Qu Yuan is a famous patriotic poet in ancient my country. He wrote in his long lyric poem "Li Sao": "I make lotus flowers to make clothes, and gather hibiscus to make clothes." This means that what he wears is The upper garment is made of lotus leaves and the lower garment is made of lotus flowers. If that were the case, and Qu Yuan's whole body was covered with flower petals, wouldn't he become a flower fairy?
Not only that, he also wrote: "Drink the magnolia in the morning with its fallen dew, and dine with the autumn chrysanthemum in the evening." He also told us that what he drank for breakfast was taken from the magnolia flower. Nectar, the fallen petals of autumn chrysanthemums were eaten for dinner. If this were the case, would Qu Yuan have to cultivate flowers that bloom every day in the garden to provide him with food for every meal? Does he have a fetish for flowers?
In fact, Qu Yuan did not really eat or wear flowers and plants, he just used symbolic artistic expression techniques in his poetry creation.
Symbolic technique is to use some specific and vivid things to imply specific people or events to express sincere feelings and profound meanings.
For example, the things Qu Yuan borrowed in "Li Sao" were flowers such as "Hell Lotus", "Hibiscus", "Magnolia" and "Autumn Chrysanthemum". Why didn't he borrow other things? In his opinion, these flowers and plants are fragrant, clean, and not stained with any filth, which can be used to compare his own quality. However, he does not directly say that he is a noble and pure person, but expresses it euphemistically through those flowers and plants. This is how art expresses itself.
The same example is Cao Zhi's "Seven-Step Poetry": "Cooking beans burns the bean sprouts, and the beans weep in the cauldron. They are originally from the same root, why fry each other in a hurry!" In the poem, it is written that green beans are quilted Put it in a pot and cook it. There is a blazing flame ignited by the bean stalks in the stove. Green beans are suffering in the pot. Aomame thinks that she and the bean stalks are brothers of the same blood, but the bean stalks are persecuting themselves so ruthlessly. , felt extremely sad, so it cried sadly.
If this poem was realistic, then who would dare to cook green beans with bean stalks? In fact, Cao Zhi borrowed "cooking beans and burning bean sprouts" as a symbol. What he really wanted to say was that he was persecuted by his compatriot brother Cao Pi. This is an artistic expression in poetry, so it is just a virtual representation, but it is actually an expression. I am angry and sad about being persecuted by my brother. Summary:
The artistic technique of symbolism is also widely used in modern poetry creation. For example, Lu Li's poem "Mud": "Always think of yourself as a pearl, and you are always afraid of the pain of being buried. Treat yourself as mud, and let everyone step on you into a road."
Can people really turn themselves into a road? Of course not, this is just a symbol. What the poet wants to express is that he wants to be a sacrificial person like Lu who is willing to serve everyone and is willing to be stepped on by others.