Su Dongpo's Moonlight Song

Song Qi

Stepping into the moonlight night and feeling the watery moonlight and silvery moonlight, people will naturally think of Beethoven. Reminiscent of Debussy and Chopin. However, in this world, I think the distance between Su Dongpo and the moon should be the closest. There is no impromptu hug or pretentious closeness between them, but a natural blend.

If music is used to compare life, Su Dongpo undoubtedly belongs to the symphony. This is not only because of his radiant talent and ups and downs of destiny, but also because of his elasticity, his tension, and his colorful spirit. So, what is the cadenza of this symphony? I think it is neither the glory of his youthful success, being named on the gold medal list, or being promoted to the emperor - it is not the light and graceful minuet; nor is it the age of his destiny. He suddenly rose from the rank of seventh-rank prefect to the rank of third-rank Hanlin—not the stretch, melodious, resplendent, and graceful waltz, but the period during which he was demoted, imprisoned, and then exiled to Huangzhou—it was him The movement lingering on Red Cliff under the moon is an adagio drawn by flute and violin. The lonely Chibi, the lonely river, and the melancholy moon may have been waiting for thousands of years, and finally the poet came, waiting for Su Dongpo with his beard fluttering and his expression slightly drunk. And Su Dongpo may have been searching for most of his life, and finally found the red cliff, the river, and the bright moon. From then on, their scenes blended and complemented each other. Su Dongpo turned a rock wall into culture, while Red Cliff sublimated a life into spirit.

Although Su Dongpo later left Chibi, Huangzhou, and went all the way to the top of the mountain, then suddenly fell to the bottom of the valley and was exiled to the ends of the earth, his life has been fixed in Chibi, Huangzhou. Huangzhou Chibi will always belong to Su Dongpo, and Su Dongpo will always belong to Huangzhou Chibi. Even if a thousand years later, on a bright moon night, you come to Red Cliff, Huangzhou, and stand, stroll, or go boating, your ears will not be able to distinguish the sound of the river from the poet's song; your eyes will not be able to distinguish between them. Where is the pine posture, where is the crane shadow, and where is the Dongpo layman. And what about the bright moon above your head? You must have seen it before, because you have read it in Dongpo’s articles and poems.

The moon always likes to take a walk in poetry. However, in most people's poems, the moon is just an embellishment, like a woman's brooch or a man's tie clip. Li Bai was the first to treat the moon as a friend. He raised his glass and invited the moon to drink with him. It was only with Su Dongpo that the moon truly realized its aesthetic significance and philosophical value - Su Dongpo's moon is half poetry and half philosophy.

“But the cool breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains can be heard by the ears and become sounds, and the eyes can encounter them and become colors. They are inexhaustible and inexhaustible..."

"People have their joys and sorrows, and the moon waxes and wanes. It's difficult to tell the truth..."

In Su Dongpo's paintings, the moon is omitted from the outside of the painting, or is hidden outside the painting to peek. . The moonlight dances on the sparse leaves of a bamboo tree in the breeze. The looming moonlight seems to interpret the world or life of virtuality and reality, presence and absence.

Su Dongpo’s interpretation of the moon is inseparable from the poet’s love for the moon. He always likes to walk, drink and sing softly under the moonlight. On moonless nights, he would drink and wait for the moon. When the moon was still dressing up behind Dongshan, he would "recite poems about the bright moon and sing graceful chapters" to invite the moon. Facing the moonlight all over the ground, he was worried that his footsteps would disturb the tranquility of the moonlight, destroy the perfection of the moonlight, and stain the purity of the moonlight, so he simply lay on the roadside and waited for dawn...

But , Su Dongpo is not just a poet. Just imagine, if it were another person, talented and famous all over the world, who was demoted, imprisoned, or exiled due to political turmoil or the success of a villain, he might have three choices: First, self-destruction, resisting by ending his own life. Dark forces, this is Qu Yuan's way. The second is self-destruction, drinking and drunkenness, which is Li Bai's way. The third is self-transformation. Raise your hands and say, "Why don't I accept it?" Bow to the powerful villain. Whose way is this? What Su Dongpo chose was the fourth way, that is, self-transcendence, which should perhaps be called Tao Qian’s way. Su Dongpo used the "Great Method of Empathy" or the "Great Emotional Shift" to transfer his emotions from politics to culture, from society to nature, from the real world to the ideal world, and from the material world to the spiritual world. As a result, the world that belongs to him is not narrow, but broad and lofty. What he lost was only depression and restraint, but what he gained was relaxation and freedom. Therefore, we cannot read resentment, find no hatred, hear no complaints in his articles and poems, but can only feel the beauty. It makes people think that Su Dongpo is not relegated or exiled in Huangzhou, but on vacation.

Su Dongpo appreciates the moon from the unique perspective of a poet and philosopher. Is the moon also appreciating Su Dongpo, with her pure and holy eyes? When the moon reads Su Dongpo's wandering figure and drunken eyes What would it be like? Does she regard Su Dongpo as a friend or as a lover? Maybe they are just objects of mutual confiding and mutual comfort. However, Su Dongpo's maturity and sublimation are definitely related to the moon, and to the moon in Chibi, Huangzhou. He went from laughing at the world to laughing at himself, from a smile on his face to a smile in his heart. It must have something to do with the moon. Walking under the moonlight, being filtered by the water-like moonlight, the poet is clear both inside and outside, and his liver and gallbladder are filled with ice and snow.

All favors and disgraces, gains and losses, grudges, and even life and death in the world are washed and made transparent by the moonlight. At this moment, the poet is the moon, and the moon is the poet. The moon is the poet in the sky, and the poet is the moon on earth. The poet and the bright moon walk hand in hand, and the bright moon and the poet dance hand in hand.

Su Dongpo always encountered jealousy and attack from men throughout his life, while women loved and protected him. In addition to the love of the two ladies and his concubine Chaoyun, as well as the adoration of the geisha and the secret love of his cousin, he also received the care of three empress dowagers. One is the Queen Mother Renzong. Su Dongpo, who was talented and sharp, faced the shortcomings of current politics and the suffering of the people, and always felt like there was a lump in his throat, and he couldn't stop vomiting. When he vomited a hundred times, he was caught. At that time, the detractors insisted on putting Su Dongpo to death. It was Empress Dowager Renzong who stepped forward and pulled Su Dongpo back from the brink of death. This is Su Dongpo's luck and Su Dongpo's sorrow. What made him feel lucky was that he never expected that the Empress Dowager Renzong would extend a pair of life-saving hands to him when the disaster was approaching; what made him sad was that in the huge court, it was a pair of female hands as delicate as moonlight that could save his life. .

The other is the Queen Mother Yingzong. After Su Dongpo was reinstated from Huangzhou, where he had been banished, he rose through the ranks. In a blink of an eye, he came to Emperor Zhezong and became the emperor's secretary. This was done by the Queen Mother Yingzong. Although the Empress Dowager Yingzong told Su Dongpo that his promotion so quickly was not due to her own merit, nor the emperor's grace, nor the recommendation of ministers, but the late emperor's will. She also said that Shenzong often praised Su Dongpo as a genius and wanted to put him to good use, but unfortunately he died before he could use him. In fact, the Queen Mother Yingzong must have lied. If Emperor Shenzong really valued Su Dongpo, even if he did not promote Su Dongpo against all opinions, he could at least protect Su Dongpo from being demoted, imprisoned and exiled. The emperor fully had this ability, so why did he have to wait until his death to "strengthen his power"? Did Emperor Shenzong banish Su Dongpo to let him "go to the mountains and countryside" to exercise? What the Empress Dowager Yingzong told was a political lie. On the one hand, she wanted Su Dongpo to be grateful to the late emperor and devoted himself to the Song Dynasty. Emperor Zhezong was only nine years old at that time, and he stayed close to his grandmother all day long. The Song Dynasty court needed the support of talents like Su Dongpo. If Su Dongpo had resentment towards the late emperor, could he still be loyal to the Song Dynasty wholeheartedly? On the other hand, the Queen Mother also used the late emperor to suppress the ministers and convince them to promote Su Dongpo, so as to avoid making irresponsible remarks and gossip. Su Dongpo became the secretary of Emperor Zhezong, and often stayed in the palace at night to draft edicts for the young emperor. When the weather was cold, the Queen Mother Yingzong would send someone to bring Su Dongpo a pot of hot wine. For Su Dongpo, this kind of humanistic care comforted him more than any political prominence and glory. In other words, it was a ray of melting moonlight that shone on Su Dongpo's soul.

There is also the Queen Mother Shenzong. When Su Dongpo was exiled for the second time, it was the regent Queen Mother Shenzong who recalled Su Dongpo from Hainan. Otherwise, Su Dongpo, who was already in his sixties, would be buried in the ends of the earth.

I don’t know whether this is the equation of character and destiny, or the relationship between poets, the moon and women. But it is certain that in the eyes of the poet, the moon must represent brightness, simplicity, peace, tolerance, and fraternity; it represents implicitness and softness, elegance and nobility, freedom and romance, It represents emotion and art, childlike innocence and dreams, and humanity and humanity.

Chopin’s Moonlight imitates nature, Debussy’s Moonlight depicts dreams, and Beethoven’s Moonlight interprets love. So, what does Su Dongpo’s Moonlight interpret?< /p>