First of all, I express my lament over the changes of social life and the eternal nature of the universe.
This in itself is a powerful contrast. For example, Wang Bo's poem "Wang Tengting" says: "Where is the emperor in the pavilion now, the Yangtze River flows freely outside the threshold." Where is Wang Teng Li Yuanying on the high shelf? Here, I only see the Yangtze River water outside the railing, which is choppy and day and night. The brevity of life and the eternity of rivers make the poet lament. Li Bai's "On the Phoenix Terrace in Nanjing": "The phoenix that once played here has been abandoned here, hence its name." Phoenix symbolizes the prosperity of the imperial court, and Phoenix symbolizes the decline of the imperial court. Social life is changeable, only nature is eternal.
? Second, borrow the past to satirize the present and express the ups and downs of the past. This "present decline" is caused by the fatuity and decay of the rulers, so it also contains the idea of persuading the rulers to learn from the lessons of history and not to repeat the mistakes of history. This is more common in epic poems. For example, in Jiang Kui's "Yangzhou Slow", Yangzhou used to be "the land of Huai Zuo and Zhu Zhi", which was extremely prosperous. Now it is "dusk, clear corners, cold wind, all in the empty city", depressed and cold. Wei Zhuang's Taicheng: "The rain falls on the grass and the birds sing in the Six Dynasties." The 300-year history of the Six Dynasties is like a dream. "Birds singing in the air" implies the poet's feelings about the rise and fall of history. The same theme is Ouyang Jiong's "Jiangchengzi", "There is a Gusu on the stage in leisure time, and there is a bright moon under the moon, which looks like a river in the west mirror". Poets mourn the monuments of the Six Dynasties, cherish the past and hurt the present. This is also a warning to the incumbent how to govern the country to avoid the overthrow of the regime.
Thirdly, it contains the melancholy of wandering, the melancholy of homesickness, the loneliness and resentment of unfulfilled ambition, which are all reflected in homesickness poems and farewell poems. Liu's "Listening to Zheng": "Who is worried about the lights and shadows all night? Where do you miss the moon in an empty building? " How lonely it is to be with the light shadow! "Emptiness" adds a sad atmosphere, and the meaning of parting from sorrow and not hating is vividly on the paper. Similarly, for example, Wang Wei's "Sitting on Autumn Night": "Sitting alone in sorrow, the empty hall wants two shifts." Empty Hall expresses the poet's loneliness and sadness. Cen Can's "Send Tian Wu to Bai Xuege": "Then disappear at the corner of the pass, leaving a horse line in the snow." "Empty" contains endless reluctance. Lu You's Confessions: "Hu is still there, and his temples are autumn first, and his tears are empty." The ambition to serve the country is unfinished and there is patriotic enthusiasm. The word "empty" poured out the poet's resentment of unpaid ambition.
Fourth, love mountains and rivers, long for seclusion, indifferent to fame and fortune, detached and refined.
This is reflected in pastoral poetry. For example, Wang Wei's "Bird Singing Creek": "People are idle and osmanthus flowers fall, and the night is quiet and the mountains are empty." The "emptiness" here is a kind of leisure and tranquility. Chai Lu: "There seems to be no one on the empty mountain, but I think I hear voices." The mountains are silent. Ji Xiang Temple: "At dusk, by a dry pond, thoughts can conquer the dragon of passion." Described a quiet pool. An autumn night in the mountains: "after the rain, the mountains are empty and stand on the autumn night." The clean and empty environment is also an effective embodiment of the poet's indifferent attitude towards fame and fortune. As usual, in a Buddhist retreat behind the Broken Mountain Temple: "Here, birds live in the mountain light, and people's hearts touch peace in the pond." The natural landscape can make people get rid of inner distractions, gain new souls, and make people detached and refined.
? It can be seen that the word "empty" is often quoted by poets in several common poetry themes, such as epic poems, homesick poems, farewell poems, pastoral poems, etc., which play different lyric roles in poems with different themes. Mastering the flexible use of the word "empty" by the ancients is helpful for us to grasp the theme of poetry.