Song dynasty classical poetry (shi) is often called “philosophical (li) ? compared to the more “emotional (qing) ? poetry of earlier dynasties. I believe this statement is true since Song shi has always been implanted some rational truth/connotation and there are few examples to illustrate why I will stand for this side. By looking at “Visiting west-of-the-mountain village ? by Lu You, this is an excellent poetry that describes countryside’s people and their simple lifestyles. Lu wrote about how beautiful is the scenery with mountains and rivers, and he put some his own philosophy into the view.
Hills in layers, stream after stream, it seems there’s no way through; willows conceal, the flower are bright, then here is another village ?, if we just look at this poetry directly, we will have a view that Lu is hiking, walking along the rivers, enjoying the beauty of nature; however, as he keeps walking into the green mountains, he sees lot more vegetation lush, winding trails, which makes him more difficult to identify the following path. When he is confused about where he should go next, he saw some peasant huts, looming between the flower and trees pond.
He finds a new village and he is enlightened. We know that how excited and happy he would be because we can just imagine when we are getting lost in a mountain, and then suddenly we find a way out. So this poem seems to be talking about the poet personal qing with these charming, cheerful and, lively sentences. However, if we talk about this poem now, it would be probably when someone gets stuck about his learning and study, which is similar to the poem (getting confused and not sure whether they are on the right track).
If, however, perseverance to move forward, just like what the poet does in the poem, hold the faith, and they will finally see a ray of light ahead of them, which will lead them to a new world of unprecedented. This poem is used to inspire people nowadays, and I think this is the real message what Lu You wants to bring out, a philosophy of what he believes. For a Song shi, it often describes from two sides. One is grieving and passionate, which is always about taking a national revenge, to fight back the lost territory, and free the people who are captured by the enemy.
The other one is talking about leisurely exquisite living style, reviews about the current life and then point out the hidden meaning behind the daily life. Lu You’s “Visiting west-of-the-mountain village ? is the second type of Song’s poetry. At that moment, Lu was dismissed from his job from the imperial court, and stayed at home have nothing to do. The reason he got expelled is his peer did not like him. After he went back home, he was depressed and distressing; however, he still held his faith.
He felt hopeful about his rural life because of his patriotism, and he put all this feeling into poetry creation, which made him a legend in the history. We can see that even he has been excluded and disadvantaged ringleader, his patriotic enthusiasm has not been cut by a little. There is also another famous poetry, which is created by Lu You. It is named “For My Son ?, Lu created this out when he is dying on his bed. In the poem, it expressed that Lu You still cannot see the day that Song dynasty can rise again. This has shown a strong patriotic passion of Lu. Forget not in our family rites to let this old man know. ? Lu knew that everything would be meaningless to him after he dies, but there is still one thing he cannot give up on. It is Song still cannot quell the whole China, and this is his last wish. Therefore, when he is on his deathbed, he still told his kids that if Song could really quell one day, do not forget to tell him the good news of victory even he is dead.
The shi shows a painful sincere emotion with a text plain, which also showed that how Lu believed that Song could finally restore one day. For My Son ? is a summary of the poet’s lifetime of revenge and lofty ideal. It is also the artwork of his patriotism thought. He believes that Song will one day be unified. There is nothing about his own family in his last poem, the only thing he cared about before his death is his lovely nation. The only regret he has is he cannot see his nation being rise again. The li from this poem is patriotism should be our infinite and unique faith. “Dying now, I know full well that nothing truly matters, and yet I am sad I didn’t not see China united once more ?.
From the inspiration of this shi, Lu only wanted to tell us one thing, how to shape our personality to be a good person, to be a patriotic person. From the two shi I have discussed above, Song poetry focuses more on reasoning, and expression on inspiration a fact. The poetry would be fill with the poet thought and some philosophical ideas. Song poetry is meaningful, inspirational, poetic flavor and stimulated the enthusiasm of our exploration of truth more than expressing personal emotion.
