First, the rise of plain and strange
Generally speaking, Zhang Dai's prose style is plain and peculiar. His essays, whether about scenery, characters or customs, are written from ordinary places, and their contents are plain and natural. But it is very strange and interesting in expression. The form is short and unique, and the language is pure and plain, close to spoken language. It is not good at external rational speculation or passion, and it washes away the literary flavor of Yong Tao in general lyric prose.
(1) Sketch of landscape
There are no fancy words to decorate it, and there is no need to use strange words and dangerous words to make it strange, but there are also strange things in the plain. The article "Snow at the Lake Pavilion" is only 160 words, but it makes the night snow scene at the Lake Pavilion confusing and vivid, vividly showing the author's aloof character and lonely feelings. Moreover, from the author's endless recollection of the scenic spots of the lake and mountain, we can also observe his deep yearning for his hometown and depressed sense of vicissitudes. Being able to put such a vast world and deep feelings into the prose of 100 words leaves people with endless aftertaste and reverie.
"Wusong Miao, heaven and clouds and mountains and water, all white; The shadow in the lake is only the trace of the long dike, a small pavilion in the middle of the lake and a mustard on the boat, and there are two or three people on board! " ("Tao An Meng Xinting Watching Snow", page 8/kloc-0) This sentence combines the silence of the snowy area with the fluctuation of water vapor and cloud gas to achieve the consistency of motion and static, which not only writes the spirit of snow, but also writes the weather of snow. Then, the author used the word "harmony" to vividly show the magnificent snow scene of the sky, the sea of clouds and the lake. This is a general description of the snow scene in the central pavilion of the lake. Then the author chose four shots to describe the scenery in the snow in detail, namely "a mark on the long beach", "a small pavilion in the lake", "a mustard seed on the boat" and "two or three people on the boat". When the world is vast, he wrote the shadow on the lake, and vivid quantifiers gave a vivid portrayal of the snow scene in the West Lake and touched the life pulse of the landscape. Through these highly accurate and vivid quantifiers, the author secretly wrote the movement of sight and the change of scenery, making people realize that the boat is moving slowly in the dark and the space is constantly moving, thus creating a dreamy and hazy artistic conception, making people feel that people are just a drop in the ocean in this chaotic world of ice and snow, which is exactly what the author wants to express. These simple words convey infinite meaning and create a strange artistic conception. Zhang believes that "Zhang Dai is good at innovating in ordinary and simple words, combining magic with simplicity, making the article simple and vivid, and appealing to both refined and popular tastes." [3] fully reflected here.
The reason why the author chose to watch the snow alone is because he doesn't want to see anyone or be seen, and because the snow scene is better at this time. It is expected that at this moment, two people are sitting opposite, "the boy's shochu stove is boiling", which shows that we have been watching the snow for a long time. The author's expectation also surprised the readers. But the author does not write his own surprise, but writes that two guests "see Yu Dayou"; Don't say that you are extraordinary, but let the guests feel this way. The perspective is very strange. So the author and the "Jinling people" drank the "three whites" strongly. When they first met, they didn't even know their names except for a sigh. This also reflects the author's style and personality, which is different from other customs, but he can quickly get the best result from the worst situation. Of course, the snowy night wonders on the lake are worth dreaming of, but the extraordinary feelings behind the wonders and the adventures of friends at night are even more gratifying.
At the end of the article, people who look at the scenery and their feelings are written, and the finishing touch is often here. Finally, through Zhou Zi's mouth, he expressed his views on the night tour: "When he got off the boat, Zhou Zi muttered,' Don't say Xiang Gong is crazy, there are many idiots like Xiang Gong!'" "The snow is particularly cold, and the author went to the pavilion to enjoy the snow in the middle of the night. In the boatman's view, this is an "idiot" and an incomprehensible "miracle". But there are more people in the "strange trick": two guests cook wine early and enjoy the snow on the pavilion in the middle of the lake, which is even more "strange trick" in Zhou Zi's view. Through his muttering, the emotional estrangement between man and the author is vividly displayed, and the author's lonely character is vividly displayed. From this point of view, the so-called "delusion" is just a lofty and detached strange feeling that ordinary "laity" can't understand.
The text of "Looking at the Lake Pavilion Snow" is plain, but it means something. Sing three sighs to convey wonders, wonders and feelings. But it's strange on the plain.
The strangeness of Zhang Dai's scenery description is also manifested in the fact that the natural scenery he described is well-known and well-known. In those ordinary landscapes, Zhang Dai showed us the other side of them with his unconventional aesthetic vision and keen artistic touch. Draw an ordinary scene with a strange pen.
The ancients praised the West Lake. Su Dongpo compared the West Lake to the West Lake and praised the beauty of the West Lake with a woman's posture, which was praised as unprecedented. He said, "What can compare with the West Lake except light makeup and heavy sentences?" ; Yuan Mei thinks that there is humanistic infiltration everywhere between the mountains and rivers of the West Lake: "Mountains and rivers also need the help of great men, and deified painters are drawing pictures. Lai Youyue was born in Shuangshaobao, and the world began to feel the West Lake. " Zhang Dai has lived in the West Lake for more than forty years. He loves the West Lake as much as others, but his favorite scenery of the West Lake is different from that of ordinary people. He thinks that the most beautiful scenery of the West Lake is not in spring and summer, but in autumn and winter. Not in the flower dynasty, in the moon and evening; Not in the mystery, but in the rain and snow. "Snow Gu Mei, how smoked embankment high willow; Jathyapple is ethereal and bright, and He Xun's flowers are graceful; The rain is hazy, He Shen is clear and Wan Li is clear. " (West Lake Dream, Ming Sheng Erhu, page 2 19) Zhang Dai's comment on the West Lake in the first article of West Lake Dream, Ming Sheng Erhu is a strange article. "I regard Hu Xiang as my virgin, and my eyes are shy, even when I see her unmarried; Jianhu is a noble lady, respectable but disrespectful; If the West Lake is a famous prostitute in the song, she looks beautiful, but leaning against the door to smile, everyone can get it and use it. Everyone gets it lightly, so people get it lightly. " The beautiful scenery of the West Lake was described by literati in past dynasties, and Zhang Dai wrote the spirituality of mountains and rivers with his unique perspective and experience.
Another example is Zhang Dai's "White Sheep Dynasty" ("Tao Anmeng's Legacy, White Sheep Dynasty", p. 65). Since ancient times, there have been many works of watching tide in Qiantang River, but Zhang Dai is unconventional. He used thousands of white geese, millions of snow lions, shelling Longtan, emptying snow waterfalls and other strange metaphors to show that the tide is getting closer, higher and stronger. Use the tide viewer to "watch in amazement and sit for a long time, Yan Shiding." The response sets off the magnificence of the white ocean tide from the side. Zhang Dai used his extraordinary pen to make his description stand out among many similar articles.
(2) Character sketch
There are no heroes, emperors and generals in Zhang Dai's works, but most of them are ordinary people from humble origins who live at the bottom of society, such as storytellers, craftsmen, gardeners and actors. "The characters in the book are not only secular people with secular desires, but also strange people with some special intelligence and skills." [4] Although they are ordinary people, they are all strange people. Pu Zhongqian, a skilled sculptor, is "extremely poor and free". "I don't belong to it. Although I rob it, I will get the benefits, but I will get the right place "(Pu Zhongqian Sculpture in Tao An's Dream, 3 1 page). He does not admire people, does not seek profit, and adheres to the principle of being a man. Although he is a civilian, he is well known. Such an ordinary citizen cannot but be called a "strange man" because of his superb artistry. Another example is Wang Yuesheng, a woman in a brothel. Although she lingers in the dust, she is "as cold as a plum, as cold as a moon, with a cold Ao Shuang. She doesn't like to make friends, but she still sits face to face. She looks away. " "Here is a childe. For half a month, you couldn't say a word. " (Meng 187) Although the female artist Zhu Chusheng is humble, she is eager to get a sincere feeling. For this feeling, she "worked hard all day and died of love" (Meng Chusheng, 13 1 page). Zhang Dai "doesn't focus on describing their insulted and hurt side like his previous works, but shows their unwilling position, defends their dignity, tries to control their own destiny and be a free and independent person." [5]236
Zhang Dai believes that "people are not addicted, so they can't communicate with each other because they have no naked feelings;" People are flawless, so they can't communicate with each other, so they have no true qi "(The Elephant Skin of Tao Anmeng, p. 105). Many people are addicted to his works, such as Xiang's addiction to calligraphy and painting, cuju, drums and cymbals, ringworm, pear garden and so on. "("Tao An Meng's Elephant Skin ",p. 105) Golden Milk loves flowers and grass, and she loves it as much as her life. As mentioned earlier, Zhu Chusheng is addicted to love, and Betty Wong is addicted to "luxury".
The characters in Zhang Dai's works are not perfect and unreachable saints, but people who are "slightly flawed" and feel ordinary "flawed". For example, Liu Jingting's Dark, Covered with Scars, Long and Careless, Civil Skeleton (Meng Jingting's Storytelling, page 1 17), his appearance is "ugly", but when it comes to the book, it comes to "pretty mouth and smooth eyes" (Meng Jingting's Storytelling) precisely because.
These strange people, strange women, addicts and people with defects are ordinary people everywhere in society, but they all stand out and are unforgettable. This is because they all have their own unique mental outlook, which shines extraordinary spiritual light from the plain.
(3) Custom sketch
Zhang Dai has long lived in towns in the south of the Yangtze River where citizens are concentrated and rich, especially in prosperous cities such as Hangzhou, Suzhou, Yangzhou and Nanjing. He is familiar with customs. Dream of Tao 'an not only describes the large-scale activities such as moon viewing in the West Lake, West Lake Expo, Jinshan race, Lufan fireworks, Mid-Autumn Festival in Tiger Hill, but also describes trivial things such as choosing concubines, storytelling and acting, skillful craftsmen and folk food in the streets and lanes. Lin Bangjun called Zhang Dai's prose "a panoramic genre painting in the late Ming Dynasty" [6]. These seemingly ordinary pictures of street life, folk customs and anecdotes of human feelings, but Zhang Dai devoted himself to the vicissitudes of history and the flavor of life. Ordinary things express strange and outstanding feelings.
The most representative should be the West Lake in July and a half. "West Lake in July" describes the grand occasion of Hangzhou people visiting the West Lake at that time. "July 30" refers to the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. At that time, it was the custom in Hangzhou that men, women and children should visit the West Lake on this night. At the beginning of the article, I said bluntly, "The West Lake is in July and a half, and there is nothing to see, only people can be seen in July and a half." (A Dream of West Lake in Tao An in July and a Half, page 162) Different from ordinary travel notes, it does not describe the charming scenery of the West Lake on the night of July 15th, such as moonlight, lights, moon shadows on the lake, mountain shadows and tower shadows, but focuses on people swimming in the lake. This idea is strange and obvious. The author lists five kinds of people who enjoy the moon: dignitaries, celebrities, famous prostitutes and idle monks, ordinary people and literati. The first four categories are people who don't know how to look at the moon. There is no elegance at all. Literati who really appreciate the moon like the author only stop and stop when the crowd dispersed, "greeting guests to drink." In the environment where the moon is like a mirror, the mountains are covered with makeup, and the lake is covered with faces, we invite "rhyme friends", "famous prostitutes", "Bei 'an" and "bamboo meat fat" to enjoy ourselves until "the moonlight is bleak, the east is white, and the guests are scattered". Finally, "boating among ten miles of lotus flowers, sleeping soundly, smelling absolutely delicious, and having a very pleasant dream." The literati's visit to the lake to enjoy the moon is in stark contrast to other "Hangzhou people have a good name and a good custom", and the praise and criticism are self-evident. While describing the grand occasion of Hangzhou people visiting the West Lake in July and a half, Zhang Dai mocked the gaudiness, hypocrisy and vulgarity of dignitaries and ordinary people, and expressed the author's cynical thoughts and feelings, as well as the lofty and refined spiritual interest of literati. The seemingly ordinary travel notes contain so many obscure meanings that people have to feel dull and unfamiliar.
Another example is "West Lake Fragrant City". The author used a lot of space to describe the bustling scene of the West Lake Fragrant Market in the past. "When you arrive at Xiangshi, you will find that there are tunnels in the temple, around the upper and lower pools, inside and outside the mountain gates. If there is a room, there will be a booth. If there is no room, there will be a factory, a shed outside the factory, and a booth outside the shed, inch by inch." (page 158 of Tao Anmeng's Memories of West Lake Fragrant Market) Now Zhaoqing Temple is on fire, most people starve to death due to famine, traffic jams, the pilgrims in the north are cut off, and the fragrant market has been abandoned. Compared with the past, the prosperity of the past has become the past, and it has finally become a dream. Although it is written about ordinary folk customs, it actually expresses the author's feelings about the destruction of the country and the memory of the good life in the past. Use a plain narrative pen to express the pain and vicissitudes of the home country and cover up the deep attachment to the hometown.
Another example is "Yangzhou Thin Horse", in which the author describes a thin horse (a girl who is about to be sold as a concubine) who is instructed by her husband's family to perform in front of guests and let people choose. What the old woman says, the thin horse follows the instructions, just like a puppet in his hand. "My aunt helped the thin horse out and said,' Miss, come.' Worship. Say,' Girl, go up.' Let's go Say, "Girl, turn around." Turn around and stand out. Say, "Miss, lend me your hand." Do your best, your hands, arms and skin will come out. Said:' The girl is a' xianggong'. In the blink of an eye, my eyes came out. Say,' How old is that girl? Say how old you are. Say,' Girl, go again. "("Tao Anmeng remembers Yangzhou Thin Horse "on page 133), the author writes vulgar and ugly habits that can be seen everywhere among the people in a bold way, without making any comments, but writes the helpless mood of the abducted girl between the lines, so that readers can feel the ups and downs of the girl's fate under this bad habit. By describing the extremely common folk custom of human trafficking at that time, Zhang Dai profoundly showed the tragic fate of these girls who had no dignity like animals, expressed the author's disgust at this ugly habit, and also showed the author's sympathy for these girls.
Zhang Dai also recorded folk cooking. For example, he improved the "Rizhu Tea" in his hometown and developed a new kind of tea, which Zhang Dai named "Lan Xue Tea". In Lan Xue Tea, he wrote about the development of Lan Xue tea. The water quality characteristics of the spring are written in the spring, which shows the trick of identifying the spring. In Wu Fang, the famous local products are described in detail.
While showing us "a panoramic genre painting in the late Ming Dynasty", the author also expressed the carefree and elegant mood of the celebrities he wrote, the pain of the Ming Dynasty adherents in losing their country, and their sympathy for the social vulnerable groups.
Second, ethereal and elegant
Zhang Dai's prose is mainly ethereal and elegant, with "stylized brushwork" and "ethereal and crystal-penetrating atmosphere everywhere" [7]6 1. The artistic conception of his prose is ethereal and distant, the language is elegant and fresh, and the "ice and snow" is beyond words.
(A) the artistic conception is ethereal and distant
Zhang Dai was most influenced by Gong 'an School and Jingling School. He praised the police school as "unconventional and expressive" and Jingling school as "lonely and deep". However, he did not blindly learn from his predecessors, but had his own style-the spirit of ice and snow, which demanded "unrestrained purity and agility, purity and cleanliness as ice and snow, open thinking and flowing charm." [8] Zhang Dai's ice and snow, whether writing scenery or writing things, are expressing his noble ice and snow temperament and indifferent to fame and fortune, natural and unrestrained mood. For example, he described the snow scene in Longshan as "three feet deep". "The mountains are full of snow, the moon is very thin, the moon can't shine, and the snow is white." (snow dream, Longshan, Tao An, p. 169) The dazzling snow and moonlight compete with each other to create a silver world of ice and snow, which seems to be the externalization of the author's mood. The word "Liu" describes the solidification beauty of snow color and conveys the cold silence in the moonlight, which is further strengthened by the melodious singing and flute sound of the actors. In such a distant environment, the author drinks and is afraid of the cold until "three drums go to bed", and then "take a small sheep's head car and drag the ice back." Characters and scenes are integrated, and things are integrated with me. The scenery is particularly lively because of people, who are free in the scene and have a spiritual resonance. Zhang Dai described the scene of "ice and snow" and at the same time expressed his pure and refined "ice and snow spirit" that was not bound by the secular world.
When Zhang Dai wrote the landscape of the West Lake, he also used this kind of ice and snow to create an ethereal and distant artistic conception. Zhang Dai once wrote about Xixi, where the West Lake is located, but he saw that "this place is very quiet, ancient and beautiful, and Meg is short and twisted, as big as Huangshan pine." ..... There is an autumn snow temple and a reed flower, which is reflected by the bright moon and is as white as snow. It is a wonder. " (Dream of West Lake and Xixi, p. 353) Although the word "ice and snow" did not appear in Zhang Dai's description of gardens, he created a distant and peaceful artistic conception through the inner charm of "ice and snow". For example, when describing Buerzhai, the author used "Cui Yue", "Bamboo" and various flowers and plants in the four seasons. These fragrant and cold images make the article look more cosmopolitan, giving people a feeling of being in a fairyland and a sense of artistic beauty.
The characters in Zhang Dai's works also have "the spirit of ice and snow", such as "Cloud Valley" by folk doctor Lu Yungu, who is open-minded and indifferent, and can't hold it in his chest. Therefore, his life is not literary, but poetic; Don't understand painters, there are pictures; Not out of town, but in the mountains. "(Biography of Lu Yungu, Collected Works of Tianku, p. 192) Even prostitutes are like this. Wang Yuesheng is "as cold as a lonely plum and Leng Yue, with ice in Ao Shuang, and doesn't like to be vulgar. "These characters are uninhibited, as pure as ice and snow, as cold and arrogant as ice and snow, and as detached from the world as ice and snow.
(B) fresh and refined language
Zhang Dai's writing style is fresh and unique, with vivid charm, and he forgets the customs when he sees it. For example, the sentence describing the scenery of Jiangyue at the beginning of the article "Night Tour in Jinshan" reads as follows: "The sun is shining, and when we arrive in Gu Bei, the ship is at the estuary. The moonlight poured into the water, Jiang Tao breathed, the dew was exhausted, and the sky was white. " (Tao Anmeng recalls Jinshan Night Show, 17 page) The word "inverted bag" is extremely magical and novel. It seems that the moonlight loves this water area alone, so it gives everything, generously unlocks the capsule and pours all its glory on the river, which has a magnificent momentum of thousands of miles. "Jiang Tao Throughput" describes the rhythm of the wave surface caused by the surge of moonlight. What is even more incredible is that "the dew is sucked dry and the sky is white." The author's imagination is simply beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Moonlight pours from the sky into the river, is inhaled by the dew in the river, and sprays into the sky, making the sky white. ""moonlight forest, as thin as snow. "Once again, the moonlight is described. At night, the forest is quiet and dark, and the moonlight shines through the swaying branches and leaves. It is light and bright as a remnant of snow, showing a quiet artistic conception and an ethereal crystal reflection. Two moonlight, two pen and ink, two artistic conception.
Most of Zhang Dai's essays are short in length. To express infinite meaning in a short space, his essay language must be concise and vivid. Zhang Dai is best at depicting characters in simple and concise language, without modification, concise and concise, giving the description object richer charm and making readers feel endless aftertaste in a limited language space. For example, "Twenty-four Bridges and the Moon" is "heavy and leaking, the lights and candles will be exhausted, and the teahouse is dark and silent. Dr. Tea is hard to ask out, yawning, and prostitutes buy Dr. Tea's candles for late guests. Or make a charming voice, sing small words like "broken jade", or make yourself laugh and pretend to be lively, so as to confuse time. However, in the laughter, it gradually became sad. Leaving in the middle of the night, I feel like a ghost quietly. I don't know if I'm hungry when I see a pimp. " ("The Romantic Moon on the Twenty-four Bridges of Taoan Mengqiao", p. 96) Through the description of some elderly prostitutes' late-night hospitality scenes, the sadness and bitterness of prostitutes are written. Prostitutes chip in to buy candles, laugh at each other and pretend to be lively. Several movements describe the helpless and confused state of mind of prostitutes in detail. The sentence "Quietly feels like a ghost" tells the living condition that prostitutes are not like people and ghosts are not like ghosts. In the last paragraph of "Golden Mountain Night Show", the old monk also used the technique of sketching to make the characters appear lifelike. "There was an old monk with the back of his hand, staring, yawning and laughing. Xu Dingjing, who is he, dare not ask him when he will arrive. " (Tao Anmeng recalls the Golden Mountain Night Show, p. 17) This series of movements is natural, without any excessive description, modification and questioning.
The author grasps the characteristics of the object of description, and outlines the scenery in just a few words with accurate and novel words and appropriate metaphors. The author accurately captures the divinity of the object of description by line drawing, expresses the true and comprehensive characteristics of what he wrote in simple and simple language, and highlights the spiritual temperament of what he wrote. Zhang Dai's language is creative, but concise, without the feeling of gorgeous stacking, especially fresh and elegant.
Third, the causes of the artistic characteristics of Zhang Dai's essays
(A) the creation of a specific historical environment
Zhang Dai lived in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and his family background was prominent. As a teenager, he loved prosperity very much. Good family, beautiful maid, good prostitute, good clothes, good food, good horse, good lamp, good fireworks, good pear garden, good propaganda, good antiques, good flowers and birds; He also amused himself with tea, and the book was full of poetry. "(Anthology of Tianku: An Epitaph for Yourself, p. 199) However, with the change of Shen Jiazhi, foreigners from the Manchu Dynasty entered the Central Plains, and Zhang Dai was reduced from a playboy of a well-fed official family to a traitor and a ruined son. The demise of the Ming Dynasty made the Ming literati face the choice of life and death. On the one hand, many literati stood on the side of Manchu, on the other hand, countless people died for their country. The adherents of Zhang Dai, who neither died nor cast a clear vote, must explain their immortality under the new dynasty. Zhang Dai also wanted to live and die with the Ming Dynasty. "I write my own poems, and every time I want to draw a decision, because the Book of Chambers has not been completed, I still regard this world as a rest. [9]3 The completion of "The Story of the Stone Chamber" became the spiritual pillar of his survival in the new dynasty. He said in the first poem of Three Lyrics of Wanhe: "I died a thousand times, and the world didn't feel it. Long live the century, share weal and woe. But I hate "Stone Room Book", this body is not repaired enough. "He thinks that death is not easy, and it is blind and irresponsible to express his loyalty by death. Zhang Dai thinks he is a "fairy" because he shoulders the heavy responsibility of national history.
This is only the superficial reason why Zhang Dai did not choose "martyrdom" or "seclusion", and the deeper reason is ideological. When the Ming and Qing dynasties changed, it was the most chaotic time, the most free time and the least imprisonment time. The ideological trend of personality liberation urges literati to boldly pursue worldly pleasures, fully enjoy the happiness of life, and strongly affirm their humanity, human feelings and desires. Scholars in the late Ming Dynasty generally showed a new understanding of their own personality and emotional value, gave up the rational pursuit of moral perfection in the past, rediscovered people's rich emotional world and creative value, and returned to reality and emotions in line with human development from hypocritical moral preaching. The life value of Zhang Dai's life is not realized on the traditional ideal of "cultivating oneself, governing the country and leveling the world", nor on the struggle for power and profit in officialdom and politics, but on the love of mountains and rivers and the integration of nature, seeking the individual life value of the integration of life and nature in nature, and opening up a happy land in the small circle of personal life in the trivial details of daily life in order to seek the liberation of individual life and gain the soul. He showed his leisurely and exquisite life and his simple and natural interest in life in Tao 'an Dream and West Lake Dream. On the other hand, he indulges in debauchery, he is good at eating and drinking, and knows the characteristics of all kinds of tea like the back of his hand; Hunting in the mountains, cockfighting on the ground is omnipotent; He has a smooth melody, can play, and is fascinated by China's traditional painting and calligraphy creation; I like mountains and rivers, and I am good at roaming.