On the life of Cao Pi, the author of Dian Lun Wen.
Cao Pi, Huan Zi, born in Zhong Ping (187), emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, died in Huang Chu, Wei Wendi (226). Pei Guoqiao (now Huibo County) is the second son of Cao Cao. In the twenty-first year of Jian 'an (2 16), he was called Wang Wei, and died in the twenty-fifth year. After Emperor Gaozu abolished the emperor, he became emperor on his own and was called Wei Wendi, who reigned for seven years. Dian Wen is one of Dian Lun carefully written by Cao Pi. According to "Sui Shu Jing Ji Zhi", "Dian Lun" consists of five volumes and twenty articles. The so-called "code" is "constant" or "law". The so-called canon theory mainly refers to discussing the laws of various things and is regarded as a code to regulate the words and deeds of literati at that time. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms Wei Zhi, in the fourth year of Taihe in Ming Di, this masterpiece was published and engraved on the stone tablets of Luoyang Imperial College, with a total of six tablets for people to read. According to Yan Kejun's "A Complete Examination of the History of the Three Kingdoms": "The stone died in the Tang Dynasty and the manuscript died in the Song Dynasty." Pei Songzi has only "self-narration" in his notes, and there are "topics" in Nan Tong's anthology, so it has been well preserved so far. According to Yiwenhui, Volume 16, Table of Praising the Prince, we can know that it was written when Pi was a prince. Another view of "Thesis" is "integration is dead", which shows that the book was written in the last years of Jian 'an of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty.
On the Literary Criticism of Dian Lun Wen
First of all, Cao Pi analyzed the causes of the bad habit of "scholars despise each other" in his own time: First, the epistemological root of the creative subject lies in his "self-care" for his own strengths and "stubborn" for his own shortcomings. Second, there are differences in the mastery of writing skills by creative objects. "Literature is not integrated, and there are few good ones." It is impossible for a person to fully master the writing skills of various styles. Each has his own strengths, and there must be some shortcomings. The solution is to "judge yourself and judge others". That is, from the self, treat others correctly. This is the concrete application of the Confucian moral concept of "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" in the field of literature and art. Secondly, Cao Pi believes that there are two obstacles to mastering the correct standard of literary comment on writing: one is "noble"; The second is "echo". This idea of "respecting the past and belittling the present" has always existed. For example, Huan Tan in the Western Han Dynasty once pointed out: "The world is salty and respects the ancient and humble today, and what you hear and see is also expensive." Cao Pi inherited and developed this viewpoint, which broke the ideological mode of literary criticism in name only and superstitious authority at that time, and opened the way for correctly grasping the critical standards, promoting the development of poetry creation and the prosperity of various styles. The original style is always presented in concrete works through the melting and casting of different article genres. Among them, the phrase "poetry should be beautiful" separates literary works from non-literary works. It has gone far beyond the value of its stylistic theory and has epoch-making aesthetic significance. It began to break through the theoretical framework of Confucian "poetry expressing ambition", marking the germination of pure literature view in the era of literary consciousness. This also means that the historical accumulation of national cultural aesthetic psychology has broken ground in Cao Pi's heart. As Lu Xun said, "The slow growth of China's language is the result of the times, not entirely due to Cao Shi's father and son, but to the gorgeous appearance advocated by Cao Pi." Lu Xun's demeanor and articles in Wei and Jin Dynasties and the relationship between medicine and wine. On the axiology and social function of Classic Essays.
Before Jian 'an, literature was bound by Confucian classics and had almost no independent status. In its heyday, Han Fu was denounced by Yang Xiong as a "teenager carved by insects" (my son). Cao Zhi, Cao Pi's younger brother, also thought: "The way of ci Fu is not enough to promote righteousness and show the afterlife." (Cao Zhi: "A Letter with Yang Dezu") However, Cao Pi put forward: "Jianwen is a great cause of governing the country and an immortal event." He believes that the article has two major functions: one is "the great cause of the country", which is beneficial to the country; The second is the "immortal event", which is beneficial to itself. This has begun to link writing articles with thinking about the self-worth of individual life. Based on this, Cao Pi called on writers to follow the example of the ancient sages who "don't care about the world, keep quiet and don't think about recreation", and strive to change the current mental state of "being poor is afraid of cold and hunger, while being rich is greedy for pleasure", and cultivate one's morality with a super-utilitarian aesthetic mentality. In this way, engaging in the creation of poetry and prose can also be "not hypocritical historical words, not relying on the flying trend", or "autobiography of famous artists" or "immortality".
It can be seen that this theory of "immortality" is of course a traditional one derived from the proposition of "immortality" in "Three Immortals" in Zuo Zhuan, but it has been endowed with new practical and historical significance by Cao Pi. Cao Pi also brought poetry and fu into the historical perspective of thinking about the value of literature itself, which fully showed his foresight and was also a profound embodiment of the literary tendency at that time. As Li Zehou said: "Cao Pi's attention and admiration for gorgeous articles is related to his pursuit of immortality (world outlook on life). The immortality of the article is of course the immortality of human beings. " This reflects the new awakening of Cao Pi's contemporaries due to "literary consciousness". People are not satisfied with their achievements before they die, but are thinking about and pursuing how to be immortal after they die. So I think "the years of life sometimes end, and glory ends in the body." Both will reach a normal period and will not be as endless as the article. "
People finally found out and made it clear that poetry and fu is indeed such an artistic carrier that can "contain no lessons" but can contain their own thoughts and feelings, happiness, distress and pursuit. In this way, although "the sun and the moon are fleeting", life is easy to get old, life is impermanent, and "people with lofty ideals are in great pain", the flesh and blood of perceptual individuals will inevitably disappear, but the spiritual beliefs of rational individuals can be contained in the deep meaning of "immortal" poems to express their infinite nostalgia for society and life, their persistent pursuit and their anger at themselves. It can be seen that "the great cause of founding the country is an immortal event" truly embodies the utilitarian purpose of literature and the historical unity of aesthetics. Canon of Literature is indeed a manifesto of literary spirit in Jian 'an era.