This book is a collection of local chronicles and novels compiled by Liu Yiqing and the literati around him based on some previous historical materials. It is mainly a character novel that records the speech and manners of Wei and Jin literati. But Shi Shuo Xin Yu is also an important historical work. A lot of historical materials about Wei and Jin Dynasties are taken from Shi Shuo Xin Yu. It is a book integrating literature and history, and it is an important classic for us to understand the romantic life in Wei and Jin Dynasties.
From the perspective of modern literature, Lu Xun's demeanor in Wei and Jin Dynasties and the relationship between articles and medicinal liquor can be said to be an era of "literary consciousness" or, as modern times say, a school of art for the sake of art.
Art can exist beyond all utilitarianism. Lu Xun believes that in the history of China literature, there was a kind of cultural consciousness and literary creation for the sake of art in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Why did literary consciousness appear in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties? There is a premise, that is, human consciousness, that is, human subject. From the humanistic point of view, consciousness can be traced back to the history of China's thought.
First, the decline of Confucianism.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu accepted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion, and Confucianism became the official school and the main political thought of the Han Dynasty. Confucianism, as the main idea, has played a role in restoring the personality of literati, but the Confucian classics themselves have gone to extremes. The political foundation based on Confucianism began to weaken. By the time of Jian 'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Confucian classics, which had played a leading role, began to weaken. The reasons for the decline are the decline of Confucianism and the rise of metaphysics.
Second, the theory of health preservation. During the Jian 'an period at the end of Han Dynasty, some philosophers reformed traditional Confucianism with the help of Zhouyi and Laozi and Zhuangzi's philosophical works. In the history of China's philosophy, Zhouyi, Laozi and Zhuangzi are called "three studies" together. A new idea based on "three studies" is called "metaphysics". In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it became the main trend of thought in this era. Metaphysics, as a theory, discusses many problems, some of which are abstract, such as "the problem of origin and end" There are other problems related to Wei and Jin demeanor in metaphysics.
According to Shi Shuo Xin Yu. Literature, the old cloud, the Prime Minister Wang crossed the river and left, saying only that there was no sorrow or joy and that he was doing his best to preserve his health, but he turned to Guan Sheng and did everything. Refers to Wang Dao. After he came from the north to the south (then the Healthy City), he talked about three issues ... the theory of expressing everything, and discussed the relationship between words and meanings. It means that language can express people's inner thoughts and feelings, and there is another view that language can't express the inner thoughts and feelings of the subject.
Among them, the theory of health preservation is represented by Ji Kang's works. Ji Kang's theory of keeping in good health is a masterpiece, and it is still an article in our field of traditional Chinese medicine.
Ji Kang mentioned in The Theory of Health Preservation that there are two aspects that can ensure our health. First of all, the whole body is at ease, love and hate are not entangled in feelings, and worries and joys are not confined to the mind. Take it lightly and calmly. Breathing and breathing, eating and keeping in good health, make the form and spirit close to each other, both inside and outside are helpful. First of all, it means that we should not be overjoyed in our daily life. Great joy and great sorrow make our emotions jump between the two poles, which affects our health. Usually you have no fame and fortune in your heart. Secondly, it means eating something to keep healthy. To this day, we still use these two methods to heal our wounds. This is also an important proposition of metaphysics.
Third, there is no sorrow or joy in life. This is a musical proposition. It has also become a discussion of metaphysics. Ji Kang is a master musician. He wrote a monograph on music, entitled "A Life without Worry and Happiness". He put forward a main point that music has no emotion. He said that music is a rhythmic sound in a sense. To evaluate the voice, we can only evaluate it with good voice and bad voice, but not with emotion. This view he put forward is actually based on China's traditional Confucian music theory. Confucian music theory especially emphasizes the educational function of music. Originally it was reasonable, but after over-emphasizing, it lost the independent position of music.
Fourthly, there is a special proposition in metaphysics called Four Books of Talent. Shi Shuo Xin Yu Literature includes not only literature, but also philosophy and other arts. It is mentioned that there was a scholar named Zhong Hui in Cao Wei period. He has strong military ability and high knowledge. He once wrote a book called Four Papers. He wanted to consult Ji Kang, but because Ji Kang looked down on Zhong Hui's character, it was difficult for Zhong Hui to personally give this book to Ji Kang. The main point of the book Four Books is that there are four different views on the relationship between talent and nature. "Talent" is talent; Sex is a person's character and morality. We should have both ability and political integrity. For a person, talent and morality can be unified or not. This view influenced the main idea of talent evaluation in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Fifth, it is about emotion, which is called the theory of sentimentality and ruthlessness of saints. People have feelings in life. Do saints have feelings? Zhuangzi once said in "Happy Travel" that saints are nameless ... Most people will be very happy when they meet good things in life, very sad when they meet sad things, and have joys and sorrows for worldly desires. However, the metaphysical scholars at that time said that saints had no emotional emotions. There is also a young philosopher named Wang Bi. He doesn't agree with the idea of peace. He thinks saints have joys and sorrows just like us. The difference between a saint and us ordinary people is that it has emotions and will not be dragged down by them. Wang Bi's writing is wonderful, which makes him respond to things without getting bored. This problem is directly related to the main connotation of romantic love in Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Understanding metaphysics and its connotation in Wei and Jin Dynasties is the theoretical basis for understanding Wei and Jin demeanor.