According to legend, in the Minyue Kingdom of the Han Dynasty, a man was forcibly recruited to guard the border, and his wife looked forward to returning all day long. Later, the man who went with him returned home, but his husband did not return. His wife missed him even more. She stood under the tree at the entrance of the village all day long, looking forward to the evening, crying to death. Suddenly there are pods on the tree. The seeds are half red and half black, crystal clear and bright. People regard them as the blood and tears of a loyal wife. They are called "red beans" and "love seeds".
Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, has a poem: "Red beans grow in the south, and when spring comes, a few branches will appear. I advise you to pick more, as this is the most lovesick thing." The poet borrowed objects to express his lovesickness based on the story, which was euphemistic and implicit, and has become a legend through the ages. famous poem.
Red beans are not a common thing. They were only born in the "Southern Kingdom". Wang Wei said that "this thing is the most lovesick", which obviously presupposed that his era could understand this. Red beans not only became a common lovesickness It is a symbol of "most lovesickness", and it needs to be based on the universal consciousness of that era.
If Wang Wei is only using an individualized memory object, for example, it is not " "Red beans", but "black beans" which have important lovesickness significance to him personally, this poem cannot be passed down. Li Kuangyi in the Zhaozong era of the Tang Dynasty recorded in "Zixia Ji": "Beans are round and red, and those with multiflorum in their heads are The whole world calls it 'Acacia', which is another name for red bean. "It is said that "the whole world calls it 'Acacia'". It can be seen that the symbolic nature of red beans has become a common knowledge among people in the Tang Dynasty.
Extended information:
"Red beans are born in the South. When spring comes, send out a few branches. I advise you to pick more, this is the most lovesick thing. "
Wang Wei's poem had a wide impact on later generations of "lovesickness" poems, which also shows people's recognition of "red beans" as a symbol of lovesickness. For example, Zhao Chongji of the Song Dynasty said: "Don't cut the red bean branches , lovesickness hangs alone. "Zhao Yanduan: "Hongdou is unbearable to look at, and his eyes are filled with tears of lovesickness. Cheng Gai said: "I sigh at the half-dressed red bean, and I feel lovesickness." "The Preface to Reading Tang Poems in the Snow Mountain Fang" written by the Qing Dynasty said that Wang Wei's "Red Beans Are Born in the Southern Kingdom" is "straight up the chest and pretending to be a carving".
Chen Yinke included a poem in "Liu Rushi's Farewell Biography" "Ode to Red Beans" explains that his motivation for writing was "when I lived in Kunming in the past, I accidentally bought a red bean from Qian's hometown in Baimaogang, Changshu, because I had the intention of explaining Qian and Liu's poem about the relationship."
Baidu Encyclopedia-Hongdou
People's Daily Online-Why does Hongdou cause lovesickness