Taizu of the Ming Dynasty conquered the world with a single man on a horse, and established the foundation of the unification of the Ming Dynasty for three hundred years. History also entrusted poets to sing for the mountains and rivers of the earth. According to Zhu Yizun's "Ming Shi Zong", there are more than 3,400 families.

Literary works of a generation have the characteristics of each generation, but they are not unique. Although the poetry of the early Ming Dynasty corrected the shortcomings of Yuan poetry's weakness, it also contradicted and developed on the basis of Yuan poetry. Many poets are cross-generational, such as Liu Ji, Bei Qiong, Liu Song, Yuan Kai, Gao Qi, etc. Some people were already famous in the late Yuan Dynasty, and some were known to Yang Weizhen and Wang Mian. These two people did not hold official positions or contribute much in the Ming Dynasty, but they had a great influence on the Wenyuan of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Yang and Wang were included in the "History of the Ming Dynasty? Wenyuan Biography". Liu Ji's fame and career were in the Ming Dynasty, and several of his masterpieces were written in the late Yuan Dynasty. Yuan Kai is famous for his poem "Bai Yan" (this poem is actually very mediocre), and there is also a story about his battle with Taichu, which also happened in the Yuan Dynasty. Gao Qi's "The Ming Emperor's Night Tour with a Candle" and "Listening to the Songs of the Chen Family, the Disciple of Guo Fangqing's Former Prostitute in the Jiaofang" are both famous works. They are both inspired by the Yuan Dynasty's pleasures that harmed the country, and imply a sense of decline. Another example is his "Picture of a Palace Lady", which later generations attributed to Gao Qi's misfortunes, but in fact it was also painted in the late Yuan Dynasty.

Liu Ji and Gao Qi were both the most accomplished people in the early Ming Dynasty. However, in the later period of Liu Ji's life, he had become Taizu's "my wife" and was involved in political disputes. Gao Qicai was a pure poet. His Yuefu poems are beyond Liu Ji's reach. Many poets in the Ming Dynasty had their own complete school-based views on literary theory. Gao Qi only used poems to reflect his thoughts and understandings.

The poetry circle in the early Ming Dynasty also had a human and geographical feature, that is, most of the famous poets came from the south, and You Wei wrote in Wuzhong. Liu Ji was once known as the leader of the Yue faction, and Gao Qize was the top of the four heroes of Wuzhong. This was of course because the south was relatively affluent and open at that time, and Suzhou was more prosperous, so it took the lead in the exchanges between teachers and friends. Gao Qi's poems also contain citizen consciousness, but it is not very obvious. By the time of Tang Yin and Zhu Yunming, it became very clear.

The Four Heroes of Wuzhong refer to Gao Qi, Yang Ji, Zhang Yu, and Xu Bi. The achievements of the three of them are far inferior to Gao Qi, and the fate of the four heroes all ended tragically.

Gao Qi's poems are all about imitation, and he imitates what he learns, but the shortcoming is also here: he often wears other people's clothes, which inevitably limits his ambition to reach higher levels. At the same time, because he was brutally cut in half in middle age, his artistic life was prematurely extinguished with his body; if he had enjoyed his old age and gradually become more vigorous, his success might not end there. Burying a group of talented poets also buries a piece of artistic vitality.

Shen Deqian said in the preface to "Collection of Poems of the Ming Dynasty": "In the early days of Hongwu, Liu Bowen, Gao Ge, Gao Jidi, Yuan Jingwen, etc., each showed his talents and worked side by side, but still The remaining trends of the Yuan Dynasty are not yet on the right track." This just shows that the development of the poetry of the later generation cannot escape the inertia of the previous generation to varying degrees.

The emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty won the throne amidst the tragedy of fratricide and bloodshed in the palace. In the literary world, there is the emergence of the Taige style, represented by Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu, known as San Yang in the world. They were prime ministers and experienced four dynasties.

Now that the political opponents have been destroyed, it is considered to be a peaceful time, and peace and prosperity can only be praised and praised. The term "whitewashing the peace" originally has a derogatory meaning, but the Taige School believes that the article should "reinforce the imperial status and whitewash the peace" (Ni Qian's "Preface to the Collected Works of Genzhai"). It is reasonable to write beautiful words during the prosperous times, but it cannot be emphasized to the absolute and unique height, because this will obliterate the complexity of life and the multiplicity of characters. Poets are only allowed to describe smiles and tears are not allowed. In this way, social contradictions simply do not exist. In terms of poetry style, Sanyang advocates mellowness, fairness and elegance, with the purpose of being consistent with the praise of virtues. Therefore, it becomes mediocre and rigid, and his writing is selfless. Regardless of poetry or prose, the most important thing to avoid is being steady and not hurting or itching.

Predecessors have explained that many poems were written for social occasions, and Taige style is a high-end social work produced in temples. Although it was popular for a while, it was despised by knowledgeable people. Shen Deqian said that "the horse is sluggish", and Qian Qianyi and Zhu Yizun's comments also contained contempt.

Of course, among San Yang's poems, there are also some lingering and interesting works, such as "The two servant girls with short sleeves are ashamed of being seen by others, standing on the bow of the boat to pick water chestnuts by themselves" in Yang Shiqi's "Fast Huai'an". It’s really true to say that it’s heaven’s interest. The Jiangcun girl's shy movements for a moment, somehow aroused his interest? It seems that since he is called a poet, he must have an aesthetic sensitivity.

In the early Ming Dynasty, there was still Fujian poetry. Lin Hong, Gao Yu, etc. were called the Ten Sons of Fujian, while Zhang Yining, Lan Ren, and Lan Zhi were the pioneers of Fujian poetry. Gao Yu inherited the style of Yan Yu of the Southern Song Dynasty and compiled and selected the book "Collection of Tang Poems", which had a great influence. The discussions of Li Dongyang and the seven previous scholars were all related to this book. However, Gao Ping's own poems have no special characteristics, and there are not many poems to choose from. Just like Yan Yu's poems in the Song Dynasty, it is also seen that theory cannot replace creative practice.

Taizu was powerful and jealous, and many scribes could not bear his death. Even Liu Ji died in an unknown manner. After Chengzu seized the throne, he massacred Jianwen ministers such as Fang Xiaoru and others. The deeds of Xiaoru and others who died are quite commendable, but he is not a specialist in poetry. However, the destruction of the myth of the "peace and prosperity" led Ming poets to return to the real existence of society.

From Yongle to Tianshun, the political situation was often in turmoil, but the poetry world seemed very dull.

Li Dongyang was also an important minister in the Taiwan government, leading the literary world as a prime minister and assistant. However, during the Chenghua and Hongzhi periods, he was an important figure who reversed the decline and changed the style of poetry. Whether wealth and happiness are insulated from poetry mainly depends on the poet himself.

Li Dongyang repeatedly emphasized that prose and poetry are different. As long as prose is logical, poems can be sung and chanted, so the harmony of tones must be paid attention to. Some of his proudest works were written by Zhang Taige, who was good at singing. He said in "Lutang Poetry Talk": "Poems must have eyes and ears. The eyes govern the style, and the ears govern the sound." That is to say, poetry must also give people an auditory sense, that is, it should Has musical value. One of the reasons why Wang Changling's Qijue is so popular is the pleasant tone.

Dongyang's "Lutang Poetry Talk" contains many words of joy and sorrow from poets. In his own creation, those Yuefu poems are still outstanding, such as "Song of the Longevity Stick", which is full of scale, ups and downs, and vast thoughts, which can never be found in Sanyang's Taige style. In addition, when traveling south and north, the author writes about what he sees and hears along the way, combined with his own emotions, which also has a hidden purpose of being charming. Volume 5 of Wang Shizhen's "Yiyuan Yanyan" says: "Li Xiya is like the autumn leaves on a pond, the vast ocean is turbulent, but it is easy to see the bottom." It can be said that the words are subtle. Volume 6 also says: "Changsha (referring to Li Dongyang) is to Li (Jingming) and Li (Mengyang), how much higher is Chen She's rise to Han Dynasty?" This is also insightful, indicating Li Dongyang's active transitional role in this stage.

Li Mengyang and He Jingming both came from the sect of Li Dongyang, but later they attacked Dongyang vigorously and ridiculed its weakness, so they advocated that writing should be based on the Qin and Han Dynasties, and poetry should be based on the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which is retro; retro. The purpose is to seek truth and to cleanse the popular mediocrity and vulgarity. But later, there was also a dispute between Mengyang and Jingming.

They believe that authenticity and naturalness can only be seen in the works of the ancients. In a sense, it is not unreasonable. But if we want to restore ancient times, we have to imitate them. The result of imitation will inevitably be something that cannot be imitated, so it is ridiculed as a fake antique. Secondly, their pride and momentum can easily arouse the resentment of others. Some people seem to gnash their teeth when mentioning the Seventh Son. Good things can be said too much, bad things can be said too much, and neither will be convincing.

The pros and cons of Li and He’s poetic views are too complicated, and what they theoretically say is often inconsistent with creative practice (this is also a normal phenomenon that is not surprising), but as far as the appreciation of their works is concerned In terms of value, the poetry world in the mid-Ming Dynasty seemed to be bright and turbulent with the presence of Li and He, even though they had some poor works that were not worth looking at. Chen Tian's "Chronicle of Ming Poems" even said: "There was Li He in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there was Li Du in the Tang Dynasty, and there was Su Huang in the Song Dynasty." Although he is highly praised, it is not out of a scholastic view. Try Li Mengyang's Qijue "Fortress" and "Bianjing Yuanxi", it's nothing compared to the late Tang Dynasty! The beauty of the syllables in his poems also deserves our attention. Some anthologies of Ming poetry since the Qing Dynasty focus on the works of Li and He, including Qian Qianyi's "Collection of Poems of Dynasties".

Shen Deqian is a very discerning critic. In his "Collection of Ming Poems", he selected 49 poems by He and 47 poems by Li, ranking first and second in the book. Due to the space limit of this book, I feel sorry for leaving too many details about Li's poems.

The military ministers of the Ming Dynasty, Guo Deng and Yu Qian in the Yingzong period (and later Qi Jiguang in the Sejong period) were all known for their talents and talents, and they also had few palace habits. However, in the palace coup, Yu Qian was unjustly executed, and Guo Deng almost died, and it was not easy to serve the Zhu family. Secondly, Neo-Confucianists such as Chen Xianzhang and Zhuang Chang believed that wind, flowers, snow, moon, leaping fish, and flying birds could be incorporated into poetry, so they also sometimes wrote works that lingered on the scene.

In addition, there are four talented people from Wuzhong, including Tang Yin, Zhu Yunming, Wen Zhengming and Xu Zhenqing. Tang and Zhu poems reflect citizen consciousness, and changes in language can also be seen. However, Tang Yin's poems were also mixed with a superficial and vulgar atmosphere, which he did not care about in the original poem. Among the four, Xu Zhenqing had the highest achievement. He was also one of the first seven sons, and had a monograph "Talking about Art". Unfortunately, his life was too short.

Wu has many talented people, Wu Kuan and Shen Zhou are also among them. Wu Kuan belonged to the Chaling sect of Li Dongyang. Shen Zhou is famous for his paintings, but his poems are not decorated with sculptures and are mostly based on the wind, smoke and moon in the south of the Yangtze River.

The political situation of the Ming Dynasty gradually went downhill during the period of Hongzhi and Zhengde. Wuzong was more unruly than a coward, while poetry was pushed to the extreme. Sanyang and Li Dongyang were both members of the Tai Pavilion. The rise of Li Mengyang and He Jingming was, as Chen Tian said, "the altar moved down to the Lang's office", so the poems also expressed the courage to express evil.

Due to the momentum of the restoration movement of the first seven sons, the latter seven sons led by Li (Panlong) and Wang (Shizhen) followed one after another. Among the later seven sons, Xie Zhen was the eldest at first, so Shen Deqian said: "Siming (referring to Xie Zhen) has five characters in a close style, with refined sentences and refined characters, and a high tone of Qi Yi. Among the seven sons, Xie Zhen is the only one." Xie Zhen discusses poetry. There are also many warnings. In the second volume of his "Siming Poetry Talk", when discussing poetry, avoid being too harsh or repeating it. The third volume says: "When writing poems, it is not suitable to be realistic. For example, when you are walking in the morning and looking into the distance, you will see the beautiful scenery of the green mountains, which is vaguely lovely, and the haze changes. It's hard to describe. It's just a few rocks and a few trees. The difference lies in the vagueness." It can be seen that he doesn't like to imitate, and he and Li Panlong are both arrogant. So he was excluded and his name was reduced.

The problem with Li Panlong’s poems is imitation. Because imitation is not based on true feelings, the meaning of the poems is often repeated. Said: "The bridle is placed in the wall, and the horse is controlled as it wants, so that it cannot get out of the way, but it has the power to travel thousands of miles, which is difficult for Wang Liang and Zaofu to hear." It means that imitating the ancient times is like controlling a horse on a small mound. In the middle, the horse must be allowed to gallop but must not escape from the range. Such a state is actually very difficult to achieve. When he wrote Yuefu poems, he may have really tried so hard, but he often cut his feet to fit the shoes.

Wang Shizhen’s achievements among the last seven sons are highly commendable. He is highly talented and has superior conditions in all aspects. Therefore, he is not only a poet, but also a scholar. He is a star in the entire Ming Dynasty poetry circle. Qian Qianyi's evaluation of Li and Wang in "Biographies of Poetry Collection of Dynasties" is very different and fair. Later, Shizhen regretted his early opinions on what was ancient and not modern. Qian Qianyi said that he was "humbly self-restrained and did not protect himself." Some of the poems he wrote when he was in trouble at home, in which he shed tears, showed his true love, not only father and son, but also fists on his hands and feet.

Due to Wang Shizhen’s wide acquaintance and high reputation, the Later Seven Sons’ restoration movement also included the Later Five Sons (Zhang Jiayin, etc.), the Guang Five Sons (Lu Nan, etc.), the Xu Five Sons (Li Minbiao, etc.), and the Mo Five Sons (Tu Wuzi). Long, etc.), but it is already at the end of the battle, and there are only a few left. And the custom of imitation and pursuit and flashy prayers finally brought the "retroversion" of poetry to an end.

At that time, Yang Shen, who was independent of the Seventh Son and stood out in his own right, rose to prominence as Chen Tian said, "extinguish the stove and start again." His talents are not inferior to those of Li and Wang, and his forged "Secrets of Miscellaneous Affairs" is to show off his talents. His poems like to use out-of-the-way things and are mostly colorful. They are partly based on talent and partly based on his experiences. Because he was in exile all his life and had many worries, he could not express his true feelings to his heart's content.

The late Ming Dynasty began in Wanli, and for forty-eight years before and after Wanli, the political situation was extremely corrupt and dark, and the country was in decline.

Strange to say, this seems to have become a force that not only promotes drinking, sex and wealth, but also inspires the rise of various heretical thoughts; the wave of demands for individual freedom and sexual satisfaction impacts the traditional spiritual embankment, but it is only an impact. Li Zhi, Xu Wei, Tang Xianzu, Yuan Hongdao, Zhong Xing, etc. were active in that era, and "Jin Ping Mei" was also popular during this period. Yuan Hongdao borrowed it from Dong Qichang.

Li Zhi was actually a partial master among Neo-Confucians. His heart was full of depression and contradictions, and he fell into abnormal psychology in his later years. Some people hated him and persecuted him, while others respected him very much. Poetry was not his specialty. Many poems had a Neo-Confucian spirit, but the influence of his theories was great. For example, the theory of childlike innocence requires "absolute innocence and innocence", which is also the goal of most poets in the late Ming Dynasty. Therefore, they will naturally not be satisfied with the disadvantages of the seven sons of the past and the past.

"Biography of Poetry Collection of Dynasties? Biography of Yuan Hongdao" says: "In the middle age of Wanli, the studies of Wang and Li were popular, and yellow grass and white reeds were everywhere. The text was long and meaningful, but it was new and different. The disease was spreading, but it was not able to overcome the wormwood. Zhonglang used his knowledge to study Zen in Li Longhu, read and discussed poetry, and talked about things horizontally and vertically. His mind was clear and his courage was strong, so he was able to speak out and speak freely. "It can be seen that. Before Yuan Hongdao, Xu Wei and Tang Xianzu had already played a pioneering role, and Li Zhi had a particularly significant influence on Hongdao's "horizontal and vertical theories".

In terms of poetic achievements, Xu is greater than Tang, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a poem written by a person in the late Ming Dynasty. There is indeed their own character and face in it. It's not profound, but it can be emotionally satisfying after reading it.

Public Security Yuan Hongdao’s poems are also valuable for their frankness, including the language he uses. However, he was free to improvise and wrote more cynically. After middle age, he even abandoned poetry with Zen. This era makes people escape from depression, but we should also face the reality and express our love and hate. Although it is not necessary to have sex without disease, it is necessary to have sex if you are sick. Volume 79 of Wu Jingxu's "Poetry of the Past Dynasties": "Liu Yushou said: I read Yuan Ji for the first time and loved it very much. Xu felt that he had many cynical words and few wifely thoughts. This is a powerful power, and there is no need to act like a mother-in-law in politics. That's the purpose." This passage is very cautionary. Poets must also have a "wifely heart", such as Du Fu.

The advantage of Jingling Zhongxing’s poems is that they are not vulgar, and their cooking skills are superior to Yuan Hongdao’s. When writing poetry, you must pay attention to cooking, which is different from showing off your words. But Zhong's poetry has an obvious shortcoming, that is, it reads dull and dull, like damp firecrackers that cannot be fired. This is partly due to the emphasis on cooking but not the emphasis on syllables, and partly due to the pursuit of "solitude in the cold and desolate, with rare things to hear and see". The state of "lonely shore, spacious wilderness", this is also a backlash against Qizi and the police. But this kind of poetic style can never be repeated, just like Li He's poems. There are several poems about Zhong and Tan in Volume 6 of Chen Yan's "Shi Shi Shi Hua", which are very insightful and fair.

In the Apocalypse, Xizong was comatose, and in the hands of Wei Zhongxian, a powerful eunuch in politics, adopted sons filled the world, and upright scholar-bureaucrats rose up to fight against the eunuchs. Most of these scholar-bureaucrats were not pure poets, but their deeds and ambitions were both tearful and evocative. Their poems also included many generous and tragic works.

Chen Zilong was a great figure in the late Ming Dynasty, who ended the end of Ming poetry. He emphasized the thorny role of literature. In the "Preface to the Manuscript of Shen Changgong's Poems", he once said: "It is said that singing long songs is worse than crying bitterly. Is it just a matter of calligraphy?" It is also a confession of his own participation in political life and literary life. .

There are more Ming poems than Tang poems and Song poems, and there have been several anthologies by predecessors. This book is mainly based on a bird's-eye view of the introduction. It cannot blindly focus on famous articles and follow the historical facts. However, this anthology contains more than 300 poems, so the poets selected can only be those who died in Jiashen (1644), the 17th year of Chongzhen. After Jiashen, the Huaiwang chickens and dogs who were still righteous and disobedient to the Qing Dynasty either ran to fight or fled to the mountains and forests and had to give up their love. The exceptions were Chen Zilong and Xia Wanchun.

Ming people looked down on Song poetry, but it is generally recognized that Ming poetry is inferior to Song poetry, such as poets like Ouyang Xiu, Mei Yaochen, Wang Anshi, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Chen Shidao, Chen Yuyi, and Lu You , cannot be found among Ming people. No matter what, in the three hundred years of the world, there are still a large number of poets who are working hard. When the country has many troubles, they use their bounden duty as scholars to express their sorrows. The controversy over poetics in the Ming Dynasty is also the same as in previous generations. What has never been.

From the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, China's poetry tradition could still be passed down with the rhythm of history. If this tradition can continue to be passed down in the future, it will not be easy.