The most important achievement of poetry in the Eastern Han Dynasty is the rise of literati's five-character poetry and the emergence of "Nineteen Ancient Poems". The literati's five-character poems have developed from a simple and elegant style to a cynical sense of worry and the emotion of unappreciated talents. "Nineteen Ancient Poems" takes the theme of a wanderer missing his wife, fully expressing the pain of life and expressing philosophy.
The first people to come into people’s sight are Ban Gu and Zhang Heng, two outstanding figures in the Thieves Six. Ban Gu wrote "Ode to History" based on the story of the filial daughter Tiying who saved her father. This happened in the era of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. In order to save her father, Tiying went to the capital alone to suffer corporal punishment on her father's behalf. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty felt the daughter's filial piety and abolished corporal punishment. , Ban Gu praised Tiying's superiority to men in the poem "Ode to Poems", thereby also expressing his feelings that he was talented but could not be reused. Ban Gu was imprisoned at that time. The whole poem is simple in wording, mostly written in a straightforward narrative style, with very little emotional exaggeration. Ban Gu was the earliest literati to create five-character poems in the Eastern Han Dynasty. He wrote poems in the style of a historian, focusing on narrative. Because he was better at Sao style and four-character poems, he was more comfortable in writing, but his seven-character poems were not as good as Zhang Heng.
Zhang Heng followed closely and wrote the five-character poem "Song of the Same Voice", using the voice of a newlywed woman to describe her love story and feelings for her husband. This poem drew on the expression techniques of folk songs and was rich in emotion. His "Poetry of Four Sorrows" is a modified Sao style. The whole poem is unfolded according to the direction to express his gratitude to the beauty, but he cannot meet the beauty, so he has a sense of sadness. This poem has political sustenance and is one of the seven character poems of future generations. The precursor. Zhang Heng's five-character and seven-character poems are superior to Ban Gu in terms of technique. Ban Gu developed along the simplicity and simplicity of Yuefu poetry, while Zhang Heng moved in the direction of elegance and beauty. Beginning with Zhang Heng, the Five-Seven-Year Review of the Eastern Han Dynasty formed a trend of mainly book reviews.
Qin Jia's five-character poems are mature works of lyric poetry by literati in the Eastern Han Dynasty. His three "Poems for Wifes" describe three emotional experiences between himself and his wife Xu Xi. They were designed to capture true feelings, so they were written. Lingering and pathos, it makes people feel emotional when reading it.
By the time of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, the five-character poetry of the Eastern Han Dynasty developed in a new direction. They used poetry to express their accusations, shouts, and violent criticism of reality. Li Yan, Zhao Yi, and Cai Yong were among them. represent.
Li Yan has two poems called "Poems of Seeing Aspirations", which express the feeling of not being able to meet his talents. The two poems use metaphors and symbols to express his lofty aspirations; Zhao Yi's previous "Ode to Ji Shixie" is A representative of lyrical short fuss, he wrote two "Poems of Disease" at the end of this fu to express his disappointment in the Eastern Han Dynasty and his resentment for not being able to appreciate his talent. Among all poets, his feelings were the most intense; Cai Yong His "Kingfisher Poems" has the mentality of literati in troubled times to avoid harm, which is related to his own experience and reflects the fear of literati in troubled times. These poets in the late Eastern Han Dynasty no longer had a calm narrative and lyrical mentality like Ban and Zhang, but developed in the direction of resistance and criticism.
"Nineteen Ancient Poems" is a masterpiece among the ancient poems of the late Han Dynasty, and has been highly praised by literary writers of all ages. Liu Xie wrote in "Wen Xin Diao Long. Ming Poems": "Looking at its prose structure, it is straight but not wild, tactfully attached, and sentimental. It is the crown of five-character poetry." Later generations of writers consciously learned to learn from it. Artistic style and creative techniques, such as Cao Zhi, Lu Ji, Tao Yuanming, Bao Zhao and others.
"Nineteen Ancient Poems" was mostly written by literati in the Han Dynasty, but the names of those who wrote it were not left behind. His style is similar to that of some writers, but there is no fact that it was them who wrote it. , the author is not one person, so it is no longer important to consider its author, what is important is its content. The whole poem is divided into two aspects: wanderer's homesickness and wife's longing. Poets who traveled alone could not help but miss their hometown after being away from home for a long time, and then missed their wives at home. So they turned this feeling into poems, writing rich and sincere feelings. .
"Shedding River Plucking Hibiscus" writes: "We live apart with the same heart, and we end up worrying about life." "The Bright Moon is Bright" writes: "Although it is a pleasure to travel as a guest, it is better to return home early." The capital expresses the feeling of a wanderer unable to return home and missing his wife. Many of the authors of ancient poems were descendants of wandering officials who wanted to seek official positions away from home. They also wrote this feeling into their poems. "Gui Che Yan Mai" wrote: "Essences and declines have their own times, and it is no longer difficult to establish a career." However, The probability of their success in their official career is very low, so they can't help but feel a little more dejected. "Driving to the East Gate" writes: "It is better to drink fine wine and be subdued by being a dandy." They can only spend their lives with fine wine. Regarding the state of mind of missing a woman, Youzi wrote these poems after trying to figure out the woman's mood. In "Xing Xing Repeating Xing Xing" it is written: "Missing the king makes people grow old, and the years are suddenly too late. Don't abandon the donation and return to the road, and work hard to make more meals." "Use women's words to express the sorrow of longing.
These works also reveal a certain philosophy of life. Regarding the relationship between eternity and finiteness, "Hui Che Jia Yan Mai" writes: "Life is not gold and stone, how can you live a long life." Using gold and stone to compare the shortness of life; on the relationship between human mentality and life cycle, there are two poems They all express the concept of "thinking about the king makes people grow old"; in the relationship between melancholy and happiness, happiness and sorrow are often intertwined. "Born less than a hundred years" contains: "If you are less than a hundred years old, you often have the worries of a thousand years. You should enjoy yourself in time, "How can we wait for you to come?" This is a free and easy concept of life; in terms of the relationship between coming and going, the sentence "Those who leave will be separated every day, and those who come will be close" expresses it. The closeness and warmth of human society, people who have left have gradually forgotten it, but those who are still in contact are still close. This is not forgetfulness, but human nature.
"Nineteen Ancient Poems" is a model of ancient lyric poetry. It is good at expressing emotions but expresses them euphemistically. "Plucking Hibiscus across the River" writes: "Who do you want to leave behind when you pick them? What you are thinking of is far away." "There is a Loquat Tree in the Courtyard" writes: "Climbing a bar to break its glory will leave behind what you are thinking about. The fragrance fills your sleeves, and the road is far away." "To you." Both poems describe a wanderer in a distant place who missed his wife but couldn't find her, so he borrowed flowers to express his love. There are also some writing styles that blend scenes in "Nineteen Ancient Poems", such as "How bright is the bright moon": "How bright is the bright moon? It shines on my bed. I am sad and can't sleep, so I pick up my clothes and wander around." There are also: "The morning glory is so far away." Stars, bright rivers, Han women... I can’t think of them all day long, and my tears are like rain.” These all reflect the emotions and the scenery, reaching an artistic state where things and I are integrated. A French scholar commented: "One of the charms of "Nineteen Ancient Poems" is the fresh short stories. These stories are inspired by Yuefu and leave a deep impression on us with their simple and unpretentious style. No matter how vivid the scenery is described, Realism is just a sign of emotion...".
In terms of terms, Zhong Rong's "Poetry" calls him: "It's thrilling, and it can be said that every word is worth a thousand dollars." There are no particularly difficult sentences in "Nineteen Ancient Poems", but the truth is expressed in the clearest language. , many famous sayings and aphorisms in the poem contain profound philosophy, like wine for young people, their words are light but have a unique charm.
The literature of the Han Dynasty has basically come to an end with "Nineteen Ancient Poems", and then the three fathers and sons of the Cao family, with their Jian'an character, are coming towards us waving their hands.