Great Ambition And Leisure Literature Entertainment-Qian Mingshan Research

By research on the Qian Mingshan,who is honoured as a great scholar who combines profundity with virtue in the south of the Yangtze River area,and his life stories,capacity and experience,learning and cultivation,educational achievement,and literature and art contribution,this paper tries to find out Qian Mingshan’s practice of “great ambition and leisure literature entertainment” that was on the verge of extinction but was able to survive in Jiyuan Yard in the Republic years,and along with his enlightenment on today from the perspective of Confucian classic books and historical records,and from the study,practice and teaching of literature and art.Having “great ambition and leisure literature entertainment” was the basic life style of Confucians and scholars for successive dynasties,from Confucius period to the Tang dynasty and Song dynasty.This basic life style has two manifestations---one is the capacity and experience,learning and cultivation of Confucian classic books and historical records.To be specific,it was their learning and cultivation shown in their working concerning national economy and the people’s livelihood in governments and public institutions,education and medical industries,industrial and commercial enterprises as “all-rounder people” and “took on the important task,observed the overall situation,led the overall situation,and became a qualified leader”.The second manifestation is that while finishing their own duties and responsibilities in work,the Confucians and scholars were concentrated on “six classical arts”,which were rites,music,archery,chariot-riding,calligraphy and mathematics in the beginning ancient times and became mainly writing,poetry,calligraphy,painting,music-playing,chess and other forms recognized by later people as the self-cultivation for regulating the conflict in body and mind.However,this tradition has been gradually abandoned since the Song Dynasty.Especially since the modern era,with the comprehensive introduction of Western culture and the increasingly clear division of professional teaching and specialization of work,the Confucian classic books and historical records were no longer the common learning and cultivation of people engaged in various social works,but became the object of special academic research and the prejudice judged based on traditional "bad methods in art and literature".Since then,“ambition” and “literature entertainment” have been split even more.Confucians no longer payed attention to "leisure literature entertainment”,and thus the art and literature,as "a matter left for leisure time",gradually withdrew from the mainstream of Chinese literature and art.Art and literature have become the full-time work of writers and artists who "make study in art and literature as business" and "make life-long concentration on art and literature".By inheriting the “high ideological and cultural concentration” of Chang-Zhou School in the Qing Dynasty and the traditional literature passed down for the "respect for the imperial family",Qian Mingshan made outstanding contributions to the style of "having great ambition and leisure literature entertainment".This contribution was not only his personal experience,but also the cultivation of a large number of outstanding talents through the "preaching,teaching,and solving puzzles" in the Jiyuan Yard,which has a profound impact on the development of culture,history and art in regions south of the Yangtze River,and especially in Shanghai."The Chronicle of Zuo","Mencius" and other Confucian classic books and historical records,as the foundation knowledge of capacity and experience,learning and cultivation for Qian Mingshan and his disciples,have embodies the spirit of responsibility for national affairs and the people’s livelihood.Therefore,Qian Mingshan and his disciples have recognized "becoming a great scholar" as their self-expectation.Art and literature,including poetry,Ci---another form of Chinese poetry,painting and calligraphy,etc.,were the foundation for the physical and mental cultivation of Qian Mingshan and his disciples.Qian Mingshan and his disciples have regarded self-cultivation and having ambitions as the "matter left for leisure time",and have achieved unusually brilliant achievements,which went even beyond those made by the professional litterateurs and artists of the same time.Therefore,they have become a unique landmark in the history of literature and art since the Republic of China.Have People were amazed by Qian Mingshan and his Jiyuan and his disciple for their leaving a colorful chapter of "leisure literature entertainment" themed in traditional Confucianism in the Jiyuan Yard,and even further impressed by his having an elegant and upright exemplification of "doing good deeds" for the Chinese literature and art,which is unique in the history of modern Confucianism and is the only witness in the history of modern literature and art.This paper is divided into three parts.The first part includes three chapters,discussing Qian Mingshan’s life stories,learning and cultivation on Confucian classic books and historical records,and educational achievement.The second part includes two chapters,discussing Qian Mingshan’s poetry,Ci,art and literature,calligraphy and his painting achievements respectively.The second part includes one chapter,discussing several Qian Mingshan’s disciples’ capacity and experience,especially achievements in poetry,Ci,calligraphy and painting.