Ode to the Goddess of Luo - Cao Zhi

In the third year of Huangchu, I went to the capital and returned to Luochuan. The ancients said that the god of Si water was named Mi Fei. In response to Song Yu's feelings about the goddess of the King of Chu, he wrote this poem. His words said:

I came from the capital and promised to return to the Eastern Fan. Carry on the back of Yique, cross the Yuan, pass through Tonggu and Lingjing Mountain. The sun is tilting to the west, and the carriages and horses are in trouble. Er is a tax driver in Henggao, a horse in Zhitian, a Rongyu in Yanglin, and a wanderer in Luochuan. Then the spirit moved away and the mind was frightened, and suddenly the thoughts were scattered. I didn't notice it when I looked down, but I looked up and saw a beautiful woman on the bank of the rock. He then came to the aid of the emperor and told him, "Do you have anyone who can compete with him? Who is he? How beautiful is he?" The emperor said to him, "I have heard that the name of the god of Heluo is Mi Fei." But what the king sees is nothing? What's its condition? I would like to hear it. Yu told him:

"Its shape is as graceful as a frightened giant, and as graceful as a swimming dragon. The autumn chrysanthemums are shining brightly, and the spring pines are gorgeous. It seems like the moon is covered by light clouds, and it is swaying like the flowing wind. Back to the snow. Looking at it from a distance, it is as bright as the morning glow; looking at it, it is as bright as a flower blooming in Lubo. Exposed. Fragrance is not added, the hair is plump, the eyebrows are trimmed, the lips are bright, the teeth are bright, the eyes are bright, the posture is elegant, and the body is gentle and graceful. , Fascinating with words. The unique clothes are as beautiful as the ones in the picture. They are dazzled by the robes of Eryao and jade, and adorned with pearls to dazzle their bodies. The gentle orchids are fragrant, and they are wandering around the corner of the mountain. They lean on the Caiyan on the left and the osmanthus flag on the right. Xuanzhi.

I am happy with her beauty, but my heart is shaking and unsatisfactory. The beauty's faith is cultivated, and Qiang learns etiquette and writes poems. He resists the Qiong and gives it to him, and it means that he is in the abyss and has a certain period of time. But doubtful. With a gentle look and a calm mind, Luo Ling is moved and wandering, and the light of the sun changes. It's about to fly but it's not flying yet. It's thick and strong, and the steps are thin and fragrant. The chant is long and long, and the sound is mournful and long. You are a miscellaneous spirit, and you are ordered to play in the clear stream. Some fly to Shenzhu, some pick pearls, or pick up green feathers. They take the two concubines from Nanxiang to Hanbin and sigh at the unparalleled melons. They sing about the solitude of the morning glory. Repair the sleeves to extend them. The flying ducks are erratic, the waves are moving slightly, and the socks are dusty. If you are in danger, you will be safe. If you are going, you will be flowing with jade. Yan. The words are still there, and the air is as graceful as the orchid, which makes me forget to eat.

Therefore, Feng Yi beats the drum and sings the sound of the fish. Riding, the jade luan flew away together. The six dragons came together to carry the cloud chariot, the whale salamander jumped up and held its head, and the waterfowl flew to guard it. Then they crossed the Nangang and headed back to the Qing Dynasty. Yang, move your red lips to express the outline of the handover. The way of hating people and gods is different, and you should not regret it in your prime. . The sorrow is gone and I am far away from home. I show my love to you. Although I am hiding in the sun, my heart is always attached to the king. I am so sad that the light is blocked. p> So I carried the mausoleum high on my back and left my thoughts behind, looking forward to the reappearance of my spiritual body. I sailed up the river in a boat and forgot to return. I kept thinking about it and couldn't sleep at night. At dawn, I ordered my servant to drive back to the east road, holding the bridle in my arms to fight against the enemy. I was so sad that I couldn't go. Since ancient times, there have been many beautiful legends about goddesses. These legends have attracted generations of poets and poets with their unique charm, and they have left countless beautiful and moving works. The God of the Han River in "Poetry·Zhounan·Hanguang" is something we can only hope for; the God of the Xiang River in Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs" is graceful and affectionate; the God of the Luoshui in Sima Xiangru and Zhang Heng's works is charming and skillful. Beautiful, charming and charming. However, among these lingering chants and splendid descriptions, the most plot-rich and touching one must be Cao Zhi's "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River". According to the preface, Cao Zhi wrote this poem after he entered Luoyang, the capital of the imperial court, in the third year of Huangchu Dynasty. When he passed through Luoshui on his way back to his fiefdom of Juancheng, he "feeled Song Yu's love for the goddess of the king of Chu". At that time, not long after Cao Pi took the throne, he killed Cao Zhi's close friends Ding Yi and Ding Zhi.

After Cao Zhi came to the country, he also reported to the supervisors that he was "drunk and insolent, and threatened the envoys". He was demoted to Anxiang Marquis, and later changed the title to Juancheng Marquis, and then became the Juancheng King (see "Three Kingdoms·Chen"). "Si Wang Biography"). These were undoubtedly one after another heavy blows to Cao Zhi, who was determined to "work hard for the country, benefit the people, build eternal businesses, and make contributions to the world" ("Ancestor Letters with Yang De"). His mood was depressed and anguished. It is conceivable. The work begins with a description of the journey after leaving the capital, "carrying Yi Que, crossing the 轘辕, passing through Tonggu, and Lingjing Mountain", and describes the scene when the author and his attendants arrived in Luobin. At that time, "the sun was tilting to the west, and the chariots and horses were exhausted." They were driving in Henggao, driving in Zhitian, Rongyuyanglin, and wandering in Luochuan. In the quiet atmosphere, the author was in a trance, looking far into the distance at the sparkling Luoshui River. The moment he raised his head occasionally, a miracle appeared: a beautiful goddess stood on the opposite cliff. This shocked the author so much that he unconsciously grabbed the charioteer beside him and asked eagerly: "Do you have anyone who can compete with that person? Who is that person, as beautiful as this!" Here, beside the mountain and the water The beautiful scenery before sunset sets off the surprise of the characters' unexpected discovery, creating a fascinating artistic conception. The next answer of the emperor was also very clever. He avoided the author's first question - "Do you have anyone who can compete with him?" and instead solemnly stated his question with conjectures such as "I heard about it" and "I don't know". Mi Fei, the Goddess of the Luo River, is mentioned in the story, which not only intentionally leaves a foreshadowing for the following description of the Goddess of the Luo River, but also casts a mysterious color on the already strange encounter. Mi Fei, the Luo Shen, is said to be the daughter of the Fu Xi family in ancient times. She drowned in the Luo River and became the water god. Regarding this goddess in ancient legends, Qu Yuan mentioned it in both "Tianwen" and "Li Sao". Later, Sima Xiangru and Zhang Heng described her in their poems like this: "Ruofu, a disciple of Concubine Qingqin, is extremely different from the secular world. She is charming and charming in Xiandu, and she is surrounded by beautiful makeup and carvings. ... Fragrant and full of fragrance. , cool and graceful; white teeth are brilliant, ready to smile?; long eyebrows, and a slight look at Mian Miao" ("Shanglin Fu"); "The jade girl from Taihua is here, and the beautiful concubine Mi from Luopu is called. The beauty is charming, the eyes are widened and the eyebrows are furrowed, the slender waist is relaxed, the embroidery is lifted up, and the red lips are smiling, and the face is shining..." ("Si Xuan Fu"). Different from this kind of direct description by predecessors, the work first uses a series of vivid metaphors to vividly describe the situation of the Luoshen in the early days: "Its shape is as graceful as a startling giant, as graceful as a swimming dragon, and as glorious as a dragon. The autumn chrysanthemums and the lush spring pines seem to be like the moon covered by light clouds, and the fluttering snow is like the drifting wind. Looking from a distance, it is as bright as the morning glow; looking at it, it is as bright as a hibiscus rising from Lubo." The vivid images and gorgeous colors are eye-catching. Among them, "as graceful as a startling giant, as graceful as a swimming dragon", it particularly vividly shows the grace and charm of the Luo Shen floating in the air. Together with the "Moon Covered by Light Clouds" and "Snow in the Flowing Wind" below, they all give people a light, elegant, flowing and graceful sense of movement in terms of posture; while "Autumn Chrysanthemums", "Spring Pines" and "Sun Rising" "Zhaoxia" and "Hibiscus coming out of Lubo" give people a bright, clear, gorgeous and coquettish color in terms of appearance. This sense of movement and color are intertwined and immersed in each other, weaving into a magical scene with radiant colors, which prominently displays the beauty of Luo Shen in front of people. On the basis of this strong artistic effect caused by repeated metaphors, the author further uses traditional techniques to describe the Luo Shen's posture, appearance, clothing and behavior in detail. This daughter of the Fuxi family is of medium stature, with drooping shoulders and waist, and her natural beauty is not fake. She has eyebrows trimmed in a bun, fresh lips and teeth, bright eyes with hidden dimples, and a radiant face. In addition, her robes are brilliant, her jade is jade, and her pearls are shining. The gentle breeze blows, making it look even more "beautiful and graceful, with a quiet appearance and a leisurely body". These descriptions by the author are reminiscent of the praise of Zhuang Jiang, the wife of Duke Wei Zhuang, in The Book of Songs: "The hands are like catkins, the skin is like gelatin, the collar is like a cricket grub, the teeth are like gourd rhinoceros, the head is like a slender eyebrow, and the smile is charming. , beautiful eyes are looking forward to" ("Wei Feng·Shuo Ren"); it also reminds people of Song Yu's praise of the girl from the east: "If it is increased by one point, it is too long, if it is reduced by one point, it is too short, and if it is pink, it will be too long." If it is too white, applying Zhu will make it too red" ("Dengtuzi Luxurious Fu"). The author was obviously influenced by them, but he paid more attention to the dynamic beauty of the characters than his predecessors. Below, he focuses on describing the innocent and lively behavior of Luo Shen: "Traveling on the shoes of a long journey, dragging the light veil of mist and gauze. The gentle fragrance of orchid is gentle, and the steps are hesitant in the corner of the mountain. Then he suddenly stretches his body and flies. Playing. Leaning on Caiyan on the left, shading the laurel flag on the right, wandering in the Marsh of God, picking Xuanzhi from the turbulent sea. "Faced with such a scene, we seem to smell the fragrance coming from the movement of Luo Shen. I saw her playing in the mountains and collecting sesame seeds by the river.

At this point, the image of Luo Shen has both expression and expression, and is ready to be revealed. "I am delighted with her beauty, but my heart is shaking but not happy." The author was deeply moved by the beautiful goddess in front of him. At first, he was depressed that he could not convey his love, and then "I hope that sincerity will come first" and "untie the jade pendant to get it." After receiving Concubine Mi's response and "carrying on the family's money", he remembered the legendary incident of Zheng Jiaofu leaving a pendant on the Han River, and he became suspicious of her "pointing to the abyss for a certain period of time". The author's ups and downs in his emotions vividly reflect his subtle inner state at that time. Correspondingly, Luo Shen was also moved. However, the work does not directly describe her psychological changes like the author did. Instead, it expresses the fiery love stirring in her heart through a detailed description of her series of actions, as well as the strong sadness that this love cannot be realized. You see her "migrating and wandering. The divine light is coming and going, and it is yin and yang." Sometimes she shrugs and lifts lightly, as if she is standing like a crane about to fly but has not yet risen; sometimes she passes through the thick pepper coating, attracting bursts of rich fragrance; After a while, he screamed sadly again, and his voice echoed with the deep sorrow of lovesickness... When the lamentation of the Luo Shen summoned the gods, they were carefree "either playing in the clear stream, or flying to the gods, picking up pearls, or picking up green feathers." Even though I was with him, I still couldn't help but "sigh the incomparable melons and chant the solitude of the morning glory", standing there in trance. In an instant, she was like a fast-flying water bird, wandering and erratic on the vast misty water. Only the flowing, affectionate eyes and the hesitant lip kiss seem to be pouring out the infinite attachment and sorrow in the author's heart. Reading the author's description of Luo Shen as hesitating, chanting, lingering, or erratic, we seem to be appreciating a dance drama with intense emotions and graceful postures. The character shows her inner love, contradiction, melancholy and pain with her changing and swaying dance steps. Especially the section "The body is flying like a flying duck, as erratic as a god. The wave moves slightly, and the socks are dusty. The movement is unpredictable, and it is dangerous and safe. It is difficult to go and come back." It pushes this dance drama to the forefront At the climax, the characters' psychological contradictions and emotional turmoil are fully expressed here. Just when the author and Luo Shen were speechless and attached to each other, the moment of separation finally arrived. This is a wonderfully conceived and glorious farewell scene: the screen closes the wind, the waves behind the Sichuan are quiet, and amid the drumming of Feng Yi and Nuwa, a cloud chariot driven by six dragons carries Concubine Mi, and the whale salamander clamps its hub. , escorted by the alien fish wings, began to set off. The beautiful Luo Shen sat in the car that was gradually going away, and kept looking back, pouring out her heart to the author. "The memorial service will last forever, and the mourning will be gone forever." Deep sorrow envelopes this mythical scene. After stating the "outline of handover" that "the ways of hating people and gods are different, and complaining about those who are in their prime", Luo Shen also vowed: "Although he lurks in the lunar calendar, he always places his heart on the king." Finally, Luo Shen's The gorgeous image finally disappeared in the vast twilight, but the author still stood by the water, looking sadly at the direction where Luo Shen passed away, as if he was lost. He drove his boat up the river, hoping to see the goddess's figure again. However, the misty waves and the long night made him feel lingering and full of thoughts. After daybreak, the author had to "return to the east road", but he still "grabbed the bridle to resist the plan, and was lingering and unable to go." This text in the work is filled with a strong lyrical atmosphere and has a captivating power. It outlines and highlights the image of Luo Shen in people's hearts, making it more prominent and perfect. The theme of love between humans and gods is common in Western literature, but it is rare in ancient Chinese literature. In particular, it is even more rare to start from both humans and gods to express mutual admiration and love like "Luo Shen Fu". Song Yu's "Ode to the Goddess" focuses on depicting the appearance beauty of the Wushan Goddess, but fails to touch more on her inner feelings. At the same time, the King of Chu is not described as a romantic partner in the work. Therefore, Cao Zhi's "Luo Shen Fu" can be said to be one of the most outstanding works of this genre. The predecessors had different views on the motive of his creation. Some believed that it was Cao Zhi's failed attempt to woo Zhen Yi's daughter. Later, it was seen that Cao Zhi had a jade carving and gold pillow, which was written in sorrow. It was originally named "Gan Zhen Fu", but was changed to "Luo Shen" by Emperor Ming. "Ode" (annotated by Li Shan in "Selected Works"); some believe that Cao Zhi's request for Zhen was not recorded in history. The old theory was that the novel "Gan Zhen Ji" was mistakenly included in the slips, and the work was actually Cao Zhi's "pretext for Concubine Mi" It was written to express the feelings of "Emperor Wen" (Hu Kejia's "Selected Works" and He Zhuo's "Yimen Dushu Ji"); some people think that there is a "feeling for Zhen", but the person who was moved was not Empress Zhen, but Cao Zhi in the third year of Huangchu was demoted to Juancheng (Zhu Qian's "Yuefu Justice").

These views may have some truth, but we feel that when understanding and appreciating a classical literary work, it is not advisable if we stick too strictly to historical facts and regard the writer's literary creation as a direct reflection of history. Therefore, judging from the author's situation at the time and the content of the work, rather than seeing the goddess as the incarnation of Empress Zhen or the author's spokesperson, it is better to see her as the unattainable reality that the author has repeatedly described in other works. An artistic symbol of the ideal of serving the country, which may be closer to the author's creative intention. From this point of view, the work not only successfully creates the image of a goddess who is as graceful as a startling giant, graceful as a swimming dragon, but also gives people a valuable ideological inspiration to pursue ideals and persevere. The ideological and artistic achievements of "Luo Shen Fu" have been highly praised by predecessors. The most obvious thing is that it is often compared with Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs" and Song Yu's "Goddess" Fu. In fact, Cao Zhi's poem is a combination of both. It has the strong lyrical content of "The King of Xiang" and "Mrs. Xiang", and at the same time it has the exquisite depiction of female beauty in Song Yuyi's poem. In addition, its plot is complete, its techniques are varied, and its form is timeless, etc., which are unmatched by previous works. Therefore it has a very broad and far-reaching influence in history. Wang Xianzhi, a great calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty, and Gu Kaizhi, a great painter, both described the spirit and style of "Luo Shen Fu" in calligraphy and ink, adding rare masterpieces to the calligraphy and painting circles. In the Southern Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, some playwrights put it on the stage. Wang Daokun's "Chen Si Wang Bei Sheng Luoshui" is one of the more famous ones. As for the writers of the past dynasties, there are even more countless writers who have used this theme as a theme and chanted it in poems and songs. It can be seen that the artistic charm of Cao Zhi's "Luo Shen Fu" is enduring.