What is a farewell party?
Breaking willows and saying goodbye to these willows means two things. One is a real willow beyond the Great Wall, and the other is a willow bend. Suggest the homesickness of border guards. Folding willows at parting is a very popular folk custom in ancient times, especially among scholars, which has become a fashion.
What are the allusions and implications of breaking the willow to bid farewell?
The word "broken willow" means "farewell";
In ancient China, once relatives and friends were separated, people who saw them off always folded a wicker for travelers. The word "broken willow" means "farewell forever". The custom of "sending willow" in China was first seen in Xiaoya. Cai Wei: "I have been there, Yangliuyiyi; Today I think it's raining. " In ancient times, willow was also called Xiao Yang or Liu Yang. Because "Liu" and "Liu" are homophonic, they can mean to stay. Giving a willow tree as a parting gift means that we are inseparable and reluctant to part. There is a song "Folding Yang Liuzhi" in Yuefu in the Northern Dynasties, and the lyrics are: "If you don't catch the whip when you get on the horse, you will hit Yang Liuzhi instead. Dismount and play the flute, worrying about killing guests. "
Li Bai's "Willow Leaves Every Year, Baling Mourning Farewell" illustrates such a custom: in ancient times, there were ten-mile long dikes on both sides of Chang 'an Baqiao Bridge, and many people from Chang 'an to the east came here to bid farewell and fold willow branches to bid farewell to their loved ones. Bai Juyi's "Qing Men Liu" "Don't go near Doumen, long folds reduce the spring breeze." Yu's "Folding Willow" "There are flowers hanging at the farewell party, and the willow is folded in smoke." "Farewell by folding willows" contains a good wish for friends that spring will last forever, and it also means that relatives leave their hometown like willow branches, hoping to take root and sprout in a new place soon, as if willow branches can blossom everywhere.
When people leave, they will also send their love when they miss their loved ones and old friends. The word "folding willow" also means "nostalgia". Zhang Jiuling "slim willow, hold this as a lover"; Li Bai "climbed the pole to fold the spring scenery and sent it far to Long Ting"; Li Bai's "Xuancheng sent Liu's deputy envoy to Qin" is "no acacia, broken" Li Bai's "Whispering flute in Los Angeles on a spring night": "The sound of the flute flies in the darkness and the spring breeze permeates Los Angeles. Who can't afford to miss home? "
There is also a very touching story in the poem "Folding Willow":
Farewell story of 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.
Why do you want to fold the willows when you leave?
Fold the willow to bid farewell.
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 Liu Quan" 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.