Liu Zongyuan's life experience has roughly three stages:
The first stage, adolescence. Liu Zongyuan's parents have settled in Chang 'an (now Xi 'an, Shaanxi), with a farmhouse and many books. Father Jin Ryu is an official and consultant. He is honest and sick. Liu Zongyuan was educated by his mother Lu since childhood. I can read 14 ancient poems at the age of 4. When I was a teenager, I went to Anhui, Hubei, Jiangxi and Hunan with my father. /kloc-"Li Huaiguang Watches Cui Zhongcheng and He Ping" written at the age of 0/3, with a strange name. But writing articles in my early years was mainly to prepare for the examination of Jinshi. Therefore, he is capable of "using words as his work", "using color as his work and praising sound as his voice" (answer to Wei Zhongli's book "Teacher's Way"). He once claimed: "I have great self-esteem because I am eager to learn, and I admire people who have made great achievements in ancient times." (Answer Gong Shi, Yuan, On Being an Official) It can be seen that he is ambitious.
The second stage, the formal period. Zhenyuan nine years (793), Jinshi. Fourteen years, I entered the course of being knowledgeable and writing poems and fu. The person who granted the rights to Jixian Hall. Once transferred to Lantian County Commandant. Soon, he returned to Korea and served as a supervisor in the empire. He, Han Yu and Liu Yuxi were both eunuchs, and together with Liu Yuxi, he joined the Wang political group which advocated innovation. In the first month of the 21st year of Zhenyuan, Shunzong acceded to the throne, and Wang Group was in power. Liu Zongyuan was promoted to Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Rites, cooperated with Wang and others, and carried out a series of progressive measures within half a year, which was opposed by eunuchs, buffer regions and conservative bureaucrats. In August of the same year, Shunzong was forced to give way to Prince Chunli, namely Xianzong, and changed his name to Yongzheng. In September, the group persecuted Wang. At the beginning of Liu Zongyuan, he was demoted to Shaozhou's secretariat, and in November, he was demoted to Yongzhou (now Lingling, Hunan) Sima. Liu Yuxi, Wei Zhiyi, Han Tai, Chen Jian, Han Ye, Ling Zhun, and Cheng Yi were also demoted as Sima of the original state, which was called "Eight Sima" in history.
The third stage is from relegation to Yuanzhou. In the winter of Yongzhenyuan, Liu Zongyuan arrived in Yongzhou. During my nine years in Yongzhou, I had the opportunity to deeply understand the sufferings of the people, visited the scenic spots in this state, and wrote many famous poems. Eight Records of Yongzhou, Three Commandments, Anecdotes of Duan Taiwei, Zhen Fu, Unofficial Words, Tian Shuo, Tian Dui and Snake Catcher were all written at this time. In the spring of the 10th year of Yuanhe (8 15), he was summoned to the capital. In March, it was the secretariat of Liuzhou (now Guangxi). In June, when I arrived at my post, my official position rose slightly, but the land was more remote. He promoted the advantages and eliminated the disadvantages here, innovated the country, developed production, set up schools and released handmaiden, and made outstanding achievements. Yuanhe died in November of the 14th year. Local residents mourned him and built a temple in Luochi. Now there is Liu Zongyuan's tomb in Liu Hou Park in Liuzhou. Although he was politically frustrated and relegated to Yongzhou and Liuzhou, he made great achievements in literature. Southerners often ask him for help, which has expanded his influence in the literary world.
Liu Zongyuan's literary ideas are closely related to his philosophy and political thoughts. His philosophical thought inherited the tradition of Wang Chong's natural theory of vitality, and was enriched by scientific knowledge such as astronomy and geography at that time, with simple materialistic elements. In Tian Shuo, Tian Dui, Non-Mandarin, On Trial and other works, he believes that the universe is infinite, and the origin of the universe is "vitality" and there is no god of creation. The change of the material world is due to the movement of Yin and Yang, and there is no reward and punishment relationship between human fortune, social chaos and objective natural phenomena. His political thought is mainly manifested in his progressive social historical view that emphasizes "potential". In On Feudalism, he thinks that the county system is superior to the feudal vassal system because it conforms to the inevitable trend of historical development. He affirmed the county system, mainly to oppose hereditary privileges, to oppose the separatist regime of the buffer regions, and to safeguard the unity of feudal countries. He also opposed eunuch intervention in politics and asked Jin Wengong to keep the original proposal. In Fan Mingfu's Preface to Ningguo Poetry,
In the preface to seeing Xue Cun off, it is proposed that officials "serve the people rather than the people"; He is advocating attaching importance to agricultural warfare and not borrowing unofficial words. These progressive ideas have practical significance. However, in the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist philosophy flooded. Liu Zongyuan claimed to be "a good Buddha since childhood, seeking for his Tao to accumulate for 30 years" ("Preface to the Buddha's Master"), and thought that "the highest Buddhism is Prajna, and the greatest classic is Nirvana □". Scholars all over the world will want to enter because they want to, but if they don't take the classics, they will go against it. "(Preface to Sending the Lord to the South). When he was frustrated politically, he further sought spiritual liberation from Buddhism. In Selected Works, Buddhist works such as inscriptions, inscriptions, notes, preface and postscript, poems and other works account for a certain proportion. The prevailing theories of Zen, Tiantai Sect and Fazong in the Tang Dynasty are all involved, and they agree with the idealistic position of Buddhism. Although he also believes that "there is no husband and wife, no father and son, and no farming and sericulture as a profession, if so, although I am not happy" (Preface to Sending a Monk to Haochu), he is as opposed to Buddhism as Han Yu, thinking that it is "angry at the outside and staying behind, knowing the stone but not the jade" (ibid.). He said: "What I have taken is consistent with the Book of Changes and The Analects of Confucius. Although the saints are resurrected, they can't get them and abandon them "(ibid.). What he opposes is only the kind of monk who thinks that filial piety is the best and legacy is the most precious (preface to sending Yuan as a teacher). He viewed Buddhism's "Fa" from the perspective of "Confucianism establishes benevolence and righteousness by courtesy", and said that "Confucianism thrives by courtesy and law" (daming temple Fa Monk Monument in Nanyue). This weakened the materialistic factors in his thought.
Liu Zongyuan's philosophy and political thoughts also influenced his literary thoughts. In terms of prose theory, firstly, he and Han Yu advocated ancient prose at the same time, attached equal importance to the content of prose, emphasized the primary and secondary relationship between Tao and prose, and advocated that "writers should learn from Ming Dow" (answer to Wei Zhongli's book "Teacher's Way"). However, the content of "Tao" is different from that of Han Yu who only talks about benevolence and righteousness. He believes that "the person who reaches the Tao is only a matter of the ear" (Report to Cui 'an Scholars on Writing), "the real meaning is the user, and the Tao assists the times" (Answer to Wu Wuling's Non-official Book), "taking strangers (people) as their own responsibility", "helping the world with knowledge (hegemony)" and "all gentlemen give up for the Tao. From this point of view, he attaches importance to the social function of literature, advocates that literature should be "beneficial to the world" (reading the postscript of Han Yu's Biography), advocates "the use of literature, the use of rhetoric and the introduction of irony" (Preface to Yang's Comments), and emphasizes the role of works in reality. Secondly, he also attaches great importance to the role of art forms. On the one hand, he opposes the one-sided pursuit of the rich and colorful forms of works because of their contents, and thinks that "in this world, books are praised by people because of your expensive words, and works are thought to be nothing but nothingness because of their dense powder" ("Writing for Cui An"), "My husband is a book, rich in literary talent, regardless of the facts, but he benefits from falsely accusing others. Zhang Zhi's birthday is rich and attractive to future generations. On the other hand, he also criticized the tendency of neglecting art forms, and thought that "words without words are mud" (in reply to Wu Wuling's Book of Non-official Dialects), "Although his words are vulgar enough to be used, he lacks literary talent, but his actions are not solid enough to listen to, and he boasted of his later study, but his words failed, and the gentleman was helpless" (Preface to Yang Zawen). Good content must be supplemented by good form and have artistic appeal, which is the perfect work. Thirdly, he believes that writing must be serious, not sloppy, lazy, confused and arrogant, so as to avoid the disadvantages of "copying", "galloping", "miscellaneous" and "arrogant" in the article (answer to Wei Zhongli's Teacher's Ethics Book). He emphasized that "works are mostly based on deeds, and honesty comes first" ("Reporting to Yuan Jun and Chen Xiucai to avoid learning from their teachers"), and pointed out the importance of writers' moral cultivation. Fourthly, we should respect the works of the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties and propose to learn from Confucian classics, Zhuangzi, Lao Zi, Li Sao and Historical Records. And learn from them, thinking that they can be used by me (answer to Wei Zhongli's book "Teacher's Way"), but at the same time, don't fall into "respecting the past and abusing the present" (talking with friends as a text). On poetic theory, he inherited the tradition of Liu Xie's Bi Xing poetic theory and Chen Ziang's Ji Xing poetic theory, which is consistent with Bai Juyi's view of satirical poetry in Yuan Qu Jiu Shu. He said: "It is better to inspire others if you inspire irony" (Preface to Yang's Comments), "I feel depressed in the world because of illness, so I can use it" (answer to Gong's Shen). At the same time, he accepted Sima Qian's statement: "There are 300 poems, probably because of the anger of sages. This person has a sense of restraint and cannot understand. " (Preface to Biography of Taishigong in Historical Records) He thinks that "a true gentleman who suffers from the world groans enthusiastically for knowledge from the world, but his ambition to escape is nothing." Therefore, those who feel resentful and frustrated and struggle to tell the time, express it in words, and extend it to singing are also doing what they have, but failing to do what they do ("Lou Twenty-four Poems on Drinking"). This is similar to Han Yu's theory of "injustice makes noise". However, what he said made him angry and depressed were the works of people who were determined to use the world but could not. This argument about creative motivation has different meanings compared with Han Yu's so-called "poor words are easy to be good" (preface to singing poems in Jingtan) and "self-blaming for his misfortune" (preface to farewell to Meng Dongye). Liu Zongyuan's poetry theory represented the progressive tendency of the literary movement at that time.
Literary creation Liu Zongyuan left more than 600 works in his life, including poetry and prose. Wen's achievements are greater than poetry.
Liu Zongyuan's achievements are manifold. Nearly 100 of them are parallel prose, which did not break away from the habit of parallel prose in the Tang Dynasty, but there are also masterpieces such as the Monument to the Monastery of Emperor Yangdi in Yangzhou, Fu Nan, which was specially presented by the Tang Dynasty. The ancient prose can be roughly divided into five categories: argumentative essays, fables, biographies, landscape travel notes and Sao Fu. Many of them are works with rich realistic content and exquisite artistic skills, especially after relegating the south to deep contact with society.
Comments include articles on philosophy and politics, as well as essays mainly on comments. Its characteristics are sharp brushwork and accurate argumentation. Tian Shuo is a masterpiece of philosophical papers. Feudalism and Heavenly Punishment are representative works of medium and long political papers. Jin Wengong's Defending the Original Argument, Dong Ye's Debate on Di Feng and Yi Yin's Five Treatises on Xie Zan are representative political papers. Especially on feudalism, Lin Shu called it "ancient and modern literature, directly opposed" (Korean Studies Law).
Fables have inherited the traditions of Zhuangzi, Han Feizi and Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, Liezi and Warring States Policy, and made new progress. His fables are mostly used to satirize and attack the ugly reality of the society at that time, to bring forth new ideas, to create whimsy, and to make good use of anthropomorphic artistic images of various animals to express philosophical or political opinions. The Three Commandments, composed of the masterpiece Linjiang Elk, Guizhou Donkey and Yong's Mouse, reflects the reality with vivid images and sharp language by describing the three physical states of Elk, Donkey and Mouse. Although the length is short, it fluctuates. Articles such as Biography and Biography mock people who are insatiable and confuse people with empty voices, and some laugh and curse, showing a high degree of humor and irony.
Biography inherits the tradition of Historical Records and Hanshu, and makes some innovations. One kind is an anecdote about brave and upright upper-class people, such as Duan Taiwei, which describes Duan's moving image of bravely fighting rapists and really caring about people's sufferings, and also describes the rogue form of arrogant soldiers and the crime of killing people. The article is full of vitality and has always been said by Han Yu's biography of Zhang Zhongcheng. The other is to describe the oppressed characters in the lower class, such as Biography of Zi Ren, Biography of Camel Planting, Biography of Children's Area, Biography of Song Qing, Snake Catcher and so on. With progressive political stance and deep sympathy, it reflects and praises the talents, experiences, noble character and anti-violence spirit of these characters, and exaggerates and fabricates them on the basis of real characters. Tongcheng school of ancient prose writers thinks that Song Qingchuan is "not fictionalized" (Wu Dexuan's introduction to ancient prose in the early moon building), which reflects the characteristics of Liu Zongyuan's biography. Liu Zongyuan said in the Postscript of Reading the Biography of Han Yu and Mao Ying: "Not abandoned by saints" just shows that his understanding of the novel is correct. Such works are the practice of his ideas.
Travel Notes on Mountains and Rivers is Liu Zongyuan's most popular work, which has a unique position in the history of China literature. These travel notes were written after Yongzhou's relegation, and Yongzhou's works are better than Liuzhou's. The famous Eight Chapters of Yongzhou: Travel Notes of the First Banquet in the Western Hills, Cobalt Pond, West Hill of Cobalt Pond, West Hill Xiaoshitang, Yuanjiake, Shiqu, Shi Jian and Xiaoshicheng Mountain are all typical examples. These works, gallery-style, show the landscape at the turn of Hunan and Guangxi, and inherit the tradition of Li Daoyuan's Notes on Water Classics. Notes on Water Classics is a geography book, which describes the scenery objectively and shows less subjective feelings. Liu Zongyuan's travels integrate his life experience, thoughts and feelings into the description of natural scenery. Because of my profound observation of the objective scenery and my grasp of the bleak management, I can accurately reflect the object. In the process of artistic thinking, I devote myself wholeheartedly to the figure of the author, express my misfortune with the beautiful scenery abandoned in remote areas, and pour out my resentment and frustration. In addition to this characteristic of expressing anger by borrowing scenery, his travel notes also describe a kind of quiet state of mind, which shows his pursuit of spiritual sustenance in extreme depression, such as the so-called "cold appearance and eyes, □□□ voice and ears, the pursuit of carefree and ethereal people and gods, the pursuit of deep and quiet people and hearts" (the Hill of the West of Cobalt) and "setting your heart free and being in harmony with everything" (. As for the direct description of the landscape, the style of writing is either steep and clean, or beautiful, some are "red and green" (Yuan Jiake Ji), and some are "dazzling green" (Travel Notes of Xishan Banquet). Write the shape of the rock, either like "cattle and horses drinking in the stream" or like "bears climbing the mountain" ("Hill of Tanxi"); Draw the shape of a stream, either "if the boat is poor, it will suddenly be boundless" (Yuan Jiake's story) or "all the fish are swimming in the air, the sunshine is clear, and the shadow is on the rocks" (the west of Xiaoqiu Xiaoshitang's story), which can artistically reproduce the beauty of nature with delicate language. Later generations who wrote travel reporters were often regarded as models.
Sao Fu is also a characteristic part of Liu Wen. Qu Yuan's Sao style, after the Eastern Han Dynasty, lost both form and spirit. Liu Zongyuan failed in the political struggle, was relegated for a long time, resentful and affectionate, and had something in common with Qu Yuan. Punish evil and promote good, fu, Meng Guifu, imprison mountain fu, hang Qu Yuanwen, curse corpse worms, forgive poisonous snakes, hate kings, etc. , in the form of "Li Sao" and "Nine Chapters", or directly. (Cang Ping) Two giant pieces, Tian Dui and Qi Fa, are imitations, which is another type. The first part answered the questions raised in Tian Wen from the perspective of materialism in many places, involving all aspects of the universe and personnel. The latter, in the form of question and answer, exaggerates the risks and realities of Shanxi mountains and rivers, the realities of soldiers and the richness of products, which comes down to the theme of political clarity in Tang Yao. These two articles are strange in word formation, but there are also some obscure places.
Only 140 poems were written after relegation. Most of the predecessors' comments on Liu's poems thought that he inherited the tradition of Tao Yuanming and was called "Wang, Meng Haoran and Liu" with Wang Wei and Wei. This mainly refers to his five ancient poems, such as Meet the tiller in early spring, Living in the West, Drinking, Reading and Experiencing, Ode to History, Ode to Sanliang and Ode to Jing Ke, which are similar in ideological content and simple in language. "Five-character poems are ancient and elegant, but they are full of charm. Tao Yuanming and Liu Zihou are also rich. " However, he also has five other ancient poems, such as Sitting in Wuling at Early Autumn Night, Reading Classics with Zhao in his Temple in the Early Morning, Water Curtain of Surrounding Rock, Xiaoxiang Second Water Club in Xiangkou Pavilion, Dengzhou Shichi, Wanghengjiang Estuary, Tandao Deep Tends to Xiangling Mountain, Nanxi Topic, and Dengxi Mountain. But they are learning from Xie Lingyun. However, Xie and Liu have different life experiences and different thoughts and personalities. Liu's poems have both bitterness and beauty, similarities and differences. In addition to inheriting the tradition of Tao and Xie, Liu's poetry is also good at expressing generous and sad style. Five ancient poems, such as "Ai Lv Heng Zhou" and "Ai Lian Zhou Foreign Minister Sima", mourn fellow travelers, demote Yong Zhen's coup, and Wei praises chivalrous behavior. Seven ancient books, such as it is hard to go, Journey to the East Gate, Ci of Cage Eagle, and Message to Wei Heng, are all realistic, either chanting lofty ideals, exposing the evils of heroes, denouncing the chaos in the buffer region, or describing the difficult and dangerous life. The song "Worship Tang Ge" 12 enthusiastically praised the achievements made in the early Tang Dynasty in opposing the invasion of the Turkic and Tuguhun aristocratic military groups, and embodied the patriotic thought of safeguarding national unity. The image is magnificent, the words are amazing, the mountains and rivers are magnificent, and the rock is broken. Rhymes such as "Going to Liuzhou Tower to Send Zhang Ting to Seal Four Counties" are quite famous in the Seven Laws of Tang Dynasty. "The Book of Deheng Prefecture" is sent by poems, while "A Trip to Lingnan", "The Madness of Dragon City" and "Farewell to My Little Brother Zong Yi" express the sadness of relegation through the description of the exotic customs in the south. In the Tang Dynasty and quatrains, if you feel old in the south building in front of Changsha Post Office, you will travel with your master to see your relatives and friends to Beijing in the early days of Hao, and send letters to the post office when you are not drunk, even if in February. It can be seen that Liu's poems are rich and varied and eclectic.
In the past, people mostly affirmed Liu Zongyuan's works and belittled them, because they lacked a correct understanding of Wang Group. Han Yu praised his works as "living in seclusion, boasting a lot of nonsense" (On Liu Zihou), "majestic and elegant, like Sima Zichang (moved), Cui (true) and Cai (Yong)" (quoted from Liu Yuxi's Collection of Liu Jun). Later, from Liu□, Song Qi, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi and Su Shi to the Qing Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan, the first person to make amends for Liu Zongyuan, not only called him "precise in courtesy and righteousness", but also called him "a strange man"; It is believed that Wang Shi is loyal to his country, and "Tang Shu refutes because of his success or failure, and there is no justification" (preface to dream narration). Later, Yan Youyi, Li Zhi, Wang Fuzhi, Zhang and others who were closely related to him also argued for it. On the premise of affirming Liu Wen's achievements, critics often compare Han and Liu, some think that Liu is not as good as Han, and some think that Han is not as good as Liu. For example, Song Qi said that "Liuzhou is a literary work, or it is not as good as the Korean official department, not relying on the past, but based on itself" (Note). After Liu Wen, Answering Cheng Kui, Preface of Ancient Chinese Literature and other works praised North Korea and suppressed Liu. Yan Shu, Yan Yu, Liu Xizai and others all advocated restraining Han and Liu. Jiao Xun praised vitamin as "the only person since the Tang and Song Dynasties" (Ruan Yuan's Biography of Yangzhou Jiao Xun). Chen Yan believes that "the hard-won willow has several endings: there is no vulgarity in writing words, one is also; "Structure into your own face, second; Only high, but know quite not Jewish, three also; According to tools, people dare not speak, four also; Remember its advantages, copy it without scribbling, and it is also five. These five things are what Changli lacks "("Stone Essays "). Zhang's Liu is a work that worships Liu and suppresses Han. However, most scholars, except Zhang, focus on the form of Liu Wen, whether it is advocating or suppressing it. Occasionally, the ideas in this article will be involved, such as Liu Yuxi and Wang affirming atheism, while Su Shi and He Chao are the opposite. Critics also have different views on Liu Shi. Su Shi called it "dry on the outside but greasy on the inside, which seems light but beautiful in reality" (Poems on Dongpo Inscription and Postscript), "The essence of simplicity and antiquity, the beauty of Lian Po" (after Poems of Shu Huang Zi Si), which affirmed the style of Liu's poems close to that of Tao and Wei. Others praised it too much as "wonderful ancient and modern" (Wang Zhi's Prevention of Poetry), "beautiful words and sentences are incomplete, and fame and fortune win glory with the sun and the moon" (Hu Zai's Tiaoxi Fishing Afterwards) and "poetic sage" (Yuan Hongdao and Li Longhu). Those who hold the view of promoting willow and restraining Korea call it "exquisite ancient poetry, not as good as North Korea." When the world was in harmony with Yuan Dynasty, Han Youde was a little vulgar, but Zi Hou could only speak, so he was not a hero "(Liu Kezhuang's Poems of Houcun). On the other hand, those who praise Han and restrain Liu either call it "too narrow-edged, not as magnificent as Han" (Selected Poems by Xu Yinfang) or "almost humble, especially lacking in Tao" (Yi Yan by Wang Shizhen).
This episode and the edition of Liu Zongyuan's Collection were both edited by Liu Yuxi and titled "Mr. Hedong's Collection", which was published by Muxiu in the early Song Dynasty. There are 45 volumes of Liu's Exegetical Collection of Song Dynasty collected in Sikuquanshu, including 2 volumes, and the newly compiled volume 1, which is the earliest extant Liu Collection. There are 43 volumes, 2 of which are collected by him and 2 of which are collected outside. The Collected Works of Mr. Song Tongzong, Zhang Dunyi and Pan annotate 1 volume, and there are four copies, which are the earliest photocopies at present. Song Tongzong said that the 45-volume New Collection of Liu Tang's Works was printed by Song Jianzhou and is now in the Beijing Library. In Song Dynasty, Wei Huaizhong edited and annotated 500 Collected Works of Mr. Liu, including 2 volumes of Waiji, 65,438+0 newly edited Waiji, 2 volumes of Longcheng Record, 8 volumes of appendix, and a photocopy of Wenyuan Pavilion. The Collection of Mr. Hedong compiled and annotated by Liao in Song Dynasty consists of 45 volumes, with 2 volumes outside, with addenda and appendices. , is the last annotation of the Song Dynasty. There was a rare edition of Song and Tang Dynasties, which was printed by Shanghai Editorial Department of Zhonghua Book Company and reprinted by Shanghai People's Publishing House. Forty-five volumes, five volumes, legacy notes and appendices of Liuhe Dongji compiled by Jiang in Ming Dynasty, although the old notes were adopted, were mostly Jiang's own notes. There are three classics of Ming dynasty, and four sets of typography.
For Liu Zongyuan's life story, please refer to Han Yu's Epitaph of Liu Zihou, Biographies of Old and New Tang Books, and Biography of Mr. Liu in Wen 'anli (containing 500 biographies of Liu Zhuji, excluding Crescent Hall Series). Modern works, Shi Liu Zongyuan Chronicle (Journal of Wuhan University,No. 1 issue, 1957, published by Hubei People's Publishing House), and the first draft of Liu Zongyuan Chronicle of Chinese Department of Shanxi Normal University (No.3, 1974) can be used for reference. Regarding Liu Zongyuan's research works, Zhang's Liu is a great discussion about Liu Zongyuan's works based on detailed materials, but it emphasizes Liu's theory of restraining the DPRK.