論任昉詩風

On Ren Fang’s Poetic Style

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

鍾嶸論任昉詩風特點有四：一曰拓體淵雅，二曰善銓事理，三曰競須新事，四曰詞不貴奇。拓體淵雅，即文體和正，聲調雅致。善銓事理，即依事行文，文理相合。任昉將這兩種“筆法”用於寫詩，對南朝詩歌的“筆化”、“文化”起到了推動作用。此外，任昉還將肇於建安，興於晉宋，經傅咸、應璩、顏延之、謝靈運、謝莊、劉駿等人發揚的指事之法引入齊梁詩壇，成任昉詩派。任昉作詩喜引新事，不拘外家内家、正史别史，都拓體淵雅，近於儒家，與追求直致與奇格的道家詩風有别。

Zhong Rong (fl. 502-519) summed up four main aspects in his discussion of the characteristics of Ren Fang’s (460-508) poetry: 1) erudition and refinement, 2) clear expression, 3) an effort to use new allusions, and 4) no pursuit for the grotesque. “Erudition and refinement” referred to the elegant style and harmonious sound of Ren’s poetry, while “clear expression” meant Ren’s ability to give a realistic representation of the object. These two aspects were important features of prose writing, yet Ren applied these techniques to poetry composition. As a result, he made a significant contribution to Southern dynasties poetry by initiating a change in style from shi (verse) to bi (essay) and wen (prose). He also founded a Ren Fang “school” by introducing the technique of using allusions in the Qi-Liang poetic arena. The practice of using allusions in poetic works began in the Jian’an era (196-220), and thrived during the Jin and Song dynasties (265-479) in the hands of Fu Xian (239-294), Ying Qu (190-252), Yan Yanzhi (384-456), Xie Lingyun (385-433), Xie Zhuang (421-466), and Liu Jun (430-464). Ren Fang was fond of many different kinds of new allusions to sources by various scholars and historians. His poetic style was profound and refined. It was close to Confucianism but different from Daoism, which pursued straightforwardness and the grotesque.