Chapter 28 What is the backbone of the article?
In the "Book of Songs" "Six Meanings" of "wind, elegance, song, endowment, comparison, and xing", why is "wind" ranked first? Because "Six Meanings" is an artistic style of Chinese "poetry and song", in human cultural exchanges, "wind" is not only the source of power for the mutual influence of personality and temperament, but also the information symbol of the mutual influence of ambition and virtue. So, what exactly does "wind" mean here? When people are happy, angry, and sad, all the character and temperament that can cause them to pour out their emotional minds is the wind, so it is also called style; In the same way, the so-called "bone" in this article refers to the courage and strength that people can muster when they are meditating and chanting, which is the bone, so it is also called the bone.
In literature and art, "bones" are used for the creation of rhetorical essays, just as trees must be supported by the axis of the trunk when they grow. And "wind" in the middle is just like the personality quality and mood temperament that all things must have to be different from each other. Therefore, if all the words and sentences, or the articles and books, are dignified and straightforward, then the "backbone" of the work will also be possessed; In the same way, if the ambition is frank and hearty, then the author's "style" is clean and upright. Therefore, even if some articles are rich in rhetoric and full of righteousness, if they lose their style, no matter how "high" the work is, it is impossible to have fresh vitality, and then it can neither spread its wings and soar, let alone travel thousands of miles. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that the first thing to do when conceiving sentences and cutting chapters is to enrich and adhere to one's own personality style, and at the same time, it is also necessary to find and adhere to the strong and authentic cultural backbone formed no matter what the cause. Only in this way can the two go hand in hand, it is possible to continue to innovate and progress, and shine brightly. In literary creation, the cultural backbone and personality style are also like the wings of an eagle, without the wind and bones, how can they fight in the sky? Authors who are good at tempering their "backbone" must be meticulous in their analysis of righteousness, and then strive for excellence; In the same way, authors who are well versed in the importance of "style" must express their feelings heartily and frankly, and to the letter. The so-called "hammering words are firm and difficult to move, and the knot is condensed but not sluggish." (Meaning: The words can no longer be scrutinized, and the condensed voice does not feel sluggish.) It's about the artistic charm of the bones. In literary works, if the righteousness is barren and the words are rich, it will inevitably lead to redundant words and disorders, which is actually a sign of lack of style; If the argument is far-fetched if it is not well thought out, it will definitely be a flickering statement and a sharp inward-looking, which can be used as a signal to lose the backbone.
For example, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Pan Miao proposed to canonize Cao Cao's "Ce Wei Gongjiu Xiwen", citing the past and the present as if the scene was reappearing, orderly and just like a few treasures, how many literary talents dare not look at it, which can be called a strange and upright backbone; Looking at Sima Xiangru's performance of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's "Fu of the Adult", the imagination flutters up and down, the thinking is rushing and the clouds and mountains are covered with fog, and the rhetoric is magnificent, not only dazzling, but also magnificent, more like a list of words and phrases exhibition, his works should belong to the model of personal style.
Needless to say, through the explanation of the main points of the above articles, and then drawing on the outstanding characteristics of the two excellent model essays, we can not only accurately grasp the essence of the wind and bones, but also let go of the writing of the only article. However, what must be remembered and guarded against is not to violate the above-mentioned basic principles of wind and bones, and especially not to lose the true character of wind and bones, but to indulge in red tape and flashy exaggeration and emptiness.
Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi said in the "Treatise on Classics": "The text is based on qi, and the qi is clear and turbid, and it cannot be forced." (Meaning: Style and temperament are the master, head and key of the article, and there are individual differences between clear and turbid, which cannot be obtained by eagerly imposing it.) Also in the Treatise on Classics, Cao Pi commented that Kong Rong was "a wonderful physique", while Xu Gan was "always in harmony", and said that Liu Zhen said that he "had an easy spirit". In addition, Liu Zhen also commented on Kong Rong: "Kong's Zhuozhuo, the letter contains foreign gas; The nature of pen and ink is invincible. (Meaning: Kong Rong's appearance is touching and extraordinary, so the pen and ink articles are also extraordinary, and ordinary people can't catch up with him.) It can be seen that they all attach great importance to the decisive role of the author's own style in literary creation. The root of it is because in nature, the golden pheasant is colorful, but it does not take off more than a hundred steps, and the goshawk has a monotonous coat, but it can dominate the wind and clouds. This is all determined by their individual attributes and their unique qualities. Therefore, the fundamental reason for the expressiveness of the article lies in this.
Since ancient times, forging a model of literature and being among the subsets of classics and history, the so-called road to success, one of the aspects lies in gaining insight into the timely changes in the style of sentiment and the style of the times, and on the other hand, it is also necessary to understand the internal laws of the twists and turns of the style of articles. This makes it possible to stand out from the crowd and win innovative developments. Why do we need to be familiar with the internal laws of alternating between different genres? Its fundamental purpose is to guard against the unbridled development of all creative innovations at all times, and in particular to prevent them from falling into the quagmire of excessive and unproductive work. As for the necessity and importance of insight into the changes of the times, the purpose is to remind and alert any personality to follow a relaxed morality and ethics to avoid unnecessary artistic martyrdom and cultural persecution. If the backbone and literary talent have not yet reached the mellow and constant, if the style and rhetoric have not yet achieved the experience of mastery, but instead devote themselves to the practical activities of breaking stereotypes or trampling on taboos, then the work will be fabricated in this way, even if it is bizarre and shocking, its death and failure will inevitably end. Because from ancient times to the present, how have we ever seen works with more disadvantages and fewer benefits, empty rhetoric, and full of errors included in the ranks of scriptures and classics?
"Shangshu, Zhoushu, Bi Ming" records: "The political nobles are constant, and the rhetoric is still decent, not only different." (Meaning: Political security and state's perseverance in major policies, cultural rhetoric to abide by the main body, can not see different ideas and do as you like.) What is reminded and guarded against in this regard to cultural phenomena is not only to be cautious of shallow disorder, but also to put an end to the proliferation of inferior vanity.
In fact, literary creation has always been diverse, both in form and content, and all successful people will have their own set of tricks, ways and methods. Therefore, once you understand the profound truth and objective facts that exist in this, especially some successful people, they will not be keen to pass on their successful experience. As for those who study literary creation, once they understand the above truth, they will not go to the apprenticeship again.
The current literary customs and artistic fashions are obviously obsessed with extravagance, and all kinds of abuses have been followed for a long time, and it seems that it is difficult to return. In fact, as long as the foundation of cultural production and the baseline of its sustainable development are determined, only by not abandoning the elegant and upright cultural system, we must continue to clarify the key to the righteousness of the culture, so that it is possible to have and produce a masterpiece of pure air and uprightness, and then there will be a real flourishing of art and culture, and finally the social style can change customs and customs, and then bring about a fundamental new look. If you can think about and explore such a level of realm, then you will not be too far from the success of writing.
All in all: personality and temperament are always commensurate, and the style of speech and the backbone of style should be integrated. Only when culture is bright and stable can it be passed on for a long time like jade. Excellent works of art can only spread their wings and soar with the help of their individual style, and only by virtue of extraordinary backbone can they fight in the sky. Only writers with distinctive personalities and works with upright backbone can be called steep and upright, and can they belong to the complementarity of name and reality.