inkwell

inkwell

Ink pool, a Chinese folk legend, spreads in Linchuan District, Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province. It is said that it was the place where Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, washed his brush and inkstone. In September of the eighth year of Qingli (1048), Zeng Gong came to Sichuan to pay homage to the ruins of the ink pool. Wang Sheng, a professor of state studies, asked him to write a record of "Mochi in the right army of the king of Jin", so Zeng Gong wrote this famous essay "Mochi Ji" based on Wang Xizhi's anecdote. It is called the record of the ink pool, but its focus is not on the pool. Instead, it is to explain that achievements are not made by nature. It depends on hard study, so as to encourage scholars to study hard. This paper takes theory as the outline and notes as the aim, with staggered notes and comments, unified outline, novel and unique writing, and precise and accurate opinions. It is indeed a rare masterpiece.

original text

In the east of Linchuan City, there is a land hidden and high. It is near the river, which is called Xincheng. On the top of the new town, there are pools and depressions, but the square is long. It is said that Wang Xizhi's ink pool is the same as Xun Bozi's Linchuan Ji. Xizhi admired Zhang Zhi and studied in the pond. The water was black. This is his old story. How can he believe in the evil?

Fang Xizhi couldn't be forced to be an official, but taste the extreme East, go out of the sea, and amuse himself in the mountains and rivers. How could he roam freely and rest in this evil? If Xizhi's writing is good at the end of the day, it is not natural for him to do what he can and use his energy. Then, if there is no one who can reach it in the world, is his learning inferior to that evil? Then learning to be solid is not enough! What about those who want to further their moral education?

On top of the ink pool, it is now the state school house. Wang Junsheng, a professor, was afraid that he would not be able to write the six characters of "Mochi of the right army of the king of Jin" in the couplets. He also told Gong, "I wish you have a record." The heart of a king is not the goodness of a lover, but the evil of his deeds? He also wants to push things to encourage his scholars? The lady has a certain ability, which will be respected by later generations. What's more, the benevolent Zhuangshi's lingering thoughts, who was put in the afterlife!

On September 12, the eighth year of Qingli, Zeng Gong recorded.

translation

Linchuan county east of the city, there is a piece of high rise, under the stream, called the new city. Above the new town, there is a low-lying rectangular pool called Wang Xizhi ink pool. This is recorded in Linchuan Ji by Xun Bozi of Song Dynasty. Wang Xizhi once admired Zhang Zhi, the calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and practiced calligraphy by the pool. As a result, the water in the pool turned black. This is his old story. Is that really the case?

When Wang Xizhi was determined not to be an official any more, he once traveled all over the East China Sea, boating on the East China Sea, to be quick in the mountains and rivers. Did he ever rest here when he wandered and enjoyed himself? Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is getting better in his later years. It seems that his deep attainments are due to his hard work rather than genius. But later generations have not been able to match Wang Xizhi, I'm afraid that their learning efforts are not as good as Wang Xizhi? It seems that how can we spend less time on learning! What's more, for those who want to achieve high moral achievements?

Next to the ink pool, today is the school building of Fuzhou University. Professor Wang Jun was deeply afraid that the deeds of Mochi would be forgotten, so he wrote the six characters "Mochi of the king of Jin's right army" hanging between the two pillars in front of the door to mark it, and said to me: "I hope there is a narrative article." I speculate that Wang Jun's intention is not because he loves other people's strong points, even if he is good at one skill, he is not willing to let it be buried, so he even attaches importance to his relics? Or do you want to promote Wang Xizhi's hard work in linchi to encourage the students here? If a person has a skill, he will be respected by future generations to such an extent, not to mention how the customs and virtues left by benevolent gentlemen will affect future generations!

On September 12, the eighth year of Qingli, Zeng Gong wrote a record.

appreciation

One of the remarkable features of this essay is that because it is small and big, we can see the big from the small. It is said that this is the pool where Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, washed his brushes and inkstones. But in fact, there are many other places that are said to be the old traces of Wang Xizhi's ink pool, such as Kuaiji in Zhejiang Province. From the tone of Zeng Gong's article "this is his legacy, how can we believe it is evil", he is also skeptical about whether Linchuan Mochi is really the authentic work of Wang Xizhi. Therefore, after a brief account of the location and shape of the ink pool, he turned his writing style to explore the reasons for Wang Xizhi's success: "it is not natural for him to cover the ink pool with his own energy.". That is to say, it is not "made in heaven", but the result of hard work and hard work. This is the first meaning of this paper. This meaning is closely related to the meaning of "ink pool", which should be the proper meaning of the title.

But the theme of the article is not over. From this, the author further extends and infers: (1) learning calligraphy is like this, so is "those who want to further study morality". From the study of calligraphy to the moral cultivation, it is emphasized that it is not transcendental, but acquired by the day after tomorrow; (2) from the fact that "people have one ability" is still remembered by later generations, and from the fact that "benevolent Zhuangzi's lingering thoughts" will forever affect later generations. From calligraphy to moral integrity, from the specific calligraphers to a wider range of people with lofty ideals, this is from their influence on future generations. These two corollaries are very natural, not additional, showing Zeng Gong's broad thinking and superb insight. If you write this kind of tablet text with low hand, you often discuss the matter on its own, stick to the topic, and don't know how to develop it. This is the second meaning of this paper. Shen Deqian commented on this article and said: "the intention is either in the title or out of the title, which makes people linger and appreciate it." (Volume 28 of Ba Da Jia Wen Du Ben) "Zhong" and "Wai" refer to the above two meanings respectively.

What's more, "out of the question" is still "in the question". These two meanings are not only from the small to the large, but also from the former to the latter. Moreover, from calligraphy to morality, from nostalgia for calligraphers to admiration for the former, they are all related to the theme. Why can we say that? Because the former site of Mochi "is now a state school house"; the author of this paper is at the request of "Professor Wang Junsheng"; Wang's purpose is to "encourage his scholars". Therefore, the key point is the word "mian". Therefore, from learning calligraphy to moral Festival, it is natural to encourage students. If you stick to the "ink pool" and stick to the general meaning of the title, you only talk about calligraphy. Instead, you die under the title, or even far away from the original meaning of writing. Therefore, the second meaning, as far as general practice is concerned, is "outside the title"; as far as this article is concerned, it is still "in the title".

Another feature of this essay is that it uses more questions and exclamations. The full text can be divided into 14 sentences, including five questions: "do you believe in natural evil?" "and try to rest in this evil?" "if you want to further study morality, it is evil?" "and because of its trace evil?" "to encourage its scholars to be evil?" "also" two sentences: "Xun Bozi's Linchuan Ji" cloud also "," not natural also ". Finally, it concludes with an exclamatory sentence: "Kuang Renren's lingering thoughts on Zhuangzi, what a pity to those who have been in the afterlife." The extensive use of these sentence patterns makes this argumentative essay full of emotion. In particular, the five rhetorical questions can be used to stop and stretch, so as to avoid the disadvantages of a single sentence. In this regard, Zeng Gong is quite good at Ouyang Xiu's "61 Fengshen".

Notes on the ink pool

The purpose of this paper is to write a theory, but before the discussion, we have to record the materials related to Mochi. Otherwise, the discussion will be superficial and empty. If the record is too detailed, the theme will be lost. Therefore, the author adopts the method of combining notes and comments, and briefly recording detailed comments, so as to highlight the theme of the article. At the beginning, he wrote in a big way. According to Xun Bozi's Linchuan Ji, he described his geographical location, environment and appearance

"To the east of Linchuan City, there is a land hidden and high, and to the river, it is called Xincheng. On top of the new town, there are pools and depressions. At the same time, according to the legend of Wang Xizhi's admiration for Zhang Zhi, "linchi studies, and the water in the pool is black", it points out the origin of the name of Mochi. In fact, the legend of Mochi, in addition to "Linchuan Ji", there are various kinds of statements, because the purpose of this article is to reason, not to record the pool, so they are not mentioned. The simplicity of the diction can be described as cherishing ink like gold. As for Mo's narration, although it is boring, it paves the way to discussion. Then the article traces Wang Xizhi's life experience when he retired from officialdom. According to the book of Jin, Wang Shu, a general of Hushi, was as famous as Xizhi when he was young, but Xizhi was very light. When Xi Zhi was appointed as the internal historian of Kuaiji, he was described as the governor of Yangchuan, and Xi Zhi became his subordinate. Later, Wang described the criminal reform in Kuaiji county. Xizhi was ashamed of it, so he said he was ill and left his post. He swore in front of his parents' tomb that he would never be an official again. As for Wang Xizhi's experience, the author only uses the phrase "Fang Xizhi can't be forced to be an official to be an official", and gives a brief explanation. Then he recounts Wang Xizhi's wandering and indulging in the mountains and rivers: "taste the extreme East, go out of the sea, and entertain himself in the mountains and rivers. How can he roam freely and rest in this evil?" It is also very important to recall this paragraph briefly. It highlights Wang Xizhi's lofty and upright thought, which is the ideological basis and good spiritual temperament of Wang Bizhi's calligraphy. Structurally speaking, the phrase "you try to rest from this evil" uses the question sentence pattern to admit that Wang Xizhi once studied books in Linchuan, which is not only linked with the above ink pool, but also provides the basis for the following discussion. Then, on the basis of the record, the article turns to the discussion: "if Xizhi's book is good at the end of the day, then what he can do and what he can do with his energy is not natural." Yu He's "on the table of books" says: "the book of Xizhi is unique at the beginning and the end, which is more than Yu Yi

Chinese PinYin : Mo Chi