There is a beautiful woman in the north. Peerless and independent.
Take a look at the charming city. Look at Qingren’s country again.
I would rather not know the beauty of the city and the beauty of the country. Beautiful women are hard to come by.
----Li Yannian
Among the many concubines favored by Emperor Wu, the most unforgettable one was the beautiful and good-dancing Mrs. Li; It was because of her brother Li Yannian's famous beauty song that moved the capital:
In the early days, Mrs. (Li)'s brother Yannian was a close friend, good at singing and dancing, and Emperor Wu loved him. Every time the tune is changed to a new sound, everyone who hears it will be moved. The minister Yannian danced and sang: "There is a beautiful woman in the north, peerless and independent. Once you look at the city of Qingren, you will look at the country of Qingren. Would you rather not know the city and the country? It is hard to find a beautiful woman again!" The emperor sighed and said: "Good! Is there such a person in the world?" Lord Pingyang said that Yannian has a female brother. The superior summoned her, and she was really beautiful and good at dancing, so she was lucky. ("Book of Han: Biography of Wife's Relatives")
A short song can actually make the talented Emperor Wu fall in love after hearing it, and he will immediately feel yearning for his beloved. This is probably a unique example in the history of ancient Chinese poetry. Why does it have such moving charm?
At first glance, the beginning of this song is ordinary. The praise of the "beautiful woman" is straight to the point, without any exaggeration or foreshadowing. But its meaning is extraordinary. The southern country is beautiful, and its beauties often have apricot eyes and willow waists, and are clear and charming; the northern country is vast, and its ladies have mostly snowy skin, icy looks, light makeup, and deep emotions. This song starts with the word "North", and the opening line brings a crystal clear and pure wind spirit to the beauty sung to that is very different from the south. There are more than tens of millions of beauties in the north, but what this song focuses on is just one "peerless and independent" person among the thousands of beauties. "Peerless" praises the beauty of its appearance, which is simply unparalleled; "independent" describes its quiet and elegant nature, which is even more transcendent and outstanding. Not only that, "peerless and independent" also faintly reveals that this beauty disdains the company of other women, has no one to know her, and is independent of the railing. That is not only otherworldly, but also more pitiful. This is Pingzhong Pregnancy Qi. With just two sentences in the opening chapter, I am afraid that Emperor Wu took the lead and felt longing for the beautiful woman.
Since the northern beauty is so refined and lovely, what kind of beautiful demeanor should she have while looking at her? It is not easy to express this. What's more, before Li Yannian, there had been exquisite descriptions in many poems and poems. "Wei Feng·Shuo Ren" shows the beauties of the harem, with "hands like catkins, skin like gelatin, collar like a cricket grub, teeth like a gourd rhinoceros, a coward's head and eyebrows. A charming smile, beautiful eyes that look forward to the future", once said Yao Jiheng, a native of the Qing Dynasty, lamented that "there is no equal in praising beauty throughout the ages, and this is the ultimate song" ("The Book of Songs"). The romantic and elegant Song Yu sings about the woman next door to the east. She also has the following verses: "If you increase it by one point, it will be too long; if you decrease it by one point, it will be too short." The beauty of posture and longing ("Ode to Dengtuzi's Lust"). Under such circumstances, if Li Yannian wanted to praise the beauties from the north, he would probably have to stop dancing and singing if he didn't have something special to say. However, this talented musician unexpectedly sang the strange line "Look at the charming city, then look at the charming country" - she only needed to take a look at the soldiers guarding the city wall, and then she could The soldiers abandoned their weapons and the walls fell; if they "turn their eyes" towards the ruler of the world again, the disaster of ruining the country and destroying the clan will befall him! It’s really incredible that the beauty of looking forward to a beautiful woman is used as the fearsome words of “beautiful city” and “beautiful country”! But if it wasn't so exaggerated, how could it show the shocking beauty of this beauty? And it is precisely because this figure is so frighteningly beautiful that it makes people even more fascinated and fond of her. If beautiful things were so close and easy to obtain, I'm afraid they wouldn't be so attractive. This is the philosophy of life of "What is not to be feared? What is Yi Ke Huaiye" ("Binfeng·Dongshan").
The ending of this song is also worth chewing. The above article is an extreme exaggeration of the beauty of a beautiful woman, but the ending suddenly changes and turns into words of deep regret: "Would you rather not know a beautiful city or a beautiful country? A beautiful woman is hard to come by again!" A beautiful woman often brings you great things. Are there many such examples in history of disasters that “captured the city” and “captured the country”? This seems to be a warning to the emperor to remember the ancient lessons of a beautiful city and a beautiful country, and not to be misled by "beautiful women".
But the next sentence adds another layer of focus? Even if you have a beautiful city or a beautiful country, don't lose the opportunity to get a beautiful woman - after all, a beautiful woman is rare in the world and can never be obtained again! These two sentences pretend to be a dilemma of choice, but they actually have the beauty of "play hard to get": the more you emphasize the inaccessibility of a beautiful woman, the more you will see her beauty; and the more you regret that a beautiful woman is rare, the more you can urge people to hurry up and get it. The author's intention is to use words of deep regret to touch Emperor Wu's sense of loss that it is difficult to find a peerless beauty, so that he can make a quick decision. This kind of ending can be said to be a song with three sighs and a lingering sound, which makes people feel sad after hearing it. No wonder Emperor Wu couldn't help but sigh after hearing this song - "How can there be such a person in the world?" - Mrs. Li was recommended and summoned at such a moment, which is exactly suitable for the emotional atmosphere created by Li Yannian's extraordinary song. .
It can be seen that this song expresses the beauty of a beautiful woman. It is not like "Wei Feng·Shuo Ren", which is good at vivid metaphors and vivid portraits, but uses amazing exaggeration and contrast to show the beauty of a beautiful woman. own characteristics. In terms of expression method, it is closer to Song Yu's "Dengtuzi Lustful Ode". If there is any difference between the two, it is that while this song uses exaggeration and contrast, it also firmly captures the subtlety that people often have when they are "fearful" and "embracing", and "difficult" makes them more "seeking". Psychology finally produced an unusual effect, touching the heartstrings of a generation of heroes. This is where its artistic charm lies. Another thing worth noting about this song is that it adopts a generally neat five-character style (the words "I would rather not know" in the fifth sentence can actually be deleted). This posture was only popular in folk "slang songs" at that time. Li Yannian introduced it to the upper court, with a beautiful and moving "new voice variation". This undoubtedly played a catalytic role in the germination and growth of five-character poetry among literati in the Han Dynasty.