Yuefu folk songs, from the mouth of the lower class, "both sorrow and joy are caused by things", expressing the people's own voices and their love and hate. These works mainly describe people's sufferings and truly reflect the contradictions and conflicts within feudal society. Although it was inevitably changed by literati or musicians when it was recorded, it still shines with the brilliance of thought and art, and it is the main object for us to learn Yuefu poetry. Yuefu folk songs have a wide range of themes: some expose the evils of war, and some reflect the suffering of people's lives; There are tragedies describing the problems of men and women in the family; There are also some orphans crying and sick women lamenting. All this has its active life and the voice of the broad masses of the people, which makes us more truly see the social outlook and essence of the Han Dynasty.
Expose the evils of war and show people's hatred and opposition to war, such as "South War" in "Song of Persuasion";
The war zone is south, the country is dead, and the wild is not buried. Call me Wu: "And a guest." Rotten meat can escape without being buried in the wild? "The water depth excites Pu Wei, and the war rides death, and the horse hovers and sings. Why does the room in Lianglou face south? Why the north? What can you eat if you don't get rice? Willing to be a loyal minister? Zisi Chen Liang. Sincere and good, attack in the line and return at dusk!
This song describes the soldiers who died unfortunately in the war. Their bodies were not buried, but became a good meal for crows. The battlefield is a desolate scene, the cold river flows relentlessly, the shore is foggy, reeds are overgrown, brave soldiers are killed, and only a few injured horses wander around the old master, groaning. On the endless battlefield, there is dead silence everywhere, and people's activities can no longer be seen. The war not only brought disaster to the people, but also made the whole society unstable. People actually built barracks and fortifications on the bridge, causing traffic jams and making it impossible to pass from south to north. The poem asks, "What will you eat if the crops are not harvested?" Young soldiers are still so energetic when they go out in the morning and don't come back at night. Where the hell did they go?
The Battle of the South of the City describes a large-scale battle, but omits the killing scene when the two armies are at war. It firmly grasped the bleak and tragic scene of the post-war battlefield, and used pen and ink in the remains of many dead brave men, moans of riding horses, grazing of animals, long grass and other places. Let people feel the fierceness and cruelty of the battle through all this. On the surface, although there is no clear anti-war opinion, between the lines, there are people's resentment and curses against the war. The tragic power of capturing people's hearts in the works is moving.
Similar to the Battle of the South of the City is the "Fifteenth Enlistment" in Zaqu:
He joined the army at the age of fifteen and didn't come back until he was eighty. Every villager said, "Who's at home?" "From a distance, it is the royal family, with many pines and cypresses." Rabbits enter from the dog's sinus and pheasants fly from the beam. In the atrium, Green Valley was born, and Lv Kui was born. Every valley cooks and picks sunflowers as soup. The soup and rice have been cooked for a while, and I don't know who it will be! Going out and looking east, tears fell on my clothes.
This poem is about a doddering old man. A veteran with clothes and clothes, he spent 65 years in the military career and was able to return to China today. In these 65 years, he has experienced many hardships, but he has survived all this. On his way home, far from home, he eagerly asked the villagers who else was at home. The answer is that his home has become a deserted grave. He approached his house in despair. Before his eyes, it was a sad scene: the house had been in decline for a long time, and now it had become a refuge for pheasants and rabbits, so that as soon as he met someone, rabbits entered the dog hole and flew around the pheasant beam, giving people a desolate feeling. His heart is completely broken! When he entered the house, he was greeted by wild valleys growing in the yard and wild sunflower growing on the well platform, which were desolate everywhere. What hope does he have? Relatives are dead, but he has to stir up food, pick sunflower and cook soup with his hands; Rice soup is ready. Who will he give it to? Now that he is alone, how can this not make him feel sad? He walked out of the house blankly and looked at the vast east, tears streaming down his face and his clothes were soaked.
The whole poem "The Fifteenth Conscription" does not contain a word cursing the war, but he draws a conclusion through the detailed description of characters and scenes: all this is the result of the militaristic policy of the feudal ruling class and a bloody accusation against the feudal ruling class's enslavement of the people.
There are also descriptions of people forced to leave their homes, showing the pain caused by war and corvee, such as "Elegy" in Zaqu:
Sad songs can be used as tears, and distant looks can be used as angelica. Miss my hometown and feel depressed. Nobody wants to go home, and there is no boat to cross the river. The brain can't talk, and the wheels in the intestines turn.
This poem is written to arouse people's nostalgia for the countryside. The sad mood of recruiting people far away from home turns around like a wheel. In the war of the Han Dynasty, many peasants were forced to be soldiers or do hard work. As a result, they either died in the battlefield, and the carrion was pecked by Wu, or drifted to a foreign land and rarely reunited with their families. This poem expresses deep feelings in plain language and truly shows the wandering picture of where people will go.
There are many Yuefu poems reflecting class life, such as "Meeting" in Shang Qing Qu, which reveals the luxurious and dissolute life of the ruling class:
When we meet on narrow roads, cars are not allowed to drive on narrow roads. I don't know why I am young (how to be two teenagers in one work), so I asked your family. Your family scenes are easy to know and your friends are unforgettable. Gold is your door and white jade is your hall. A bottle of wine was put in the hall as the ambassador to Handan. There are osmanthus trees and bright lanterns in the atrium. There are two or three brothers, and Neutron is an assistant minister. On the fifth day, I came back, and the road was shining, and the gold wrapped around the horse's head, and the viewer was on the roadside. When I started, I looked around, but I saw two mandarin ducks and seventy-two mandarin ducks, one after another. The sound is chirping, and the crane is singing in the east and west compartments. The big woman weaves again, the middle woman weaves yellow, and the little woman does nothing and goes to the high hall with her arms around her. Please sit down, my Lord. The adjustment of silk is not finished yet.
This poem reflects the corrupt life of the ruling class, such as building houses with gold, drinking prostitutes and groups of maids and concubines.
The more luxurious and dissolute the ruling class lives, the more miserable the working people's lives are: behind the luxurious life of the ruling class, the blood and tears of the impoverished working people in Qian Qian are hidden. Many poems in Yuefu profoundly describe this situation, and the most combative and profound reflection of people's painful life is "Journey to the East Gate" in Shang Qing Qu.
Out of the east gate, no matter where you go, it's sad to get started. There is no bucket in the angel, and there is no clothes hanging on the shelf. Draw your sword and go to the east gate. The son and mother in the house grabbed their clothes and cried: "His family is going to make a fortune, and my concubine has something to do with your husband. It would be a pity to use this yellow mouth again next time, but it is not! " "Duh! All right! I went too late, and it is difficult to live long when my hair is white. "
This poem is about a man who is forced by poverty and wants to take risks. He left angrily without considering the consequences, trying to do something that was not allowed by society at that time and find a way out for his family. But I can't worry, and it's even more sad to go home. He saw that there was no rice in the pot and no clothes on the shelf at home. This made him determined to draw his sword and escape again. A kind-hearted wife can't bear her husband to take risks, crying with her clothes on her arms, moving with emotion and knowing what is good for her.
Finally, the hero said angrily that the white hair on my head has gradually fallen off, and I can't suffer any more.
Because of the political corruption and rampant corruption of the ruling class at that time and the bankruptcy of the rural economy, the broad masses of the people could not survive without food and clothing. Mr. Jane Bozan once said that taxes, corvees, armed oppression and threats of criminal law were the favors of the Eastern Han government to the peasants at that time. Under the favor of such a powerful imperial power, if the peasants at that time were unwilling to starve to death, there were only two ways out: either selling themselves as handmaiden or partnering as thieves. This poem is a manifestation of the resistance of farmers who don't want to starve to death. It has very positive significance and is one of the most combative works in Yuefu poetry.
On Sang in Song of Harmony not only exposes the decadent and shameless face of the ruling class, but also depicts a loyal, beautiful, witty and rebellious female image. There are three interpretations of the whole poem. The first explanation is about the beauty of Luo Fu, and the author writes the beauty of Luo Fu in a contrasting way, which makes people fall for it. The second solution:
Then you come from the south and five horses stand around. Your Majesty sent officials to ask whose sister it was. "Qin has a good daughter who calls herself Luo Fu." "What is the date of Luo Fu?" "Twenty is not enough, fifteen is quite enough." "Your Majesty thanked Luo Fu: Would you rather recite it?" Luo Fu preface: "You are such a fool! You have a wife, and Luo Fu has a husband. "
The commentator "the monarch" (called the satrap of the Eastern Han Dynasty or the secretariat of the state) met Luo Fu who picked mulberry during a spring outing, and was immediately stunned by her beauty, having evil thoughts and attempting to occupy Luo Fu. She sent the beadle to ask Luo Fu's name and age, and put forward the request of "* * *", which was cleverly rejected by Luo Fu.
The third explanation is that Luo Fu boasted about her husband's talent. Official position, in order to counterattack the monarch, let him do nothing.
Luo Fu was originally a mulberry picker, but she not only has a beautiful appearance, but also has a beautiful soul. She is not greedy for money and power, but is willing to live the life of ordinary working people, flatly rejecting the unreasonable demands of your envoy, and showing the noble sentiments of an ordinary mulberry picker. Moreover, the way she refused was also very clever. She refused by being married and boasting, which showed her wit and helplessness.
It is not uncommon for powerful people in the Eastern Han Dynasty to plunder and molest women. This poem is actually a reflection of this real life. Luo Fu and a weak woman, how can they get rid of the hand of an open monarch? Hard top is not good, nor is it good to be vague in order to escape. Why does Du Bi covet? She answered with "Kuafu" and described an important official position to the special envoy. An image of "husband" who is proud of the spring breeze makes your monarch look filthy. How dare you regenerate evil thoughts?
There are also many works in Yuefu poems that expose the drawbacks of the feudal system, showing the people's protests and indignation against the feudal system.
Reflect the family tragedy under the feudal system, such as The Orphan's Journey in Shang Qing Qu. This poem describes the past when orphans were abused by their sister-in-law, thus exposing the shady family at that time. In feudal society, due to the domination of feudal ideas, most people actually expanded their private property, making brothers with the same roots often kill each other when they accept their parents' inheritance. The existence of private property system will inevitably cause people's intolerance to varying degrees. Therefore, when the orphan in feudal society could not bear the pain of oppression, he could only shout loudly: "I would like to issue a ruler book, but I will live with my underground parents and brothers and sisters for a long time." In fact, this was just one of the voices of thousands of orphans in Qian Qian at that time.
Reflecting the marriage tragedy under the oppression of feudal ethics, the most typical one is Peacock Flying Southeast in Zaqu, which shows the tragedy of the couple who were temporarily sacrificed under the old family system and feudal ethics.
In feudal society, due to the strict hierarchical restrictions of feudal ethics, such as the "seven walks" clause. There are seven ways for women to go: disobeying their parents, not having children, whoring, being jealous, getting sick, talkative and stealing. So that when some problems happen, daughters-in-law, children and siblings have to follow blindly and be at the mercy of others. Otherwise, it is outrageous, unfilial and immoral. I don't know how many young men and women died in this case. This poem is the most powerful work to expose feudal family problems and women's problems. It takes the common sufferings of young men and women in this feudal society as the object of description and vividly shows it in simple and vivid artistic language.
Peacock Flying Southeast successfully created several characters with distinct personalities-Liu Lanzhi, Jiao Zhongqing, Jiao Mu and Liu Xiong, through which the theme of anti-feudal ethics was expressed. Lan Zhi is a knowledgeable, hardworking and capable woman, and her appearance is outstanding and incomparable. However, it is such a "unique beauty", but her mother-in-law regards her as a thorn in the side and wants to eat her in one bite. She has been married to Jiao's family for two or three years, and she deeply feels that "husband and wife are difficult" and "there is nothing to do". So she had to give up her love for her sister-in-law and her love for her husband, so she asked to be sent home. Leaving Jiao's family and getting rid of Jiao's overbearing drive are considered jumping out of the fire pit. However, Lan Zhi expected that her violent brother would not let her reunite with Zhong Qing according to her wishes. She felt like a frying pan at the thought. After Lan Zhi returned to her family, her mother advised her to get married, and her brother forced her to get married, which made her unbearable. Her alliance with Zhong Qingyan and Pu Wei could not be realized, and finally she had to go to Qingchi to express her dissatisfaction and struggle with feudal ethics by death.
As a government official, Zhong Qing was deeply influenced by feudal ethics and was weak in character, but he distinguished right from wrong, was loyal to love, was not shaken by his mother's threats and inducements, and always stood on Lan Zhi's side and died for double suicide.
By describing the love fate of Liu Lanzhi and Zhong Qing, this poem mercilessly lashes out at the evil of feudal paternalism and expresses sympathy and praise for Lan Zhi and Zhong Qing.
Also revealing the disadvantages of feudal marriage is "Picking Sugarcane Crops on the Mountain": Picking Sugarcane Crops on the Mountain and Going Down to See the Old Father-in-law. The dragon knelt down and asked the old man, "What about the new guy?" "Although the couple is good, if not old friends. The color is similar, but the claws are different. " "New people enter from the door, so old people come out from the pavilion." "New artificial weaving, so artificial weaving, weaving one horse a day, weaving more than 50 feet, will be more than the plain, and the newcomers are not as good as the old ones."
This vivid narrative poem, through the dialogue between husband and wife, truly depicts the appearance and talents of the old and new, as well as the husband's attitude and psychology towards his wife. Here, we can not only see the tragic fate of women at that time, but more importantly, the author strongly mocked the stupidity and injustice of men's abandonment through his diligent description of this abandoned woman.
Because the feudal rulers of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism, the feudal ethics and codes bound the people more cruelly, and men and women could not fall in love freely. However, young men and women at that time did not shrink back or give in because of this. They were willing to be slaves to feudal ethics, and the atmosphere of love was still very prosperous. There are also poems describing the love between men and women in Yuefu poems, such as "advocating evil" in Song:
Evil! I want to know you and live a long life. There is no mausoleum in the mountains, the river is exhausted, there is Lei Zhen in winter, and there is rain and snow in summer. Only when heaven and earth are in harmony can we dare to be with you!
This poem is about the love between men and women, and is not intimidated by any environment. This is a folk love song.
In class society, although the working people are deprived of material wealth and spiritual wealth by the ruling class, so that they live a life inferior to that of cattle and horses, their thoughts and feelings are still quite healthy, so they are sincere and firm in love. They think that love is sacred and noble, the sea can dry up, stones can rot, and love cannot be shaken.
Yuefu poems in the Han Dynasty truly reflected the reality, and let us see the ugly face of the ruling class at that time and the tragic situation of the working people groaning under the oppression of the ruling class. It also allows us to hear the pulse of the people at that time and the dissolute laughter of the ruling class. Through the understanding of Yuefu folk songs, we can truly understand the social outlook and essence of the Han Dynasty.
Yuefu folk songs in Han Dynasty not only have profound ideological significance, but also have rich and colorful artistic characteristics. Yuefu folk songs are narrative, lyrical, reasoning, and the most prominent narrative. In many narrative poems, the stories are vivid, compact and vivid. Poetry is also full of dramatic monologues and dialogues, whether lyric poems or narrative poems are often expressed through dialogues between characters or first-person speeches similar to monologues in drama. Yuefu folk songs are also good at using appropriate metaphors and personification techniques. Language is also very simple and natural. Lively and lively, showing the richness and Excellence of the people's language.