Image is the objective object in poetry that casts the author's subjective feelings. In the long history of Chinese classical poetry, many traditional images have been formed, and their meanings are basically fixed. If we are familiar with these images, it will be of great help in appreciating poetry. There are also some commonly used images in farewell poems:
(1) Customary images
1. Willow (breaking willow to say goodbye)
It originated from "The Book of Songs"? "Xiaoya? Picking Wei" "In the past I left, and the willows lingered; now I come to think about it, the rain and snow are falling." The ancients liked to break the willows to say goodbye. The meaning of breaking the willows is to say goodbye and cherish the distance. The custom of breaking willows to say goodbye originated in the Han Dynasty. There are three main reasons for this: First, the thousands of strands of willow branches dancing in the wind are very similar to the sorrow of leaving a person with thousands of strands, constantly cutting, and chaos. Secondly, "liu" and "liu" are homophonic, so breaking off willows to say goodbye has the meaning of retaining, saying goodbye, and being reluctant to leave. Thirdly, willow branches have the habit of growing everywhere, and breaking willow branches as gifts also means wishing friends a smooth and prosperous life in a foreign land.
2. Wine (drinking farewell)
"Ask the world, who cares about the sorrow of separation? What is in the cup." (Xin Qiji's "Man Jiang Hong") The ancients often held farewell banquets when parting, and wine was a way to relieve sorrow. In addition, it is also full of deep blessings. There are many poems that link wine and separation, such as: "I urge you to drink another glass of wine in "Weicheng Song" by Wang Wei, and there will be no old friends when you leave Yangguan in the west, and "You can't get drunk when you leave Yangguan in the west" "We are about to say goodbye happily and tragically, and the vast river is soaked in the moon when we say goodbye" and so on. They all use wine to express the feeling of separation. Therefore, many farewell poems are filled with the strong fragrance of wine, and the wine is full of family affection and friendship.
(2) Time Image
3. Sunset
In farewell poems, "sunset", "sunset", "sunset", "twilight snow" and "sunset" often appear in farewell poems. "Evening bell" and other words indicating the evening time. It’s not that the poet likes to say goodbye in the evening, but the sad emotion of farewell is in harmony with the sense of vastness in the twilight. Moreover, in the evening, birds will return to the forest and fish will sink to the bottom of the pond. For Zhengfu, a wanderer far away from home, it can even evoke the mood of separation among wandering people.
4. The moon
The moon is also a common image in farewell poems. The moonlight gives people a hazy, confused, and desolate feeling, which is consistent with the deep, long, euphemistic and sad parting mood. In addition, the moon contains the symbolic meaning of homesickness and missing relatives, so the ancients often used the moon to express their feelings. With the moon as a backdrop, the abstract farewell becomes even more moving and profound.
(3) Spatial Imagery
5. Long Pavilions
In ancient times, there were pavilions beside the post roads, one long pavilion for ten miles and one short pavilion for five miles. They were often used when bidding farewell to relatives and friends. A banquet party is set up in the pavilion, so the long pavilion becomes an image expressing the emotions of separation. For example, in Li Bai's "The Man of the Bodhisattva" "Where is the return journey? The long pavilion is shorter", and in Liu Yong's "Rain Lin Ling" "The cicadas are sad, but it is late to the long pavilion", etc.
6. Nanpu
Nanpu is often seen in farewell poems on the southern waterway. It has become a common image in farewell poems and has a lot to do with Qu Yuan's famous saying "Send off the beauty to Nanpu". . It appeared more commonly in farewell poems of the Tang and Song Dynasties, so that even poems that were not describing farewells were imbued with parting hate, and like Changting, it became synonymous with farewell places in the Tang Dynasty.
In addition, "chilling cicada", "yangguan", "ancient road", "west wind", "spring grass", "tears", etc. are also images related to farewell.