The Study On "The Metaphor Of Water For Literature" In Literary Criticism Of The Northern Song Dynasty

In ancient Chinese literary criticism,there is the phenomenon of "water as a metaphor for literature",in which literary critics express their views and understanding of literature based on the unique properties and state of existence of water from water imagery,which is very rich and theoretical in the Northern Song Dynasty.The "water metaphor" in Northern Song literary criticism is a reflection of the spirit,situation and state of mind of the scholars under the political influence of the Northern Song scholars,and is also a reflection of the pre-Qin "water metaphor" and "water metaphor" in literary criticism."It is also a continuation of the "water metaphor" ideas of the Qin Dynasty.In the Northern Song Dynasty,most of the subjects of literary criticism were advocates and followers of poetry and literary innovation,and their expressions can be summarized in three aspects: "using the momentum of water as a metaphor for the momentum of literature","using the change of water as a metaphor for the change of literature The expressions can be summarized as three aspects: "the momentum of water is a metaphor for the momentum of literature","the change of water is a metaphor for the change of literature" and "the lightness of water is a metaphor for the lightness of literature".Each of these forms of expression is a fusion of the spirit of the Northern Song Dynasty and the tradition of "water metaphor" of the pre-Qin Dynasty.First,"Using the potential of water as a metaphor for the potential of literature".The literary critics of the Northern Song Dynasty used water as a metaphor for literature to express the aesthetic ideal of the coherence of emotion and energy.In particular,they described the majestic literary style with the mighty rivers and the inexhaustible power of literary creation with the phrase "the source of ten thousand dendrobiums".The political direction of "establishing the state by Confucianism" and the spiritual characteristics of the Northern Song scholars provided the ideological background for this aesthetic ideal.The former is a continuation of Mencius’ idea of "I know what I say and I am good at nurturing my qi",while the latter is influenced by Mencius’ idea of "the long flow of water with a source".Second,"using the change of water as a metaphor for the change of literature".The literary scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty used the natural and appropriate change of water as an analogy for the creative practice of following the law and being natural at the same time.Such creative practice was the penetration of the ideals of the scholars’ personality in literary criticism under the political background of "the monarch and the scholar ruled the world together" in the Northern Song Dynasty.The main contents include: Tian Xi expresses the concept of "natural writing" by saying that "the breeze moves the water and there is no definite text";Su Xun believes that "the wind is lax on the water" is the best writing;Su Shi summarizes Su Shi summed up the experience of literary creation by "assigning shapes to things" and "always acting on what should be done and always stopping at what cannot be done".These critical discourses and critical thoughts originate from the interpretation and application of the Huan and Kan trigrams of the Zhou Yi.Third,"the lightness of water is a metaphor for the lightness of literature".From the aspect of poetry theory,the ideas of "using water as a metaphor for the Way" and "using water to speak of the heart" bred the meaning of the category of "blandness" in literary criticism of the Northern Song Dynasty.The blandness was the core category of Song poetry criticism,and the Song people’s understanding of the bland poetic style originated from the original meaning of blandness--"the taste of water"--and from the "taste of water" came the "taste of water".The Song people’s understanding of the bland poetic style originated from the original meaning of bland "the taste of water"-and from "the taste of water" came "the metaphor of the way by water" and "the heart by water.The blandness in the literary criticism of the Northern Song Dynasty is the beauty of encompassing all things,the state of nature and simplicity,and the state of mind of tranquility and transcendence.The Song people’s pursuit of blandness reflects the state of mind of the scholars seeking introspection,precipitation and transcendence in the context of internal and external troubles.From the "water metaphor" of literary criticism in the Northern Song Dynasty,we can feel the national characteristics of ancient Chinese literary criticism under the influence of "figurative thinking" which emphasizes intuitive perception;we can get a glimpse of the upward aesthetic spirit of the Northern Song scholars and deepen our understanding of the theory of literary criticism in the Northern Song Dynasty.It can also deepen our understanding of the theory of literary criticism in the Northern Song Dynasty.