man through answering the guest's jokes, saying that it was "burning like the sun and the moon, trusting like the sea, and nurturing like spring" and criticized the other party. Although this article imitates "Answering a Guest Difficult" and "Xiechao" in form, there is no grudge in it, and it is completely a work expressing feudal orthodoxy.
It is Wang Chong who truly represents the prose achievements of this period. His Lun Heng criticized the theological superstition at that time and put forward many valuable ideas, with the fighting spirit of "showing sincerity" and "removing the false and preserving the true". Strange writing is easy to understand and is quoted. They repeatedly demonstrated, dared to analyze all parties, expressed their opinions independently, and even "made some remarks and did not shy away from going to the Holy Land". Among them, Asking Confucius, Pricking Mencius, Nature and On Death all highlight this feature. Although the author pays little attention to literary talent, there are still many subtle metaphors in the article. Flexible even sentences and rhymes, coupled with rich emotions, read smoothly and forcefully. Wang Chong's article was unique at that time. In addition, in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was an influential writer Huan Tan (about 38 BC-32 AD), whose works, New Theory, Chen Zheng's Poems and Book of Restraining Appreciation, dared to expose the reality and boldly criticized Chen Wei's superstition and theory of disasters, and his writing was bright, smooth and profound, which was highly praised by future generations.
Generally speaking, the achievements of essays in the late Western Han Dynasty and the early Eastern Han Dynasty are not as good as those in the early and middle Western Han Dynasty.
Third, essays in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, political corruption was dark, and more and more worries and dissatisfaction accumulated among the broad masses of literati. Works such as Ban Gu's eulogy can no longer be written, but more works that expose and attack the shortcomings of the times. During this period, several famous monographs on political papers appeared. For example, Wang Chang's The Latent Husband, Zhong Changtong's A Long Talk, Cui Ai's Politics, Xun Yue's Shen Jian and so on. The book dares to touch the real contradiction and boldly express the author's worries and anger, and some works also put forward some ideas to save the current disadvantages. In addition, there are some single essays, letters, papers, etc. It also touched on the drawbacks to varying degrees and criticized the consorts and eunuchs in power.
During this period, with the intensification of social contradictions, people's thoughts began to become active. Some works have broken through the limitations of Confucian orthodoxy, adopted various theories and expressed their opinions independently. For example, Cui Mang's "On Politics" said: "The meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals can't be purely legalist for eight generations, so it is appropriate to take part in politics, to be rewarded with deep punishment, and to stop using magic." It clearly shows the legalist thought. Many works are contrary to the graceful and soothing style of writing in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, dare to speak frankly and exhaustively, and have the characteristics of vigorous and eager. For example, Li Yong and others were imprisoned in the disaster of the same party, and Chen Fan's "Li Liying et al." was just a rescue. Among them, he said: "I am the king of the wise, and I am assisted by my heart;" Lord of national subjugation, taboo words. Therefore, although it is holy, it is prosperous in Iraq and Shandong; Confused, lose a person will die. Mars, Fan Pang and others "have an innocent body and give up their country", but they "shut up or stay away from home". This kind of behavior is "a deaf and blind person all his life." Burning books and burying Confucianism is different from Qin Shihuang! " Completely outspoken, not avoiding disasters, vividly embodies the courage and integrity of "party member" in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. This almost fearless remark was hard to see in other periods of the Han Dynasty. In addition, during this period, the scholar-officials were furious, competing for novelty and judging each other; Others pretend to be celebrities, look down on powerful people, fail to live up to expectations and be cynical. This ethos has also had a certain impact on prose creation. For example, Zhu Muyou wrote a book about breaking up with Liu Bozong, which said:
I was rich yesterday, and I was not worried by my mother. Pro-solution, into Feng Temple; And I, as a consultant of this book, came to Taiwan Province with my first step. The first step today is two thousand stones. I am A Lang, but this is because I am an official and a believer in Cheng Wei. Should I be proud of this? Duh! Liu bozong, how thin you look!
Although the article was written in private, every sentence was categorical, and hit the floor satirized Liu Bozong's kindness to bite the hand that feeds him, regardless of friendship, showing the author's personality that he didn't admire Ronghua, but was sick in his heart. Later generations often say that the articles in Wei and Jin Dynasties are clear, and this article has already shown such signs.
There has been a tendency to attach importance to parallel prose and rhetoric in prose in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and this tendency is more prominent in this period. Many works contain many antithetical sentences with colorful words and sonorous phonology, which initially have the characteristics of parallel prose, such as Zhong Changtong's On Music, which describes his life ideal:
Quietly thinking about the mystery of the elderly; Breathe in harmony and seek to be like others. Counting children and Tathagata, talking about books, throwing two devices, intricate characters. Play the elegant movement of the south wind, and play the beautiful song of Qing merchants. Above the carefree life, between heaven and earth. Free yourself from the responsibility of time and let your life last forever. If so, you can go out of the universe and you can't envy your husband for entering the emperor's door.
This passage is dominated by antithetical sentences, and there are many four-character and six-character sentences, which are very similar to later parallel prose. From the content point of view, it describes a carefree life interest and embodies the attitude of Laozi and Zhuangzi. This is a betrayal of Confucian etiquette and a deep hatred for reality. No matter his thought or style of writing, it is very close to Wei and Jin prose.
In a word, the essays in the late Eastern Han Dynasty broke through the limitation of Confucian essays full of Confucian classics and theology, and were also different from the works in the early and middle Western Han Dynasty. In the history of prose, they opened the voice of prose in Wei and Jin Dynasties.