The Struggle for the Spirit Beast

Heavenly Corpse Talisman Demon

41

"Life spans less than a hundred years, yet we harbor a thousand years of sorrow. The days are short and the nights are long, why not roam with a candle in hand?" "Seeking immortality through elixirs often leads to ruin by medicine. Better to drink fine wine and wear silks and satins." To write of emotion in this way is to be without distance. "Plucking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, I gaze leisurely at the Southern Mountain. The mountain air is lovely at dusk, and the birds return together." "The sky is like a dome, covering the four wilds. The sky is vast, the wilds are boundless, and when the wind blows through the grass, the cattle and sheep appear." To write of scenery in this way is to be without distance.

42

Among all lyricists, ancient and modern, none possess a loftier style than Baishi. It is a pity he did not exert himself on the realm of artistic conception, and thus his work lacks the flavor beyond words and the resonance beyond the strings. In the end, he cannot be ranked among the first-class authors.

43

Among Southern Song lyricists, Baishi has style but lacks emotion, while Jiannan has vigor but lacks rhythm. The only one who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Northern Song masters is You'an. Modern scholars revere the Southern Song and discard the Northern Song, claiming the Southern Song lyrics can be learned while the Northern Song cannot. Those who study the Southern Song either follow Baishi or Mengchuang, because Baishi and Mengchuang can be learned, while You'an cannot. Those who study You'an usually imitate his ruggedness and wit, for his rugged and witty aspects can be learned, but his finest qualities cannot. The excellence of You'an lies in his temperament and his realm. Even in terms of grandeur, he possesses the spirit of "sweeping across the white waves, brushing against the blue clouds," which is hardly something the petty, narrow-minded scholars of later generations could emulate.

44

Dongpo's lyrics are expansive; Jiaxuan's lyrics are heroic. To study their lyrics without possessing the breadth of their hearts is like Dong Shi imitating the furrowed brow of Xi Shi.

45

When reading the lyrics of Dongpo and Jiaxuan, one must observe their elegant bearing and high-mindedness, which carry the spirit of Bo Yi and Liuxia Hui. Although Baishi appears as if he has shed the dust of the world like a cicada, he ultimately cannot escape being confined beneath the carriage shaft.

46

Su and Xin are the madmen of the lyric world. Baishi still manages to remain a recluse. As for the likes of Mengchuang, Meixi, Yu Gu, Caochuang, and Xilu, though their faces differ, they all return to the same path of the hypocritical village worthy.

47

Jiaxuan, "drinking on the Mid-Autumn Festival until dawn, used the style of the 'Heavenly Questions' to compose a 'Mulan Hua Man' to send off the moon," saying: "Pity the moon tonight, where does it go, drifting so far away? Is there another human world, where it is just being seen, appearing on the eastern horizon?" The lyricist's imagination, directly grasping the principle of the moon orbiting the earth, aligns perfectly with scientists; it can be called a divine intuition.

48

Zhou Jiecun said: "Meixi's lyrics are fond of using the word 'steal,' which is enough to define his character." Liu Rongzhai said: "Zhou's intent is lewd, and Shi's intent is greedy." These two remarks are enough to make one smile.

49

Jiecun said: "The best of Mengchuang's lyrics are like 'water light and cloud shadows, swaying in the green waves, endless to contemplate, the pursuit already distant.'" I have perused the Mengchuang Jia Yi Bing Ding Manuscripts, and truly, there is nothing that deserves such praise. If there is, is it perhaps the two lines: "The person across the river is in the sound of rain, the evening wind among the wild rice leaves stirs sorrow and resentment"?

50

For Mengchuang's lyrics, I can take one line from his work to judge them: "Reflecting the scattered green of the dream window." For Yutian's lyrics, I can take one line from his work to judge them: "The jade grows old and the fields lie waste."