The Connotation of Willow in Ancient Poetry

1. What is the meaning of "Liu" in ancient poetry? The willows are graceful and swaying, which are favored by scholars in past dynasties and often used as the object of lyric expression. There are countless masterpieces of chanting willow in Tang poetry. Among them, his poem "Chanting Willow" is the most famous:

Jasper dressed as a tree, hanging down ten thousand green silk tapestries.

I don't know who cut the thin leaves, but the spring breeze in February is like scissors.

This poem, contrary to the previous description of the slim figure of a beautiful woman in the image of a willow, turned the willow into a beautiful "jasper" and vividly described the charming posture of the long branches and bright green leaves of the willow in the spring breeze with anthropomorphic methods.

Among the poets in the Tang Dynasty, Li Shangyin had the most affection for Liu. In his collection of poems, there are more than a dozen poems with the theme of "Liu". The poem "Giving Willow" depicts the charm of spring willow;

Willow color on the platform, bright or dark-all the roads, willow branches are dancing like young girls.

Many people have heard the praise of Liu Feng to the extreme, and now what they see is just the same graceful.

The charming willow color has reached the bridge, and my heart is behind me when I watch the willow color cut off and extend across the bridge to the long beach.

Liu Er is really thoughtful, releasing catkins like snow, floating and flying in the brothel.

"Shade" and "staggered" describe the lush scene of willow, either bright or dark, with soft strips hanging down. "Romantic" and "graceful" describe the light posture of willow, flowers fly like snow, and describe the prosperity of spring willow to the extreme.

And "Willow" is about willow in autumn:

I used to chase the east wind, just like a dancer dancing at a banquet. It was a spring full of flowers, and people were playing in Leyuan Scenic Area.

How to get to the late autumn season, it's already sunset, and Qiu Chan laments a scene.

Write autumn willow, compared with spring willow. The prosperity of willow in spring reflects the decline of willow in autumn; The more prosperous and proud the spring is, the more haggard the autumn willows are.

Both of them are chanting willow, but the poet shows completely different feelings: writing spring willow highlights his joy and love for the prosperity of spring willow; Writing autumn willows is the poet's lament over the decline of autumn willows.

Chanting willow is often used as a farewell in Tang poetry. Luo Yin's "Willow" is a farewell scene on a sunny day in late spring, outside Chang 'an, on the bank of Bashui, by means of comparison.

It's sunny on the shore, so it's hard to say goodbye.

I'm still uncertain about my flying flocks, and I'm trying to solve the problem of tripping over passers-by.

In farewell poems, poets usually fold willows to bid farewell. Such as Dai Shulun's "Willow on the Dike":

The weeping willows are full of silk, and spring comes to weave parting.

Pedestrians climb, and now when my heart is breaking.

Shi Jianwu's "Folding Willow";

Seeing Yang Liuchun by the roadside, I folded it all again.

This year, I will return to last year's position and will not leave others last year.

Yong's Riverside Willow is unique:

The ancient embankment curled up and a tree smoked.

If the silk does not stop, keep the boat.

The heroine in the poem not only didn't bid farewell to the willow, but hoped that the willow would continue, so as to be a lover's boat and never part.

In addition, Bai Juyi's "Qin Lou Xi Lao Liu" outlines a picture of "the breeze immediately" with concise brushstrokes, which is also a self-portrait of the poet:

The wind blew on a half-withered branch and immediately looked at the old man affectionately.

Kaiyuan a willow, Changqing two years in the spring.

And Tang's poem "weeping willows" has another meaning:

No feelings for the spring breeze, who dares to underestimate the enemy in the world?

The king of Chu planted seeds on the river bank for no reason, and he was so hungry that he lost his waist.

This poem not only depicts graceful weeping willows, but also relates to the story of King Chu Ling's "Love a thin waist, and maids starve to death". The irony is directed at the emperor and the feudal bureaucratic group headed by him. It is a unique poem of "Chanting Willow".

2. The meaning of "willow" in ancient poetry. Open the Tang poetry and Song poetry, and there are many famous works chanting willow and bright moon.

For thousands of years, Liu's image has been especially loved by literati, and it has become an important content for China ancient literati to express their feelings. In the new middle school Chinese textbook, there are also many ancient poems about singing willow and enjoying the moon. According to the teaching goal of "developing healthy personality and forming sound personality" put forward by the new syllabus of middle school Chinese, it is necessary for us to do a good job in teaching ancient poems and guide students to appreciate Liu's works in middle school Chinese ancient poems.

First, sing the willow farewell, "Silence is better than sound", and the willow homonym "Stay". The ancients often used "folding willows" to say goodbye, indicating that they would never leave others.

In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the wind of "folding willows" was particularly popular, so "folding willows" became another name for parting. In Lu Tai's Note, "Folding the willow to send new knowledge and sending the old couple a laundry list" describes the feeling of seeing Liu off.

The folk song of Yuefu in the Northern Dynasties, "Don't drive the whip when you get on the horse, carry it on your back", is also Liu's farewell words. In The Book of Songs, I was absent, and the willow was reluctant to part. This is a kind of "silence is better than sound", based on the graceful beauty of the willow and the sadness that her husband left his hometown and his wife and other children.

Worried by Liu Ci, "autumn wind and autumn rain worry people", people encounter melancholy thoughts, and the scenery is dark and full of thoughts. Liu Yong is a representative figure of graceful ci school and a master of his sadness. In his Lin Yuling, "Where did you wake up tonight?" Yang Liuan's The Remnant Moon in Xiao Feng is an eternal sad story.

Here the poet imagines that the most painful thing in life is to quench one's thirst by drinking poison, but when he wakes up, he doesn't know where he is. Here, the poet sketched a "clear autumn picture": the gentle wind, the waning moon, the willow, the breeze, the waning moon and the willow are listed, forming a sad landscape painting, which arouses people's infinite reverie about the poet's trip in late autumn: a boat landed, but a trainee Xi Xiaofeng brushed the rustling willow, and the waning moon hung high on the branches of the willow, making the scenery bleak and making it cold for the guests to stay.

It's really "all scenery words have feelings", which makes people feel sad after reading it. Taking softness as beauty, the physical characteristics of "we can feel her feelings at that time, even before she appeared" make willow have feminine beauty.

He's poem "Jasper dressed as a tree, a tapestry of thousands of strands of green silk hanging down" describes the inner beauty of willow. "When you see the face of the lotus, you will turn your back when you meet Yang Liuyi." Here, the waist of a beautiful woman is compared to a willow branch, and the beauty of a woman's body is reflected through the beauty of the waist.

Because the inherent beauty of willow is slender, long and soft, just like the ancient people's aesthetic standards for women. Especially in the Song Dynasty, poets inherited and carried forward this aesthetic tradition, and a large number of graceful words with feminine beauty emerged.

Appreciate the moon and express your feelings with it. The moon has many nicknames, such as "Silver Hook, Jade Plate, Jade Rabbit, Moon and Ghost Palace". Moonlight and Yue Hui are often symbols of homesickness and reunion in ancient poetry.

People often feel homesick when they see the moon shining on the earth. Li Bai's Thoughts on a Quiet Night: "The foot of the bed is bright, is there frost?" .

I looked up at the moon and looked down, feeling nostalgic. This poem vividly depicts the feeling of being far away from home and missing home in just four sentences and twenty words.

This is a famous homesick poem. Li Yu's poem "Yu Meiren" is also a famous work to express her feelings for the moon.

The first two sentences "When is the spring flower and autumn moon?" ? What do you know about the past! "Writing the scene in front of me, looking forward to Autumn Moon, and feeling sad." Flowers are similar year after year, people are different year after year "and" short moon and full moon ",what have they brought to poets? It can only be endless long hatred. "The building was easterly again last night, and the country could not bear to look back on the middle of next year. "

From lamenting reality to writing about things around you. In the bright moonlight, recalling my fragmented motherland, I can't bear great mental pain! "The moonlight at home is how bright!" A poet imprisoned in a small building will naturally arouse his infinite attachment to all kinds of old feelings under his old country.

However, "moonlight" is no different, but the country changed hands and everything changed. Everything has become an irreversible "past". Falling in love with the moon, "Let her heart share everything with ours bit by bit" Li Qingzhao's poem "Don't worry about cutting plums", which has three sentences: "Who sent the brocade book in the clouds? When it comes back, the moon is full of the West Building. "

Romance under the Moon is about the poet's longing for books in the West Building. In ancient times, for lost relatives or lovers, letters were a bridge to communicate each other's news and feelings, which could travel through time and space and bring comfort to those who missed each other.

Here, for a poet who deeply misses her husband, the hope of getting her husband's letters naturally becomes an indispensable part of her spiritual life. Just as the poet was eager to try, suddenly, there appeared "the word geese return, and the moon is full of the West Building".

In other words, only the cold moonlight silently filled her building. It is really "the bright moon doesn't know how to leave sorrow and hate bitterness, and shines obliquely through the Pearl Lake". Why didn't this make the poet doubly disappointed and depressed? Wu said in the second volume of "Poems on Lotus Seeds": "Love stories, reflected by scenery, are deep and beautiful."

Here, the poet did not give an answer after shouting "Who sent the brocade book", but ended up with two poetic landscape words: "The geese fly back and the moon is full in the West Building". Instead of writing his own thoughts, he felt sorry for himself, showed no emotion, and felt infinite, thus achieving the effect of "letting her heart share everything with ours bit by bit". Li Yu, who writes the scenery with the moon, wrote a poem "Welcome to Huan": "Without words, I go to the west building alone, and the moon is like a hook.

Lonely phoenix tree deep courtyard locks clear autumn. "Borrow a curved moon to write poets is lonely and full of sadness.

The poet looks up at the column, and the waning moon bends like a hook, which makes people daydream and memorable. Broken old country, broken home, and this broken heart, as if the moon knows people's hearts and people are also concerned about the moon; As if the moon understands human feelings, the moon symbolizing reunion is not beautiful tonight, which makes the poet's worries even worse.

The poet looked down at the downstairs and said, "Lonely phoenix tree deep courtyard locks clear autumn". Wutong and Shenyuan don't understand human love and hate, let alone what Loneliness is. The word "clear autumn" also reminds people of the yellow leaves falling and the bleak autumn wind, not to mention the lonely "phoenix tree" and the deserted "deep courtyard".

Autumn scenery is everywhere on earth, how can it be locked by a garden? Therefore, it is not autumn scenery who is locked up, but the poet is also imprisoned.

Here you are.

3. The meaning of willow in ancient poetry, and give an example of willow-a symbol of divorce.

The "willow" in ancient poetry has a special meaning. Gentle and graceful, swaying in the wind, the homophonic sound of "willow" and "stay", and the ancient custom of breaking willow to bid farewell can easily be extended to the level of "willow-stay-farewell-reluctant to part". Reminiscent of people, parting people will think of parting scenes when they see willows, and they will see farewell scenes to willows, and their hearts are full of sadness. This makes it easier to understand the meaning of "farewell and nostalgia" contained in the word "folding willow" in the poem. "Yang Liuan can't see the moon" (Liu Yong's mausoleum), "I heard the willows in the flute, but I didn't see the spring scenery" (Li Bai's song), "Why should the Qiang flute complain about the willows? The spring breeze is just like Yumenguan" (Wang Zhihuan's Liangzhou Ci), but I am far away, and the willows are yiyi (The Book of Songs picks the EU).

4. The connotation of "willow" During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the economy and technology were still quite backward, and transportation and communication were very inconvenient. Pedestrians wander around the world, often using willows to pin their thoughts on relatives and friends or hometown. "The scenery in February is half, and the trilateral defense is not returned. I cherish the years, and the willows climb for you. " "Wan Li border town, Sanchun Liuyang Festival. I can't bear to throw away my years, including liquidation and climbing. " The wife pinned her thoughts on her husband who was stationed outside the customs by climbing willows. Li Bai's "No Sauvignon Blanc, Break Yang Liuzhi" and Zhang Jiuling's "Delicate Willow". Expressed the author's love for his loved ones. Li Bai said in "Smelling the flute in Los Angeles on a Spring Night" that "no one can stand the homesickness", which expressed the author's nostalgia and attachment to his hometown. Because willows have great vitality, it means that no matter where they go, relatives or friends will settle down and flourish. At the same time, Liu and Liu are homophonic, meaning "retain". Therefore, when the ancients left to give friends, express their feelings and express their thoughts, the willow tree became a kind of "intermediary", "I have been there, Liu Yiyi" and "Liu Niannian pedestrian", with rich and meaningful meanings.

In the Tang Dynasty, the custom of wearing willows in spring was formed. "If you don't wear willows in Qingming Festival, beautiful girls will become handsome." In Tomb-Sweeping Day, women and children like to wear wicker on their heads, which means that spring stays in the world and youth stays forever.

5. Appreciation of poetry and meaning of willow 1. The feeling of "folding willows" was a very popular folk custom at that time, especially among literati, and it became 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, last year, we had to bend a soft strip across thousands of feet. "

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 Blow in Los Angeles on a Spring Night: "Whose Yu Di 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's "Memory": "Xiao Shengyan, the dream is broken.

Qin family, every year in the second quarter of the moon, the willow color by the bridge is printed with seven windows for farewell. Li Bai's departure from a hotel in Nanjing: a wind, with catkins, scented the hotel, and a girl from Wu poured wine and advised me to share it.

Comrades in my city came to see me off. When each of them drank his glass, I said to him when leaving. Zheng Gu bid farewell to his friends in Huaishang: Yang, the head of the Yangtze River, and the man who killed the river crossing with sorrow.

The breeze blows gently, the flute whimpers, and the pavilion dyes dusk. You want to go south to Xiaoxiang, and I want to run to the west Qinling. "(Huayang is catkin.

Su Shi has "Huayang Ci") Wu Wenying's "The 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" is why do you want to fold willow? 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 to their hometown like a tree leaving the soil. I hope they are safe everywhere, just like a willow tree is alive and well. " 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 willow spring" 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 "Broken Willow" When "Broken Willow Farewell", you should play the flute and sometimes sing aloud. Therefore, in ancient poems, you often associate the broken willow with playing the flute (singing) to express your deep affection for parting.

There are three pieces of music related to it: One is "Folding Yang Liuzhi" in the Northern Dynasty Yuefu "Drum Horn Blowing Across". 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 for fear of killing travelers. "Li Bai's Xia Sai Qu": "I heard a bright future, but I never saw 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 topic to chant willow.

6. What is the symbolic meaning of willow in ancient poetry? 1. Say goodbye to the willow.

Willow is a homonym for "leaving". The ancients used "folding willows" to express their inseparable feelings. The wind of "folding willow" was particularly popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties, so "folding willow" became another name for farewell.

In Lu Tai's Note, "the new knowledge is the gift, and the old lover is the gift basket", which describes the feeling of parting with Yangliu. The folk song "Get on the horse and don't catch the whip, go back to Yang Liuzhi" in the Northern Dynasties is also a farewell message written with willow trees. "I have been there, and the willows are lingering" in the Book of Songs, which is based on the graceful beauty of willows.

2. Worried about Ada

When people are sad, the scene is dark and everything is missed. Liu Yong is a representative figure of graceful ci school and a master of his sadness. In his Lin Yuling, "Where did you wake up tonight?" Yang Liuan's "The Wandering Moon and the Broken Moon" is a masterpiece of the ages. Here, the poet imagines that the most painful thing in life is to quench thirst by drinking poison, but he doesn't know where he is when he wakes up. Here, the poet outlines a "clear autumn picture scroll": gentle breeze, hazy waning moon, willows, gentle breeze, waning moon and willows, which constitute a sad landscape and arouse people's attention to the poet. A crescent moon hangs high on the branches of willow trees, and the bleak scenery, the indifference of guests and the sadness of parting are completely condensed in this picture of clear autumn. It's really "all scenery words have feelings", which makes people feel sad after reading it.

3. Take softness as beauty

The physical characteristics of willow are feminine. He's poem "Jasper adorns the tree high, and thousands of strands of green silk hang down" describes the inner beauty of willow. "When you see the charming face of a lotus, you will bend over when you meet the memory of a willow." Here, the waist of a beautiful woman is compared to a willow branch, and the beauty of a woman's body is reflected through the beauty of the waist. Because willows are "thin, long and soft."

7. What is the special meaning of willow in ancient poetry? In China's ancient poems, "Liu" is an emotional image, which first appeared in The Book of Songs. Confucius' admiration for "being cold and not dying" makes faithfulness the basic connotation of the image of pine and cypress, and the author of "Picking Roses" sighs, making parting from sorrow and hating become the basic connotation of the image of willow. The poet used Vitamin as a metaphor or borrowed Liu to bid farewell, which made Liu a beautiful scenery in China's poems.

First, bid farewell to the willow tree: the spring breeze strives to cherish the strip.

For the time being, drinking will kill boredom, so don't worry about frowning and waisting.

Before the world dies, there is only farewell, and the spring breeze strives to cherish the strip?

-Li Shangyin's "Leaving the Pavilion to Give Folding Willow"

Li Shangyin's "Leaving the Pavilion to Give a Folding Willow" belongs to the representative work of farewell willow. The poet has no choice but to temporarily drive away his sadness with a glass of wine. Since it is irreparable, take good care of yourself. Nothing is more painful than parting except death. Don't be stingy with the long wicker in the spring breeze, let the parting people climb to their heart's content! Facing the willows, the branches are swaying, and the feelings are hard to give up. How can you not be disgusted with the fact that your friends are leaving?

It is said that the custom of breaking willows to bid farewell began in the Han Dynasty. The ancients gave the willow two meanings: first, the willow grows fast, which means that it can flourish wherever it floats, and the delicate talk symbolizes family ties; Second, willow is homophonic with "stay", and folding willow means "stay". Today, we can see from the poems that "Liu" is used to express the feeling of parting, which is earlier than this "custom". As early as the Book of Songs? In Xiaoya, there is a touching poem, "I once left, and the willows said goodbye".

"There is only one thing before the end of the world. Spring breeze strives to cherish the strip?" Since parting is a foregone conclusion, climb up the wicker as much as possible. Look at the past and the past, how beautiful and open-minded, willow trees are flourishing, and look at this scene, the rain and snow are faint. In an instant, the time is different and I don't feel sad. Even the willow branches on the road are graceful and swaying in the wind, which seems to be reluctant to part. The poet implicitly, euphemistically and incisively expressed his feelings with his friends about where you are going.

The beauty of willow is that it can understand the pain of separation in the world. Liu Zhe, stay.

As a synonym of "Liu", "Liu" is a bright spot in our national culture. That boundless willow color, green branches, such as flying flocks of snowflakes, all fit the human feelings of parting and the suffering of lovesickness.

Since then, "Liu Yang" has become a symbol, an image, and the most beautiful and moving image in ancient poetry.

Second, the willow tree is a metaphor: Zhang Tailiu, is it the past Yi Yi?

Willow, willow! Was the past Yi Yi today?

Even if the strip looks old, climb up and break other people's hands.

-Han Yi's "Zhang Tailiu"

Excuse me, Liu of Zhangtai, is your graceful appearance still the same as before? Even though the slender and delicate branches are still falling with the wind as before, they may have been climbed badly by others.

The Tang and Song Dynasties were the golden age of China's poetry, and the willow image expanded rapidly, becoming one of the richest aesthetic images in ancient poetry. Since the Southern Dynasties poetry, the willow image has taken on a new meaning. "The willow path is deep in spring, and it is silent when it goes to the customs, and it blows to the side of Lang." Here, willow is a metaphor for people, willow represents a woman in love, and catkins are her lingering affection.

From the aesthetic point of view, willows are swaying in the wind, shy and dependent on others, with thousands of postures and customs, which are very feminine.