The plum blossom described by Mei, a poet in the early Song Dynasty, is a delicate little jasper: "The plum blossom is warm in spring, learning to make up like a little girl, smiling and making red lips." ("Red Plum")
Some poets also described plum blossom as a fairy with ice muscle and snow skin and a frosty heart in jade bone: "Beautiful as a fairy, crimson fairy calyx wrapped in Yao Ying." ("Plum Blossom") "The jade stands cold and lonely, and the fairy posture is chic and clean." (Zhu's "Plum Tree before Two Rhymes") "Riding a dragon and an ancient fairy doesn't eat fire, but is used to living in an empty mountain and biting ice and snow." (Lu You's Lake Mountain Xun Mei) In Zhou Bida's eyes, plum blossoms have both the graceful beauty of fairies and the charming astringency of women next door: "At first, I suspected that I really wanted to dance, and my clothes brushed away my natural posture. Another example is that the owner peeks at the wall girl, and it is especially suitable to apply Zhu Yingfen. " ("Plum in the Pavilion of Hongjing Lu Jianyang in the History of Eryun") Some poets compare plum blossoms to lovers: "Autumn waters leave beauty, and there are several clouds in Jiangdong dusk. Lonely lights and bamboo buildings are clear night cream, and I see plum blossoms. " It can be seen how noble and noble plum blossom is in the poet's mind.
In fact, the three symbolic images of plum blossom are often not separated, but integrated. In many of Yongmei's poems, these three symbolic meanings coexist. For example, Lu You's "Five Plum Blossoms at the Beginning of Half Moon Lake Village": "Those who live in empty lanes are suspected to be immortals in the lake." People who live in a deserted land for a long time are both hermits and mysterious immortals. Lu You skillfully interweaves these two images and enriches the content of this poem. In Zhang Xiaoxiang's "Looking at Plum Blossoms", plum blossom is portrayed as a lonely and self-loving woman, which is actually a combination of a virtuous man and a beautiful woman. The three images of plum blossom can be merged together because they all have the core of * * *-the symbol of chastity.
Among the poets in Yongmei, Lin Hejing in Song Dynasty is the most famous. His wife He Zi wrote many poems by Yongmei, the most outstanding of which should be Xiao Mei in the Mountain Garden: "All fragrant flowers shake off their beauty and occupy the small garden." Mottled shadows hang obliquely on the clear shallow water, and their fragrance spreads peacefully in the moonlight evening. "Cold birds want to fly, first peek at plum blossoms; Butterflies will be enchanting if they know the beauty of plum blossoms. Fortunately, there are micro songs to compare with, and there is no need for sandalwood. " The poet described the image of plum blossom in many ways, highlighting its noble and detached character.
In addition, plum blossom is another important image in ancient poetry to express the yearning for distant friends. The first plum blossom poem "To Ye Fan" was written by Lu Kai in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It used plum blossoms to convey friendship: "Fold plum blossoms and send them to the people in the dragon head. Jiangnan has nothing, talk about a spring. " Many poets in the Tang Dynasty used this image to create Yongmei's poems.
It has become a common allusion to fold plums and give them away. In the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi and others inherited this image: "If a post is posted, you can post one yourself" (Plum Blossom). "The diligent hand is folded and given away. You don't want to be alone before the flowers are finished." Plum blossom has become a symbol of friendship. The image of "folding plum blossoms to send friends" has gradually developed in depth. By the middle of Song Dynasty, plum blossom was not only a token in poetry, but also an emotion. When poets see plum blossoms, they can't help thinking of friends who are far away from home. "The frost branches in the north of the mountain think the most, and the cold stays with you." (Su Shi's "Two Rhymes of Yang Xianmei Flower") "Wandering thousands of miles, for the pity of Beike, stealing money. The aroma is lighter than that of the new brew, and the mood is as heavy as an old friend. Mo Wen has nothing on the boat. He is anxious to find a cup. " (Zhang Shunmin, "Looking at Mei Kai on the Shore")
There are also poets who express their love for friends and lovers in Yongmei's poems, such as Zhu Song's "Drinking Plums as a Gift": "It is better to stay at home than to get drunk with this flower." And Zhu's "Seeing Mei on Qingjiang Road": "He dreams for a thousand years, who will send acacia." All reveal the feelings of Sauvignon Blanc.
Even more touching poets expressed homesickness with Yongmei: "There is still pity on the way down from Longshan, and if you break a branch, you will break your heart first." (Lu You's "Guest House to Mei") "Looking at the distance, there is no North-South envoy, and the guests are worried about the expenses." (You Mao's "Plum Blossom") The poet felt that the world was difficult and expressed his homesickness but could not return.
To sum up, it is not difficult to find that the poet is not only trying to describe Mei's physical state, but more importantly, he is lyrical and lyrical by borrowing Mei's feelings. Yongmei's poems are different from ordinary poems about objects, because the beauty of singing in poems has become the objective counterpart of the poet's mind, accumulated from generation to generation, and condensed into the independent and high-standard spiritual realm of China traditional literati.