寒山寫過一首詩，從他詩中所說的道理來看 ，與陶淵明「飲酒」第五首「結廬在人境」非常相似。可是我們將這兩首詩加以比較的話，就會發覺這兩詩所傳達出的感受是極為不同的。寒山的詩說：「人問寒山道，寒山路不通。似我何由屆，與君心不同。君心若似我，還得到其中。」
「寒山」本是唐朝一個詩僧的名字，他住的地方也叫寒山，詩裡邊的寒山是指他住的地方。他詩是說，你問我通往寒山去的道在哪裡，我的回答是，對於你們來說，根本就沒有路可以通往寒山去。如果說到我是如何來到了寒山的，那是因為我的心跟你們的心不一樣，假如你的心也能跟我的一樣了，你也就能夠到達寒山了。這詩裡的「寒山」是一種象徵，它指的是一種精神境界。他是說人們能否達到一種精神上的境界，主要在於你的心是否有對於這種境界的追尋和嚮往，如果你有一種執著無悔、堅定不移的追求，那麼你總會到達你心靈中的境界。
這同樣是寫哲理的詩，為什麼有的詩就更有一種詩的感覺，而有的詩，雖然它所說的道理差不多，但只是整齊、押韻的句子，卻不是真正的好詩。弄清楚這一點，對於欣賞陶淵明的詩非常重要。下面我們來比較一下陶淵明《飲酒》第五首跟寒山的詩究竟有什麼不同。
他說：「結廬在人境，而無車馬喧。問君何能爾，心遠地自偏。採菊東籬下，悠然見南山。山氣日夕佳，飛鳥相與還。此中有真意，欲辯已忘言。」
陶淵明詩中的「問君何能爾，心遠地自偏」與寒山詩的「似我何由屆，與君心不同」兩句的意思是相同的，都是說心路，心徑不同的道理，其實他們所講的哲理都是很不錯的，可是從詩的感覺上來說，陶淵明的詩要比寒山的詩好得多。怎麼好呢？這就是我前面說過的，詩歌不是要跟人說道理，讓你從頭腦裡知道一個結論。它是要讓你透過感受來感受這件事情裡所包含著的道理。陶淵明的詩所以能夠給讀者帶來這種詩的感受，原因大致有兩個：一個是他詩中形象化的表現，他不是簡單地說明道理，而是通過形象化的描寫來表現道理。
還有第二個原因，那就是陶淵明詩中的說理敘寫的層次，是跟他的內心活動，內心的感受結合在一起的。如果一個人只是教訓人，說你應該這樣做才好，可是他自己對於自己所說的道理沒有信心，沒有興趣，缺乏一種真實的感受，只是把一個很枯燥的道理敘述出來給別人聽。這樣的話，就不會使人感動。陶淵明的詩在敘述的時候，是帶著他心靈的活動，帶著他深切的生活經驗和感受的，所以他的詩給人感受的與寒山不同的。寒山說「人問寒山道，寒山路不通。」這是在敘說一個事件，一個結論；陶淵明的「結廬在人境，而無車馬喧」卻是他自己的一種生活體會，一種經驗感受。他說我住的茅草房就建造在「人境」，人間的世界裡，然而我並不感覺到有人間車馬的喧嘩和干擾。這是他的真實感受和經驗。
「問君何能爾？心遠地自偏」。「問君」，表面意思是問你，實際上是在自我敘述的意思。在中國的文學傳統中，常常會有這種情況。他們不直接說我怎樣，而用「你」來代替我，實際是在說他自己。比如有一個大家都很熟悉的例子。南唐後主李煜是中國古代很有名的詞人，他的「虞美人」詞最後有兩句是：「問君能有幾多愁，恰似一江春水向東流」，是說問你一共有多少憂愁，而這裡的「問君」就是自問，是問他自己。類似這樣的寫法在中國文學語言的修辭中叫作設問；它是假設有一個人問你，由此引出你的回答。陶淵明的「問君何能爾，心遠地自偏」是說，如果有人問我怎麼樣才能夠做到「結廬在人境，而無車馬喧」的，我就以我生活中的切身體會和感受經驗真誠地回答他說，因為我「心遠地自偏」，是我的心遠離了繁華嘈雜的人間干擾，所以我所居住的地方也就自然變得偏遠，僻靜了。
待續 |
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A poem written by Han Shan carries very similar idea with the fifth poem, “Building a hut in the human realm,” in Tao Yuanming’s ‘Drinking’ series. However, if we compare these two poems, we find that they convey very different feelings.
Han Shan said,
People ask the way to Cold Mountain:
There is no path.
How do I get there?
My mindset is different.
If your mind becomes like mine,
You will get there with ease.
Han Shan (Cold Mountain) was the name of a Tang dynasty monk poet. The place where he lived was also called Cold Mountain. In this poem, he said: ‘You ask me how to get to Cold Mountain? My answer is that there is no way to get there. Want to know how I get there? It’s because my mind is different from yours. If you can keep the same mind as me, you will there with ease.’ In this poem, ‘Cold Mountain’ symbolizes a spiritual state. Whether you reach that spiritual state depends solely upon your desire to reach it. If you pursue it persistently, you will get there.
Why is it that some philosophical poems are truly poetic, while others, despite conveying similar philosophy and neatly rhyming, cannot be considered good poems? In order to appreciate Tao Yuanming’s poems, we have to understand this issue. Now, let’s compare Tao Yuanming’s fifth poem in ‘Drinking’ with Han Shan’s poem.
Tao said:
I build a hut in the human realm,
But hear no clamor of traffic.
Why are you so calm?
When the mind is detached,
The surroundings are naturally peaceful.
Plucking chrysanthemums by the east wall,
I behold South Mountain at leisure.
How fine the sunset reflected in mountain mist!
Birds are flying home in groups.
No words can express the profound meanings
Within these scenes.
The idea conveyed by Tao’s line
Why are you so calm?
When the mind is detached,
The surroundings are naturally peaceful.
is similar to Han Shan’s line,
How do I get there?
My mindset is different.
Both talk about the mental journey and mindset. In fact, both convey excellent philosophy, but in terms of poetic beauty, Tao Yuanming’s poem surpasses Han Shan’s by far. What is the basis for judgment? As I have said, a poem should not state the principles directly, but should help people realize the principles through their own insight and feelings. Tao Yuanming’s poems convey insights to readers in two ways: one is through visualization. He does not simply speak his ideas, but describes them visually. The second way is through connection to his inner thoughts and feelings. If a person wants to teach others, but he himself does not truly believe what he says, then heis teachings will be dry, uninspired, and boring, and he will fail to touch others.
On the other hand, when Tao Yuanming’s poems don’t make statements, at the same time they communicate his profound life experiences and insights. Thus the feel of his poems is quite different from that of Han Shan. Han Shan made a statement, a conclusion, when he said:
People ask the way to Cold Mountain:
There is no path.
In contrast, Tao Yuanming conveys his own life experience when he says:
I build a hut in the human realm,
But hear no clamor of traffic.
He said, “My hut is built in the human world, but I don’t hear the noise and clamor from carriage traffic.” That is his true feelings and experience.
“Why are you so calm? / When the mind is detached, / The surroundings are naturally peaceful.” “Why are you” makes it sound like he is asking someone else, but he is actually asking himself. This technique is commonly employed in traditional Chinese literature. Instead of talking about “how I am doing,” they substitute ‘you’ for ‘I’. Here is a well-known example: Li Yu, the king of the Southern Tang kingdom, was a renowned poet of ancient China. The last two lines in his poems, “The Beauty of Yu,” say:
I ask you how great are your sorrows:
They are copious as the waters
Of a river flowing east in the spring.
In fact, he was asking himself.
In Chinese literature, his technique is called the ‘hypothetical question.’ One answers a hypothetical question that someone might have posed. Consider again Tao Yuanming’s lines: Why are you so calm? / When the mind is detached, / The surroundings are naturally peaceful. His meaning is “If someone asks me how I can build a hut in human realm where there is no noise of carriage traffic, I will honestly answer him based in my true feelings and my own experience. Since my mind is far away from the clamor and noise of the human world, the place I live naturally becomes remote and quiet.
To be continued |
