壶天境界----中晚唐的文人精神的变迁3000字外文及翻译.docx

壶天境界----中晚唐的文人精神的变迁
摘要：政局的变幻和党争的加剧，导致中唐后期文人对政治的避离以及对“壶天” 境界的追求。承接中唐馀绪, 晚唐文人也向往“壶天”境界, 但已不同于中唐文人的 吏隐, 他们使用更多的, 是“壶天”具有的另一层与隐逸、幽栖乃至神仙相关的意义。 从对“壶天”境界的歌咏中, 亦可看出他们在时代大潮推涌下, 既难于仕宦亦难于吏 隐, 从而不得不将视线投向江湖山林的某种苦衷。
关键词：壶天境界，吏隐，中晚唐士风，审美情趣，嬗变

1中晚唐政治形势和壶天理想
中晚唐时期以来，每一个后续的政权，尤其是皇帝李恒（795-824）和皇帝李湛（809-826）都因其“荒唐幼稚和不法行为”臭名昭著。1人陷入内部混乱和外部入侵的社会政治障碍，财政赤字和危机，严重剥削人民，宦官掌握国家的军事大权，和封地的复兴起义…因此，早在公元828（大和第二年），刘蕡，一位明智和有远见的文人预测：
“宫闱将变，社稷将危，天下将倾，四海将乱。此四者，国家已然之兆。”
他的预言在不久前就实现了。在835年（大和九年），在朝廷和宦官的官员之间产生了激烈的争斗，史称“甘露之变”。“甘露之变”发生后，震惊全国，激化了不相容的两个不同政治集团之间的斗争，使农民起义的发起得到契机。在内外的攻击下，唐朝逐渐衰落。
为适应这种社会和政治动荡，文人不得不改变自己的人生观。元和以后，一些高级官员如裴度恢复原来的职位，然而，他们被其他新兴的政治力量打压；一些流放文人官员如韩瑜、元稹、白居易、刘禹锡重新被召回，但是，他们对多变的、日益恶化的政治形势很失望。因此，他们逐渐减少了他们的理政的激情及对政治的批评，并产生逃避政治的想法。
公元822年（长庆二年），由于与裴度的冲突，元稹被罢免了相国一职，流放到同州，后来转移到越州为刺史（一个微不足道的小官），在那里，他生活悠闲，四处游览，和朋友对诗。8年来，他几乎一直远离朝廷和政治。
韩愈在长安度过了他的晚年。这对他来说是一段艰难的日子。823年，（长庆三年），目睹了裴度的流放，他认为自己不可能有任何政治成就。因此，他渐渐产生了要摆脱残酷的权力斗争的想法。在他的诗《送诸葛觉往随州读书》中，他从诸葛觉的角度写到，尽管还有许多官员，但他发现没有人可以依靠，然后发现自己是虽然还是官员但是影响正在缩小。此外，在他沮丧的时期的另一首诗里，他再次表示他希望离开法院隐居生活。不久，他又回到了位于首都南部村庄安度晚年，过着诗意和自由的生活。
白居易早于韩愈就厌倦了政治，然而，他回到落下（洛阳的别称）时又晚一些。在822（长庆二年），他要求离开朝廷去远点的地方。因此，他被任命为杭州刺史，四年后以太子左庶子（类似于顾问头衔）的身份转移到另一个地方，从一个小官又到一个重要的岗位，直到他最后在829（大和三年），定居在洛阳。在那里过着生命中最悠闲的时光同时又没有放弃他的职位。
在后来许多文人的诗歌或评论中提到说，当甘露之祸发生时，白居易正在游览香山寺。听到王涯等官员被宦官杀害时，他写了一首诗来表达他对这场灾难的回应：
“当君白首同归日，是我青山独往时。”
有人猜测，作者对他的政治敌人的灾难感到幸灾乐祸，因为王娅被认为是参与了白居易的流放到江洲。然而，这种猜测似乎低估或误解了白居易的意图。苏轼曾经说过：“乐天（白居易）不是幸灾乐祸，而是怜悯那些死亡的官员。”他是否怜悯是有争议的，但很明显，白居易对这件事情感到震惊。早在他被驱逐到江洲时，他就决定离开远离血腥的政治。甘露事件更加坚定了独自逃到青山的决心。一般来说，白居易的逃跑的反映了遍布整个士大夫阶层的一个趋势。他们从外部世界到内心世界，从社会到自我，从承诺到政治成就，致力于景观设计和欣赏的怪诞宝石和珍稀植物。简而言之，他们致力于壶天世界。
壶天起源于后汉书“方术列传”中的一个传说，（“魔法传记和神奇药丸的制作”），炼金术士费长房曾经做过商场管理员。他看见一个老人在卖香草，挂在他的摊位上。在集市上，老人消失在壶里，除了他以外，任何人都没有注意到。处于对他的好奇，他带着酒肉前去。老人意识到，费长房肯定把他当作神了。于是，他邀请费长房他那。第二天，老头和费长房一起消失在一个宏伟的大楼里，在那里他们来到了一个没有尽头的地方。这个传说被葛洪记入《神仙传》中，和壶天境界成为道教的幻想世界中。后来产生了新的版本。在较早的版本中，壶天境界主要与一些超自然的魔力人物相关。后来，许多文人加上了新的含义，并使它成为一个理想世界的象征，那里没有无聊和愤怒。
在晚唐后期，许多地位较高的文人疯狂追求壶天境界。韩愈退休到南庄之后写了《南溪始泛三首》，详细的描述他休闲和自由的隐居生活。在第二首诗中，他写道：
“我云以病归，此已颇自由。幸有用余俸，置居在西畴。囷仓米谷满，未有旦夕忧…”
元稹在《幽栖》写到：
“野人自爱幽栖所，近对长松远是山。尽日望云心不系，有时看月夜方闲。壶中天地乾坤外，梦里身名旦暮间。”
类似的思想和情感在许多文人的作品中得到了呼应。例如，白居易反复强调说如何在一个嘈杂的世界保持隐居。通过关闭院子大门远离喧嚣的街道，剩下的在一个僻静的院子里点缀着竹子和药草，喝葡萄酒，悠闲，他把自己的世界改成了壶天境界，使自己远离外面的喧哗与骚动。
为了构建一个壶天境界，必须是有智慧的。在看淡了世俗诱惑和成就时，做到像一个局外人一样观察这个世界，远离社会，扩大自我的世界。白居易是那些有智慧的文人的杰出代表。在他后来的作品中，这样的诗节或表达很容易找到：
“莫入红尘去，令人心力劳。相争两蜗角，所得一牛毛。”（来源于《不如来饮酒七首》其七)
在他的其他关于喝酒和隐逸的诗里，诗人用蜗牛的隐喻又为了表明他看淡世俗利润和他对争夺名利和成功的蔑视。蜗牛的隐喻来自则阳，庄子的寓言之一。寓言告诉我们，有两只国家分别位于一只蜗牛的两只角上。一个在左角，命名为触氏，另一个在右边，名为蛮氏，曾经为了领土打了半个月，导致数万的战士丧生。在白居易的文本中，蜗牛总是与世无争，认为世俗斗争是荒谬的，去往壶天境界，那个没有苦难和忧虑的世界。他希望自己和鼓励人们去壶天，摆脱蜗牛的境界和自我约束。

2壶天境界和吏隐生活
实际上在唐代语境里，壶天境界更多的是指一种吏隐状态（与世隔绝的生活但是没有放弃官职）。吏隐是一种折衷的隐逸。在退休后的生活，他们仍然保留着他们的的官职和薪水。文人选择吏隐通常是那些渴望隐逸但又不能放弃自己的物质来源。
作为一种主流的观念，吏隐被很多文人描述。宋之问在《蓝田山庄》中写道：“宦游非吏隐，心事好幽偏。” 杜甫在《院中晚晴怀西郭茅舍》中写道：“浣花溪里花饶笑，肯信吾兼吏隐名。”他们都提到了吏隐。然而，第一个把许多文人的吏隐梦想成为现实的是王维。作为盛唐著名诗人，王维在壶天境界欣赏生活。在他的晚年，他过着隐居的生活，同时没有完全放弃他在宫廷中的地位。他居住在蓝田辋川。下班后，他总是回到辋川的树林里冥想、观光，与他的客人享受阅读和音乐。据记载，王维在的辋川是一个风景如画的宽敞的地方，有着知名的富有想象力的建筑和景观设计。显然，建造和维护这样的景观是非常昂贵的。因此，王玮不得不保持自己的高养老金地位。
王维的隐逸是吏隐的典型例子。但它发展成为中唐的时代精神，是在白居易时。在他的晚年，白居易拥有洛阳优厚的工资和名义上的几乎没有事务的位置，所以他能负担得起生活悠闲，喜欢园艺和景观。白居易称他的隐居生活为中隐（折衷隐逸），并写了一首诗来表达他对隐居地的理解。据他说，在大隐和小隐之间，在喧嚣的城市和乡间之间，劳动和休闲之间，豪华和贫困做到平衡是非常美好的。居住在城市的一处偏僻的庄园或花园，并持有一个名义上的、高收入的位置，人们可以享受隐居和职位带来的便利。

Landscape architecture hutian and the variations in the literati ethos in the middle & late Tang Dynasty
Abstract：In the Middle & Late Tang Dynasty, the capricious political situations and worsening struggles among the political groups drove the literati to escape from politics into hutian 壶天，a kind of landscape architecture built as a miniature of arcadia and an epitome of universe where they lived a carefree retired life without quitting their official positions. Compared with their Middle Tang Dynasty precursors, those Late Tang Dynasty literati felt it more difficult to maintain a balance between official career and reclusive life, and found themselves deep in a dilemma. They described elaborately their imagination or construct of a hutian-like garden in their writings, which shows an important change in the literati ethos that resulted from political marginalization of the whole literati class and the their new aesthetic taste.
Keywords： realm of hutian, liyin, literati ethos of the middle & late Tang Dynasty, aesthetic taste, transformation

1 The Middle & Late Tang Dynasty political situation and the ideal of hutian

Since the late period of the Middle Tang Dynasty, every subsequent regime, especially the Regime of Emperor Li Heng 李恒 (CE 795-824) and Regime of Emperor Li Zhan 李湛 (CE 809-826), who both were notorious for their “absurd childishness and unscrupulous behaviors”,1 were mired in internal chaos and external incursions: social and political disorder, fiscal deficit and crisis , intensifying exploitation of people , eunuchs’ chartered overpowers over imperial and military affairs, and the feudatories’ resurgent revolts… Therefore, as early as in CE 828 (2nd year of Dahe 大和), Liu Fen 刘蕡, a sensible and far-sighted literati predicted:

The Palace will be changed, the State will be periled, all territory will be collapsed, the world will fall apart. These four phenomena are the ill omen of the State.

His prediction came true before long. In CE 835 (the 9th year of Dahe), a fateful fight between the officials at court and eunuchs , historically called “Ganlu Incident” occurred, shocking the whole country, intensifying incompatible struggles among the different political groups, and making chances for the overspreading peasants uprisings. Under the internal and external attacks, the Tang Dynasty gradually declined.

Adapting themselves to such social and political turbulence, the literati had to change their philosophy of life. After Yuhe, some senior or distinguished officials such as Pei Du regained position, however, they were repulsed by other rising political powers; some banished literati officials such as Han Yu, Yuan Zhen, Bai Juyi, Liu Yuxi were called back to court, however, they were depressed with capricious and worsening political situations. Therefore, they came to diminish their former passion for political commitment and criticism, and develop a new aspiration for escapism.

In CE 822 (the 2nd year of Changqing), owing to his conflict with Pei Du, Yuan Zhen was dismissed from the position of prime minister and banished to Tongzhou, later transferred to Yuezhou, as a cishi (an insignificant errant supervisor), where he lived leisurely, touring throughout scenic spots, writing in response to friends’ poems. For 8 years, he almost kept himself away from the court and politics.

Han Yu spent his late years in Chang’an. It was a hard time for him. In CE 823, (the 3rd years of Changqing), witnessing Pei Du’s banishment, he found it impossible to make any political achievement. Therefore, he gradually formed an idea of escaping from harsh struggles for power. In his poem “Song Zhuge Jue wang Suizhou dushu” 送诸葛觉往随州读书 (“Sending Zhuge Jue off to Shuizhou for Learning”) , he wrote from the point view of Zhuge Jue that there were many officials, while he found no backer to depend on, then referred himself as a losing official whose influence was shrinking. Additionally, in his other poems written in this depressing period, he frequently expressed his hope of leaving the court for a reclusive life. Soon, he retuned to Southern Village located in the capital and spent his last years poetically and care-freely.

Bai Juyi got tired of politics earlier than Han Yu, however, he retired to Luoxia (another name for Luoyang) a little later. In CE 822 (the 2nd year of Changqing), he asked to leave for a position far away from the court. So, he was appointed as Hangzhou cishi, and in the fourth year as Prince zuoshuzi (a title analogous to consultant) later he kept being transferred from one place to another, from insignificant position to important one until he resided formally in Luoyang in CE 829 (the 3rd year of Dahe), where he had the most retired time of his life without quitting his position.

It was related in many later literati’s journals or critical commentaries on poems that Bai Juyi was visiting Xiangshan Temple when Ganlou Incident occurred. Hearing of many officials such as Wang Ya being killed by the eunuchs, he wrote a poem to expresse his response to that disaster:

When all of you are dying white-haired on the same day,
I’m alone to the green mountains on the way.

Someone made a guess that the author was crowing over his political enemies’ disaster since Wang Ya was thought to be involved in Bai Juyi’s banishment to Jiangzhou. However, such a guess seems to underestimate or misread Bai Juyi’s intention. Su Shi 苏轼 once remarked: “ Letian 乐天 ( a surname for Bai Juyi ) was not a crowing over, but moaning those officials’ death.”3 Whether he was moaning is open to argument, but it is obvious that Bai Juyi was shocked and thrilled with what was happening. As early as he was banished to Jiangzhou, he had decided to leave far away from bloody politics. Ganlou Incident strengthened his determination and pushed him to escape into green mountains alone. Generally speaking, Bai Juyu’s escape reflects a tendency which was spreading over the whole literati class. They shrank back from the outer world to inner world, from society to self, from commitment to political achievement to commitment to landscape architecture and appreciation of grotesque stones and rare plants. Briefly, they devoted themselves to the world of hutian.

The concept of hutian originated from a legend in “Fangshu liezhuan” 方术列 传 (“Biographies of Alchemy & Magical Pills Making”) of Houhan shu 后汉书 (Book of Later Han ) which related that alchemist Fei Changfang 费长房once worked as a bazaar administrator. He saw an old man selling herbs with a pot hanging on his stall. After bazaar, the old man vanished into the pot, unnoticed by anybody except Fei. Being amazed with that old man’s magic, Fei visited him with wine and meat as present. The old man realized that Fei must take him as a god. So, he invited Fei to come again. Next day, the old man vanished into the pot together with Fei, actually into a magnificent mansion where they had no end of a spread .After dinner, they jumped out of the pot. Later, this legend was retold in Ge Hong’s Shenxian zhuan 神仙传 (Biographies of Gods & Fairies) and hutian became an embodiment of the Taoist fantasy world and generated new versions. In the earlier versions, hutian was mainly associated with the magic power of some supernatural characters. Later, many literati added up new meanings and made it a symbol of an ideal world where there is no boredom and fury.

In the late period of Late Tang Dynasty, many literati of high rank got crazy with pursuing Hutian. After retiring to the Southern Viallge, Han Yu 韩愈wrote “Nanxi shifan sanshou” 南溪始泛三首 (“Three Poems of Boating on Southern Brook”) and described thoroughly leisure and freedom of his reclusive life. In the second poem, he wrote:
I’ve retired because of illness,
I’m living in a full ease.
Lucky to have some spare pension left,
In western field I build a house.
My barn is full of rice and corn,
I am free of any worries…

Yuan Zhen wrote in his poem “Youqi” 幽栖 (“Reclusive Dwelling”):
As an unoccupied fellow I love reclusive dwelling,
With green pines nearby and mountains far way from it.
All day I watch clouds with an absent mind,
Sometimes gaze at Moon, feeling placid.
The world in a pot is beyond universe,
Fame and success is short-lived.

The similar ideas and sentiments echoed in many literati’s writings. For example, Bai Juyi talked repeatedly how to remain reclusive in a noisy world or neighborhood. By closing the yard door to the uproarious street, remaining in a secluded yard dotted with bamboos and herbs, drinking wine leisurely, he changed his dwell into a hutian, and kept himself far way from outer sound and fury.

In order to construct a hutian for reclusion, one must be intelligent. With awareness of the meaninglessness and transience of the worldly temptation and achievement, one would rather observe this world as an outsider, keep himself from society and expand his own self world. Bai Juyi is an extraordinary representative of those intelligent literati. In his later writings, such stanzas or expressions are found easily:
“Don’t enter the humane society,
Since it makes you mentally deadbeat.
Two horns of a snail fight so hard,
For no more than a pittance of profit ”
(see , “Buru lai yinjiu qishou” 不如来饮酒七首 “We Had Better Drink, the Seventh Poem”) .

In his others poems about drink and reclusion, the poet used the metaphor of snail again and again in order to suggest the meaninglessness of worldly profits and his contempt for struggling for fame and success. The metaphor of snail comes from Ze Yang 则阳, one of Zhuangzi’s fables. The fable tells that there were two countries located separately on the two horns of a snail. One was on the left horn, named Chushi 触氏, one on the right horn, named Manshi 蛮氏, who once fought half a month for a territory next to nothing until more than ten thousands of fighters were killed. In Bai Juyi’s texts, snail was always associated with meaninglessness and ridiculousness of worldly struggles, and hutian refers to a world free of struggles and worries. He expected himself and encouraged people to get rid of snail’s realm and search self and unconstraint in hutian.

2 The world of hutian and life of liyin
Actually in the context of the Tang Dynasty, the world of hutian referred more to a status of liyin 吏隐 (living a secluded life without quitting official positions). liyin means a kind of eclectic reclusion. The reclusive still kept their official positions or salaries while living in retirement. The literati choosing liyin were usually those who longed for reclusion without abandoning their materialistic supports.

As a thematic concept , liyin was descried densely by many literati. In Lantian shanzhuang 蓝田山庄 (Lantian Estate), Song Zhiwen wrote: “It is not resignation while holding a position, What I desire is to find a place for seclusion.” In“Yuanzhong wanqing huai xiguo maoshe” 院中晚晴怀西郭茅舍 (“Missing the Cottage of the Western Suburb in the Sunset”), Du Fu wrote: In the Huanhua Brook, flowers are smiling, they are sure I am secluding. Both of them mentioned liyin. However, it is Wang Wei who made many literati’s dream of liyin come true. As a famous poet of the High Tang Dynasty, Wang Wei admired the life in hutian. In his later years, he completely lived a reclusive life without quitting his high position at the court. He resided in Wangchuan of Lantian. After work, he always returned to Wangchuang for meditation in the wood, sight-seeing with his guests and enjoying reading and music. It is recorded that Wang Wei’s Wangchuang was a picturesque and spacious estate, well-known for its imaginative architecture and landscape design. Obviously