Style characteristics of Han Yuefu

Linguistic and Formal Artistic Features of Yuefu Poems in Han Dynasty

Language is simple and natural

Yuefu folk songs in Han Dynasty mostly use vivid spoken language, which is cordial and simple, lyrical and touching. For example, in The Orphan's Journey, orphans are abused by their brothers and sisters, and the poems are uneven, but their feelings and plots are vivid.

Sentences vary in length, ranging from two to eight words; There are neat seven-character poems and intricate miscellaneous poems.

Yuefu folk songs in Han dynasty have no fixed rules and syntax, and their length is arbitrary, flexible and free.

Style, such as crossing the river without gong, doing good; If there are miscellaneous words, the syntax is free and changeable, and the whole dispersion is not limited. For example, "Shang Xie" in "Song of Persuasion" and "Book of Songs": "Shang Xie! I want to know you, and I will live long. At the end of my tether, lightning in winter and rain and snow in summer blend together, but I dare to say goodbye to you. " There are also two, three, four, five, six and seven words, which are extremely free to change. There are also many complete five-character poems in Han Yuefu, such as Picking Lotus in the South of the Yangtze River and Peacocks Flying Southeast.

There are both lengths, the longest is more than 350 sentences, and the shortest is a few.

The length of folk songs in Han Yuefu is different, the longest is Peacock Flying Southeast, with more than 350 sentences, and the shortest is Za.

There are only four sentences in "Quyu Crossing the River and Weeping"; There are only seven sentences in "Picking Lotus in Jiangnan".

Rhyme is flexible.

The rhyme of Han Yuefu folk songs is free and flexible. There are rhymes, such as "Ping Ling East": "Ping Ling East, pine and cypress, nothing"

I know who robbed Yigong. "I'm so worried that my blood will leak. I'm going to sue my family for selling yellow calves." There are rhyming sentences, such as "East Gate", "Yan Ge" and "Fu Liangyin". There are also rhymes between two sentences and three sentences, such as "the southeast corner of sunrise" and "self-named Luofu" in Shang Mo Sang rhymes with two sentences, and "Qin Shilou" and "Gui Zhi made a cage hook" rhymes with five sentences, all of which show the diversity of rhymes.

Narration in the form of dialogue/monologue

Han Yuefu's poems skillfully cast dialogues to depict characters, which are full of sounds and feelings, making people feel like hearing their voices and seeing their people. For example, "going up the mountain to collect insects"

"Wu" is even almost entirely a question and answer between the abandoned wife and the deceased husband, which shows the kind character of his wife. There are also monologues throughout, such as "The Journey of the Orphans", which write the sufferings of orphans in a monologue way.

romantic flavour

Although Yuefu folk songs in Han Dynasty mostly show reality, there are also many romantic works, such as "Regret for the Past" such as flash floods.

Hair-like passion and high exaggeration; The crow's soul in Vu Thang attracts people. The rotten fish in "Dead Fish Crossing the River and Crying" will cry and write letters. These rich and peculiar fantasies show the characteristics of romanticism.

Equivalence sentence

Even sentences can also be said to be the characteristics of all aspects of Han Yuefu, such as: "The horn on the head shines in the ear."

Zhu Yue. Qi is the lower skirt, and Ziluo is the upper skirt.

Cycle back and forth, sound and rhyme are harmonious

There were many beautiful poems in the folk songs of that day, such as "Picking Lotus in the South of the Yangtze River": "Picking Lotus in the South of the Yangtze River, lotus leaves, fish playing lotus.

Between the leaves, the fish hit the lotus leaf east, the fish hit the lotus leaf west, the fish hit the lotus leaf south, and the fish hit the lotus leaf north. "This poem echoes before and after, with vivid image, harmonious phonology and lively words, which is the true nature of folk songs.

The influence of Yuefu in Han Dynasty on later generations

Carry forward realism

The folk songs of Yuefu in Han Dynasty carried forward the realistic spirit after The Book of Songs, such as Cao Cao and his son, RoyceWong and Chen Lin in Jian 'an period, etc.

Poems describing social unrest and suffering inherit the spirit of Han Yuefu folk songs, which are based on the ancient theme, narrative style and popular language of Han Yuefu and also show the influence of Han Yuefu folk songs in form.

Although Du Fu did not follow the theme of the old Yuefu in Tang Dynasty, the spirit and system of his poems are in the same strain as the Yuefu folk songs in Han Dynasty, and are directly influenced by Yuefu folk songs. Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen wrote Du Fu's social poems effectively, and put forward the slogan of "Poetry should be written according to the time", which is also the tradition of "Poetry should be written according to the situation" in Han Yuefu.

Simple language/fresh style

The styles of Han Yuefu's poems are diverse, including fresh and clear, affectionate and euphemistic, and bold and sad, but they are mainly simple and natural. The so-called simple and natural style, expressed in poetic language, has no literary decoration, so it is simple and sincere, unique in ancient and modern times. Later poets were mostly influenced by Han Yuefu.

Lay the foundation of five-character poems

Han Yuefu is mainly composed of five-character poems and miscellaneous poems. Miscellaneous poems flourished after Jian 'an, and Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Li Bai all originated from Yuefu folk songs. Yuefu had a great influence on five-character poems, and there were many imitators in the Eastern Han Dynasty. By the time of Jian 'an, there had been a situation of "five words soaring", which replaced the four words in the Book of Songs and the "Sao Style" in the Songs of the South.

The influence of Yuefu poetry genre on the singing style of later generations.

The genre of Yuefu poetry has also influenced the formation of the singing style of later generations. Bao Zhao, a poet of the Six Dynasties, has the most prominent five-character poems and miscellaneous poems, while Li Bai's Yuefu songs in the Tang Dynasty are unprecedented, and their artistic forms are obviously influenced by the folk songs of the Han Yuefu.

Narration in the form of dialogue/monologue

Han Yuefu's poems skillfully cast dialogues to depict characters, which are full of sounds and feelings, making people feel like hearing their voices and seeing their people. For example, "going up the mountain to collect insects"

"Wu" even consists almost entirely of questions and answers from abandoned wives and dead husbands, which shows the kind character of wives. Some use monologues throughout, such as The Orphan's Journey, to describe the suffering of orphans in a monologue way. These techniques also inspired the rhetorical devices of later poems.