Keywords: China ancient "relegation culture" political and literary literati
In ancient China, the official movement experienced ups and downs. If you don't pay attention to it, you will be punished by demotion. In this group of toys that were randomly dismantled by the emperor's old son, there are often many people who have read many books. In the ancient society of China with more than two thousand years of feudal thoughts, scholars are always inextricably linked with politics. Therefore, once politics is linked to literature, a series of cultural phenomena with China characteristics will be derived. Among them, "the culture of demoting officials" is the most peculiar and interesting!
What is the "culture of demoting officials"
So what is the "culture of demoting officials"?
Yu Xiansheng first mentioned it as a cultural journey in a corner of Dongting. He said: "An extremely striking part of China culture can be called' culture of demoting officials'. As a result, many cultural relics are also demoted officials. The relegated official fell out of favor, degenerated, and was lonely. The tragic consciousness climbed into his heart and he was banished to the outside. He walked here and looked there, so he had to make out with the mountains and rivers. It is often good to have articles and poems like this. After a period of time, or a dynasty, things changed, and even the court felt that this man was good and restored his reputation. In this way, characters and literature are complete, passed down in history and recited by later generations. Their intimate landscape pavilion has become a relic. "
Then we can simply explain that the "culture of demoting officials" means that literati are exiled by officialdom, and then leave their feelings in the mountains and rivers and write down masterpieces through the ages. Cold mountains and rivers become scenic spots, and drunken poems become masterpieces through the ages.
At that time, scholars studied hard at the cold window for decades and tried to break thousands of volumes. Why? In order to break through the cocoon in the imperial examination, win a part-time job, work for the imperial court, do something useful for the country and the people, leave a name after death, and future generations don't have to dig graves and whip corpses with hatred. In fact, we can see the characteristics of China literati from this way of entering WTO. Their belief in the Confucian hierarchy of "monarch, minister and son" has long been deeply rooted, not to mention the whole feudal society at that time! I always thought that there were no real hermits in ancient China, as long as they still cared about the imperial court, and wrote "Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world afterwards" and "Dance with the fields, and their aspirations are still there". Then they are not real hermits. Some people may disagree with me, saying that as long as he is a master of literature, he cares about mountains and rivers, he is poor and happy, and he lives in seclusion in the mountains, then he is still a hermit. It's irresponsible to put a hermit's hat on those sour literati with such a simple comment! Why am I so confident? Because I have strong evidence, that is "the culture of demoting officials". From the perspective of a cultural phenomenon, we should deeply explore the characteristics of China intellectuals, or directly criticize their shortcomings.
Typical statement.
From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are countless examples of literati rising first and then falling, but the famous scholars who belong to the category of "demotion culture" are quite typical.
The typicality of Liu Zongyuan can highlight the "culture of demoting officials". In 805 AD, Liu Zongyuan was demoted from Yongzhou to Sima and was extremely depressed. Facing the desolate and unappreciated scenery of Yongzhou, Liu put his pain into it and turned it into a wonderful article. For him, the natural landscape is not an indifferent existence, but a confidant full of aura: "beautiful eyes, beautiful bamboo dew, and wonderful stones." Looking from above, the mountains are high, the clouds are floating, the streams are wandering, and I am eager to make clever contributions to help me under this mountain ... "After careful tasting, Liu Zongyuan seems to have forgotten being degraded, but looked at the agility of nature as a master. In fact, otherwise, we can not only read his loneliness and desolation of "an old man fishing in the cold Jiang Xue", but also feel his sadness of "not picking duckweed flowers at will". Eight Chapters of Yongzhou is the soul of relegated officials. A true portrayal of the hard journey. In fact, if he hadn't been demoted, then maybe we wouldn't have seen his peerless masterpiece in adversity. Maybe he worked for the emperor in the temple academy all his life and died. Obviously, this disaster calmed him down and gave him enough time to get to know nature and talk to himself. Originally, after being demoted, he could be satisfied and no longer worry about his official career, but he happened to be a China native, a China scholar and a feudal China scholar. "He has realized his own value, but lost his own value. Yongzhou gave him a relatively complete soul, but countless temptations lurked outside the thin shell of the soul ... "Ten years later, an imperial decree ordered him to return to Chang 'an. Although he usually complains about his demotion, he couldn't resist the news and rushed there happily. From Yongzhou to Chang 'an, through the Guluo River, Qu Yuan's soul seems to be "possessed" by Master Liu. The master immediately touched the scene and said, "South China will not be a sad minister of Chu, but it will have its own period of repairing the door." Don't waste the waves in order to report the spring breeze. "Look at this poem, I don't know whether I admire Qu Yuan's tragic situation or doubt his return to Chang 'an. Liu Zongyuan still didn't expect to meet him not in the spring breeze but in the cold wind. Liu Zongyuan, who was in high spirits, returned to Chang 'an, and the emperor poured cold water on him, saying that you would come back to listen to my imperial edict and demote you to Liuzhou, which is farther than Yongzhou! Liu Zongyuan was hit and returned to the south. At this time, Liu Yuxi was with him, and Liu was exiled to Lianzhou. The two great writers share the same fate and naturally feel the same way. Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi went to Hengyang in the same way and went their separate ways. Liu wrote a tearful poem to bid farewell to Liu Yuxi: "This is a different river, and I will cry a thousand lines. "He is forty-three years old this year, in the prime of life. He expected that the imperial court might never let him stay away from Chang 'an and Wan Li again, so he thought he would be safe when he came. So with full of blood and ink, he used his rewarded official position to do practical things for the people. Now, he is a good cadre who insists on Theory of Three Represents. Liu Zongyuan dug wells, set up schools, planted trees and built temples, and released many handmaiden. Of course, the most important thing is that many excellent poems were created during this period. Really good literature comes from real life. Perhaps because of overwork, he died in Liuzhou at the age of 47. Because the construction of willow has opened up the wild land of Liuzhou, all kinds of officials will be influenced by the masters in the future, strive for self-improvement and continue to carry forward the glorious style of the old revolutionaries. On the way to the south, those relegated literati officials will feel more comfortable when they think of the great writer Liu Zongyuan. He influenced the officials of later generations with his unique personality and cultural charm. Someone transformed his Luochi Temple into "Liu Hou Temple", which has been dedicated for thousands of years. It is because of his demotion that people will visit Liuzhou, pay attention to Liuzhou and influence the people of Liuzhou! Yu interviewed the deputy mayor of Liuzhou at that time in "Cultural Journey", saying that the opening and rise of Liuzhou in the past two years had to be thanked by officials who were demoted to the south, such as Liu Zongyuan. They opened Liuzhou from the root. From his words, we can know that the "demotion culture" has a great influence, a wide range and a deep thought.
In addition to Liu Zongyuan, there is also a successor of "relegation culture", that is Fan Zhongyan. 1046 Fan Zhongyan was relegated because he advocated change, which coincided with another friend Teng, who was relegated in Yueyang, rebuilding Yueyang Tower. Teng asked Fan Zhongyan to write a story about the balcony, so he borrowed the balcony to write a story about the lake to express his feelings. So he wrote the famous story of Yueyang Tower. Many people in China learned about this scenic spot from this article, which is really a great contribution. The words "worry about the world first, then enjoy the world" and "don't rejoice in things, don't grieve for yourself" are well known to women and children and deeply rooted in people's hearts. It has long been an idiom that ordinary people casually spit out, not to mention the unique charm of the article itself! I don't know which year and month, Yueyang Tower was rebuilt because of the article. At the beginning of the article, the building was praised as "there are martial arts in the north and Xiaoxiang in the south", so people set up a gatehouse square on the north and south sides of the building and engraved these two words. Entering the building, a huge woodcut shows the main hall, and this article appears immediately. Dongting Lake is famous for it, and Yueyang Tower is brilliant for it. All famous literati pay tribute to the story of Yueyang Tower and write a poem from time to time. So gradually more people came to visit and worship, and this deserted place naturally became a hot spot of worship.
Based on this, we understand the characteristics of "demotion culture". "First, the scenery was written into the article, and now the article has become a landscape. With modern Chinese, it can be said that culture and nature are mutually generated. "
After reading the cases of Liu Zongyuan and Fan Zhongyan, it is inevitable to find out whether the literati were demoted from their posts because of depression, made some grumbling articles, kissed the mountains and rivers, and resented the court bitterly before they achieved anything. But it can only be said that most of them, and some of them are aliens. For example, Su Shi, a great writer in the Song Dynasty. If Liu Zongyuan's experience of being relegated is miserable, then he is nothing compared with Su Shi. Liu was demoted twice, as far away as Liuzhou, and was like a ball with Su Shi. He was pardoned by the emperor and had a rough life. However, what he was demoted was not despair, but "indifference when he was proud and calmness when he was frustrated". He is really a generation of literary masters and a master of "relegation culture".
Su Shi was demoted for the first time because his honest character offended the powerful minister and wrote some poems related to the new law. Who impeached Su Shi as "intentional"? He was suddenly arrested in Huzhou and sent to the podium to discuss the crime. He was humiliated and killed in prison. He was demoted to Huangzhou for five years, and while trying to find a way behind closed doors, he continued to care about state affairs. However, these years are a bumper harvest period for Su Shi's creation. His majestic mountains and rivers, simple folk customs and warm friendship prompted him to write many famous poems. When he was just demoted to Huangzhou, he wrote a poem "The guest is not as good as an outsider, and the poet is Shui Caolang" ("First Arriving in Huangzhou") to solve the self-enclosed situation. In Huangzhou, Su Shi wrote a poem praising the culture and history of China, which made the "culture of demoting officials" magnificent. In "Fu on a Thousand Cliffs", we see Su Shi who is "above the Yuqiao River, making friends with fish, shrimp and elk" and is a "drop in the ocean". It's Su Shi, who "flies with the fairy and holds the bright moon". When he was demoted to Huizhou, ordinary people would have been heartbroken and unhappy all day. However, Master Su is not. He was "very proud" and wrote a poem, "It's spring at four o'clock in Luofu Mountain, and oranges and bayberries are the latest. 300 lychees a day, I don't want to grow up to be a Lingnan person. " (Eat Litchi) What is even more surprising is that after Su Shi was demoted to Hainan Island, the southernmost island in China at that time, he was still so heroic and open-minded after he was over 60 years old. You can imagine how enlightened Su Shi is. At that time, Hainan Island was located at the ends of the earth, and the situation was extremely desolate and life was hard. There is a poem to prove it: "Eat without meat, get sick without medicine, and live without a fixed place. No friends, no charcoal in winter, no Joan Hinton in summer (With Narita). However, regardless of his personal safety, Su Shi actively did good deeds for the local Tu people, rewarded agricultural production, spread cultural knowledge, broke bad habits and trained talents until he was forgiven. At this time, he was not overwhelmed by difficulties, but also showed a demeanor of everyone, broad-minded and happy-go-lucky. The more difficult Su Shi is, the more he can see his charm. "I don't hate the southern nine deaths, and I will travel for the rest of my life." (Crossing the Sea on the Night of June 20th) Who in the world has such heroism?
Su Shi actively joined the WTO all his life, but because of the darkness of the feudal court, he always stayed out of politics, which is regrettable. But behind his relegation, what we see is one peak after another in his literary creation. What is left to future generations is not only his heroic thoughts and rich literary achievements, but also the local resources that benefit the people. In other words, literature has become a landscape. For example, there is a famous Su Causeway in the West Lake, and Hainan is no longer wild under his hard work, while articles such as "Ode to Red Cliff" and "Nian Nujiao Nostalgia for Red Cliff" make the land of Red Cliff glorious for a long time! No matter where he is demoted, future generations will be inspired by his story and his spirit. Here, the "culture of demoting officials" represents an openness and tolerance, extending its connotation.
Deep excavation and analysis
The reason why "the culture of demoting officials" is called a kind of culture must have certain connotation, and deep excavation must have its "treasure". Seeing the essence through phenomena is the main idea of my thesis. I will analyze the above examples from all aspects.
(A) the reasons for the "culture of demoting officials"
First, external factors, that is, the whole society at that time. Without the long-term dark rule of feudal society, how could a weak scholar be so embarrassed? The function of centralization is to suppress the people, prevent them from rebelling and make them content with the status quo, whether by force or ideological means. In order to maintain his rule, the emperor will not let anyone have reactionary ideas, so he will do whatever it takes. What people may see is an illusion. Can peaceful events really make people worry about food and clothing? As Zhang said in Tongguan Nostalgia: "The peaks and hills are like anger, the waves gather, and the mountains and rivers pass through. Looking at Xijing from afar, I can't forget to return. I am sad in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and all the palaces and palaces are covered with soil. Xing, the people suffer; When you die, the people suffer. " Among these numerous means, it is necessary to use certain intelligent attack strategies against intellectuals. After entering the officialdom, literati are often victims of political, military and Machiavellian struggles. In the terrible and inhuman struggle of feudal officialdom, it was full of deception, cruelty, jealousy, hatred and ignorance, and the literati who went forward bravely were often crushed into powder in this demonic machine. There is no blood and rain, but it is more cruel than these, and it is the spirit that tortures! From Qin Shihuang's "burning books to burying Confucianism" to the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898 in Qing Dynasty, the feudal rulers in China never stopped persecuting bureaucrats and literati. No matter the eunuch consorts or the orthodox imperial power, most of them have a bad impression on the literati, so they are not only opposed ideologically, but also persecuted personally. Sometimes the method is explicit and cruel, but sometimes it is "ingenious", such as the literary inquisition, which has been popular for more than two thousand years. As long as you serve me as a scholar, you will save your life. Therefore, if China literati's personality is incompatible with the society at that time, they will only be frustrated in their official career and be relegated all the way. So I got close to the mountains and rivers, danced with nature, and sprinkled my ink on the mountains and rivers, which was passed down through the ages. It was the external reasons for the formation of social environment at that time that prompted the emergence of "relegation culture"
The second is the internal cause, which is determined by the unique mentality of China literati for thousands of years. China's culture is regarded as "ethical" and corresponds to the western "scientific" culture. Every day we live an idyllic life of "picking chrysanthemums under the east fence and seeing Nanshan leisurely" I am willing to live a life of "a small country with few people, chickens and dogs are familiar with each other, and old age and death are not related". There are always some negative thoughts. Therefore, after a long time, people will naturally be content with the status quo, and the idea of being loyal to the monarch and governing the country will be firmly rooted in the consciousness of China literati. Real scholars will never become home-grown strategists, because there is always a trace of justice and kindness in their hearts, and this trace of justice and kindness is enough to make them retreat from feudal officialdom. Scholars are a kind of moral image, and traditional social psychology has given too many hopes and demands to this morality, as if to take care of everything in society. Once there is something that cannot be done, the society will be dissatisfied and the literati themselves will have a strong sense of loss. People regard literati as chivalrous men who fight for the whole society. Scholars' mission is so great that they have been overwhelmed for thousands of years, sighing, retiring, or changing careers. The so-called literati who really take "writing" as their profession are rare in the history of China. In fact, "the role of literati is limited to being the teacher of officials, or, to put it mildly, the teacher of emperors." As for whether students listen to the teacher or not, teachers who have no right and no money can really do nothing. Compared with chivalrous men, this is really far from it. A knight can take his head when he is angry. If a teacher annoys a student, he will not only lose his job, but also worry about his own life. Therefore, literati are often full of ideals about American politics, but they are always at a loss ... "(Reading History turns the stone into gold) Even if they are officials, they are often frustrated, let alone realizing their ideals. Only by putting these ideals and ambitions between the lines. Because of this, China literati, as "teachers of emperors", were bound to be restricted by feudal society for thousands of years, which led to the appearance of "culture of demoting officials".
The combination of internal and external factors led to the emergence and existence of "demotion culture". Both of them are inseparable from each other, influencing each other, colliding with each other and generating sparks.
(2) Problems reflected by "culture of demoting officials".
1. "The culture of demoting officials" exposed the defects of China literati.
The cleverness of a scholar. When Yu wrote about the West Lake in "Cultural Journey", he seemed to see the mentality of relegating officials: "... this kind of self-defense and masturbation is the wit of China intellectuals and the cunning of China intellectuals. If they can't realize their ambitions in society, they will hide in a small natural world to entertain themselves. They have eliminated their ambitions and gradually regard this elimination as their ambitions. The philosophical cultivation of caring for the poor and being happy has become a spacious cellar in China's cultural personality structure. Although it has a strong musty smell, it should be safe and quiet. Therefore, the ten-year exhibition of literature and history at Cold Window, before reaching the peak of national culture, failed to play a few rounds with society and buried everything in a lonely mountain. " This is actually talking about the intelligence of China literati. Why do they always beat politicians? That's why. Several poems and plays of the reactionary government were left behind, which influenced several generations. Finally, he was demoted because he was not loved, complaining about vanity on his face. Tao Yuanming is not bent down for five buckets of rice, but strong. He embraces nature like a wild horse kicking politics and scattering flowers, and is known as "the unity of man and nature". Seclusion, no longer yearn for what nonsense career. I reclaimed two plots of land and started my own business, producing and selling by myself. However, how can we write "Dancing together in the fields, with fierce intentions" (Reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas)? Many scholars keep their eyes open and say that they want to draw a clear line with politics, but they want to "kill the people" and confront the court with their unique pen and ink and tongue. Confucian philosophy tells them not to always hold a pen against the government. We are all subjects of the son of heaven, and we are all good subjects with culture and education, so we should be loyal to the monarch and patriotic.
The lack of independent personality of China literati. A scholar talked about his feelings about the "culture of demoting officials" ... The Confucian philosophy of harmony between man and nature opens up the self-sufficiency of individual personality-the perfection of personality is self-sufficiency without external needs, and the so-called "reflexivity and sincerity" is also the ultimate basis of this mentality. No matter what external conditions, it will not affect the self-improvement of personality, so once it is frustrated in the field of social history, it will let nature take its course. What's more, mountains and rivers have long been personified by sages' morality:' The benevolent enjoys Leshan, and the wise enjoys water.' Isn't this scenery a retreat for self-cultivation that has been paved? Here, we talked about the personality of literati. I believe that 100 people have different answers as to whether the understanding of China's literati personality tends to be "upright and upright" or "small and elegant". Stimulated by the outside world, the vanity of literati gradually surfaced. They thought they were great, but they were knocked down by the emperor. The emperor said that he would give you a chance to be a politician, so the imperial examination system became public, which made China intellectuals become a fence-sitter between politics and culture. There are connections and expectations at both ends, but both ends are unstable and difficult to land. It is difficult to locate whether this is a scholar or an official, and it doesn't matter about political character and cultural conscience. Therefore, the tactics of the emperor's old son worked, and the literati's personality was suddenly confused and there was no pure independent personality. Yu once said: "The cultural personality that should be sound and loud is often infiltrated and dissipated by the group. Infiltration in space becomes a kind of social identity, and infiltration in time becomes a stereotype of inheritance. Individual personality is struggling under the pull of these two forces, and the launch of life is more or less influenced by group inertia, and the tall and straight soul is gradually bent by gorgeous burdens ... "It can be seen that traditional literati lack independent personality, no matter/1-gaokao-zw-p_0.html is an official or a literati, they are just" attached to social politics ". In the final analysis, literati also want to live and are human beings. And if you are alive and barely alive, then you must have lost your personality. So when it comes to the culture of demoting officials, think about those demoted bureaucrats, most of whom have been "tortured" by the court and have no independent personality. The history of great men is sometimes doomed. These shortcomings were entirely caused by the society at that time.
2. The relationship between literati and politics. Why are there so many wonderful articles in Demoted Officials? One thing is certain, that is, they are all related to politics. Once the requirements in the field of social history are met, the relationship between literati and politics has undergone tremendous changes. On the one hand, politics has always influenced their creation, life, future and even life and death. Some scholars say that China's literati can be roughly divided into the following five categories: those who become rich as soon as they enter the official career (such as the top scholars of each generation), those who are confused as soon as they enter the official career (so-called hermits), those who are relegated as soon as they enter the official career (such as Liu Zongyuan), those who escape into an empty net as soon as they enter the official career (such as Luo) and those who do not enter the official career. As can be seen from the above classification, "official career" is a main line. Without it, it is difficult for China literati to be divided. They want to be reference objects, and literati never leave the shadow of politics. On the other hand, scholars also influence politics to some extent. Although scholars often ridicule politics, they never say that "a centurion is not as good as a scholar", "words are not as good as a glass of water" and "nothing is a scholar". Looks like they still want to join the army. Those in power see it in their eyes and maintain their rule with wisdom. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Sima Qian to compile Historical Records, Emperor Kangxi ordered the compilation of Ming History, Emperor Qianlong ordered the compilation of Sikuquanshu, Yongle Grand Ceremony revised during Yongle period of Ming Dynasty, and so on. Almost every dynasty has its own historical records, which have to be completed by literati masters who are well versed in history. Those in power want to make their rule invincible through reading, and future generations should also thank them for leaving so many great works to the world, but forget those writers who have worked hard. Poor literati always come to a bad end. In other words, literati and politics are inseparable parts, including today. Literati write for politics, and politics affects their creation.
Inductive summary
"Wealth helps the world, poverty helps the world", which is the overall explanation of "the culture of demoting officials". Facing the past honor and disgrace and the degraded Qingyuan landscape, I was carefree and sighed: "And a moment that should last forever came and went unconsciously."
To sum up, it is summarized as follows.
Understand what is the "culture of demoting officials". Through Yu Xiansheng's explanation and several key points, we know what "the culture of demoting officials" is. It is suggested that we should study the deep connotation from this cultural phenomenon, tap the characteristics of China intellectuals, or directly criticize their shortcomings.
(2) Characteristics of "culture of demoting officials". Through Liu Zongyuan, Fan Zhongyan, Su Shi and other typical examples, the characteristics of "relegation culture" are obtained. The feature is "write the scenery into the article first, and now turn the article into a landscape." With modern Chinese, it can be said that culture and nature are mutually generated. "
(3) The deep meaning of "demotion culture". First of all, the causes of "demotion culture" are analyzed and explained, which is composed of internal and external factors. When excavating the internal causes, we found two problems, one is the defects of China literati, and the other is the relationship between literati and politics.
The above is my humble opinion on the "culture of demoting officials". When the discussion becomes clear step by step, it may not be difficult for us to find that "the culture of demoting officials" is not an interesting cultural phenomenon, but a deep and heavy culture. On the surface, it's easy to talk, but when you open the lid and look inside, you know it's a deep old well.
Finally, I end this paper with one sentence, hoping that my humble opinion can serve as a warning to the world.
"Beauty committed suicide by the banks of the Wujiang River, the bonfire once burned Chibi Mountain, the general left the old Yumenguan gate empty, and the Qin and Han Dynasties were ruined, and the scholar sighed" (Zhang Kejiu's "Flowers sing for the past").