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On Tao Yuanming's Free Essays
[Abstract] Tao Yuanming is an idol-like literati image in the history of China literature. The reasons for the formation of this image mainly include the influence of the ideological background of Wei and Jin Dynasties, Tao Yuanming's own personality characteristics and work style, and the selective characteristics of later recipients when accepting Tao Yuanming. These factors have played a certain role in the formation of Tao idols. This paper expounds the reasons for the formation of Tao Yuanming's idol from these three aspects.

? [Keywords:] Tao Yuanming; Idol; Selective acceptance

Abstract: Tao Yuanming is regarded as an idol in the history of China literature. The main reasons for this image include the influence of Wei and Jin Dynasties, the characteristics and styles of pottery works and the selective acceptance of later generations. This paper makes a preliminary discussion from three main aspects.

? Keywords: Tao Yuanming; Idol; Selective acceptance

? Tao Yuanming is a striking image in the history of literature. Most of his characteristics are aloof, noble and upright. Many images are connected with it, such as chrysanthemum, drinking, "five buckets of rice don't bend over" and so on, which fascinates later scholars. The author believes that living in an era of diverse and active thoughts has a great influence on Tao Yuanming's complex and changeable personality. It is this personality that makes his writing style more diverse, and then provides a basis for future generations to accept it selectively. These reasons make the image of Tao Yuanming an idol in concept. In order to understand Tao Yuanming and his works more comprehensively, it is necessary to analyze these reasons.

First, the ideological trend of complex interaction

Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, intellectuals have gradually lost their interest in relying on a large number of people to gain the right to speak, which shows that they no longer identify with a certain group in action, but concentrate more on themselves. "Personal idealism in ancient China is often attributed to the first-class thoughts of Zhuang Zi and Zhuang Zi, which is true. At the beginning of the first century A.D., a scholar named Fan Zhun made a fierce criticism of the culture and scholarship at that time in a book, and seemed quite disappointed with Confucianism and Confucian classics. When he recalled the history of the Western Han Dynasty, he suddenly found that' filial piety is good for the old, and the net is between scenery and martial arts' ... He turned his ideal personality and moral pursuit from the system to the outside. From the secular mode of the group to the spirit of individual transcendence "[1] A new trend of thought has emerged within the Confucian class. Once the external time is ripe, it can set off a new trend of thought. After Cao Shi established the Wei Dynasty, Cao Cao kept a certain distance from Han literati. "Meng De's three orders to seek the virtuous, it is generally believed that those who are virtuous may not be talented, and those who are talented may have the stigma of being heartless, unfilial and greedy. It is the golden rule that clearly declares that the literati come and follow, and the Five Classics are completely bankrupt ... Therefore, Meng De's three orders are not only seeking the will for a while, but actually indicating the policy and a major change in political, social and moral thinking." [2] Cao Wei greatly weakened the position of Confucianism and provided external conditions for the rise of ideas other than Confucianism. Therefore, under the influence of both internal and external factors, the orthodox position of Confucianism began to be challenged. This does not mean that its influence on the world is weak. For example, even after Sima's usurpation of the throne, when traditional ethics were hit hard again, scholars did not completely abandon Confucianism. "Metaphysics is the Han Dynasty's reaction to the tedious Confucian classics. Many ancestors said that Laozi and Zhuangzi were metaphysics scholars when they went to school. However, due to the education of the Xuan scholars in the Three Kingdoms and the early Jin Dynasty, family ethics did not fall, and celebrities in this period studied Confucianism and still recommended Confucius as a saint. " [3] In addition, some people want to reconcile "nature" and "Zoroastrianism". Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang, when commenting on Zhuangzi, thought that Confucius valued religion, while Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi advocated nature. It is natural for Ming Jiao to govern the country and maintain health in the world. It is an ideal personality to think that the two can be combined.

The above shows that intellectuals at that time had great flexibility and independence, wandering between different schools of thought, and also had the desire to reconcile various schools. In this atmosphere, it has a great influence on Tao Yuanming's diverse and changeable personality.

Second, a variety of personality.

Tao Yuanming has been studying Confucian classics since childhood. "Young people are poor, but they can swim well in the Six Classics" (Drink 16). Therefore, he hopes to make positive progress and establish a reputation. He attaches great importance to his life experience. Tao Kan, the most famous of the Tao family, was once named as the official of Changsha, the military affairs of the Eight Powers and the secretariat of Jingjiang. Under the background of the gradual weakening of etiquette in Wei and Jin Dynasties, he once coveted Wang Zuo. Tao Yuanming admired such an ancestor and wrote a poem for Changsha. "In MuLing family, allow structure, hall. The harmony between Qi and Dong Xuan embodies Zhang Gui's mind. Therefore, the spring flowers are picked and the autumn frost is brought. I'm so touched! The light of the true family. " Reading between the lines, Tao Yuanming also hopes to establish the same achievements as Tao Kan. Meng Jia, my grandparents, is also an elder admired by Tao Yuanming. He wrote the article "Biography of General Meng Qian in the West of Shanxi" as a souvenir. So he went out to be an official many times and participated in several powerful shogunates at that time. But he soon felt unhappy because of physical and mental slavery, and most of the aristocratic families at that time had ambitions, so Tao Yuanming refused to agree. Xin Chou's Night Tour in Jiangling in July shows the ambivalence of a long-term recluse after entering a new environment, the achievements of his ancestors, his childhood education, his mother and father's poor family and the need to be an official to support his family. These realistic factors conflict with the leisurely, natural and free-spirited character gradually developed in seclusion. Tao Yuanming wavered in this tense relationship. Tao Yuanming is also an honest and frank person. According to Sima Shi's intention to win over celebrities and consolidate state affairs at that time, all previous Jiangzhou officials hoped that Tao Yuanming would be an official, but he also had his own criteria for choosing officials and making friends. For example, Tao Yuanming, who is often mentioned, treats wang hong Zhi and Tan Daoji very differently. Therefore, the motivation of Tao Yuanming's resignation does not rule out the influence of Taoist metaphysics, pursuing nature and hoping to retire, but his own personality should be more worthy of attention. He swayed from side to side in contradictions, and he would leave the officialdom at any time because of his frankness, so he resigned only because of his personality. After leaving the officialdom, his inner pursuit of achievement will drive him to have some regrets about his outstanding achievements, which is just a normal idea of an ordinary person. From a psychological point of view, "Freud believes that consciousness is the highest form of mental state and the first in the world of human psychological factors. It rules the whole spiritual world and makes actions coordinated. Pre-consciousness is a stored memory bank, and people recall past events through summoning, which is the category of pre-consciousness. Besides consciousness and pre-consciousness, the most important subconscious in psychoanalytic theory is the richest and most primitive part of human spirit. The subconscious mind is pressed in the deepest place, but the bottom is the most active, always trying to emerge from the surface of consciousness "[4]. Tao Yuanming's outlook on life, which was influenced by the enterprising spirit of Confucianism in his early years, was suppressed in reality and then entered the bottom of consciousness. However, the subconscious is the foundation of his architectural instinct. As long as these contents in his subconscious can't be completely removed, the memories of the past will always exist, but under the control of the recluse thoughts that exist at the conscious level, they are not obvious or manifested. Zhu Zeng said that Tao Yuanming "said in a thousand words, don't forget poverty when you are rich, but he can't forget it." He can only refuse this idea "(Zhuzi Language, Volume 34, Collection of Research Materials of Tao Yuanming, Zhonghua Book Company 1962 P74-75), which means that Tao Yuanming certainly has a secluded life of pursuing elegance and freedom. However, under the control of stronger consciousness, these subconscious minds were suppressed again, which is a manifestation of Tao Yuanming's diverse and changeable personality, but it is precisely this that has not been fully accepted by future generations, and their acceptance is obviously selective.

Third, selective acceptance

The reason why Tao Yuanming became an idol mainly lies in the selective acceptance of later literati. This process has the following typical characteristics:

First, in the process of accepting Tao Yuanming, we first praise his personality quality, and then praise his literary style, but this praise is often out of echo or attachment to his personality quality.

Judging from the beginners and the main authors of Tao poetry, they all became interested in Tao Yuanming's poems after he became a noble hermit. This shows that at the beginning of acceptance, the image of a hermit is striking. In particular, Yan Yanzhi's Poems of Zheng Tao, a good friend of Tao Yuanming, is the earliest work to evaluate him, and it is also included in Selected Works. According to Yan Yanzhi's influence as the mouthpiece of the literary world at that time, it can be said that it was of great help to the spread of Dow's reputation. It should be pointed out that most chapters of this eulogy are about the quality of Tao Yuanming, and his articles are rarely mentioned. In the process of the formation of idol value, the first stroke is so directional. The reason why the spread of his works lagged behind a little was that the main creative style of the literary world at that time was influenced by Tan Xuan, so most of the works describing rural life made Tao Yuanming not be regarded as a famous artist, so it was not easy to gain wide recognition. Zhong Rong's Poems only listed Tao Yuanming as a domestic product, because before that, Tao Yuanming was not accepted as a scholar. It was not until the appearance of "Poetry" that a scholar Tao Yuanming appeared and was rated as "straightforward" and "Tian Jiayu". It was not until The Selected Works of Xiao Tong was included that people gradually paid attention to it. However, Xiao Tong's Selected Works has a low evaluation of Tao Yuanming's leisure fu. I think this article is "a person has a slight flaw in the white jade", but in the poem Leisure, Yang Xiong's so-called exhortation is ironic. There is no irony in the chess piece, so why shake his pen? What a pity! Nothing can be done! The reason why Xiao Tong made such comments is that apart from his profound orthodoxy, he advocated that the article should be "gentle", mainly because he recognized the image of Tao Hermit pioneered by Yan Yanzhi. Otherwise, he wouldn't say that Tao Zhengshi was included in the anthology. Although Xiao Tong criticized this poem, his choice showed that Tao Yuanming was first accepted as a hermit. What is more noteworthy is that Xiao Tong still insists on the concept of matching words with deeds in literary criticism. "In Xiao Tong's outlook on life, there is a concept of matching words with deeds. A responsible mind and all external behaviors (including creation) should be unified in truth, goodness and beauty. He advocated' standing on the road, consistent' ("Liang Shu? Comment on qiaqia with Biography of qiaqia), and praise' gentle and gentle, with the meaning of a gentleman' (answer to Wang's Collection and Poetry Garden). Moreover, he himself did the same, saying that "he is rigorous and doesn't care about vocal music" (biography of Southern History), rather than his brother Xiao Gang's "the way to stand up, which is different from the article; You need to be careful before standing, and the article needs to be debauched. " [5] The requirements of 91make Xiao Tong consciously focus on Tao Yuanming's works that conform to the reclusive psychology and show the natural and comfortable life in the countryside. This undoubtedly solidified Tao Yuanming's lofty image of "Great Sage". With the help of Selected Works, which can be said to be a must-read book for later scholars, this solidified image undoubtedly spread deeper and wider. However, in many of Tao Yuanming's works, he also expressed his worries about life and lamented the unpaid pursuit of fame and fortune. In Eight Miscellaneous Poems, this thought has a relatively concentrated expression: "Life has no roots and floats in the dust like a stranger. It is unusual to be blown away by the wind. " "Glory cannot last long, and the ups and downs are immeasurable." "My husband is ambitious all over the world, and I would rather not be old." "I didn't like what my elders said yesterday. But fifty years later, I have already kissed it. "These are all his retired works, which shows that Tao Yuanming has richer thoughts besides his upright image. In addition, we can also see his affectionate side from his works such as Leisure Fu and Wen Jie Ji Cheng, which is isomorphic with the image of a hermit and has become Tao Yuanming's life of flesh and blood.

Tao Yuanming's partially accepted image halo masks the complete image of all his works. Of course, this is not a creation, but will be passed down from generation to generation, so that more and more readers know that Tao Yuanming, a hermit who lives a simple and even embarrassing life, is still poor and happy. Character spreads before works, which makes many people ignore Tao Yuanming's true feelings as an ordinary person and his ambivalence as a scholar. The idol was thus virtually established.

Second, it is an exaggeration to think that Tao Yuanming does not serve the two masters. Tao Yuanming's personality has been described above. He is straightforward, influenced by the metaphysical style of Wei and Jin Dynasties, and pays more attention to independence. Although he used to be the staff of Huan Xuan and Emperor Wu of Song, when they rebelled, Tao Yuanming only made a choice according to his own personality preferences, and there was no such thing as "having a second surname". Liang Qichao said: "In fact, Yuan Ming just couldn't stand the turbidity of his official career that day, disdained to associate with those hot officials, and didn't care whether the king of Emperor Wu of Song was prosperous or not. What if he said he was only interested in Emperor Wu of Song? Yuan Ming resigned that year, which was the second year that Emperor Wu of Song set things right. Why did he resign knowing that he couldn't learn from Tao Kan, even assuming that he would usurp the throne 20 years later? In the preface of this episode "A Literati's Unfortunate Feelings", it is written: "Since the death, the great puppet has flourished, and the integrity has retreated, driving away the heart." At that time, it was a sad thing that Yuan Minghua was flashy and shameful. Even if he doesn't have the power to change customs, at least he won't follow the crowd and lose his personality. This is the main motive of Yuan Ming's resignation, which can be seen everywhere in his poems. If he is fighting for a Liu surnamed Sima, it is underestimated. [5] 9 1 said that Tao Yuanming didn't care about two things, mainly because Xiao Tong and later recipients transferred their own value judgments to Tao Yuanming, ignoring the background of the times and Tao's character. In addition, Xiao Tong's position needs to be mentioned. As a crown prince, he can't make a conscious evaluation outside the ruling class, so his acceptance of Tao Yuanming obviously shows the influence of Confucian orthodoxy and emphasizes the principle of monarch and minister. However, this practice adds another halo to Tao Yuanming's image as a hermit.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty was the most unique period of feudal autocracy in China. It is mentioned in the Book of Jin (Volume 98) and Biography of Wang Dun that "the king and the horse, * * * the world" is a phenomenon that the Wang brothers of Lang Dai and Jin Lang jointly own the world. Because the central imperial power crossed Jiangzuo from the south, the north was at war for years and the people were in dire straits. Therefore, we should rely on the power of clans on the basis of rule, and the clans in the south and everyone who moves south also want to rely on the state machine to safeguard their own interests, so they depend on each other and get what they want. "Si Marui, the king of the Western Jin Dynasty, did not have the conditions to take charge of the imperial power in Jiangzuo. Among the kings of the Jin Dynasty, Si Marui had no prestige, strength and credibility. Without the support of aristocratic families, there is no place in Jiangzuo ... During the Jin Dynasty, Hu Jie invaded and the national crisis suddenly appeared. As the subjects of the Jin family, Du Nan gentry went south to avoid Hu Jie's invasion of the Ling family, so naturally it would not and could not abandon the Jin family to establish a new dynasty. Only when they are proud of the reputation of the Kim family can they protect the interests of their family. " [6] This has also caused a potential hidden danger, that is, the aristocratic families operate in different ways, especially the rise and fall of several powerful families will cause political turmoil. In this case, Wang Dun and Su Jun rebelled several times, which made the Sima family have to rely on other clans to counter the rebellion, and the authority of the royal family declined. In such a special political environment and the mysterious wind that followed, people do not attach importance to the relationship between the way of monarch and minister and the relationship between courtesy and righteousness like other dynasties. This is the abnormal condition of imperial power politics, but it is also this accident that makes a scholar like Tao Yuanming, under the action of honest personality, accept the behavior of Emperor Wu of Song replacing Sima Jia only from his own preferences. As for the "shame surname", it is a kind of promotion, and this choice is only for the needs of the recipient himself.

Thirdly, the motif of official seclusion dominates the whole acceptance process. When the relationship between the two concepts conflicts, Tao Yuanming becomes a temporary "safe haven". People who wander between official and recluse only hope to share the freedom of recluse through effective pottery, imitation of pottery and harmony with pottery. , or clear-headed or solve their worries. It is impossible to reach the realm of Tao poetry in verve. But objectively, it also deepened Tao Yuanming's idol status. For example, Wei will write some pastoral poems after he is dismissed from office, and Wei's poem "Planting Melons" seems to be purely learning pottery and writing his own life experiences. The same land is scarce, the same self-deprecating smile. For Tao Yuanming, he found his ideal way of life, his proper mood and interest, and enjoyed unsuccessful labor. As far as Wei is concerned, what he wants to express is a drift attitude. He doesn't care about the gain or loss of the melon, and he doesn't care about his own failure. Everything is natural. What the poet pursues is carefree and elegant emotion. This different mentality and interest is the difference between two people. Wei is not necessarily an indifferent person. "There are more than 500 poems by Wei, and none of them are dry?" (Poems written by Jian Xi) There are many famous artists like Wei. Tao Yuanming was constantly imitated in the process of acceptance and promoted to a typical cultural phenomenon. Moreover, being an official and living in seclusion is a topic that runs through the history of China's ancient thought and literature. Tao Yuanming's name was widely circulated before his writings. Therefore, when Tao Yuanming gradually became the yearning of the literati, it was the preconceived image of a hermit that caused an incomplete grasp of his text, or a selective interpretation to a certain extent, which just further raised his side as a hermit. According to this cycle, the final result is a literati idol that everyone admires.

Fourth, the ideological trend and literary theory in different periods in the history of literature are not the same, and the acceptance angles are also different. It has caused some misinterpretation and even excessive publicity of Tao Yuanming's image. The most prominent is in the Song Dynasty. People in the Tang Dynasty spoke highly of Tao Yuanming's character, but he did not push it to a model position. Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi were all critical of Tao Yuanming. The fundamental reason is that the Tang people think that "Tao Qian may not be able to become a Taoist if he avoids customs". Confucians in the Tang Dynasty, who did not fully integrate and absorb the two doctrines of Buddhism and Taoism (especially the theory of mind and nature), kept their understanding of Confucianism at the level of mechanical dogma, and seized the place where Tao Qian's words and deeds conflicted with Confucian moral norms to deny Taoism. However, in the Song Dynasty, Tao Yuanming's theory of learning Tao began with Su Shi and was summarized by Neo-Confucianism at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty. Tao Yuanming is a scholar of Taoism, and "learning Taoism" is the highest moral realm and life realm pursued by people in the Song Dynasty, so it is understandable to push Tao Yuanming's character to an ideal and exemplary position in the Song Dynasty. Song Dynasty can be said to be a decisive period in the process of Tao Yuanming's acceptance. Scholars at that time paid attention to the accumulation of knowledge, so they studied various ideas under the banner of Confucianism, so they clearly grasped the main characteristics of Tao Yuanming. However, the rational, diluted and restrained aesthetic makes their understanding of Yuanming tend to be rational and interesting, and puts it in the category of Confucianism. This practice is different from the previous practice of intercepting some images, but completely turns him into a figure within the scope of Confucianism, ignoring the influence of Taoist thought and other factors. In the theory of literature and art, Confucianism pursues knowing people and discussing the world, and firmly believes that one should be consistent in words and deeds. So some self-reported articles are classified as autobiographical. Although this view has its theoretical support, it can be said that it is not suitable for Tao Yuanming, who has complex personality, changing objective life and wandering between various ideas.

In a word, Tao Yuanming's time made his ideological world rich and colorful, and his own personality was various, which provided the possibility for the emergence of selective acceptance. In the process of communication and acceptance, Tao Yuanming's image was gradually promoted, even elevated. Therefore, through the analysis of these reasons, we can understand Tao Yuanming and his works more comprehensively, rather than blindly following.

[References]

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? [5] Li Jianfeng. Tao Yuanming's Acceptance History before Yuan Dynasty [M]. Jinan: Qilu Bookstore, 2002.

? [6] Tian Yuqing. Politics in the Eastern Jin Dynasty [M]. Beijing: Peking University Publishing House, 2005: 28 1-282.