It is a unique phenomenon in the history of Chinese culture, thinker | Cao Weiming: This "green" tradition in Jiangnan culture | Shanghai | Culture
Editor's note: Jiangnan culture is an important component of excellent traditional Chinese culture. From the perspective of its main location in the Yangtze River Delta region, due to its abundant river, lake, and sea resources, it reflects unique water cultural characteristics. In the view of Cao Weiming, a librarian at the Shanghai Museum of Culture and History, the culture of the Yangtze River Delta region has both a beautiful, delicate, and romantic side, as well as a rational side that seeks truth and pragmatism; There is both a populist background and an elitist connotation. Among them, the literati elegant collection has been revitalized with the most vibrant symbol of Jiangnan culture, featuring a green and green color. The following is his speech at the Qingxi Lecture Hall.
The Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces in the Yangtze River Delta region are close neighbors, with mountains and rivers intertwined, sharing the same customs and atmosphere. They are geographically close, have close relationships with people, integrate industry and culture, and shine together, containing common cultural genes and shared cultural resources in the Jiangnan region. Locality, local sounds, local thoughts, local wishes, and local sentiments are interconnected and have distinct characteristics of co creation and co construction. Especially in the Yangtze River Delta region, there are abundant river, lake, and sea resources, reflecting unique water cultural characteristics. Today's speech will revolve around "from the elegant collection of water to the rushing of the sea", discussing the cultural evolution and development of the Yangtze River Delta region.
Cultural characteristics of the Yangtze River Delta region
The Yangtze River Delta region, located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, has a unique culture that is different from the Central Plains culture in the Yellow River Basin, as well as the Bashu and Jingchu cultures in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The main characteristics are as follows:
1) Consistent cultural identity
In ancient times, the dependence of human and natural environment and ecological environment is very close. The breeding of water culture has created the belief worship of "dragon totem and bird totem". The conquest and utilization of water and the struggle with water have cultivated the calm, sensitive, witty and adventurous character of people in the Yangtze River Delta region, as well as the openness and inclusiveness of embracing all rivers, pursuing excellence, and being good at absorbing and integrating foreign excellent culture.
The culture of the Yangtze River Delta region has gathered the historical genes, cultural characteristics, and regional characteristics of Wu culture, Yue culture, Shanghai style culture, and Huizhou culture, gradually blending and developing into a consensus and recognition of Jiangnan culture.
2, the same consumption concept
In the Yangtze River Delta, people's cultural consumption concepts and aesthetic concepts converge. The pursuit of cultural interest, the formation of consumption patterns, and the shaping of people's sentiment, style, and tone all highlight various resources including economy, society, culture, and symbols. People in the consumption of cultural goods and cultural services, the formation of a common consumption value. This side of the soil and water, gave birth to people's pursuit of extraordinary, excellence of cultural character. Jiangnan people tend to be shrewd, exquisite and exquisite consumption on the basis of practical benefits. In the construction of common culture, the unique expression of aesthetic pursuit and the unique identity of cultural gene are formed, and the common regional culture and aesthetic communication identity are created.
3. Continued Chongwen re-education
The Yangtze River Delta region, since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, has changed the bloody and rigid image of the previous "King Wu Jin Ge Yue King Sword", and is renowned throughout the country for its vigorous and developed culture. Farming and reading heirlooms, celebrity bachelors keep popping up. "Southeast financial land, Jiangzuo humanities", famous at home and abroad. The prosperity of regional culture and the influence of Jiangnan culture have created the rise of many cultural families. The numerous academies have spread advanced concepts, strengthened academic research and exchanges, and cultivated a large number of celebrities like Wang Yangming and Huang Zongxi. The engraving and collection of books have spread the splendid and excellent traditional culture and promoted academic exploration and contention of a hundred schools of thought. The family motto that "the first good thing in the world is reading" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, forming the cultural hobby of "cold can be without clothes, hunger can be without food, and books can not be lost for a day.
4, pay attention to the talent of people
Jiangnan is not only a poetic and aesthetic significance of the region. Apricot blossom spring rain in the south of the Yangtze River, there is more sword courage to pursue the personality of the heart. The diversity and richness of the characters of the people in the south of the Yangtze River have been compounded. There are not only the beautiful and perceptual cultural tradition of "small bridges and flowing water", but also the heroic style of "golden and iron horses", and the responsibility of "not breaking Loulan and never return". It presents the colorful and colorful of doing your best and doing your best.
The culture of the Yangtze River Delta region has both a beautiful, delicate, and romantic side, as well as a rational side that seeks truth and pragmatism; There is both a populist background and an elitist connotation, which are determined by the regional culture of the Yangtze River Delta region, containing the driving and creative factors of the regional culture of the Yangtze River Delta. The integration of landscape and culture, from the source of rice to the land of fish and rice; The evolution of creative crafts such as pottery, porcelain, and jade; The world-renowned tea culture created by tea and well water; The Maritime Silk Road, combining mulberry leaves and silk; The integration and creation of aesthetics and wisdom in mountain and forest cities where Kunqu opera and gardens blend together.
Collection of literati: The most vibrant symbol of Jiangnan culture in terms of green and green colors
The literary gathering in Jiangnan is a cultural party and carnival for literati, originating from the confidence of Jiangnan people in culture. The literati gathering refers to a leisure gathering where literati groups engage in cultural creation and socializing. It is a cultural activity that integrates banquets, calligraphy and painting, poetry, art, and aesthetics. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the flourishing of the economy and culture in the Jiangnan region, the Jiangnan Yaji became a collective activity for literati and literati to inspire and convey humanistic spirit, reflecting the typical trend of poetic pursuit, sharing and co creation in the Jiangnan cultural group. Emphasis is placed on maintaining communication, exchanging ideas, and consolidating emotions among literati groups, which plays an important role in constructing cultural and identity recognition among members. It has accumulated a profound foundation of Jiangnan culture and revitalized the most vibrant and distinctive green color of Jiangnan culture.
Tracing back to the collection of literati in China, the ancients had nine elegant elements, namely burning incense, playing the qin, drinking tea, drinking wine, listening to the rain, appreciating snow, waiting for the moon, growing flowers, and seeking seclusion. Enjoying one of them is delightful, while embracing the other two or three can be said to be wonderful. However, the ancient Chinese literati's collection of refined works required a balance of elegance, which was a rare spiritual feast in life. It can be said that the literati gathering is a unique phenomenon in the history of Chinese culture, which includes activities such as sightseeing, tea tasting, drinking wine, playing the qin, playing chess, composing poetry, painting, etc. These are all ways for literati to exchange their skills and insights, and enjoy the pleasure of learning. It reflects the elegance and nobility of literati, and the most important thing is to leave valuable cultural and spiritual wealth for the present and even future generations. It can be said that it is an aesthetic expression of the spirit and artistic life of ancient Chinese literati.
The elegant collection of literati in China is the best form for ancient literati to gather, equivalent to Western parties and salons, similar to the current poetry and pen gatherings. Formally speaking, one can wander in the mountains and forests, drink alcohol and write poetry, and enjoy with birds and animals; You can go boating on the water, playing and singing; You can sit and talk, brush your brush with ink, and express your thoughts in various forms. However, those who participate in the Yaji must belong to the same category, with similar auras and pursuits.
Here, I will give four examples.
"Ye Xia Ya Ji"
The Jian'an Seven Sons, which emerged at the end of the Han Dynasty, originated from the earliest cultivation of elegant collections in China. Cao Zhi's "Letter to Yang Dezu" and Cao Pi's "Letter to Wu Zhi" marked the arrival of the era of literary consciousness nurtured by the Jiangnan Yaji. After the Battle of Red Cliffs, the overall situation of Wei, Shu, and Wu was basically formed, and the situation was relatively stable. Cao Cao, whose ancestral home was in Bozhou, Anhui, returned to the Wei capital of Ye City, thus gathering a group of Jian'an literati. They centered around the father and son of the Cao family, especially Cao Pi, often gathering banquets and wandering around, offering poetry and wine as a reward for singing. This not only paved the way for literary collections, but also opened up a new trend in literary creation. Later generations compared the seven literati of the Wei and Jin dynasties to the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" in literary creation, praising them as "poetry, wine, and singing lead the crowd, and literati gather elegantly to open up the atmosphere."
"Lanting Gathering"
The Lanting Gathering in Shaoxing, Zhejiang is a unique poetry and book gathering. Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty once gathered with more than twenty literati, each of whom wrote a few poems, which had infinite meaning. Wang Xizhi also left his "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion" post. Drinking wine and composing poetry with flowing wine cups is a great achievement of the prosperity of Jiangnan culture by literati in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The general content is that after all the guests arrive, the host arranges them to sit on the ground on both sides of the winding stream, and a bookboy or lady will pour a half cup of wine, gently placing it into the stream with a fishing bag and letting it flow downstream. According to the rules of the elegant collection, if the cup stands still in front of someone, it will be gently picked up by a bookboy or a maid with a fishing bag and delivered to someone. The person must drink the wine in one gulp and then write a poem; If one is not quick witted and cannot immediately compose poetry, they will be fined three dous of wine.
Later, the vast majority of Lanting Yaji continued this practice. But in the Lanting Elegant Collection organized by Tang Dynasty scholars such as Bao Fang, the poetry was composed in a couplet style, where each person recited one line of poetry, which was then collected by the first singer; Yuan people Gong Shitai and others, as well as Qing people Sangdiao Yuan and others, held the Lanting Yaji. The poetry was composed using a rhyme based method, with a sentence containing a certain number of words depending on the number of people. The host then randomly distributed each word in the sentence to everyone, and everyone wrote poetry based on the rhyme of the character they received. Liu Ren, a native of the Yuan Dynasty, originally composed poems in the "Continuation of the Orchid Pavilion Collection" organized by Yuyao, Zhejiang. He did not write poems for himself, but for sixteen people who had not yet composed poems in the Yonghe Orchid Pavilion Collection. This is called "Continuation of Poetry", and the form is also very unique. In the Qing Dynasty, the Lan Ting Ya Ji, organized by Du Jia, used a singing style to compose poetry, with the host singing first and the guests harmonizing with it.
The Lanting Elegant Collection in the ninth year of Yonghe was originally an unintentional move, and the owner Wang Xizhi did not want to take this opportunity to showcase his calligraphy art. He only used a mouse whisker pen and silkworm cocoon paper to draft the preface. However, the writing of this preface manuscript, due to its unparalleled artistic achievements, has become the most famous classic in the history of Chinese calligraphy and is recorded in the annals of Chinese calligraphy.
"Yushan Thatched Cottage"
In the Wuzhong area at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, this was a literary gathering activity that had a great influence and lasted for more than ten years. With over a hundred participants, he was praised by "Siku Tiyao" for his poetry, wine, and elegant performance at the banquet, which illuminated the world for a lifetime. Kunshan Gu Ying's Yushan Thatched Cottage is not only the largest, longest lasting, and most creative collection of poetry and prose in the history of the Yuan Dynasty, but also the most ideal and orderly collection of literati poetry societies in the history of Chinese literature. For example, in the painting, the Yuan family, Huang Gongwang, Ni Zan, and Wang Meng, have all visited the Yushan Thatched Cottage. According to statistics, one tenth of the poems written by Yuan poets during the Zhizheng period were actually "Yushan Jiachu" written in a small thatched cottage in Kunshan not long after the Zhizheng decade. This cannot help but amaze the cohesion and creativity of the poetry society's collection.
The difference between the meeting of Yushan and the elegant collections of Jingu, Lanting, and Xiyuan is that the latter few are almost all collections of bureaucrats and aristocratic scholars, while the meeting of Yushan is a true gathering of literati, especially the owner of Yushan, Gu Ying, who, whether studying Confucianism or making friends, is purely driven by interests and spiritual needs, without any utilitarian purposes. He neither intends to be elected to the government nor has any intention of taking a shortcut, but instead holds a life attitude of literature first and art first.
"Shanghai style elegant collection"
In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, on the banks of Suzhou River and Huangpu River in modern Shanghai, people no longer adhered to the characteristics of being private and closed, but were open and inclusive, transforming and extending towards the field of modern public culture. The "Nanshe", nurtured by the soil and water of Jiangnan, entered Shanghai and in March 1912, taking advantage of the European wind and rain, established the "Cultural Beauty Society", forming a cultural and elegant collection of Shanghai style cities.
In 1924, Indian poet Tagore was invited by Liang Qichao and Cai Yuanpei to give lectures and travel to China, with Lin Huiyin and Xu Zhimo serving as translators. Tagore's visit has stirred up a literary whirlwind in Shanghai and is deeply loved by young people. As soon as Tagore stepped onto the land of China, he couldn't help but exclaim, "My friends, I don't know why. Coming to China is like returning to my hometown. I always feel that India is an extremely close relative of China, and China and India are extremely old and dear brothers.".
In March and June 1929, during his lectures in the United States and Japan, Tagore took two trips to Shanghai to interact with literati at sea. Tagore and Xu Zhimo once discussed the benefits of Chinese brushes. When they were first used, the poet became enthusiastic and used the brush to learn Chinese painting. He sketched a small mountain painting and gave it to Xu Zhimo and his wife. Not only does it showcase the poet's spirit of painting and express his unforgettable love for Xu Zhimo, but it is also a symbol of temperament and cultural integration between Chinese and Indian poets. And the famous Peking Opera actress Mei Lanfang in our country gave Tagore a folding fan with a pen to write the lyrics of the opera "Luoshen". After accepting it, Tagore praised it repeatedly, "Good, good, this is a good poem, clear and beautiful like Luo Shen, and also like Mr. Mei himself.". The cultural heritage of Shanghai Beach has built a bridge of friendship between China and foreign countries.
These Shanghai style elegant collections, which combine the characteristics of Shanghai's metropolis, not only inherit and innovate the Jiangnan elegant collection culture, but also integrate traditional and modern development and sublimation, making them a unique cultural landscape in modern Shanghai.
Build a showcase, dissemination, and experiential place for the new culture of Jiangnan
The innovation of traditional cultural collections and the flow of river, lake, and sea cultures reflect openness, inclusiveness, and inclusiveness, laying the foundation for the construction of cultural soft power in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. Culture requires communication and collision. The creation of cultural atmosphere and the construction of cultural space have the function of shaping the soul with cultural people and roots. Therefore, breaking down the material and spiritual, economic and cultural, natural and social barriers between urban agglomerations, and building a good display, dissemination, and experience place for the new culture of Jiangnan, can enhance the soft power of world-class urban agglomerations.
1. update and create a broad cultural time and space, create a new way of cultural elegance, and gather cultural creativity in the Yangtze River Delta region.
The cultural elegance of modern cities can bring people a novel cultural experience, and make the cultural goal of "everyone participates, everyone creates, and everyone enjoys" become a reality. For example, in recent years, in addition to fixed permanent exhibitions, the Shanghai Museum has often held some overseas unearthed cultural relics, fine arts and other exchange exhibitions; the Shanghai Library's collection exhibition and national edition lectures have allowed citizens to experience the boutique version. In order to gain more knowledge; the interactive experience of folk culture and handicrafts in the Shanghai Art Museum allows people to understand the essence of intangible cultural heritage imperceptibly. Others, such as the poetry singing of "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" and the calligraphy and painting expression of "People's City", spread the aesthetics and life wisdom of Jiangnan life while promoting traditional seasonal culture.
Shanghai's classical gardens, suburban parks, waterfront and other urban spaces incorporate rich cultural activities into a physical space rich in Jiangnan charm and Shanghai style. There, modern cultural gatherings are held, creating an aesthetic enjoyment of "harmony between heaven and man" through beautiful ecology, century old architecture, and rich culture, as people walk and stop. At the same time, it enhances people's cultural identity, awakens the nostalgia of modern urbanites, and promotes a new consumer culture.
2. carry forward and reshape the cultural temperament of the south of the Yangtze River, highlight the new taste of Shanghai-style culture, and enhance the cultural competitiveness of the Yangtze River Delta region.
The delicacy of Jiangnan culture has created the taste and style of Shanghai style cultural consumption. While pursuing the comfort of material life, people pay more attention to the influence of culture and art and the cultivation of their own personality, and pursue the expression of free space.
A high-quality life cannot be achieved without a high-quality experience of cultivating oneself and enhancing aesthetics. For example, the "Peony Pavilion" performance by Prince Zhang Jun of Kunqu Opera, Tan Dun's "A Drop of Water on the Heavenly Top" at the Water Music Hall, the "International Watercolor Painting Biennale" initiated by Chen Xidan, and the Zhujiajiao Water Town Music Festival have all attracted numerous cultural enthusiasts. In a way that can be appreciated, heard, seen, and experienced, participants, enthusiasts, performers, and inheritors can have zero distance contact, making up for the lack of information caused by long-distance communication, forming a "point-to-point" effective communication path, and achieving effective emotional communication among people. Cultural experiencers and participants have inherited and promoted excellent traditional Chinese culture through the interaction of aesthetic advocates and enlighteners.
The folk arts and crafts society and intangible cultural heritage cultural park in Jinze Ancient Town focus on traditional intangible cultural heritage crafts in Jiangnan, showcasing tea tasting, flower arrangement, incense burning, handcrafted jewelry, blue printed fabric sewing, woodcuts, stone carvings, bamboo carvings, etc., endowing traditional scenery with modern consumption characteristics of nostalgia and reshaping a low-carbon, environmentally friendly, ecological, and green lifestyle. It not only inherits the technical knowledge and folk traditions of Jiangnan intangible cultural heritage, but also revives and constructs the cultural identity of Jiangnan in modern cities, enhancing cohesion and centripetal force.
3. inherit and innovate the cultural elegance of the Yangtze River Delta region, build a new home of rivers, lakes and seas, and enhance the cultural attraction of the Yangtze River Delta region.
In early 2020, with the advancement of the national strategy for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, Qingpu, Wujiang, Jiashan and other literary and art federations established the "Lake Seaside" literary and art alliance, which innovated and developed the cultural spirit of the "South Society" advocated by Liu Yazi. The open model of "Qing Wujia" has attracted the extensive participation of cultural people from Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, making the construction of new Jiangnan culture in the new era a hot spot.
The characteristic of Jiangnan is the culture of water. However, in the new era, there is not only the beauty of trickling streams and "small bridges and flowing water" here; Moreover, there is the grandeur of flowing rivers and oceans. Among the personality traits of Jiangnan people, there are not only the poetic characteristics of Rivers and Lakes, but also the strong feelings of bloody publicity, heroism and heroism. Jiangnan people not only live by the water, on the pond, by the river, and on the lakeside, but are also more active at the seaside and Haikou. The the Taihu Lake Lake and the sea, the Wusong River and the Taipu River, and the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal have all given inspiration to the creation of cultural people in the Yangtze River Delta region, and written a new era hymn of high-quality development of "ecological green integration in the Yangtze River Delta". At the same time, through cultural alliances, art alliances, and cultural integration, we promote the exchange, cooperation, and improvement of literature and art in the Yangtze River Delta region, and find a common spiritual home. In the process of serving the economy through literature and art, and promoting tourism through culture, the value of cultural people creating innovation is reflected.
4. immersive and experiential National Convention and Exhibition Center has created a new era of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and expanded the cultural influence of the Yangtze River Delta region.
Ancient Jiangnan Yaji is an excellent traditional Chinese cultural style cultivated in the soil of water culture for nearly a thousand years. In the modernization process of Shanghai international metropolis, only through the new era of cultural production, creation, dissemination and other novel forms to meet the public's new life style and aesthetic needs, can we enhance cultural cohesion and self-confidence. In the process of high-quality development of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta, it is necessary to make cultural elegance an important part of the construction of Shanghai's urban "living room", promote diversified exchanges with the world's culture, and achieve beauty and harmony in the world.
The China International Import Expo held at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center is, to some extent, a grand collection of economic and cultural elements in international metropolises. The three-dimensional display, dynamic exhibition, interactive participation, and all-round dissemination allow participants to fully experience and immerse themselves, thereby fully conveying and promoting advanced culture at home and abroad to the Yangtze River Delta region, the whole country, and even the world.
In the future, the new concept of "big industry" and "big culture" development of global cultural creativity can be further integrated, coupled with the popular WeChat, Tiktok, Xiaohongshu and other media communication methods in the new era, integrating visual, auditory, tactile and other communication methods, so that the cultural activities of Shanghai style culture will present the new fashion and new creativity of the international metropolis Shanghai in a more immediate, three-dimensional and personalized way.
Biography of Thinkers
Cao Weiming is a member of the China Writers Association, the China Literature and Art Critics Association, a member of the Shanghai Museum of Literature and History, a member and researcher of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, a special professor at East China Normal University, Shanghai Normal University, and other universities. He also serves as the Chairman of the Shanghai Mass Culture Senior Professional Title Approval Committee, a member of the Shanghai Art Series Senior Professional Title Approval Committee, and a member of the Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Committee.
Please indicate the source of the reprint as "Shangguan News". Violators will be held accountable in accordance with the law.
