Language Seek Meaning and Appreciation of Ouyang Xiu's "Evening at Yueyang

Song Qingli five years (1045), Fan Zhongyan led the failure of the New Deal, was relegated to Dengzhou, Henan Province. Ouyang Xiu, who was actively involved in the new government, "petitioned with emotion" and was once imprisoned, and then was relegated to the governor of Chuzhou. This article was written in the second year of his appointment to Chuzhou (1046). His mood at this time and Fan Zhongyan should be equally worried. Fan Zhongyan in the "yueyanglou ji" in the "not to things, not to their own sadness", "into also worry, also worry", "the world's first worry, after the world's happiness and happiness", in fact, is replacing all normal states of mind with sorrow and rejecting joy. This point we analyze in the book "The Records of Yueyang Tower", has been said very clearly. Ouyang Xiu did not like Fan Zhongyan, "into also worry, retreat also worry", he wrote in the "evening berth Yueyang":

Lying heard Yueyang city bell, tie boat Yueyang city tree.

It is the bright moon of the empty river to see, the clouds and water is lost in the river road.

The night is deep and the moon is clear, and the people on the water are singing under the moon.

The song is so long that you can't stop listening to it, and the boat is so short that you can't get out of it.

Although there is a "cloudy water" of "lost" feeling, but Ouyang Xiu still heard the "clear light" in the song, listening to a very fascinated, and still enjoy the "light boat" "like flying" feeling. From here, we can see the difference in personality between Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongyan. To the "Drunken Master Pavilion Records", this difference, it is more obvious. Ouyang Xiu's large brush and thick ink, rendering a joyful scene, not only his own joy, but also with the people. Does this mean that Ouyang Xiu does not have a big heart to worry about the world? With this question in mind, let us analyze the Book of the Drunken Master's Pavilion comprehensively.

The first sentence, "Around Chu all mountains also." At a glance, the benefit is to open the door to the mountains. But this realm, that is, in the hands of Ouyang Xiu, who is concerned about the concise writing style of the historian, is not reached easily, but has gone through repeated. According to "Zhu Zi class series" Volume VIII: "Ou Gongwen is also modified to the wonderful place, ha someone bought his "Drunken Master Pavilion" manuscript, the first said Chuzhou mountains on all sides, where dozens of words. After the end of the final change, only said: 'Around Chu all mountains', five words only."

After opening the door to the mountains, he wrote directly about the beauty of the landscape. First, write the southwest of Mount Langya: "azure however deep show", then write the water (brewing spring): "water sound gurgling and diarrhea out of the two peaks." Mountain and water are there, followed by writing the beauty of the pavilion: "winged on the spring." All three should be said to be relatively concise. The word "翼然" turns the noun "翼" into an adverb. Although as early as Tao Yuanming had said, "There is a wind from the south, and the wings are freshly polished" ("Luck of the Season"), Tao turned "wings" into a verb, but here it is turned into an adverb to describe the flying eaves, which is very charming. Other than that, there are no deliberate rhetorical traces. But these few phrases form a very chic feeling. Where does the sense of chic come from? Someone translated this paragraph into modern Chinese, we quote for comparison:

Chuzhou is surrounded by mountains. It has a few peaks in the southwest corner, and the wooded valleys are especially beautiful. The one that looks heavily wooded and deep and beautiful is Mount Langya. Along the mountain road for six or seven miles, gradually heard the sound of gurgling water, flowing out from between two peaks, is the so-called brewing spring. The mountain is straight, the road also followed the bend, so you can see in the mountain above the spring has a like a bird's wings open like the pavilion. This is the Drunken Master Pavilion. Who built the pavilion? It was the monk Zhixian who built the pavilion on the mountain; and who gave it this name? It was the Taishou who called the pavilion by his own alias. The Taishou drank here with his guests, got drunk after drinking a little, and being the oldest, he gave himself the name of Drunken Master. The drunkard's mind was not on drinking, but on the mountains and waters. The pleasure of this landscape is comprehended in the heart and sent in the wine.

From the meaning of the words, it should be said that the translation is generally accurate. But reading it, its meaning can be said to be lost. In addition to the error in the associative meaning of ancient and modern vocabulary, there is another reason for this, which is that the translation has emasculated all the syntax and tone that are so characteristic of the original. The first sentence of the original text seems, on the surface, merely to open the door; in essence, it also sets the tone for the whole text. If you want to recite it, you can't read it as: All the mountains around Chu, but it should be: All the mountains around Chu, and all the mountains around Chu. And it should be:

Huanchu ...... are also mountains .......

Only in this way can the tone of the sentence and the whole text is unified. Such as the first paragraph:

Looking at the azure however deep show, Langya also.

The water gurgles and cascades out between the two peaks, the brewing springs also.

They are the first to be used in the world's largest city, and they are the first to be used in the world's largest city.

Who made the pavilion? The monk of the mountain said Zhixian also.

The name of the person who, Taishou self-proclaimed also.

Tai Shou ...... drink less often drunk, and the highest years, so the self-proclaimed Drunken Weng also.

Drunkenness is not about wine, but about the landscape.

The music of the landscape, the heart and the wine.

From the syntax, there are eight or nine sentences in a row, all of which are judgmental sentences of the same structure (...... those who are ...... also), and all of which are intonational dichotomies between the first half of the sentence and the second half of the sentence. This is a rhetorical taboo. Scenic description to rich as the top, not only words should be colorful, but also syntactically varied, which is almost the basic, underlying norm. Monotonous syntax and lack of colorful words are equally taboo. Here, however, Ouyang Xiu has created a context that is consistent not only in semantics but also in tone. This dichotomy before and after why it is worth repeating, but also in the repetition without the disadvantages of repetition? The key lies in the fact that this kind of dichotomous sentence is not the usual continuous form, but carries a question-and-answer implication:

"Looking at the azure yet deep and beautiful," first seeing the beauty of the scenery, and then answering, "Luangya also".

"The sound of water gurgling and cascading out between the two peaks", first heard the sound, and then explained: "brewing spring also".

"There is a pavilion winging over the spring", first there is a strange visual imagery, and then the answer: "Drunken Master Pavilion also".

What this syntactic structure suggests is first mental amazement, discovery, and then comprehension. It is a process. This process is characterized by, firstly, first a feeling, secondly an explanation; first the sensation of sensation, followed by the elaboration of the idea. Second, this syntactic repetition also suggests a dizzying landscape and a constant flow of thoughts. If you don't use the dichotomous syntax that prompts such a response, and use the syntax of general description, which is continuous, you have to show the name of the landscape first:

Langya Mountain, the azure and yet deep and beautiful;

Brewing springs, the sound of the water gurgling and cascading

Drunken Weng Pavilion, whose pavilion winged out on the springs.

This would be no psychological prompting, amazement, discovery and understanding of the process, can really be a bit of a running gag, too dull. Ouyang Xiu this article syntax of the marvelous, but also thanks to the end of each sentence, are using a "also" word. This is an imaginary word, not too much specific meaning, but here is very important, important to must be used in the whole article from beginning to end of each sentence. This is because the word "also" expresses a state of mind and a tone of voice that is first observant and then affirmative. The tone of this "also" style is set as early as the first sentence of the article. As the previous quote translates it as:

The one that looks lush and deep and beautiful is Mount Langya.

Gradually the sound of gurgling water is heard, and what flows out from between two peaks is known as the Stuffed Spring.

There is a pavilion above the spring that looks like a bird's wing spread out, and this is the Drunken Master Pavilion.

The meaning is more or less the same, but why does it read as particularly scenery-killing? Because the affirmative, bright tone is gone. There is a big difference between having this tone and not having it. Not only is it a tone, but it serves to complete the sentence. For example, "Zhongyong": righteousness is also appropriate. "Also" is used at the end of a sentence to indicate an affirmative tone that forms a judgment. In addition, it is also a little close to the modern Chinese "ah" and "yah". The difference is that without "ah" and "yah" in modern Chinese, the sentence is still complete; whereas in ancient Chinese, without this word "also", the affirmative tone of judgment cannot be formed , the emotional color disappears. For example:

"He who is kind, loves man." This is a rational, or neutral tone, if you add the word "also": "The benevolent, love people." With the addition of this intonation, the emotion of affirmation is more confident, more assured. The Preface to Poetry says: "Emotions move in the center and take shape in words. The lack of words, so contempt. Contempt is not enough, so the eternal song. The lack of eternal song, I do not know the hands of the dance of the feet of the also." If you omit the last word "also", the tone of that emotional degree of certainty is much worse. Another example is "Zuo Zhuan", the marquis of Qi invaded Chu, the king of Chu said: "The king is in the North Sea, the widow is in the South Sea, the only thing is the wind horse and the cow are not the same." If the end of the sentence on the word "also" removed, become "...... only the wind and horses and cows are not relevant", not only the tone disappeared, and the mood is also light. Similarly, we have already read Yuan Mei "Huang Sheng borrowed books said" in the "young years for a pity." If the last word "also" is deleted, and it becomes "It is a pity to be young"; the tone will be dry. Many analyzing articles have noticed that this article uses so many "also" words from beginning to end, but almost no one has noticed the role of this "also" word in the tone and mood, and generally mistakenly think that the tone word itself has no meaning. It is a common misconception that intonation itself has no meaning. Although intonation has no lexical significance, its emotional significance has a lyrical life. Especially when the word "also" does not appear in isolation, but in sets to form a structure, its function is much more than the sum of its numbers.

There is, of course, a risk in the repetition of the word "also," and that risk is that it leads to monotony: monotony of syntax leads to monotony of tone and mood. But this doesn't happen in "The Records of Drunken Master's Pavilion"; on the contrary, it's a cumulative incremental increase in mood. Because the syntax and tone are repeated, they are dissolved by the fine-tuning of the syntax. The essay does not rest on an absolute uniformity of syntax, but rather on a uniformity that is constantly interspersed with minute variations. For example, "the peaks in its southwest, the forests and ravines are especially beautiful" and "the governor and his guests come to drink here, drinking less often drunk, and the highest in years" break the juxtaposition of the "the ... ...also" type of sentence structure. This subtle change is still only formal. The more significant change is in the connotation. In the same "the ...... also" type sentence structure of the arrangement, the mood in the evolution, in the deepening: the beginning is a distant view, a large panoramic view (Langya), followed by a close-up view of the middle view (brewing springs), and then down, it is immersive close-up view (Drunken Weng Pavilion). If such a level is still an objective description of the scenery, then it turns into a judgment and description of the subject: first, the origin of the name of the pavilion (Taishou self-appointed), and then why it is so named (Taishou drink less and always drunk, the highest age). Such a sentence, on the surface seems to be a description, but it is permeated with a certain special interest. Where does the interest come from? Because the description here is of oneself, originally a first-person confession, but with a third-person description. Imagine, if it is not so, but with a person to write their own how to name the pavilion, and can even bring a little lyrical tone, and the emotion and interest is very different. And now this, first like an outsider to talk about there is such a governor, obviously drink very little, but very easy to get drunk. He was obviously not very old (only about forty years old), but he called himself "Weng". This self-proclaimed "Drunken Master" came here to drink, but declared that "the drunken master's intention is not to drink, but to care about the mountains and the water". There are at least a few aspects to this: firstly, he calls himself a drunkard, but he doesn't care about wine; secondly, he doesn't care about wine, which is a counterpoint to the fact that he is mesmerized by the mountains and the water. This is not in the description, but in the lyric. The article here, the technique has been ascending three levels: the first is the beginning of the description, the second is the description, the third is the lyric. Here the interest, all in the author intentionally left the contradiction: since the intention is not wine, why call yourself "drunken", but also called the pavilion "drunken pavilion"? This is not unreasonable? Yes, it is unreasonable. Reason and emotion are a pair of contradictions. Pure reasoning is emotionless; and not reasoning, it may be in the lyric. However, Ouyang Xiu in the latter sentence, on the lyricism and made a statement: "the music of the landscape, get the heart and the wine." The heart is sentimental about the landscape, but it is put in the wine. This is an intellectual illustration, which makes the irrationality of lyricism permeated with rationality. This is already the fourth level of the essay.

The purpose of the beginning of the essay is but to suggest that what is most crucial is the joy of the landscape. What is the essence of this joy? The next few paragraphs of the essay are a step-by-step unfolding of the joy of landscape.

First, of course, is the beauty of the natural landscape: from the sunrise to the return of the clouds, from the darkness to the clearness, from the spring of the wild fragrance, to the summer of the beautiful trees, to the autumn of the frosty and noble, to the winter of the water falling out of the stone, the scenery is different in all seasons, but the joy is the same. (This and Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower" in the different emotions of the cloudy and sunny different how obvious the difference) The joy of landscape lies in the beauty of the natural landscape of the four seasons, which is the traditional theme of Chinese landscape travelogue, as early as Li Daoyuan's "Three Gorges," has already reached a considerable height. Ouyang Xiu's few sentences are well-written, but fundamentally they do not reveal anything new, and at best they provide the background for the landscape panels for his new discoveries below. The following paragraph goes beyond the natural landscape and into the human landscape, gradually unfolding Ouyang Xiu's new realm.

The higher realm of the joy of landscape lies not only in the beauty of nature, but also in the joy of people. The people who come and go, whether it is a negative, walkers, bending the back of the people, fishing in the stream, brewing springs for wine, all are very happy. Where is the joy? No burden. What kind of burden is there? No material burdens, no stress in life. This is a bit like Tao Yuanming's ideal of the Peach Blossom Garden. But if it is completely equivalent to the Peach Blossom Garden, what else is Ouyang Xiu's special creation? The realm of Ouyang Xiu's landscape joy lies in the fact that people from all parties and the Taishou feast together. Ouyang Xiu repeatedly reminds the reader of the difference between the "governor" and the tourists, a **** mentioned nine times. But contrary to the repeated reminders in the text, he emphasizes that there is no hierarchical distinction when it comes to feasting: if you have fished, brewed wine, and collected sparse vegetables, you can take them to the banquet table of the governor to ****enjoy them. The joy created by Ouyang Xiu is characterized by the fact that people here, not only materially equal, but also spiritually no hierarchy, and thus wrote a special sentence, the joy of feasting, no sound of silk and bamboo, no need for elegant music, only the spontaneous clamor of the game. What best illustrates the nature of the joy is the man who repeatedly calls himself a tai shou, who has no tai shou demeanor, who cares not for the noise of the people, and who cares even less for his own posture, and who enjoys the joy in his own drunkenness and crookedness, regardless of his form or propriety. Together with Taishou, people entered a world without secular hierarchy, guests forgot about hierarchy, Taishou enjoyed guests forgot about hierarchy, and people reached a high degree of harmony with each other. All this is exactly where Ouyang Xiu differs from Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Garden. It was not an imaginary world, which could not be found again after going there once, but one that he himself had created.

This is still only the first aspect of the characteristics of Ouyang Xiu's realm. The second aspect of Ouyang Xiu's realm that is different from Tao Yuanming's is that not only are people joyful with each other, but so are the mountains, the forests, and the birds, that is, nature. If limited only to this, this joy is still rather worldly. The joy created by Ouyang Xiu is not only realistic, but also philosophical:

The birds know the joy of the mountains and the forests, but they do not know the joy of the people; the people know the joy of the guards of the mountains and the forests, but they do not know that the guards of the mountains and the forests are enjoying their joy.

People rejoice with the tai shou, and birds rejoice as much as mountains and forests. In the joy of this point, man and man, man and nature's joy is unified; however, people's joy and Taishou's joy, Taishou's joy and birds and mountains and forests of joy and is different, not connected. Here is obvious, there are Zhuangzi and Huizi swim in the Hao Liang on the "Zi non-fish" allusion to the flavor. Nonetheless, the different joys are harmoniously intertwined in another sense: in this realm of joy, of course, it is the tai shou who is at the center of it all. People are immersed in their own joy, and the tai shou is immersed in his own joy, not realizing that the tai shou's joy is only for the sake of the people's joy. The similarity of the syntactic patterns of "joy of joy" and Fan Zhongyan's "joy of joy" may be coincidental, but it may also be the result of Ouyang Xiu's conversation with his friend Fan Zhongyan: to be "happy after the joy of the world", that is, to wait until the world is happy, that is, until the world is happy. ", that can wait until when ah? As long as the immediate with the people, it is also wonderful:

Drunk can be with the joy of its music, wake up can be described to the text of the person, Taishou also.

The first part of the story is about the "joy of joy", and the second part is about the "joy of joy", and the joy of joy with the people. The first is to focus on one point, that is, to enjoy the joy of the people. This realm is the realm of "drunkenness". The joy of "drunkenness" is the joy of transcending reality, of forgetting hierarchy, of forgetting rituals and laws. And when one wakes up, what happens? Is it like a dream? No. Rather, it is written down in an essay as an ideal.

Who is the governor? I'm not going to be able to get the job done, but I'm going to be able to get the job done.

Toward the end of the article, that is to say, to the ideal state, has been hidden in the third person behind the "guardian", has been disguised as a "pale face and gray hair", "disheveled" in the crowd, finally appeared. The ego that has been disguised as a "gray-haired" and "disheveled" person in the crowd has finally made its appearance. Not only did he appear, but he also wrote out his name in full. This person is actually Ouyang Xiu, who is only forty years old, and he has to write out his place of origin to show his truth. After this name, add a "also", in this last affirmative sentence of judgment, this "also" word contains the pride, self-complacency, self-contained, free feeling of interest, is really amazing.

Here, we can go back and answer the opening question. What is "drunkenness"? Why is it that a drunkard's intention is not to drink, but to be among the mountains and waters? This is because between the mountains and the waters, there is no human hierarchy, no human rituals. Why is it necessary to associate the meaning of a drunkard with "wine"? It is because wine has the function of "intoxication," and it is only with this "intoxication" that one can transcend reality. "Drunkenness" is very difficult to realize in reality, so Fan Zhongyan has to wait until after the world's happiness and happiness. Ouyang Xiu as long as to enter the beyond reality, imagination, ideal and people with the realm of happiness, this "drunkenness" is very easy to realize, as long as "get the heart, the wine," so that they have a little drunkenness into it. Drunkenness here has two meanings. The first is drunkenness, regardless of the reality and imagination; the second is intoxication, get rid of the reality of political pressure, enter the idealized realm, enjoy the high degree of freedom of the spirit.