Research On Song Lian’s Preface

Song Lian,as a leading representative of the literary officials at the late Qing and early Ming dynasties,has a wealth of articles and works.In 2014,Huang Linggeng collected and compiled the Complete Collection of Song Lian,which contained 267 forewords.Song Lian’s ideas in the fields of culture,politics,education can be reflected by these forewords.On the basis of grasping the ideological connotation and writing characteristics of Song Lian’s forewords,the study of Song Lian’s forewords is helpful for us to have a comprehensive understanding of the overall characteristics of the foreword writing in the early Ming Dynasty and even insight into the Times.Most of his preamble works were charactor preface,followed by gifted preface,while only a single name preface and longevity preface remained in the world.On the whole,Song Lian’s writing objects were widespread,and these objects themselves often influenced and even restricted his choice of topics in his writing.Based on the political background of social transformation period and his special personal experiences,Song Lian gradually developed her own style under the influence of Huang Jin and Liu Guan who are Jinhua School teachers and other important figures.The ideological connotations of Song Lian’s preface mainly fall into five categories.First,Song Lian divided writing into literary writing and applied writing,with the former emphasizing "freedom" and the latter emphasizing "function".Second,he proposed to take into account both macro and micro aspects,which are based on facts.Song Lian’s historical views are condensed from his rich practice of writing history.In his prelude works,he fully expressed his views on collecting historical materials,selecting historical materials and his requirements for the quality of the writing subject.Third,Song Lian discussed the integration of Confucianism and Buddhism,Confucianism and Taoism.He talked about the common understanding of "heart" and "filial piety" between Confucianism and Buddhism,and the absorption and integration of "life" and "nourishing qi" between Confucianism and Taoism,which all served to maintain feudal rule in essence.Fourth,the principle of life that "enforced punishment is no match for gentle moral indoctrination" was discussed from the four aspects of monarch,courtiers,families and gentlemen.He practiced the norms of Confucian moral.Fifth,Song Lian put forward the educational concept that teachers have great responsibility and education should avoid the six tendencies,inheriting the views of predecessors,and put forward the specific operation guide,which has strong guiding significance.There are three main features of Song Lian’s writing: the content is rich in emotion and profound thinking;the structure is linked,first attached and then denied;the expression is both narrative and argumentative;and the rhetorical techniques are cleverly used.Based on following the general writing procedure of the preface,Song Lian made creative exploration and paid attention to the transmission of thoughts with real emotion to achieve the practical purpose of the article.Finally,the paper discusses the influence of Song Lian’s foreword on the later creation from strengthening the function theory,realistic style and proper writing principle.