As one of the major poets in the Song Dynasty, Huang Tingjian is most skilled in using allusions, but it is rarely noticed that Huang is also the first poet in the history of Chinese poetry to create an allusive system which includes such skills as ″deviating from the original meaning of the allusions″, ″using the exact original sentences completely or structurally″, etc. Huang’s allusions usually hold a harsh, coarse appearance and deliberately avoid the smooth, insinuative way; however, it helps to create a unique poetical style which is in accordance with Huang’s typical poetic ideal. In his poem-writing, Huang keeps repeating each of such allusions and often with the same phrases, both contrary to the traditional way of using allusions. From all of these points of view, Huang’s allusions are somewhat formulaic (they can be called allusive formulae), which is one of the most outstanding characteristics of his poetry. Formulaic theory is nowadays widely applied in the fields of both ancient cultures and literatures in all civilizations, which is closely related to their oral traditions. Huang’s poetry is clearly none of the business of ″oral tradition″, but it does have most of the formulaic characteristics, especially in constructing allusive phrases, repeatedly using such phrases in the same metrical conditions in his different 5-syllable and 7-syllable poems, etc. According to M.Parry’s classical definition of ″formula″, Huang’s allusive formulae can be defined as ″a group of words, usually no less than 3 syllables, which is regularly employed under the same metrical conditions (at the beginning or the end of a 5-syllable or 7-syllable verse, or even the whole verse) to express an essential idea, coming or deviating from the meaning of an allusion″. Such allusive formulae can trace their origins to Huang’s accumulation method of allusions. Compared with his contemporary poets, Huang focuses more on the mode of presentation of the allusions than their appropriate meanings in the verse. Generally, an allusion appears very structured, i.e., it is usually at the end of a verse with 3 syllables, sometimes the last syllable should also conform itself to the requirements of rhyme. In some cases, the allusion is endowed with a unique understanding which produces a surprising effect and seems only meaningful in Huang’s poetical style. Allusive formulae, in respect of poetical language, give Huang’s poetry a striking feature, and in the meanwhile make it easier to write (or improvise) a poem quickly, which is to some extent very important in Huang’s time, considering that there are a large number of replying poems needing to use the rhyme sequence in the Song Dynasty. As a matter of fact, formula in Huang’s poetry is not limited only to allusions, but is a widely used skill, though allusive formulae may be the most typical. Such skills are also inherited and improved by Huang’s successors in the ″Jiangxi Poetic School″. In conclusion, it is of most importance to probe into the essence of Huang’s allusive formulae and analyze the relationships between their usages and Huang’s poetics. It may help to understand better the whole poetical characteristics of Huang Tingjian and also the ″Jiangxi Poetic School″ during the entire Song Dynasty.
孙立尧. 论黄庭坚的“典故程式”[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2018, 4(2): 138-150.
Sun Liyao. On the Allusive Formulae of Huang Tingjian’s Poetry. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2018, 4(2): 138-150.