The Cultural Connotation of "Willow Yiyi"
First, the love of "folding willows"
Folding willows at parting is a very popular folk custom in ancient times, especially among scholars, which has become a fashion.
Zhang Ji's "Ji Bei Lu Si": "The willow outside the guest pavilion turns south." Zhou Bangyan's Brave Lanling: "The willow shade is straight and the smoke is beautiful. On the Sui Dyke, I have seen it several times, and the water fluttered and the cotton was sent away. ... Changting Road, in the coming year, it should be thousands of feet Cross. " The universality of this custom and fashion can be seen from the words "all the way to the south branch" and "soft crossing thousands of feet".
Farewell places are mostly pavilions, bridge heads or levees, such as "Sui Dike" mentioned in Zhou Bangyan's ci, and "Baling" below (there is Baqiao nearby). Not only do you fold your willows when you bid farewell, but drinking alcohol when you bid farewell is naturally indispensable; Sometimes you have to play the flute to sing, and the music is ready-made. At that time, people with almost a little culture could sing casually. Of course, poets should recite poems and give each other words. In ancient poems, we can read many works related to the cultural custom of "breaking willows to bid farewell", which can be said to be a very important cultural landscape in the history of China literature. For example:
Li Bai's "Smelling the Flute in Los Angeles on a Spring Night": "Whose flute flies in the dark and the spring breeze fills Los Angeles. In this serenade, I heard the willows, and no one can stand the nostalgia. " This poem was put forward in the appreciation of ancient poetry in the college entrance examination in 2003. )
Li Bai recalled Qin E: "Xiao Shengyan, the dream is broken. Qin Louyue, Liuse every year, Fuling is injured. "
Li Bai's "Nanjing Hotel Parting": "A gust of wind came and the catkins were fragrant. A girl from Wu poured wine and advised me to drink with her. Comrades from my city came to see me off. When each of them drank his glass, I said to him. "
Zheng Gu's "Farewell to Friends in Huai": "The Yangtze River is the head of the Yangtze River, crossing the river with worry and murder. Some bagpipes leave the pavilion late. You go to Xiaoxiang and I will go to Qin. " "Huayang" is catkin. Su Shi has "Huayang Ci")
Wu Wenying's Wind Into the Pine: "The dark green in front of the building leads the way, with a touch of willow and an inch of tenderness."
Poetry should not only write the action of "folding willows to bid farewell", but also all words related to willows should be used to express the kindness between friends and parting. Such as willow, willow branch, Liu Yin, willow color, tobacco willow, willow cotton (also known as willow flower, Yang Shuhua, catkin), willow, folding willow, willow spring, willow and so on.
There is also a very touching story in the poem "Folding Willow".
Li Zhiwen, an official in Song Dynasty, fell in love with Nie Shengqiong, a famous prostitute in Beijing. When Li was about to return to his hometown, Nie Shengqiong bid him farewell, drank wine and sang a song in the Lotus Building. The last sentence is: "I have no intention of staying in spring, but I have no intention of going with you." Therefore, Li Zhiwen stayed and lived for more than a month. Later, because his wife urged him too hard, Li had to leave disappointed. In less than ten days, Nie Shengqiong wrote a poem "Partridge Day" and sent it to Li Zhiwen. Li came halfway, hid in a box and was found by his wife when he came home. Li had to tell the truth. Li Furen read The Partridge Sky and was glad to see its clear sentences. Instead of stopping Nie Li's love affair, he took out his own private money and asked Li Zhiwen to go to the capital to marry Nie Shengqiong.
Nie Shengqiong's Partridge Sky: Jade Flower is sad out of Fengcheng, and Liu Qingqing is downstairs, singing the fifth journey after Yangguan. Looking for a beautiful dream, the dream is difficult to realize, who knows my mood at this time. Tears in front of the pillow and rain in front of the curtain drop through a window.
Second, the reason for "folding willow"
Why do you want to fold the willows when you leave?
The common explanation is that "Liu" and "Don't" are homophonic. One is reluctant to give Liu a souvenir, and the other is unforgettable. However, we feel that this explanation is too thin to be completely convincing. As a very common cultural custom, I'm afraid it can't be explained clearly by a homonym. Therefore, some people in ancient times explored the reasons from another angle. For example, the Chu people in the Qing Dynasty put forward in Volume IV of Jian Xuan Guang Ji: "Those who bid farewell have nothing to fold but must be in the willow. It is not convenient for Jinting, and it is not convenient for people to go back to their hometown like trees leaving the soil. I hope they will be safe everywhere, just like willows can live everywhere, so I wish them a good ear. " This explanation makes sense. Compared with other trees, willow is characterized by "no fixed place to live", which can be used to wish people far away will be very happy when they arrive in a different place, and they can quickly integrate into the local people and everything will go well. This sentence has profound philosophy and higher cultural taste.
But in my opinion, this is not the original reason for the cultural custom of "folding willows to bid farewell". The earliest origin should be "I am dead, and the willows are reluctant; Today, I will think about these ancient poems, "Rain and snow are raining". There are three reasons: first, this poem comes from the Book of Songs, which is a well-known sentence; Secondly, "Willow Yiyi" expresses the parting feelings of soldiers before going out to war, which lays the cultural tone for later farewell poems; Thirdly, The Book of Songs, as one of the Five Classics, has a profound and extensive cultural background. The ancients paid attention to "no words and no place" in their poems, which of course came from classics. In this sense, I think it is wrong for someone to change "guest house is like Liu Quan" in Weicheng Qu to "guest house is green and willow is new in color".
In a word, there should be three reasons for "farewell": homophonic feeling, philosophical enlightenment and cultural inheritance.
Third, the music of "Folding Willow"
When "folding willows to see you off", you should play the flute and sometimes sing aloud. Therefore, in ancient poetry, folding willows and playing flute (singing) are often linked to express your deep affection for parting. There are three pieces of music related to it:
The first is "Folding Yang Liuzhi" in Northern Dynasties Yuefu. There is a song that says, "If you don't catch the whip when you get on the horse, you will rebel against Yang Liuzhi. Dismount and play the flute, worrying about killing travelers. " Li Bai's Xia Sai Qu: "I heard the willows in the flute, but I didn't see the spring scenery." There is also the "Whispering Flute in Los Angeles on a Spring Night" mentioned earlier, and the "Smelling Willow" mentioned in these two poems should be the song "Folding Yang Liuzhi".
The second is the song of the Tang Dynasty, also known as the three layers of Yangguan. In fact, it turned out to be not a song, but a poem from Wang Wei's "Sending Ruan's Second Envoy to Anxi": "Weicheng is rainy and dusty, and the guest house is green and willow-colored. I advise you to have another glass of wine. There is no reason to go out. " Later, the musicians went to Yuefu to make a farewell song, and the last sentence, "People who went out of Yangguan in the Western Heaven for no reason", was repeatedly sung, so it was called "Three Levels of Yangguan". This is a very popular farewell song in the Tang Dynasty.
Third, Yang Liuzhi's Ci in Tang Dynasty. This is the name of Tang, and the author often uses this name to chant willow to express the meaning of parting. Liu Yuxi has nine "Yang Liuzhi Ci", one of which reads: "The spring breeze outside the city blows the wine flag, and pedestrians wave to the west. Chang 'an is a stranger to infinite trees, and only weeping willows will leave. According to scholar Wang Xianqian, "willow" is a kind of willow, and weeping willow is weeping willow. For example, Li Shangyin's "Sui Palace": "There is no fire in this rotten grass, and crows are still perched in weeping willows at dusk. "The weeping willow in this sentence refers to the willow in Sui Dynasty. (In ancient poetry, there seems to be a clear division of labor between Liu Yuhe and foreign countries. For example, Bai Juyi's "Gift to Lu": "I heard that the trees on Xianyang's grave have smoked three poplar branches. "Let's talk about it. )
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Singing accompanied by stamping or rhythmic dancing.
Li Bai will want to travel by boat,
Suddenly I heard singing on the shore.