Research on Wang Chongliu's Prose: A Dialogue Between History and Aesthetics

Author: Yan Xianglin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-09-01
Features: In the essay "Twilight," the author believes it belongs to one of the few exquisite pieces of prose in today's literary world. Since there are already renowned masterpieces on the theme of sunrise, the vivid portrayal of twilight as an aesthetic subject remains relatively rare. The author, driven by their aesthetic preference, chooses twilight as the theme of their prose, truly embodying the phrase "As the eyes turn, the heart also breathes" (from The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, On Objects of Beauty), particularly focusing on capturing the fleeting impressions of twilight. Through subjective aesthetic experiences, the author conveys the psychological hues attached to twilight. The author's portrayal of twilight is twofold: on one hand, it draws upon the diverse perceptions of famous writers from home and abroad regarding twilight, presenting its multifaceted beauty from various perspectives. On the other hand, the author's impression of twilight is not solely based on the lens of knowledge and experience but more on intuitive aesthetic insight, centering on personal feelings to depict the aesthetic magic of twilight. The essay uses childhood memories to evoke perceptions of twilight. Here, twilight is intertwined with the state of childhood existence and psychological experiences: in childhood, every summer, I would follow my father to the pasture to cut grass. The scorching sun baked the grassland, making it almost unbearable, yet I never grew tired of going. First, to dig holes by the riverbank to catch crabs; second, to admire the sunset over the grassland in the evening. The round sunset resembled red lanterns hung at the village entrance during festivals—appearing close yet distant, seemingly still yet dynamic. Below it lay lush green grass like a velvet carpet, creating a naturally formed landscape painting. The evening sky was adorned with colorful ribbons of clouds, the wind settled, the grassland quieted, and the wilderness fell silent. The flocking sheep returning from grazing drifted from afar, forming clusters and patches, making it hard to distinguish whether the green "magic carpet" had absorbed the white clouds and ribbons or whether the clouds and ribbons had fallen onto the grassland. The imagery of twilight and childhood memories are reflected in the aesthetic mirror, blending the beauty of reality and illusion to form the eternal significance of life. The author also recounts their different feelings about twilight at sea and gazing at twilight from high above. Then, the narrative shifts to explore the varying aesthetic experiences of people in different eras, social contexts, and psychological states regarding twilight. Through changing perspectives, the author portrays the instantaneous impressions of twilight from both subjective and objective standpoints, paying attention to the subjective experience of light and color while also revealing the aesthetic appreciation of individuals in different moods. Additionally, the essay "Twilight" demonstrates the author's free and skillful use of artistic language (parole) and symbols (sign). The pure, natural entity of twilight is highly symbolized, adapted, and spiritualized in the prose. Classical Chinese poets Xie Lingyun and Wang Wei imbue it with different atmospheres and styles, while Tagore, Gorky, Maupassant, Verne, and Herzen also interpret twilight with varying psychological visions, emotional tones, and symbolic meanings. Twilight is poeticized into a rich tapestry of human emotions, becoming a symbolic representation of complex spiritual elements. The author engages in aesthetic empathy and psychological imitative reflection toward twilight, exploring its hidden meanings and the spiritual colors humanity has imbued in it. Twilight has now become a pluralistic, multi-dimensional, and living artistic context and aesthetic field, transforming into a richly expressive emotional symbol.
The essay "Reflections at Sea" is exquisite and profound, with subtle implications. It recounts a journey at sea, expressing the author's lament over the passage of time, interwoven with descriptions of dreams, adding depth and philosophical insights to the narrative. To some extent, all art reflects and symbolizes history and reality; it is unlikely for art to exist in complete detachment from history. One of the criteria for evaluating art lies in determining whether the artwork perfectly unites the sense of history and reality into an artistic realm. "Discussions on Talent" maintains a strong sense of history rooted in reality, achieving a dialectical unity between history and logic, reflecting a spirit of historical philosophy. Reading "Discussions on Talent," one is struck by its profound humanistic spirit. The author reexamines and critiques historical events and figures through the lens of dialectical materialism, offering fresh perspectives on talent-related issues. With a rigorous historical approach, the author presents fair and objective judgments, interspersed with wit and sharpness. Throughout, the author retains the poet's passion, imagination, intuition, and experience, applying artistic sensitivity to observe and judge history. Simultaneously, the author adopts a rationalist stance to reflect on and critique history, particularly targeting the irrational and absurd historical phenomena of undervaluing, suppressing, wasting, misjudging, misusing, or destroying talent, exposing their historical causes and lessons as cautionary reflections for the present. The blend of poetic passion and historical rationality in critique forms a distinctive ideological edge of "Discussions on Talent." Perhaps due to the author's prolonged role as a high-ranking official, their urgency for talent is particularly pronounced, and their concern and emphasis on talent are unmistakable. "Discussions on Talent" uses the form of history to express the spirit of the present, conveying the earnest sentiments of individuals in the contemporary context regarding talent issues. In terms of content, the author elaborates on various aspects of talent—reliance, identification, selection, appointment, and tolerance—forming a relatively systematic talent consciousness. Stylistically, the author's writing is fluid and varied, like the flowing waters of high mountains and clear streams, with effortless yet refined strokes. The language is elegant, poetic, and imbued with emotion, alternating between humorous wit and solemn wisdom. Interwoven with poetic allusions, classical references, and descriptions of nature, the essay adds layers of artistic interest. Below, the author analyzes and critiques several interconnected talent-related themes in "Discussions on Talent."
First, the author expresses their sense of reliance on talent through the poetic form of "Discussions on Talent." While valuing talent may seem obvious, superficial gestures differ from deep-seated longing. With heartfelt scholar's passion, the author calls for talent and the cultivation of a culture that values it. From a deeper historical perspective, the author asserts that talent is pivotal to historical progress, national destiny, and the rise or fall of a nation, determining cultural direction. Talent is a historically valuable existence. The essay "Wisdom, Retainers, and Court Sages" explores the history of wisdom systems, noting that foreign countries established such systems about four hundred years ago, while China's tradition dates back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, "Chuli Zi was witty and wise, and the Qin people called him 'Wisdom Sack.'" "The feudal lords and prime ministers of the various states all competed to recruit scholars," and the Strategies of the Warring States is a record of the words and deeds of these talented individuals. The author cites historical facts, using Meng Changjun as an example, to humorously highlight the importance of talent, emphasizing that the recruitment of scholars was the primary form of ancient wisdom systems. The poem "Hangu Pass" by Tang Dynasty poet Hu Zeng is quoted: "Silent Hangu Pass, locked tight, but Tianwen's carriage comes from Qin. Red gates do not raise three thousand scholars; who will crow for their release?" The poem humorously illustrates the historical relevance of ancient wisdom systems for the present. The essay "Do Not Wait for Grey Hairs to Recruit" is sincere and poignant, with broad perspective, emphasizing the importance and timeliness of talent from various historical eras, figures, and contexts. Quoting the words of Emperor Shizong of Jin, the author explains a universal principle: "The art of recruiting should be applied when a person is in their prime, full of vigor. If rigidly adhered to qualifications, one may end up recruiting the elderly, which is highly imprudent!" The poem "Song Ding Jun Zun Ge for Qin General" by Qing Dynasty poet Yuan Mei is quoted: "Talent cannot be like gold or bronze; they lie buried in mud and sand, not easily decayed. I hope you cherish scholars as you cherish Jun, do not let them be buried and lament their misfortune!" The author explains: "The intention is clear. The poet, through a song for an unearthed bronze vessel from the Shang Dynasty, calls on those in charge of appointments to cherish the brilliant scholars who possess jade-like talents, to select and appoint them promptly! Do not let them remain buried like ancient bronze vessels, unseen by the sun. Buried for thousands of years, when unearthed, they remain as bright as new; but talent, if buried, will wither away in decades." The author weaves emotion and meaning into the interpretation of ancient poetry, lending the prose a certain.
Second, the author offers their insights on the identification, appreciation, and selection of talent, which holds practical significance. The essays "The Glow of Grasshoppers Is Not Fire" and "Judging Materials Requires Seven Years" explore the complexities and importance of identifying and selecting talent, reflecting on historical tragedies and drawing valuable lessons from experience. The narrative shifts between perspectives, weaving a thought-provoking and cautionary tale. Whether in terms of reasoning or literary brilliance, the essays are commendable works. "The Glow of Grasshoppers Is Not Fire" cites the famous philosophical poem "Free Speech" by Bai Juyi, then interprets it: From another perspective, for Wang Chonglin, poetry serves as both an aesthetic means of detachment from everyday life—he longs to escape from flattened existence—and a bridge to engage with reality, transforming it through poetic imagination. This implies a tension: the Wang Chonglin as a realistic official versus the Wang Chonglin as an aesthetic transcendent poet. Of course, this also embodies the difference between poetic existence and everyday existence. However, Wang Chonglin is one of the few who harmonize these two existences. With the poet's sensitivity and insight, he discovers aesthetic meaning in everyday phenomena, elevating them through imagination and experience to an artistic realm. He distances himself from reality while also poeticizing it, achieving an aesthetic grasp and transcendence of life. In his poem "Writing to a Friend," the line "Official circumstances and poetic sentiments are equally clear" perfectly reflects his self-portrait of harmonious unity between practical life and poetic. Reading Wang Chonglin's "Footprints in Spring Mud," one is struck by the poet's spirit of "traveling." Philosophically and culturally, "traveling" can be traced back to Zhuangzi. This great poet-philosopher imbued "traveling" with profound philosophical and aesthetic meanings. "Traveling" is both the highest form of life existence and the ultimate aspiration for absolute spiritual freedom; it is both an imaginative negation of reality and an intuitive poetic dream of possible worlds; it is both the free movement of the body aided by material tools, belonging to "physical traveling" and "material traveling," and a pure imaginative activity beyond time and space, belonging to "mental traveling" and "spiritual traveling." In Zhuangzi's philosophical discourse, "traveling" is defined as the highest aesthetic and artistic realm, as well as the highest life and philosophical realm. From this perspective, it is perhaps understandable why Zhuangzi ranked Free Traveling as the "first chapter" of his philosophical text. Similarly, I interpret "Footprints in Spring Mud" through the lens of Zhuangzi's philosophy of "traveling."
The "traveling" in "Footprints in Spring Mud" is, from the perspective of subject matter, related to "travelogue"—the poet's reflections on traveling through landscapes, scenic spots, and historical ruins. Yet, transcending the limits of subject matter, one can discern rich philosophical and cultural implications in the poet's "travelogue." On one hand, it depicts the poet traveling through mountains, waters, and historical sites, evoking the emotions of the past; on the other hand, through the outward physical act of traveling, the poet "soars to the extremes of the eight directions, and the mind travels ten thousand feet," "thinking and reasoning are marvelous, and the spirit roams with the objects." The poet travels both the external world and the inner self. More importantly, aesthetically, this outward "traveling" metaphorically represents the poet's poetic dream and pursuit of possible existence. "Traveling" and "travelogue" serve as the poet's means of transcending the flat reality of existence and entering an artistic realm. From a purely thematic perspective, the proportion of Wang Chonglin's "travelogue" poems is significant, indicating his preference for this genre. Regarding "travelogue" poems, many are exquisite, with elegant styles, lofty imagery, and fresh language. I believe that the group of poems titled "Northwest Journey," numbering over ten, are among the finest contemporary poetry. Below, through a brief textual analysis, I offer an artistic evaluation of Wang Chonglin's "travelogue" poems.