First, there are rich metaphors. Most of the works in The Book of Songs are short chapters, especially Guo Feng's folk songs. These works are short in length, so metaphors are generally only used at the beginning of poems, and metaphors only exist in single sentences. Because it was created by an unknown folk singer, this metaphor is primitive and fragmentary. But this is not the case with Li Sao. Bixing in Li Sao is much richer than this. Originally, the length of Li Sao had a certain length, which greatly increased the capacity. In Lisao, there are as many as 25 kinds of fragrant flowers and beautiful grass, as well as many weeds, animals, costumes, lovers and matchmakers. It makes Bi Xing present an unparalleled richness.
Second, metaphor is symbolic. The metaphors and evocations in The Book of Songs are mostly simple, and the things involved are often an object that can exist independently. Some of these things are related to the content of the poem, while others have nothing to do with it. Bixing in Li Sao is completely different. In Li Sao, the things involved in Bi Xing and the whole poem are integrated and inseparable. These figurative images converge into a whole artistic image, which is full of symbolic significance. If these bi xing images are removed, Li Sao will basically not exist.
Thirdly, Bixing technique is systematic. Metaphor and awakening in The Book of Songs are only fragments of images in a poem. They are often isolated at the beginning or in the paragraph, and lack internal relations with each other. In Li Sao, various concrete images form corresponding systems, and these different systems are often intertwined and emerge in endlessly, presenting colorful scenes.
For example, different appellations of the King of Chu contain different meanings and express different emotions. Generally speaking, "beauty" and "practice" carry praise and hope; And "all" implies the meaning of accusation. Another example is clothing, which is mainly worn by fragrant flowers and beautiful grass. With a high crown, a long sword and Yu Pei, the poet was dressed in dazzling array.
Besides, the most outstanding systems in Li Sao are the lover system and the plant system. They are independent and interdependent, and contain extremely rich meanings.
Let's talk about the system of lovers. Based on women's self-comparison, the poet compares the relationship between monarch and minister with the relationship between men and women: "I was embarrassed with Yucheng at first, but I regretted hiding him." Then, compare the matchmaker to a political middleman: "Xie Pei's words are awkward, I'll make sense." Furthermore, the poet compares women's jealousy to those little evils: "Many women are jealous of my beauty, and it is rumored that I am good at prostitution." Finally, the metaphor of female lovelorn is ignored: "It is not difficult for me to leave my husband, but what hurts is the quantification of practice."
From the point of view of plant system. The poet first endowed fragrant flowers and beautiful grass with the characteristics of goodness and beauty, and then compared them to virtuous people: "The purity of the past and the future is where all fragrance lies." Pepper and mushrooms mixed together, how to take care of her husband? Then he compared wearing delicious flowers and beautiful grass to studying hard: "Hujiang is withdrawn and thinks she can be admired." "Making lotus is thought to be clothes, and picking hibiscus is thought to be clothes." "Drink Mulan dew in the morning and eat autumn chrysanthemum in the evening." Then, the poet compared the cultivation of fragrant flowers and beautiful grass to the cultivation of talents: "I am a hundred acres of trees." "I stayed in the country and found the car that mixed Du Heng and local chronicles." Of course, the following filth of fragrant flowers and beautiful grass is a metaphor for disciple's betrayal and degeneration: "No fragrance, no hair." What grass was it in the past, and now it's Xiao Ai? In addition, weeds with mixed flowers have become synonymous with villains: "I want to fill the house" and "I want to be a husband". "Of course, this also includes Mao, including.
The above systems of lovers and plants in Lisao are intertwined, and the two systems are interrelated and complementary, showing great metaphorical and symbolic functions.
The fifth is the sense of competition. In The Book of Songs, Bixing is an image thinking method used by folk oral singers. Its singularity and contingency show that the use of Bi Xing is generally unconscious. Qu Yuan's Li Sao consciously uses metaphor. Obviously, the poet borrowed metaphors and evocations from The Book of Songs, and then reformed and expanded them according to his own lyric needs. In this way, he consciously studied and inherited the artistic creation experience of his predecessors, and greatly expanded the scope of activities of thinking in images with his own practice, and also left rich creative experience for future generations.