Master Xie smiled and said: "Actually, when I was young and failed in the examination, I disliked the Eight-part Composition style the most. At that time, when I talked about the Eight-part essay, I had to be careful, angry, narrow-minded, and mean. It’s sour, the shape has to be cold, and the intestines have to be rotten.”
Xu He was a little stunned, thinking that you were eating a bowl of eight-parted rice, but you smashed the bowl of eight-parted rice. This old man was so unethical.
But Fuzi Xie added: "But after so many years, I found that I was actually too young at the time and did not realize the true meaning of the composition!"
When Xu He heard this, he immediately became energetic and thought that the master was going to [emphasis added].
Sure enough, Master Xie said: "The Six Classics and Histories are like the Shang, Yi and Zhou Dynasties; the poems of the Tang and Yuan Dynasties are like the famous Dharma calligraphy and paintings; the eight-legged style of the Guo Dynasty is like the clay Buddhas and colorful flowers."
"Since the founding of the Wei Dynasty by Emperor Gaozu, I have formulated the eight-legged writing. I have devoted my energy to it. Starting from one question, I have to figure out and describe it from the soul, voice, mouth and joints. Compared with various literary styles, this is the most difficult!"
Xu He savored Master Xie's words carefully.
The poems of the Tang Dynasty and Yuan Qu are "Famous Paintings in Dharma Calligraphy". Compared with them, the eight-legged writing of the imperial dynasty can only be painted on the bodies of clay bodhisattvas.
But the paintings on the clay Bodhisattva also have a dazzling brilliance.
Having said that, can we say that the "painting" of the Eight-gut Shiwen is the role it should have in literary works?
Moreover, Fuzi Xie said later that compared to various questions, Eight-part essay is the most difficult. It is also the most difficult to compare Eight-part essay with other literary works, which means that there are similarities. This also refutes the view that Eight-part essay is a literary work.
Therefore, Fuzi Xie believes that eight-legged prose is a form of literature.
Xu He thought for a while and asked: "Master, do you think stereotypes are literature?"
Fuzi Xie smiled. He was very satisfied with Xu He's understanding of the meaning of his words, but he shook his head: "That's not entirely true. What I mean is that, in its essence, Eight-legged Writing is Confucian classics."
"But Eight-part essay is also a literary form. As long as you give life to the classic meaning on the basis of elucidating its meaning, then your Eight-part article will be considered alive."
When Xu He heard this, he felt as if he had cleared away the clouds and seen the blue sky.
He remembered that he had read Zhou Zuoren's "On Eight-Part Essay" in his previous life, in which he wrote: "Since Han Tui's writings have declined for eight generations, and parallel prose has become scattered, parallel prose seems to have come to an end. However, otherwise, eight-part essay was born in the Song Dynasty. , in the Ming Dynasty, it was less long, and in the Qing Dynasty, it became a great success. It implemented the parallel prose culture, and the result was a prose poem that was more mature than the parallel prose of the Six Dynasties, which is really amazing."
As we all know, the parallel prose of the Six Dynasties has always been famous for its neat parallelism and gorgeous allusions.
And the middle section of Eight-part Pattern is indeed very particular about duality.
Can it be understood that using the form of parallel prose to write eight-part articles? What is produced in this way is eight-part articles that are rich in literature, rather than rigid examination-oriented literature.
Thinking of this, Xu He seemed to have caught something extraordinary. He did not rush to reply to Xie Fuzi's words, but stood there blankly and thought for a long time.
But here’s the problem. Whether it’s style or language, standard eight-part essays, to put it bluntly, absorb elements of traditional literary works.
No matter how good you are, you still can't escape the category of traditional literature.
So how can we not only retain the rules of "Elaborating the Words of Saints" but also break into a new world of eight-part essay?
Xu He thought about it and suddenly raised his head and said to Master Xie: "Master, I have read everyone's articles in the past few days, and they all abide by the annotations, adhere to the rules and ink, and do not exceed the size!"
"Can I try to make changes in my writing techniques after I become comfortable with the eight-legged pose?"
When Master Xie heard this, he also became interested: "Oh? Come and let me listen!"
The more Xu He thought about it, the more excited he said: "In fact, we can use the writing techniques of one positive and one negative, one virtual and one real, one deep and one shallow, one far and one near, to write ancient prose as parallel prose."
"In this way, the pairs of pairs are neatly arranged and the allusions are used in a perfect artistic conception. Even boring eight-legged articles can be made into flowers!"
After hearing this, Master Xie froze on the spot.
In recent years, he has been reflecting on why he repeatedly failed in the provincial examination.
Later, he concluded that he always regarded the "rules" for interpreting the words of saints as extremely important and never dared to go beyond them.
But this has caused my articles to be like a dojo inside a snail shell, stingy.
So he raised a question in his mind: "Why can't eight-part essays be as comfortable and thought-provoking as those of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties?"
Therefore, he concluded that eight-part essays should not only closely follow the theme of elucidating the words of saints, but also have a certain degree of literary quality.
Of course, he doesn’t know what [literariness] is!
But Xu He understands. Xu He's major is ancient Chinese literature, and he has studied Tang poetry, Song poetry, Yuan music, and Six Dynasties parallel prose.
Well, after Xie Fuzi's guidance, Xu He suddenly found his own way of writing eight-legged essays.
The solution to the topic must be clever, novel, thought-provoking, and stick closely to the topic.
The following article should not only take into account the classics, but also pay attention to the literary nature.
For example, combining some characteristics of parallel prose with eight-legged prose has yet to be practiced, but Xu He believes that in this era, this will be a revolution in eight-legged prose.
As long as you can find your way through this path, let alone a small Jinshi, you might even leave your name in history and become a great scholar of Confucian classics in the books of future generations!
Therefore, Fuzi Xie thought about changing and provided an idea, but Xu He gave this hazy idea a way to realize it on the spot.
Do you think Mr. Xie can be calm?
"This, did you just come up with these?" Master Xie looked in disbelief!
Xu He scratched his head and said, "Yes!"
Master Xie was almost speechless.
He had been thinking about it for so many years and had no clue at all, but Xu He only used this little time to figure out a practical path.
"Is this the [Heavenly Genius] mentioned in the book?" Fuzi Xie looked at Xu He stupidly.
The thoughts in Xu He's mind are not over yet.
"Master, I just had some ideas. Let me tell you. See if I'm right!"
"And..." Mr. Xie became numb: "You, tell me!"
"When it comes to writing standards, I think we should pay attention to a few points: The value of breaking the topic and carrying it forward lies in concise language, lofty intentions, and thought-provoking!"
Master Xie nodded repeatedly: "Yeah, yeah, yes, yes!"
"Speak softly, use little force, and be careful not to spit it out!"
"When it comes to mentioning the ratio, use a thin line to lay a hook for the person below! Don't hit or rush!"
"This...!" Xie Fuzi's mouth was half open and could no longer be closed.
"The point-taking of small competitions requires practice; the opening and closing of the middle stocks must solidify the previous mistakes; ... when turning the tail, the force needs to be strong and tricky, which makes the examiner feel suddenly enlightened, and he is so happy that he wants to die!"
Mr. Xie...
This kid, are you sure you're talking about the Eight-part Writing Style?
Those who don’t know will think you are listening to music on Goulan, okay?
