The "Weibo" of the classical Japanese era, the clear beauty of "Vain Grass"

Some articles are good, they are naturally good, not forceful. In the history of classical Japanese literature, there are famous "essay three bi": "Furan Grass", "Abbot's Record" and "Pillow Grass". They represent the highest achievement of modern prose creation in Japan. Among them, "Furan Grass" is especially incisive, profound and cautionary, and beautiful artistic style, which has been repeatedly recited by later generations, and is even regarded as "Japan's Analects".

"Sketch in vain" (paragraph 27) by Sumiyoshi Kei

One

The author of "In vain grass", Yoshida Kanyoshi, is a famous singer, hermit, and essayist during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period in Japan.

The good family has been in charge of court sacrifices for generations, and is a famous family. In this family background, he received a good education from an early age and had excellent cultivation in sinology. In his youth, he studied under the waka master Nijo and was active in the field of literature as a singer.

In 1301, he was appointed to the imperial court, but due to his family of priests, it was difficult for him to be a public secretary. Out of disappointment and dissatisfaction with reality and the pursuit of inner peace, he decided to escape into the empty door.

After becoming a monk, Yoshida lived a life of poverty and simplicity, sometimes even relying on mat weaving to make a living. But he also traveled to many parts of the country and learned a lot.

The end of Kamakura to the beginning of the Nanboku Dynasty was one of the most turbulent and darkest eras in ancient Japanese history, with the collapse of the old system, the fundamental shaking of values and aristocratic culture since the Heian Dynasty, and the new samurai classes competing with each other for power. Coupled with years of natural disasters, the already chaotic situation has been exacerbated. As a low-class nobleman, he had witnessed the plight of the common people and understood the darkness of the upper ruling group, so he had to choose to hide in the mountains. Because he is far from the hustle and bustle, he keeps a certain distance from reality, so he can gaze at the world from a free standpoint, think deeply about everything, and at the same time maintain the sobriety that a bystander should have.

He was in charge of general affairs and meals in the palace for the first half of his life, and although his official position was not high, he was able to get acquainted with many ministers and ministers, and had the opportunity to understand many court officials, which can be described as extensive exchanges and refined human feelings; In the second half of his life, he became a monk, idle clouds, wild cranes, and enlightened Buddha truths, and saw through the emptiness and impermanence of the world. Rich life experience, coupled with his own temperament and knowledge, so his articles are interesting, insightful, concise and enjoyable. This is how the masterpiece "In Vain Grass" was born.

Two

The word "vain" means boring, lonely in Japanese; "Kusa" means grass, which means essays, diaries, or folk tales written in kana with Japanese national characteristics. The title of "Vain Grass" is an example of an antique book, obtained by extracting the first two words of the first sentence. Written between 1324 and 1331, it consists of a casual text of varying lengths with a preface and 243 separate paragraphs. All of them are thoughts, criticisms, comments, and good words written when they are happy and have feelings, which are quite similar to the popular Weibo today. The difference is that the "Weibo" is not written on the Internet platform, but on the back of a wall, piece of paper or scroll. When he died, the famous martial general and singer Imagawa ordered Toshito to search for his manuscript, and on the fifty pages of the Iga Song Manuscript, and on the wall of Yoshida Kanjin-in Temple and on the back of the scripture manuscript, he had to write a number of essays, and then compiled it into this book.

Since Yoshida's purpose in writing these words was only to relieve the boredom of long days, he never thought of passing them on to future generations, so he always improvised and wrote them easily, but the words condensed the author's profound insights. Those narrative reasoning that is short in three words and detailed in detail, embedding Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in simple and popular language, and the writing can melt Chinese and Japanese into a furnace, which is true, funny, easy and simple, and exaggerated and false, shining with the light of ancient dialectical thought.

Three

The charm of "Grass in Vain" comes first of all from its literary beauty. The book is written in a combination of delicate and dense ancient Japanese and refined and concise ancient Chinese. Due to the author's profound cultivation in sinology, the layout is mostly imitated by classical Chinese notes, and the words and sentences are elegant, and at the same time, the ancient Chinese poetry and song are frequently borrowed, so that the works exude an antique and moving charm.

As a miscellaneous scholar, Yoshida also regarded the ancient sages and the great Confucians as good friends, and absorbed the essence of the learning of Chinese and Japanese thinkers, religious scholars, and philosophers, and turned them into their own use. For example, "Vain Grass" quotes many words and views from ancient books such as "Tao Te Ching", "Analects", "Zhuangzi", "Shangshu", "Zhaoming Anthology", "Bai Lotian Poems", "Ancient and Modern Hesong Collection", combined with its own wisdom, humor and allegorical short stories, using fragments, building blocks, flower arrangements and other narrative methods, arranged in ingenious topic arrangement.

"In vain grass" has a lot of wisdom in life and wisdom in dealing with people. Although he is secluded and secluded, his attitude towards life is positive and optimistic. From how to choose the flowers and trees in the courtyard, to how to arrange the utensils in the room, and how to treat people and things appropriately, he did not hesitate to write and ink; He relished many of the pleasures of worldly life, such as flower viewing, drinking, moon watching, and trysts between men and women. The ascetic and hedonistic ideas coexist at the same time, without pretense or pretentiousness, and open their hearts to taste the true joy of life.

Four

An indifferent creative mentality is most suitable for loose and expressive essays. Readers' character is like talking with a confidant. It can be discussed very thoroughly, or it can be fluttering without a trace. After that, the aftertaste is like tasting a cup of clear tea that cleanses the heart, and the sweet aroma is endless.

The "impermanent beauty" embodied in "Grass in Vain" is one of the core ideas of the book. From the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Zen Buddhism gradually introduced to Japan, laying the tone of detachment, indifference, and silence for Japanese classical culture. Zen Buddhism's ideas of "impermanence is the most beautiful" and "everything in nothing" deeply infects everyone who has wisdom.

Kanhao is such a master who has insight into the beauty of impermanence. His view of impermanence not only comes from the influence of Buddhism, but also from Confucianism's idea of "if there is a way, the state has no way, it is hidden", and even introduced Lao Zhuang's philosophical concept of "no desire and no action". The result of mixing the essence of each family makes the view of impermanence in "In vain grass" give people a sense of optimism and open-mindedness and persuasion. Reflected in words and deeds, it is to attach importance to the present world, cherish life, taste the joy of life in time with a positive attitude, and then discover the existence of beauty from impermanent changes and migrations. It can be said that impermanent beauty is like a brilliant light, illuminating the inner world of goodness, and then through "Vain Grass", it has clarified the thoughts of hundreds of millions of readers for hundreds of years.

(Original title: "Weibo" in the classical Japanese era)

Source: Beijing Evening News by Wang Xinxi

Process Editor: U022