Refining Talisman Paper

Talisman Demon Heavenly Corpse

I

In poetry, the "realm" (jingjie) is of the highest importance. Where there is a realm, a work naturally achieves a lofty standard and produces famous lines. This is why the poetry of the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song stands alone in its excellence.

II

There is the creation of a realm, and there is the depiction of a realm; this is the point where the idealist and realist schools diverge. Yet, the two are quite difficult to distinguish. This is because the realm created by a great poet must conform to nature, and the realm depicted must also border on the ideal.

III

There is the realm with a self, and there is the realm without a self. "Tearful eyes ask the flowers, but the flowers do not speak; the scattered red petals fly past the swing." "How can I bear the cold of the lonely inn, the setting sun at dusk amidst the cries of the cuckoos." These are realms with a self. "Plucking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, I leisurely see the Southern Mountain." "Cold waves rise gently, white birds descend leisurely." These are realms without a self. In a realm with a self, I view the world, and thus both the world and I are imbued with my colors. In a realm without a self, the world views the world, and thus one does not know what is the self and what is the world. The ancients wrote mostly of realms with a self, yet they were never incapable of writing of realms without a self; this depends solely on whether a person of great talent can establish it for themselves.

IV

A realm without a self is attained only in stillness. A realm with a self is attained when moving toward stillness. Thus, the former is graceful, while the latter is magnificent.

V

Things in nature are mutually restrictive. Yet, when they are written into literature or art, their relationships and limitations must be discarded. Therefore, even a realist is an idealist. Furthermore, no matter how fictional a realm may be, its materials must be sought from nature, and its construction must follow the laws of nature. Therefore, even an idealist is a realist.

VI

A "realm" does not refer solely to scenery. Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are also realms within the human heart. Thus, one who can depict true scenery and true emotion is said to possess a realm. Otherwise, it is said to have no realm.

VII

"On the red apricot branches, the spring mood is boisterous." By using the word "boisterous," the entire realm emerges. "Clouds break, the moon arrives, and the flowers play with their shadows." By using the word "play," the entire realm emerges.

VIII

Realms vary in size, but one should not judge their quality based on this. "In the fine rain, the fish emerge; in the light breeze, the swallows tilt" is not necessarily inferior to "The setting sun shines on the great banners, the horses neigh in the whistling wind." "The precious curtain hangs idly from a small silver hook" is not necessarily inferior to "Mist obscures the towers, the moon confuses the ferry."

IX

Yan Canglang's Remarks on Poetry states: "The poets of the High Tang relied solely on interest. Like an antelope hanging by its horns, there is no trace to be found. Thus, its wonder is transparent and exquisite, impossible to force. It is like sound in the air, color in a phase, the moon in the water, or an image in a mirror; the words are exhausted, but the meaning is infinite." I say that the poetry before the Northern Song was also like this. However, what Canglang calls "interest" and what Ruanting calls "spiritual resonance" are merely descriptions of the surface; they are not as good as my own extraction of the word "realm" to probe the root of the matter.

X

Taibai excels purely through his atmosphere. "West wind, fading sun, the tombs and palaces of the Han." With these eight sparse characters, he has closed the mouths of all who would write of climbing to heights for a thousand years. In later generations, only Fan Wenzheng's Fisherman's Pride and Xia Yinggong's Joy of Moving to the Oriole are barely enough to follow in his footsteps, yet their atmosphere already falls short.