第十三講
今天我們講《飲酒詩》的第十首，這一首是陶淵明追想過去的生活。我先讀一遍：
在昔曾遠遊，直至東海隅。
道路迴且長，風波阻中塗。
此行誰使然，似為飢所驅。
傾身營一飽，少許便有餘。
恐此非名計，息駕歸閑居。
「在昔曾遠遊」的這個「遊」，不一定是遊賞或遊山玩水，古人說「遠遊」，常常就是「遠行」的意思。讀陶詩
的時候你要體會：他有簡單的一面，也有複雜的一面；有寫實的一面，也有象徵的一面。陶詩裏不止一次談到遠遊，他的《擬古詩》裏有一首說：「少時壯且厲，撫劍獨行遊。誰言行遊近？張掖至幽州。」其實，東晉的時候北方都被胡人占領了，陶淵明從來也沒有去過張掖和幽州，可是他卻說自己提著寶劍，到那些地方去周遊過。這裏邊就表現了一種精神境界的象徵，不過現在的「在昔曾遠遊，直至東海隅」，這一首卻不是象徵，而完全是寫實了。陶詩看起來簡單，其實是很複雜的。蘇軾說陶詩是「質而實綺，癯而實腴」(《與蘇轍書》)一看起來很樸素，實際上很華美；看起來得很簡單，實際上傳達的意思很豐富。為什麼如此？就因為陶淵明他本人有一種不與人爭勝的心理。
杜甫寫詩是希望人知道，他要把他的詩寫得美，寫得好，寫得「語不驚人死不休」：白居易寫詩追求讓不識字的老婦人也能聽得懂。這種用心當然也不錯，可陶淵明不是這樣的。陳後山說：
「陶淵明不為詩，寫其胸中之妙耳。」(《後山詩話》)陶淵明寫詩不是為了給 別人看的，他只是把內心的感受寫出來
，既不怕寫得太深人家不懂，也不怕寫得太淺人家笑話，所以，有時候他說得很簡單，我們不知道他指的是哪一件事情。因此，對他「直至東海隅」的這一次遠遊，歷代注解陶詩的人就作了一些考證，提出來幾種可能。
在東晉末年，浙江沿海會稽一帶有孫恩的叛亂，當時帶兵去討伐的一位將軍叫劉牢之。有人認為，陶淵明那一次「直至東海隅」，就是參加了劉牢之的軍隊去討伐孫恩。因為陶淵明的傳記裏記載著他曾做過鎮軍參軍，就是鎮軍將軍手下的參軍。可是劉牢之做過鎮衛軍的前將軍，後來又進號鎮北將軍，並沒有做過鎮軍將軍。所以又有人認為，陶淵明可能參加過桓玄的幕府。桓玄當時帶兵駐紮在湖北的江陵，也會向朝廷請求出兵去討伐孫恩，但這個人後來造反稱帝，不久就被劉裕討平了。
待續
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Lecture Thirteen
Today's lecture is on the tenth poem of the series. In this
poem, Tao Yuanming recalled his early life. I shall read it
over once.
In the past, I went on a long journey
That took me right up to the eastern seaboard.
The path was long and winding,
And the trip was fraught with dangers.
Who instigated me to embark on this journey?
It seemed that I was driven by hunger.
Giving up everything for the sake of a meal,
A mere morsel was already more than enough.
Afraid that this was not a good idea,
I ended my trip and headed back to my cozy home.
The journey in the first line, "In the
past, I went on a long journey," does not necessarily mean a
sightseeing tour. The ancients simply used those words to
refer to a long journey. When reading Tao's poems, you must
be able to discern between the simple and complex aspects,
as well as between the factual and the symbolic. Tao's poems
mention his long journeys more than once. One of the poems
in the series called "Poems in the Old Style" contains these
lines: "When I was young, I was strong and brave. I carried
my sword and traveled alone. Who says that I have only been
to nearby places? I have traveled from Zhangyi to Youzhou."
Actually, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the northern parts
of China were occupied by barbarians. Tao Yuan-ming had
never been to Zhangyi and Youzhou, and yet he said that he
carried his precious sword and traveled to those places.
These lines symbolize a particular aspect of his spiritual
state. However, this poem with the lines, "In the past, I
went on a long journey that took me right up to the eastern
seaboard," has no symbolic connotation but is completely
based on fact. On the surface, Tao's poems may appear very
simple but they are actually very complex. Su Shi once
commented that Tao's poems were 'simple and yet beautiful,
insignificant and yet profound' [A Letter to Su Shi]. On the
first reading, they 'appear ordinary and simple, but in
essence, they are very elegant and profound in meaning. Why
is this so? It is because Tao Yuan-ming was not contentious
by nature.
Du Fu's aim in composing poetry was to
seek fame and recognition. He wanted to produce beautiful
and excellent poems, to the extent of "If I cannot compose
excellent lines, I shall persevere until death." On the
other hand, Bai Ju-yi composed poetry with the hope that
even illiterate old ladies could understand him. Their
intentions were not wrong per se but Tao Yuanming was
different. Chen Hou-shan once remarked, "Tao Yuanming did
not write for the sake of writing poetry; he simply
expressed the wonders in his mind." [Hou-shan's Notes on
Poets and Poetry] Tao did not compose poetry just so people
could read them; he merely expressed his innermost feelings.
He was not concerned if his works were so profound that
people wouldn't understand them, or if they were so simple
that others would ridicule him. Sometimes, he wrote in such
a simple way that we do not know what he was actually
referring to. With regard to his 'long journey that took him
right up to the eastern seaboard,' historical critics who
have researched Tao's poems have come up with several
possibilities.
During the final years of the Eastern Jin
Dynasty, there was an uprising staged by Sun En in the
coastal area of Gui Ji in Zhejiang Province. General Liu
Lao-zhi led an army there to quell the rebellion. Some
researchers were of the opinion that Tao Yuan-ming's 'long
journey that took him right up to the eastern seaboard' was
to join Liu Lao-zhi's army to fight against Sun En.
According to Tao Yuan-ming's biography, he was once a
defense strategist, which meant that he was a military
advisor to the Defense Commissioner. However, Liu Lao-zhi
was a former Defense General and was later conferred the
title of General of the Northern Campaigns. He had never
been a Defense Commissioner. As a result, other researchers
thought that Tao Yuanming had possibly joined the office of
the Commanding Officer, Huan Xuan. At that time, Huan Xuan
and his troops were stationed at Jiangling in Hubei
Province. He had once sought permission from the imperial
court to lead an expedition against Sun En. It turned out
that he later staged a coup d'etat and proclaimed himself as
emperor. Shortly after, he was dethroned by Liu Yu.
~ To be continued
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