Interpretation of couplets in Wu Shifen’s former residence
Interpretation of couplets in Wu Shifen’s former residence (reposted from Jieshishan’s blog)
In the Qing Dynasty, the Wu family in Haifeng, Shandong Province, from Shunzhi to Xuantong 260 years ago, Kejia Rulin and Fang Boliandi , wrote numerous works and had outstanding political achievements. It is known as the "Jinshi family" and the "Shangshu family" in the world. It is known as "seven ministers, eight governors, nine Guanglu, three Hanlin, five counselors and ten dynasties". His former residence is located in the southwest of the old Wudi ancient city, covering an area of 7,000 square meters. The courtyard has towering ancient trees and is simple and elegant. The South Courtyard was originally built during the Zhengtong period of Yingzong in the Ming Dynasty. It was originally the residence of Wang Zuo, the Minister of Household Affairs in the Ming Dynasty. It was purchased and re-expanded by Wu Shaoshi, the 13th Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Wu family. The modern Ming Dynasty buildings still exist, with a history of more than 500 years. . The main body of the south courtyard is "Bao Inkstone Hall", which is named after Wu's collection of Su Dongpo's "Xue Tang Bao Inkstone". Wu Shifen's former residence is a key cultural relic protection unit in Shandong Province. It contains dozens of couplets written by celebrities and dignitaries. Here is a brief analysis of the couplets hanging in the relevant places.
The four provinces inherited the Xuan Dynasty and the Three Palm Festival Yue; the nine titles were Guanglu and the two were Shi Sheng. This couplet is hung on the pillar of "Shang Shu Di". "Jieyue" refers to the talisman and the axe. In ancient times, it was awarded to generals as a sign of increasing power. "Three Palms Jie Yue", simply put, is the person who has been in charge of the "life and death" power of the court three times. The person in charge of Jieyue was an important figure in the revitalization of the Wu family - Wu Shaoshi and his two sons Wu Yuan and Wu Tan, who had served as senior officials in the Ministry of Punishment at the same time or successively. There were nine Guanglu officials in their family, and two of them were recorded in Qing history at that time.
The courtyard is like a spot with chrysanthemum spots; the rain in the courtyard sounds like the fragrance of banana leaves. Located on the door pillar of the Hall of Ceremony, there are tall old trees in the courtyard, which cast mottled shadows like chrysanthemums. The rain hitting the banana leaves also seems to smell the fragrance. The description of the scenery seen and heard left a deep impression on people's senses.
Both these two couplets were inscribed by Wu Shifen’s friend He Shaoji. He Shaoji was a calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty and a native of Daozhou, Hunan. He was particularly proficient in the study of textual research and textual research, as well as the writing on epigraphy and stone tablets. He had a close relationship with Wu Shifen.
Loyalty to the world; respectful family tradition. During the Qianlong period, Wu Shaoshi, Wu Yuan, and Wu Tan among the Wu family were all well versed in the law and highly valued by the emperor. In the process of compiling the "Laws of the Qing Dynasty", they all showed outstanding talents and were appreciated by Emperor Qianlong. At that time, there was a relative avoidance system, but Qianlong made an exception and allowed both father and son to serve in the Ministry of Punishment. After Wu Shaoshi was reassigned, Wu Tan took over the position of Minister of Punishment, which was rare in history. After Wu Shaoshi's death, Emperor Qianlong gave him the posthumous title "Gongding". Qianlong was moved by the loyalty of the Wu family and wrote "loyalty to the world, respectful family tradition" for the Wu family in Haifeng, and hung it in Shuangyu Huzhai.
The ten newly added bamboos are all purple jade; they look like a picturesque screen facing the nine peaks. It is a couplet stone carving on the south wall of the southeast corner of Wu Shifen's former residence. It was written by Wu Rongguang, the former governor of Huguang, in praise of the Wu family in Haifeng. "Purple jade" is a metaphor for the descendants of the Wu family, and "painting screen" generally refers to the sages of the Wu family. Shizhu: refers to the 10 talents in the 16th and 17th lives of the Wu family: Wu Yanzeng, Wu Sizeng, Wu Xizeng, Wu Fuzeng, Wu Yizeng, Wu Shizeng, Wu Xuzeng, Wu Shifen, Wu Shiqun, and Wu Shimin. The "Nine Peaks" are the first- and second-grade officials from the 10th to the 15th generations of the Wu family respectively: Wu Yongyun, Wu Zhizhi, Wu Zisu, Wu Ying, Wu Shaomo, Wu Shaoshi, Wu Yuan, Wu Tan, and Wu Zhixiang. The above personnel are all officials of the fifth rank or above in the Qing Dynasty.
It is as refreshing as the autumn water; gentle as the calmness of the spring breeze. The stone carvings are located in the southeast courtyard. This is a famous sentence from "Cao Lu Catalog". At that time, when Wu Shaoshi was serving in the Ministry of Punishment, he was an upright and honest official and was well-known in both the government and the public. The writer, Wang Shizhen, was a literary leader during the Shunzhi and Kangxi years of the Qing Dynasty and a former Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Praising Wu Shao's poems are as simple as autumn water and as gentle as spring breeze.
If you want to attract the coir raincoat and the clouds and water, you will whisk the dust and examine the cauldron bell. This is Zhang Mu, a famous calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, who sincerely praised Wu Shifen during his more than 10 years of interaction with Wu Shifen, implying that he was as simple as a fisherman, as steady as a bell and a tripod, and that he was innocent all his life and untainted by dust. Zhang Mu, a native of Pingding, Shanxi Province, was a patriotic thinker, geographer, poet and calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty. He was good at geography and epigraphy.
The shadow of plum blossoms leaves traces of the fragrance on the window; the sound of bamboo knocking on the green door leaves no trace. Wu Shifen wrote a couplet by himself, which is located on the doorpost of the central hall of Wu Shifen's house. In order to express the quiet atmosphere inside and outside the residence, two objects, the outdoor plum blossom and the indoor window, were selected and connected with "writing".
Making a broad overview of literature and art; reviewing the original mountains and rivers of benevolence and righteousness. The first inscription is "Rongshou, Lord Jianfu", and the inscription is "Zibi Wu Shifen". Wu Shifen gave it to Li Hongzhang when he celebrated his birthday, and it now hangs in the middle hall of the Hall of Honor.
In February 1855, Li Hongzhang led troops to occupy Hanshan, Anhui, killing more than a thousand Taiping soldiers and achieving a major victory. He had just celebrated his 32nd birthday and was awarded the title of prefect by the Qing government. Wu Shifen was the academic administrator of Zhejiang Province at the time. Although he was more than 20 years older than Li Hongzhang, he admired Li Hongzhang's military talents and wrote a joint letter to congratulate him as my dear friend.
Eager to learn, thoughtful and knowledgeable; intelligent, well-educated and Confucian. A calligraphy by Chen Jieqi, Wu Shifen’s relative, hangs in the Baoyan Hall. Mr. Lu Xun pointed out: "In terms of collection, there is no one better than Chen Jieqi of Weixian County." Mr. Guo Moruo and Mr. Shang Chengzuo also believed that Chen Jieqi was a master of the generation who was "unprecedented and unprecedented." Chen Jieqi's family collection of ten thousand seals and the Wu family's collection of ten thousand volumes were once called Qilu. He is not only the most famous collector, author and calligrapher in my country, but also a master of creation and seal script couplets. This couplet is a tribute to the ninth generation of the Wu family members who were eager to learn and think deeply, and left numerous classics.
He has a simple mind and no city government; he works calmly and disciplinedly. The writer, Xu Han, is located in the south living room, which shows that Wu Shifen is approachable in daily life and handles official affairs in compliance with the rules. Xu Han, a native of Rizhao, was an outstanding collationist, epigrapher and calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty. For a time, he stayed at Wu Shifen's Shuangyu Huzhai in Nanfang, Xuanwu City, Beijing. After Wu Shifen died of illness, Xu Han followed Wu Shifen's will and concentrated on editing Wu Shifen's manuscripts in the Wu family compound and hometown in Haifeng. He spent more than 10 years, forgetting to sleep and eat, dragging his body with illness, to sort out Wu Shifen's legacy. Before his death, Xu Han specifically asked his descendants to give all the manuscripts he wrote to Chen Jieqi, Wu Shifen's relative. Xu Han's "Crying Wu Zibi Pavilion Coupon" well confirms their deep friendship: "In life, we have been united in gold and stone. Only a few years ago, we cut candles in Jiangcheng and passed letters to Yiyi. In that period, white horses and plain carriages were ordered for you. Posthumous manuscript: The world has passed away, and from now on, I draw my sword and sing in mourning, and read the inscriptions on the inscriptions with bitter words. I go back to the mountains and rivers, but where can I find my close friends while holding my lute? In the courtyard of Wu Shifen's former residence, there is a couplet written by Zuo Zongtang, with vigorous and sophisticated calligraphy. The original meaning of this couplet is that writing grand articles requires studying Han Libu (Han Yu), discussing ancient paintings, or liking the works of General Li Sixun. The whole place praises the literary, Taoist and military strategies of officials of the Wu family in Haifeng.
An old book never gets tired of being read a hundred times; a new tree becomes ten acres of shade. The above sentence comes from a poem by Su Dongpo, and the couplet was written by Wang Yirong, an in-law of Wu Shifen's second son, Wu Chongxi. The couplet is now hung on a column in the nave of the Hall of Honor. Wang Yirong was the first person to discover oracle bone inscriptions and collect the oracle bones from the Yin Ruins. When the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing in the Gengzi Year, Wang Yirong felt derelict and humiliated because he could not protect the emperor. Wang Yirong threw himself into a well and died to serve his country. Wu Shifen's former residence is known as the "ten acres of garden". After hundreds of years of greening, it was already full of trees. It is also a tribute to the Wu family for promoting literature and preaching and transforming the people with virtue.
The clear clouds of nectar are auspicious here; the pearls and jade shine to cover the splendor of the times. There are couplets on both sides of the word "shou" given by the Empress Dowager Cixi. Because of Wu Chongxi's meritorious service in escorting Empress Dowager Cixi on her "Journey to the West", he was highly appreciated and valued by Empress Dowager Cixi. Wu Chongxi went to celebrate the birthday of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the Empress Dowager Cixi once gave Wu Chongxi a larger character "longevity" in return.
This sentence comes from the Tang Dynasty inscription "Jiucheng Palace Liquan Inscription", which was erected in Linyou (now Shaanxi) in 632 AD. Written by Wei Zheng. It describes the discovery of Liquan by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty when he was vacationing in Jiucheng Palace. Qingyun, nectar: a symbol of auspiciousness. This name means that the Wu family is famous for its achievements and talents. He wrote books for Du E, editor and editor of the Hanlin Academy during the Jiaqing period, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites, calligrapher and painter, and fellow Binzhou native. It is now hanging in the middle hall of Wu Shifen's house.
When encountering problems, be open-minded and observe the situation; be harmonious and observe the opinions of others. On both sides of the door of the main wing of Wu Shifen's house, these couplets were written by Ji Jiaxiao, a descendant of Ji Xiaolan. Ji Jiacheng was a top-ranked teacher in the student list of Shandong Normal School. After graduating in the spring of 1910, he worked as the general manager of the Wu Family Courtyard. It means that when a person encounters something, he should be open-minded, avoid distractions, and grasp the main contradiction. Observe people's opinions, think more about and accept other people's opinions.
Celebrities gathered in ancient times dating back to the Qin and Han Dynasties; the purple air came from the east and the bright light rushed into the bullfighting. It is located at the east gate of the south courtyard of Wu Shifen's former residence. Wu Shifen relied on his sincerity, knowledge, patience and broad mind. In his interactions with literati, Wu Shifen had a very in-depth study of epigraphy, music, poetry, calligraphy and painting, classics and history, etc. Confucianism", his character and erudition were impressive, and he was able to lead the scholars at that time. Therefore, people are willing to get close to him, talk about poetry and prose with him, and visit each other's home collections. Wu Shifen's former residence is located under the Haifeng Tower and by the Hehua Bay. It is a geomantic treasure land with outstanding people.
Challenging the limits of creation, he wrote eight kinds of diaries and hundreds of volumes in his life; he had a hard and cold official career, but in his sixties, he resigned from the fourth rank and added the third rank. Wu Shifen was a Jinshi in the 15th year of Daoguang's reign in the Qing Dynasty. He served successively as editor of the Hanlin Academy, governor of Nan'an Prefecture in Jiangxi, inspector general of Guangxi and Henan, chief envoy to Zhili, Guizhou and Shaanxi, admiral of Zhejiang's academic affairs, cabinet bachelor and minister of the Ministry of Rites, etc., and later Presented to Dr. Guanglu. Wu Shifen devoted his life to epigraphic archeology. In his spare time from politics, he collected epigraphic artifacts and wrote two epigraphic monographs, "Tuan Gu Lu" and "Tuan Gu Lu Complete Text". He co-authored "Feng Ni Textual Research" with Chen Jieqi. Wu Shifen was a versatile man and wrote many books throughout his life. Most of his original manuscripts are now stored in the National Library and Shandong Provincial Library. This couplet is a high-level summary and evaluation of Wu Shifen's life.
The above two couplets were written by Yu Changluan, director of the original Culture and History Office of Wudi County and chairman of the Couplet Association.