The Twilight Image in Poetry

Sunset is a common thing, and its explanation and use are witticisms.

-The lovesick plot of the dusk image in China's ancient poems.

Hu Hua

Abstract: The original image of dusk image originates from the worship of the sun. His image connotation was first seen in the Book of Songs? A gentleman in service is established as the content of lovesickness in the sunset. After the continuous enrichment and development of the language of later generations, the connotation of the image of lovesickness at dusk has also been continuously enriched and developed, and by the time of Tang and Song poetry, this image has been completely stereotyped.

Key words: dusk image, homesickness at sunset, the bitter pursuit of life consciousness, the flavor of the times.

"From then on, the sound and dust were untitled, tears spilled on Sichuan, and Boxi was illuminated." In China's ancient poems, the image of dusk is an important idiom. Poems with dusk as the image can be found everywhere, and there are more than 200 poems with dusk as the image in the Tang Dynasty alone. It can be seen that the ancients liked to express their feelings with this image very much. Then, how did the dusk image come from, how did it develop, and what kind of emotional connotation did it contain? This article has carried on the comprehensive elaboration to this content.

(A) the twilight image and its evolution

Dusk, as a time term, appeared in China ancient books at first. I ching? As the hexagram said, "If it is said: There is thunder in the river, follow it; This gentleman entered the banquet loudly. " Here, "dull sound" means evening, which is what we call dusk today. When explaining the word "dusk", Chinese Dictionary says: "The sun goes down, and it is not dark yet." The big dictionary says, "The sun is going down, and it will be dark soon." Here, dusk is just a cold term of time, which has not given it any human feelings. And the book of songs was the first to give it human feelings? A gentleman is serving. The Book of Songs? Gentleman in Service describes a homesick woman's expectation for her husband who is far away from home at dusk. Fang Yurun in the Qing Dynasty said in the original Book of Songs: "In the evening, I am pregnant with people, and the truth is true." Yao Jiheng's "The Book of Songs" said: "The sunset is pregnant with people, the truth is true, and the description is picturesque. I am afraid that the poems of Jin Tangtian's family are not so real and natural. " Thus, the original image of the theme of missing is established as dusk image, which opens the writing theme of thinking about women and cherishing people. In the Qing Dynasty, Yaoguang Xu commented on this poem in "Snow Gate Poetry Draft", saying: "Chickens live in cattle and sheep, and are hungry for the sunset. The most difficult pastime is dusk, as always said in the Tang Dynasty. " Since the Book of Songs? After The Gentleman in the Middle School, the ancient China literati often used the image of dusk to express their thoughts on women and their concern for people, especially in the Tang Dynasty.

In pre-Qin literature, especially in The Book of Songs and Songs of the South, the lovesickness of dusk images mostly shows the lovesickness between men and women, such as Songs of the South? It is this kind of lovesickness that Mrs Xiang wrote in "Nine Songs". After the Han Dynasty, the connotation of this kind of lovesickness expanded, not only limited to the expression of love between men and women, but also included the homesickness of wanderers to their relatives and friends. For example, Wu Maiyuan's "Hu Jianqu": "When the sun is in my hometown, I will see clouds." Linjiang Xian in Xu Ting? Liu Yong: "In the shadow of the sunset, I am worried about official tourists."

Not only does the connotation of the theme of lovesickness expand with the development of the times, but other connotations of the dusk image are also enriched with the development of ancient people's language and psychological changes. From the initial theme of lovesickness to the theme of seeking in Chu Ci, to the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and after the Tang Dynasty, the dusk image is not limited to lovesickness and seeking, and the understanding of life and times is included in this image.

In ancient poetry, the image of "dusk" has not only been fully developed in content, but also its role in poetry is constantly changing.

By the Book of Songs? In The Gentleman in Service, we can see that the original image of "dusk" plays a positive role. Living in nature, heaven and earth have feelings for me. Plants, animals, mountains, rivers, and artifacts in nature are all materials used by ancestors to write poems, resulting in chaotic images in natural life. The external natural scenery triggered the creative factors, which showed the ancestors' universal and profound feelings of pure natural beauty, and poetry naturally flourished. The description of cattle, sheep and birds in the Book of Songs is so natural and vivid. Faced with this scene, how can I miss my wife?

After Chu Ci, the image of dusk changed from the role of xing to the role of metaphor and symbol. The poet's anger and dissatisfaction were suppressed in his heart. Because of the external pressure, he can't understand the smooth expression, so he has to express it euphemistically with images, especially the sadness about the situation in time and space, the fear of not grasping time, and the pain of time isolation. He only likes to express it through the description of dusk. Since ancient times, time and destiny are almost linked together, and the transformation of time and space is often used in works to imply the impermanence of life. Or the irresistible flow of time and the change of space symbolize the terrible power of fate. For example, Li Shangyin's "Happy Garden Scenery": "There is a shadow in my heart, driving between the happy gardens. To see the sun, for all his glory, buried by the coming night. " It is the space-time image of "dusk" that implies the impermanence and uncontrollable beauty of life.

The secluded image of dusk was not used much in the Tang Dynasty, and Li Shangyin was a special poet. The most common dusk image in Tang Dynasty is emotional image. This also benefited from the extremely rich language and highly developed poetic skills in the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the image of dusk was no longer a simple image. It is often combined with withered images such as spring, autumn, mountains, ancient roads, deserted cities, flowers falling and grass falling, aiming to show that natural things and humanized nature have passed their prime. The dusk scene is filled with infinite sadness, reflecting the poet's miserable mood, and the poet's feelings and dusk scene have reached a high degree of unity.

"Qingshan is still there, and the sunset is a few degrees." As time goes by, outstanding poets and celebrities in history have gone with the wind, but their songs in the sunset are immortal. As an image with a strong mourning atmosphere, dusk is widely used and deeply rooted in people's hearts.

(2) It's a long way to go, and I will go up and down.

-The hard pursuit of the image of Twilight.

"If you are rich, you will help the world, and if you are poor, you will help the world." After China's entry into WTO, China literati, deeply influenced by Confucianism, devoted their pursuit of life value to political progress. As a reference, Dusk urges the poet to cherish time and go forward bravely. Li Sao: "I work at sunrise, but Jie Mi enjoys it, looking forward to it without pressing it.". Xiu Yuan Road is long and Xiu Yuan is awkward, and I will go up and down. " In this poem, Qu Yuan came down at dusk to pursue the ideal of American politics. Dusk implies the finiteness of life and chance, and the active pursuit and self-improvement attitude of individual life in a limited time. Another example is Wang Zhihuan's "In the Heron Villa":

The sun sets slowly near the western hills, and the Yellow River flows into the East China Sea. By going up one flight of stairs, look further.

The first two sentences of this poem describe the scenery you saw when you went upstairs. The sunset near the western hills slowly sinks into the magnificent sky, and the Yellow River seems to fall from the sky and flow to the sea. Several crosses captured the sunset, mountains, the sea and the Yellow River. Generally speaking, the scene of dusk is easy to make people feel depressed, and although this poem is written about the sunset, it has no feeling of dying. What people feel is an unstoppable pride and an infinite open mind. The poet boarded the stork building, which attracted people's attention. Looking around, there was the shape of sunset melting gold, the cloud wall at dusk, overlooking the Yellow River, and the shape of rushing and jumping. This is a spirit of striving for progress and continuous pursuit, which inspires people to strive for self-improvement, positive progress and continuous pursuit.

When literati encounter great setbacks in the face of reality, they will not give up their lofty sentiments and persistent beliefs. For example, Wang Wei's "Join the Army": "The desert hangs in the desert, and the sound of war is in the smoke. I am a famous king's neck, and I must report to the son of heaven when I go back. "

Li Bai's "Go to the North Mountain of Jingting, see the guests off at leisure, visit Cui Yu, and come here": "Beat the white horse and laugh at the green hills. The back of the whip refers to Chang 'an, and the west dusk Qin Guan. "

It is also sunset dusk, but the poet is full of blood. China literati have made unremitting efforts to realize their good wishes under the attitude of cherishing time and being in the morning and evening. In the dusk, we can see Qu Yuan's difficult figure of searching up and down, Li Bai's natural and unrestrained pride when he whipped Chang 'an in the sunset, and we can even imagine Wang Wei's victory joy of "returning to sacrifice the son of heaven" in the dusk.

However, the image of dusk often reveals the poet's pursuit of worldly pleasures after experiencing an ethereal life. such as

Cen Can's Endless Day: "Watch the sunrise on the beach and watch the sun on the beach. Regret coming to Wan Li, what is fame? "

When the poet meditates on the sunset, he conveys his feeling of being confused about life. When life is frustrated, his personal outlook on life and belief in life are questioned. Even his heroic spirit of pursuing fame and fortune in his early years sank with the sunset, and his heroism ceased and his ambition did not exist. The poet felt the temptation of nothingness emanating from the dusk. Faced with this sadness, the poet went to the meditation room:

Li Bai's Zheng Yan: "I don't know what will happen after laughing." Yesterday was a pleasant trip, and today has passed. Trying to be interesting, what are the benefits of an empty name? "

Misty water, faint clouds, and residual light in dark colors constitute a hazy space. All this gives people an ethereal and carefree feeling, which makes the poet abandon the secular noise and pursue tranquility and silent care for life, thus achieving spiritual detachment. Tao Yuanming's Drinking: "Building a house is in the mirror, and there is no noise of horses and chariots. Ask you and Neng? Heart in the distance, picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, leisurely see Nanshan. The mountains are getting better and better, and the birds are back. There is a real meaning in this, and I have forgotten what I want to say. "

This poem is a bird's shadow in the mountains that the poet saw at sunset. How beautiful and lovely. Clouds filled the mountains, the distant mountains became hazy, and the returning birds swarmed. The nature in front of us is beautiful, life is free, and the mood is leisurely. Here, the image of dusk implies the joy of the poet's seclusion in his hometown and is full of self-adaptive Zen.

Pei Di's Flower Hill: "When the sun sets, the wind rises, and the grass comes out one by one. Clouds and light invade the track, and mountains and green clothes caress people. " These scenes in the sunset give people a sense of pleasure in life, which makes people flourish from the freedom of biology and realize the freedom and tranquility of life. At sunset, the poet is no longer troubled by the secular world, and does not have to lament for the individual life. The quietness of the meditation room and the freedom and tranquility of the evening made the poet achieve spiritual nirvana.

On the other hand, the pursuit of dusk lies in the poet's admiration for pastoral dusk. China's farming life for thousands of years has been repeating the rhythm of "work at sunrise and rest at sunset". This makes the sunset become a symbol of returning home in humanized nature, so the dusk image composed of sunset, wild flowers and shepherd boy becomes an ideal carrier for poets to get rid of pain and pursue happiness. For example, Wang Wei's "Weishui Farmhouse": "The setting sun shines on the ruins, and the cattle and sheep return to the lane. I also miss the shepherd boy and rely on waiting for Fei Jing. Young Huang, the silkworm fell asleep, peeling mulberry leaves. Jojo and Fu Tian greet each other cordially. No wonder I long for a simple life and sigh the old song, oh, back to the past! . "

This idyllic picture scroll in Guanzhong Plain is simple and quiet, and the sunset glow shines, which is in line with the structure that people return home at sunset and get close to nature. Silent sunset, arrival of cattle and sheep, Fu Tian lotus hoe, wild old shepherd boy and so on constitute a warm scene of rural life at dusk. There is neither the intrigue of officialdom nor the ups and downs of life, only the harmony and warmth of ordinary life. Therefore, this pastoral life at dusk is the best way for poets to seek self-adaptation to get rid of mental burden and seek spiritual pleasure. Therefore, the pursuit of old age is the embodiment of the struggle spirit of ancient poets. It is the poet's hard pursuit after all kinds of tests and blows to turn from the active pursuit of life ideal to the pursuit of quiet meditation room after failure or returning home at dusk. They convey the attitude of self-improvement through the image of dusk.

(3) to see the sun, for all his glory, buried by the coming night.

The image of dusk shows a deep and sad sense of life.

In China's ancient poems, sunset, an eternal natural object and natural scenery, was endowed with rich and colorful emotional tone and prototype connotation, which lies in the ancient people's worship of the God of the Sun. The natural law that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west makes the ancients worship the sun out of fear and associate the tragic consciousness of individual life with the sunset.

Mythologists pointed out: "Sunset is a time of trembling and anxiety. When people are happy, when people's friends leave, when people feel lonely, and their thoughts turn to higher power again, the shadow of dusk falls and irresistible sleepiness comes to their faces. When the day passed, the poet mourned the death of his friend of light. In addition, he also saw the lack of life in his short life. " Our ancient Poems of Yuefu: The sun goes in and the moon goes out, the peace is poor, and the times are different. So spring is not my spring, summer is not my summer, autumn is not my autumn, and winter is not my winter. What is elegance when parking in a place like Sihai? "Qian Zhongshu said:" It is the most difficult pastime to hide your death and grieve for the past and cherish the future, all at dusk. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Sunrise means the birth of life, and sunset means death. The sun is about to set, so poets often lament that life is fleeting and short.

Nineteen ancient poems: "Four seasons change, more than a year will soon end?"

Li Bai's "Ancient Style" No.10: "The Yellow River goes to the West Sea in Japan at sunset."

Liu Xiyi's Sad Bald Song: "How long can you be tactful?" After a while, the crane was disheveled and pale as silk. But looking at ancient song and dance venues, only birds are sad at dusk. "

These ancient poems all reveal the helplessness of the ancients for the passage of time and their lament for perishable life. Time flies like water, and life is short. How can it not be shocking? So Li Shangyin sang sadly in Leyuan Scenic Area: "I am driving in the graves of Leyuan with the shadow of dusk in my heart. To see the sun, for all his glory, buried by the coming night. " The poet climbs high and overlooks the bustling downtown of Chang 'an and the idyllic scenery in the afterglow of sunset. It is so beautiful, but all this beauty is about to be submerged in the night. How can this not be sad? The poet's "discomfort" in the evening is not to leave his sorrow, not to remember the past and hurt the present, but to love this beautiful evening scene, but he can't keep it for a long time and can't resist the arrival of the night. Therefore, it adds a sense of sadness, lamenting that good times are impermanent and good times are fleeting.

From the ups and downs of nature, the poet understands that everything in the world will decline when it prospers one after another, and naturally he has a nostalgia for beautiful things and laments the shortness of life. And this kind of sigh about the impermanence of life usually causes them to sigh about their achievements. China literati often have the ideal of making contributions in a limited life, but in real life, they often can't satisfy their talents. When the ideal is disillusioned and the achievement is not achieved, standing in the sunset, the sadness of loneliness and loss will haunt my heart and linger.

Chu Guangxi's "On Circus": "Teenagers are not in a hurry since ancient times, and they are depressed at dusk."

Liu Kun's "Appreciating Lu Zhan": "The achievements have not been built, and the situation has suddenly gone west."

When the lofty ideal cannot be realized because of the cruelty of reality, the poet expresses it through the natural scenery of the sunset depression. Even handsome enough to "go out laughing, are we Artemisia people?" Faced with the embarrassment of unsuccessful achievements, he could not help complaining at dusk. For example, his To Cui Zongzhi: "The sun never comes from the sea. Water flows down from the horizon. The long whistle depends on the solitary sword, and the eyes are extremely long. " When the sun sets, the poet Li Bai has the ambition to serve the country, but he can't display it, so he "sings alone" to vent his depressed mood.

Life is too short to achieve nothingness, which often makes the poet's examination of individual life turn to the examination of historical vicissitudes, and the rise and fall of history reflects individual life. "Qingshan is still there, and the sunset is a few degrees." Years change and generations change. How many heroes and great achievements have been drowned in the long river of history. "Scenery of the Three Dynasties and the Lonely Pavilion in Su Dai" are all "the sunset is boundless and the grass is boundless, which will be a legacy of eternal sorrow", and even Jinling, the imperial capital, will only end up "no matter the rise and fall of the country, the sunset will accompany the guests". Under the cover of dusk, heroes of many dynasties in history disappeared, while ancient poets stood in the dusk. How can you not be sad in the face of this situation? Liu Changqing's Passing Changsha Jia Yi's Home;

Jia Yi lived here in exile for three years, which is a tragedy of tens of millions of generations. I look for traces of human existence in autumn grass and watch the sunset slowly tilt in the cold forest. There is a kind of careful thinking in prose. Can you hope that the plain Xiangjiang River will understand you? Leaves fall in the lonely and lonely mountains. Poor you don't know why you are wandering in the world.

The whole poem pays homage to the homeland, cherishes the memory of the old friend and looks at the broad background. "People are gone" and "Sunset goes down" not only render the sad atmosphere, but also express the sense of historical rise and fall of things.

Liu Yuxi's Wu Yixiang fully demonstrates this sense of rise and fall. "Rosefinch bridge weeds, Wuyi alley mouth sunset oblique. In the old society, Wang Xie Tang Qianyan flew into the homes of ordinary people. " The first two sentences are taken from the small scene of Wuyi Lane in the evening, rendering a cold and desolate atmosphere. The Suzaku Bridge, which was once full of traffic, is now full of weeds and idle flowers. Wuyi Lane, which was once bustling and crowded, is now just the setting sun. These two sentences were touched by Weeds and Sunset in the West, outlining the historical changes of Suzaku Bridge and Wuyi Lane from prosperity to decline. Through the description of this dusk image, the poet expressed a ruthless sigh for history.

From this point of view, dusk, as a reference, is always an internal and realistic entity that individual life can't get rid of, knocking and shaking the poet's heart from morning till night. The sunset at dusk triggered the ancient people's association with life. Life is short and the years are ruthless, so it is easy for people to revert to the past, which leads to the fear that their achievements have not been established. At the same time, the change of dynasties, the rise and fall of history and the different feelings of things and people inspired the ancients to examine the inner life of individuals, thus deeply feeling the desolation of life tragedy.

(4) Mount Tatar. In the dim twilight, Yunchen Town wants to go south and north.

The image of dusk shows a sad and dignified atmosphere of the times.

"Self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world" has influenced the psychology of China literati since ancient times. They associate the value of individuals with the destiny of the country and pay close attention to the rise and fall of the country and the changes of the times. From the chanting of "first frost is getting colder and colder, shutting down the cold river, wiping the remnants as a building" to the shouting of "Wandering in the south of the Yangtze River, seeing Wu Gou, patting all the railings, no one will attend", whether it is Liu Yong, a stray flower, or Xin Qiji, who has no way to serve the country, the ancient people in China regard state affairs as the highest concern in their lives. The so-called "family affairs, state affairs, what's going on in the world, everything is concerned." Therefore, the decline of the national situation and social unrest attract the poet's attention, and the dusk image with mourning color is naturally frequently used to express the sigh of the decline of state affairs.

Du Fu's Sunset: "Cattle and sheep have fallen for a long time, and Chai Men is a barrier. This is a romantic and clear night, and Jiangshan is not my hometown. Spring flows dark walls, grass dew drops autumn hate. The head is white and bright, and no flowers are needed. "

"Cattle and sheep have been falling for a long time" and "dusk is coming". As night falls, every household has already closed its doors. Social unrest and chaos make people feel uneasy. At dusk, everyone is silent. Only the bright moon remains, as always, nothing has changed. However, the mountains and rivers have changed and there is destruction everywhere. From this, singing and dancing are peaceful, and the world is at peace. With the passage of time, this scene has disappeared. In this poem, the poet experienced the trauma of social unrest and felt it. The silence and loneliness at dusk explain the sigh of national decline and chaos. This kind of exclamation can also be seen in his other poem "Ai Jiang Tou". "Climb the Tatar, cover the town with dust in the yellow twilight, and want to go south to north". Social unrest is exposed through the scene of dusk, and the poet's concern for the fate of the country is also manifested as a kind of sadness at dusk.

Similarly, the poet's sigh of the times expressed by the dusk image lies in the bitter cold and endless yearning for the conscription and garrison.

In description.

One of the seven wonders of Wang Changling's joining the army: "The elm leaves in Guancheng are early yellow, and the battlefield in Shali is dusk.

Please go back to the army to hide dust and bones, and don't teach soldiers to cry. "

Zhang Xu's Spring Grass: "Spring grass is greener in Wan Li, and the border town is separated by the sunset. Not at sea for three years.

Books in the clouds. "

In these poems, the afterglow of the sunset did not accidentally pass through the poet's heart, but was described in many poems of the Tang Dynasty. Soldiers fought bloody battles, abandoned their bodies in the wilderness, abandoned their homes, left Beijing, and served the country loyally. At dusk, they should have gone home to have fun, but in the face of the vast desert, wearing cold armor, heavy sadness can not help but arise.

Wang Changling's "Join the Army" is another poem: "The bonfire is 100 feet west of the city, and it is windy and autumn in Shanghai at dusk. Even playing Qiangdi and Guan Shanyue, there is no sorrow of Wan Li. " The word "dusk" here refers to an autumn season, sitting upstairs alone. The sea breeze blows gently, and at dusk, I feel that the situation on the battlefield is bright and eye-catching. Entering the city at dusk, bonfires are soaring, the wind is looking to the west, the sea is vast, and people are lonely. Dusk plays up the atmosphere and outlines the homesick environment.

Therefore, poets usually choose dusk, an image full of tragedy and sadness, to express their worries about the future and fate of the country and to guard the border. It not only adds a bit of desolation to the atmosphere rendering and environmental description, thus expressing the poet's pain more appropriately, but also fully shows the poet's pain moan in the time and space implication of dusk itself.

Conclusion: Therefore, we can understand that there are four emotions in the twilight plot of ancient China literati: sincere and strong yearning for the sunset, deep and sad life consciousness, hard pursuit of twilight, sad and dignified atmosphere of the times, and the twilight image has become a common image for poets to express their emotions.