[Keywords:] Jian 'an style; Aesthetic interpretation
one
On the whole, Jian 'an literature presents a generous and sad artistic style, as Liu Xie wrote in Wen Xin Diao Long? As Time Series pointed out: "Write beautiful songs, talk and laugh with ink. When reading and writing, it is elegant and generous, good things are scattered in the world, the wind is declining, and the ambition is deep and long, so the outline is rich. " "Generosity" is actually a heartfelt emotion with sadness and sorrow. Hidden under the surface of the handsome behavior of "singing" and "generosity" of Jian 'an scholars is a deep sense of survival crisis and a "fast aging" mentality after vicissitudes. Therefore, the most impressive thing about Jian 'an literature is generosity and sadness.
(A), Jian 'an scribes' survival dilemma
At the end of the Han Dynasty, the society was in a turbulent and eventful autumn. Since the Yellow turban insurrectionary uprising, warlords all over the country have divided themselves into one side, fought against each other, spread diseases and burned charcoal. "The old-fashioned people have died a little, and they have been walking in the middle all day, but I don't know what they know, which makes me sad" (Cao Cao's written pledge to fulfill a military order); "Armor gave birth to Qiu lice, and Wan died. Bones are exposed in the wild, and there are no crows in a thousand miles "(Cao Cao's Hao Li Xing); "Luoyang solitary, palace burning. The walls are secluded and the thorns are towering. I didn't see old people, but I saw new teenagers. " (Cao Zhi's Poems of Ying Ying); "Go out, bones cover the plain. There is a hungry woman on the road, and the child abandons the grass "(RoyceWong's Seven Wounded Poems). In addition, the plague also seriously threatens people's lives. Cao Zhi's Talking about Epidemic Qi says: "In the 22nd year of Jian 'an, furuncle qi became popular. Every family has the pain of zombies, and the house is full of wailing. Or the door is covered with acne, or the home is lost. "Constant wars and plagues are devouring people's lives. It can be said that war and plague are the two major culprits that deprive human beings of their right to subsistence. In the face of such a terrible social picture as "the people are hungry and the country is depressed", why are the senses of the scribes not strongly stimulated? Why don't their souls suffer? As a result, a kind of "life is short" survival sigh arises spontaneously.
Life is short, even if it is normal to enjoy the days, but compared with the long river of history, it is like a meteor crossing the sky and fleeting, not to mention that the literati at the end of the Han Dynasty are in an eventful autumn filled with smoke. Sensitive scribes have a deep understanding of this. Cao Cao once lamented that "drinking is a song, life geometry is like morning dew, and going to Japan is more bitter" (Cao Cao's "Short Songs"); "Heaven and earth promise, Yin and Yang turn. Living in a world, suddenly if the wind blows the dust "(Cao Zhi's" Lulu Travel "); Xu Gan also said, "In my life, if spring grass suddenly falls. When you can't get it again, what is self-worry? " (Xu Gan's History of Shi Si). As the concrete existence of life, people live and die, and life belongs to people only once. However, the wars, plagues and famines at the end of the Han Dynasty were ruthlessly devouring people's lives, and life was so fragile in the face of death that its existence was as short as "morning dew" and "grass in late spring". Therefore, the anxiety about the existence of individual life is a lingering shadow in the literati's aesthetic vision.
(B) the mental confusion of Jian 'an scribes
If the anxiety about the life of Jian 'an literati is only superficial confusion, then the loss of spiritual value is another dilemma of Jian 'an literati. The war and frequent regime changes caused by some powerful people challenging the imperial power have seriously damaged the concept of destiny of "divine right of monarch" and Confucian ethics with "benevolence" as the core, leading to the disintegration of ideological unity. Coupled with the spread of Laozi and Zhuangzi's philosophy, scholars gradually shifted their attention from external social responsibility to their inner world, paying attention to themselves and attaching importance to individuality, which was more and more accepted by scholars during the Jian 'an period, which was dominated by caring for the people and making contributions. This feature is more important to the inner spirit of achievement and people's self-worth. That is, personal value and its realization are characterized by the pursuit of achievement. This also reflects people's mental outlook in the Jian 'an period at the end of Han Dynasty: under the historical background that secular gods and imperial power gradually declined in front of power, as an elite group of society, on the one hand, they fought hard with the powerful, but on the other hand, they realized the smallness of their own strength and the meaninglessness of the struggle itself. So they hope to find this complete, inner and free "I" from their true self. This kind of desire, as a personality, exists in the hearts of the scribes.
In the Confucianism of the Han Dynasty, the harmony between man and nature is the largest system of beauty and goodness in the universe: Heaven does not punish virtue, God does not kill again, and man is the essence of the universe and the primate of all things. The large-scale war at the end of the Han Dynasty undoubtedly dispelled the foundation of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty. Since people can coexist with heaven and earth, why is life like a candle in the wind? Since the cycle of heaven does not emphasize killing, why did many Tang gaozu die? This series of questions from the deep heart not only reflects people's worries about individual life itself, but also extends to the worries about life, society, nature and the universe beyond individual life. "Don't come back in the heyday, I will be lost after one hundred years. Living in beautiful houses, scattered in the mountains. Who won't die? What is know life worried about? " When the poet was in bliss, his anesthetized nerves suddenly woke up, and he began to think about the eternal problems of the universe and the individual, life and death. What The Sorrow of know life tells us is not that the poet know life is carefree, but that he dispels his inner depression and sadness, but that he masturbates helplessly. Another example is Cao Cao's "Short Songs": "Generous and unforgettable. How to solve your worries? Only Du Kang. ..... like a month, when will it stop? The troubles come from this and cannot be cut off. " Trouble is endless. What are you worried about? Wei Wu didn't make it clear, but the indescribable deep worry-about life, society, nature and the universe-is also obvious.
two
Literature, as a personalized creative activity and achievement of human beings, has distinct subjectivity and should reflect the emotion, thought, will and desire of the creative subject. From the perspective of aesthetic psychology, the living conditions of the creative subject will inevitably affect his aesthetic judgment, thus affecting his creative style. "Real social life is by no means the enemy of the artist, it causes pain and disappointment, but it is only a necessary preparation for artistic passion." [1] (p194) Just as Liu Xie said, "It is human nature that people have seven emotions, things should respond, and their aspirations should be reflected." ("Wen Xin Diao Long? Therefore, the sad and generous spirit revealed by Jian 'an style is shocking, and its melancholy and sad feeling makes people shudder. "Be magnanimous and arrogant, and make friends aboveboard. To refer to things without refinement; Drive the words one by one, only with clear ability: this is the same. " ("Wen Xin Diao Long? This passage by Liu Xie is the best description of Jian 'an literati's creative emotion. The dilemma of survival and spiritual confusion will inevitably leave deep traces on the aesthetic feelings of Jian 'an scholars.
In his book Aesthetics of the Six Dynasties, Mr. Yuan Jixi pointed out that the "broadness" and impassioned advocated by Jian 'an scholars are undoubtedly a kind of beauty and belong to the category of "sublimity". He believes: "The so-called sublime, from the perspective of aesthetic psychology, is due to the infinite space of the object, the power of violence, the harmonious movement of imagination and perception when breaking through the aesthetic object of the subject, causing psychological obstacles such as fear and sadness, and finally arousing people's rational thinking and judgment. Because the rationality and moral sense of the subject can bear and resist the power of the object, it produces a pleasure of fearing first and then rejoicing, that is, lofty aesthetic feelings, which is a disharmonious beauty. " [2](p52) Aesthetics originates from people's self-realization. The different manifestations of human self-realization will make the aesthetic subject have different aesthetic feelings accordingly, thus giving different aesthetic judgments and evaluations respectively. Sublime, as one of the aesthetic ideologies reflecting the value and significance of human life, is closely related to the aesthetic subject's own factors (life experience, ideological character, etc.). ) and the relationship with aesthetic objects in the aesthetic process.
Due to frequent wars and epidemics, a large number of Jian 'an scribes were mercilessly deprived of their lives. "In the past years, diseases and epidemics have caused many relatives and friends to leave their disasters. Xu, Chen, Ying and Liu all died at once, and the pain was terrible! " (Cao Pi's Book of Martial Arts) If the disappearance of life in an instant is only a fate, and it is in line with the laws of nature, then the imbalance of spiritual values and the lack of refuge will further urge the scribes to think about the significance of human existence. On the one hand, people feel that the existence of life is vulnerable to the destructive power of war. On the other hand, the overall imbalance of social values can be said to have dealt a heavy blow to people's already fragile souls. It seems that all their struggles and pursuits are meaningless and insignificant. "Most sublime experiences are abnormal experiences when artists suffer psychological setbacks. Facing the foreign objects in nature, whether it is huge or grand in mathematics or mechanics, it first gives the artist a deterrent and shock, forcing him to feel ashamed and ask himself: In such a vast universe, as such a small creature, is my existence too precious, too sad, too ridiculous, too fragile and not worth mentioning? " [3](p 142) Therefore, we can say that the wars, diseases and the value imbalance of people's spiritual world during the Jian 'an period can be said to be an opportunity for sublimity.
Kant once pointed out in Critique of Judgment: "(lofty emotion) is a kind of pleasure that is only indirectly produced, so it is produced by the instantaneous obstruction of vitality and the subsequent stronger surging sense of vitality." [4](p83) "In aesthetic judgment, the advantage of overcoming obstacles is judged only by the size of resistance. But what we are trying to resist now is a disaster. If we feel that our ability can't stand this disaster, it is a horrible object. Therefore, for aesthetics, nature is considered to be powerful only when it is regarded as the object of terror, so it is mechanical sublimity. " [5](p99) For Kant's "instant obstruction", Mr. Zhu Guangqian explained it this way: "This is not the kind of fear that individuals feel when danger is approaching in daily life, but the fear generated in the aesthetic photos of an unknown force, which manipulates human destiny in a mysterious and inevitable way." [6](p89) This passage of Kant illustrates the lofty psychological mechanism for us. With the help of this theory, we can trace back the unique psychological course of Jian 'an literati in the objective social environment at that time. As mentioned above, people's lives caused by war and disease are as worthless as dirt, and the overall imbalance of social ethics and the lack of spiritual home push them into the abyss of confusion, anxiety and loss. This kind of survival catastrophe and belief crisis is undoubtedly a disaster for Jian 'an literati. Nevertheless, for the intellectuals in China who have a fine tradition of "saving the world and helping the people", this is undoubtedly the best motivation to inspire them to "carry their meditation on human destiny on their shoulders in pain, in order to seek the dawn of human happiness and the breakthrough to achieve their goals" [7](p 144).
"The greatest feature of the artist's sublime experience is that he can materialize his inner complex feelings and passion experience into a form that can be perceived and meditated by all kinds of people in the secular world through various means of expression, and others can also glimpse the life of human sublime experience." [8](p 144) Lang Girnus also pointed out five sources of sublimity in On Sublime: solemn and great thoughts; Passionate feelings; Ornamental figures of speech; Elegant wording; Rigorous structure. Moreover, he also believes that "lofty style is the echo of a great mind." [9](p 126) Lofty style is the language reflection of great thoughts. What is a great personality? Ron Girnus's answer is: "Be broad-minded and aim high", that is, you should have broad-minded feelings and lofty thoughts. In his view, only by being broad-minded, ambitious and eager for truth can thoughts become lofty.
At this point, it is not difficult to understand the sublimity embodied in Jian 'an literature: bright nature is in sharp contrast with complex, dirty and ugly social personnel. Scholars at this time, it is easy to understand the immortality of mountains and rivers and the humble life of individuals, and can not help but rise to lofty aspirations, thus trying to integrate the limited self into the infinite universe. In the sublime (aesthetic) experience of material immortality and short life, a noble and upright spirit has an irresistible impact on writers' hearts, inspiring their personality strength and upward determination to compete with huge and ferocious foreign objects, thus surpassing setbacks and finally realizing the sublimation of "I" (personality strength), so that "I" can gain extraordinary ability and unexpected height of viewing the world.
three
"Aesthetics is the best way to transcend limitation and the only way out of the tragic predicament." [10] (p102) How does aesthetics make people transcend the limited? This is because beauty is "the ultimate expression of infinite things" (thanks), "the revelation of eternal things" and "instant persistence" (in Unamuno language). People have an extremely strong instinctive desire for infinity and eternity, so it is easy for people to fall into the arms of this infinite goddess roaming in the finite in the aesthetic process, thus achieving an eternal and sacred paradise on earth. It is in this sense that Mr. Li Zehou said: "The essence of beauty is the most perfect display of human nature, and the philosophy of beauty is the highest peak of human philosophy." [1 1](p96) It is in this sense that countless sages from Plato and Zhuangzi to Kant, Schiller, Schelling, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Marcuse and Zong Baihua all attached great importance to aesthetics and entrusted it with the great historical responsibility of liberating all mankind.
It is precisely because of years of wars, epidemics, famines and political disputes that Jian 'an literati realized the brevity and impermanence of life from the cruel social reality, and then explored an eternal value beyond the limited life. In other words, it is precisely because of the finiteness of life stipulated by death that people are forced to look for something beyond the finiteness of life, to understand death, to pursue eternal life from mortal death, and to create eternal ultimate value from short-lived limited life. Jaspers put it well: "Life is like a game on a very serious occasion. In the shadow that all life will come to an end, it grows tenaciously and is eager to surpass it. " [12] (p44) From the physical (time) dimension, the existence of individual life is simply "a drop in the ocean" compared with the whole human history, which is extremely limited. However, if an individual's life can constantly pursue "unattainable" infinity and eternity and embark on a tragic journey beyond the limited, then it is possible to transcend the limited and achieve immortality and eternity, and his limited life may gain eternal significance.
Therefore, when death, pain and disaster followed, Jian 'an scholars did not sink, but held their noble heads high! Instead of passively avoiding the world in the face of disasters, they bravely shouldered the heavy responsibility of saving the world and helping the people. "I am determined to play for the Ming Dynasty and contribute to the sacred world. Every time I look at the historical records and the people who were loyal and benevolent in ancient times, I make a once-in-a-lifetime mourning for the country. Although I was slaughtered, my reputation is in Zhong Jing, and my name is hung on bamboo and silk. I have no regrets. " (Cao Zhi and Zhu Shu) Although Cao Zhi is not as successful as his father and brother, his desire to make contributions is very strong. Chen Lin also said in the poem "Sightseeing": "If the sun and the moon die, life will set in the west. What's wrong with Zhong Ding's failure to make achievements in time? Think about going to bed, and recite the tomb sutra generously. If you are here, Lide will be famous. " "Saving the world" is a reflection of China intellectuals' psychological mode of "saving the world", but it has a deeper meaning, that is, Jian 'an scholars realized from their understanding of death that only by pursuing eternal life in death and realizing infinity in finite can we make a short life eternal and finally obtain the ultimate value of human life. Therefore, Cao Pi said: "Building an article is an immortal event. The years of life sometimes come to an end, and glory stops there. Both will go to a normal period, rather than endless articles. " (xelloss "code? Paper)
How to achieve aesthetic transcendence? We know that the real aesthetic transcendence is deeply rooted in the colorful real life. It can only be based on the aesthetic view of real life and have a profound insight into the attitude and way of real life, so that it can always be in a "no-self" situation beyond things, and can truly be "contented and not tired of things." Therefore, aesthetic transcendence requires aesthetic subjects to actively join the WTO, constantly realize real life in practice and realize people's "poetic dwelling" in the real world. In the Marxist philosophy system, social practice is not only the cornerstone of epistemology, but also the pillar of axiology. Only on the basis of social practice can we solve the problem of seeking truth according to the law and the problem of seeking goodness according to the purpose. Social practice based on material production objectifies people's essential strength and humanizes nature. "The humanization of nature includes external nature and internal nature. The former makes the object world a beautiful reality, and the latter makes the subject psychology get aesthetic feelings. " [13] (p131) Only an aesthetic life can give people a positive way of thinking, which can not only pursue constantly, but also transcend smartly, gain insight into the essence of life, but also play with secular life calmly, without knowing that they are guests in their dreams, thus gaining a sense of freedom in life. In that case, why not do it?
To sum up, aesthetics is the highest way of life, which fully embodies the spirituality, individuality and transcendence of life. The essence of aesthetics lies in transcendence, which is the transcendence of reality and the transcendence of the real world. Only when people realize the smallness, transience, fragility and limitation of their own existence can they rationally grasp life in the painful struggle of the soul. For example, a dying patient knows his deadline and how to cherish it. You can look at and position your life through the way of "countdown" and seek a reasonable position of positive life value. This idea of "from birth to death" activates the desire of "life" from the height of philosophical rationality by emphasizing "death". Although this countdown will cast a layer of "tragedy" on our life, it will inspire the enterprising spirit of actively grasping the limited life and make the limited life shine brilliantly.