Li Ji (1922-1980), a native of Tanghe, Henan Province, has written a wide variety of works, including the long poem Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang, the Biography of Yang Gao, and the poetry collection Yumen Poems. Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang is a modern narrative poem completed by him at the end of 1945 and published in Yan'an's Liberation ** in September 1946.With more than 740 lines and 13 chapters in three parts, this work presents the difficult struggle of poor peasants in the "trilateral" areas of northern Shaanxi under the leadership of the Communist Party of China around 1930. The story is set against the backdrop of a stormy class struggle, with the love between young peasants Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang as the main line, and truly reflects the complex class contradictions in the countryside of northern Shaanxi at that time.
In the work, "The old yellow sand as far as the eye can see, which piece of land does not belong to the rich man's house?" "In February and March, people who starved to death were put in coffins, and in May and June, people starved to death and no one buried them. It vividly depicts the cruel reality of class oppression in the countryside and profoundly reflects the serious situation of class antagonism.
The long poem enthusiastically praises the great victory of the people of northern Shaanxi in turning over and making a revolution under the leadership of the Communist Party, and reveals the flesh-and-blood connection between the fate of the toiling people and the revolutionary cause led by the party. It praises the heroic and unyielding spirit of resistance and the noble quality of loyalty to love of the working people, closely integrates the love between Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang, the liberation of the peasants and the entire revolutionary cause, and shows a profound and important ideological theme: "If it is not for the revolution, the poor cannot turn over, and if it is not for the revolution, we will not be able to get married", "The revolution has saved you and me, and the revolution has saved our villagers", "We have made a revolution, and the revolution is also for us".
The long poem successfully created the images of Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang, two awakened young farmers. Wang Gui has outstanding personality traits, showing fiery revolutionary enthusiasm, firm revolutionary conviction and an open revolutionary mind. His upbringing, from class hatred to rebellion, to self-consciousness as a revolutionary fighter, represents the universal path of peasant growth in the Chinese revolution. Li Xiangxiang is beautiful and kind, brave and strong, with a clear distinction between love and hate. Her image fully embodies the good wishes and hearts of rural working women to pursue marital autonomy and be faithful to love, and also reflects their ardent expectations for the victory of the revolution.
In addition, the work also indicts the decadence and ** of the exploiting class and reactionary rulers through the portrayal of Cui Erye, a representative of the landlord class. The fall of Cui Erye reveals the inevitable trend of historical development.
Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang has made remarkable achievements in artistic techniques. The whole poem is based on the northern Shaanxi folk song "Xintianyou" as the carrier, and makes bold innovations. The development of the structure of every two sentences into several consecutive stanzas or dozens of stanzas to present a complete storyline is a rare way in the history of Chinese poetry, and it is an artistic practice that creates a new atmosphere.
In the process of portraying characters, narrating plots, and expressing themes, the author skillfully uses the technique of "comparison and exuberance" in classical Chinese poetry. This technique makes the poems show rich connotations and varied charms in bright rhythms and fluent language. At the same time, the linguistic and figurative beauty of poetry has also been further enhanced.
In addition, "Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang" also widely absorbs local dialects, making the poems more simple and concise as folk songs. The whole long poem shows the unique regional customs of the northern Shaanxi Plateau, and the fresh, lofty, simple and warm artistic style jumps on the paper.
Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang is the crystallization of the author's in-depth experience of practical struggle and learning from the masses. It not only opened up a new path for the creation of modern narrative long poems in China, but also made a significant contribution to the nationalization and development of new poems. Therefore, "Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang" was selected as a middle school Chinese textbook and became one of the important articles that have been retained for a long time.