Examples of Poetic Techniques

Author: Lin Donghai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1981-09-01
Features: Comrade Lin Donghai wrote Illustrations of Poetic Techniques. Upon completion, he asked Yong for a preface. The poetic techniques illustrated by Lin Donghai were both detailed and comprehensive, in fact no longer confined to a single aspect. Even if I wanted to write a preface, I felt there was nothing more to add, and thus no preface was written. However, there is something to say. The ancients said, "Poetry expresses the will." They also said, "Poetry is the direction of the will." They further said, "Poetry can inspire, observe, associate, and complain. Near at hand, it serves parents; far away, it serves the ruler. Names are known to birds, beasts, grass, and trees." The feelings of inspiration, observation, association, and complaint, when revered, align with the ruler and parents; when despised, they align with birds, beasts, grass, and trees, which seems somewhat illogical. The will of a poet should not be like this. However, there is an explanation. Duan Yucai, in his annotations to Shuowen Jiezi, notes: "In the Rites of Zhou, the annotation by Bao Zhang Shi reads: 'Will, ancient script for knowledge.'" It appears that ancient script had 'will' but no 'knowledge,' while small seal script introduced 'knowledge.' Today, we separate 'will' and 'knowledge,' 'remembering' and 'knowledge,' but in ancient times, there was only one character with one pronunciation." Based on this reasoning, 'poetry expresses the will' means 'poetry expresses knowledge,' and 'poetry is the direction of the will' means 'knowledge is the direction.' Serving the ruler and parents involves knowledge, while birds, beasts, grass, and trees also involve knowledge. Their social status may differ, but their recording should be the same. Homer's songs; the Ramayana; the Legend of Prince Lasar; and "When the first people were born, they were Jiang Yuan. How were the people born? They could suppress and worship, to ward off barrenness. They stepped on the divine tracks of Wu Min and felt pleased, settling and resting. They carried the shock and carried the morning, giving birth and nurturing. They were the later Ji." These all share the same meaning. The essence of 'poetry expresses the will' lies in this. Expressing the will is the primary purpose, followed by expressing emotions. Lu Ji said, "Poetry arises from emotion and is exquisite and delicate." This is a detailed explanation and also a further interpretation of poetry. When poetry reaches the point of expressing emotions, there is nothing more to add. Taili embraced a pillar to his death; Shuxianxiong drowned himself; and even the author of the Chuci threw himself into the Xiang River to die; the petty official of Lujiang hanging himself to the southeast branch—all their emotions were so profound and moving that they should be immortalized alongside the heavens and earth. Where emotions reach, poetry reaches. When poetry reaches this point, it cannot be discussed in terms of techniques, nor should techniques be discussed in relation to it. Level, rising, falling, and entering tones, the harmony of yin and yang—when the author does not have this thought, even the one who illustrates cannot illustrate. Lin Donghai, who is deeply versed in poetry, thinks as follows?