The difference between the words "goose" and "swallow" in ancient poems and texts

When we read ancient poems, we often see the words "swallow" and "goose", which are very different in their cultural connotations.

Both swallows and geese are birds that migrate from north to south as the seasons get warmer and colder, and they go back and forth on time in the winter and spring, giving people a sense of honesty; geese and swallows are relatively gentle animals among many birds, and their shapes and plumage colors are like this, and so are their honking voices, which is in line with the Confucianism of the Chinese literati of the ancient times; when geese fly in teams in autumn, their team formations are meticulously organized and lined up with the austere atmosphere of autumn, which makes it more obvious that the strong man will not return to the world once he is gone. Swallows, especially house swallows, generally do not easily change the nesting place, giving people the feeling of an old friend who keeps appointments; or swallows, nesting in people's homes, living under people's eyes, the love and affection between male and female, and the love and care of adult birds for their young, are all similar to human beings. It is the geese and swallows themselves instinctive expression, alludes to the human grief and happiness and affection and friendship, so since ancient times human beings give them special attention and trust, constitute the ancient Chinese poetry is very important in the object of chanting.

The swallow has two pronunciations, one is yān; the other is yàn.

When yàn is pronounced, the swallow is a migratory bird that migrates with the change of seasons, and it likes to be in pairs, coming and going in and out of people's houses or under the eaves of houses. Therefore, it was favored by the ancients and often appeared in ancient poems and lyrics, with a richness of imagery and expression that no other objects could match.

One, it expresses the beauty of spring and conveys the feeling of cherishing spring. According to legend, swallows come north in the spring and return south in the fall, so many poets take them as symbols of spring to glorify and sing their praises. For example, "A few early warblers compete for the warmth of the trees, whose new swallow pecks at the spring mud" (Bai Juyi's "Spring Walk on Qiantang Lake"), "Swallows come to the new society, pear blossoms are behind the clear sky" (Yanshu's "Broken Formation"), "Yingying Swallow Spring Spring, flowers and willows are real, everything is full of rhymes". Everything is full of rhyme" (Qiao Ji, "Tianjingsha - Immediate Matters"), "Birds cry in the fragrant trees, swallows take the yellow willows and flowers" (Zhang Kejiu, "By the railings - Immediate Matters of Twilight Spring"), and the Southern Song lyricist Shi Dazu even used the swallows as lyrics, and in his "Shuangshuang Yan - Winged Swallows", he writes, "Still carving the beams and the wells, and softly discussing the The soft language is not easy to discuss. The flowers are fluttering fast, and the green tail is separated from the red shadow." The shape and spirit are similar to each other. Spring is bright and colorful, the swallows are small and lovely, coupled with the literati sentimental, spring is gone, the poet will be sentimental, so Ouyang Xiu has a "pianos and songs scattered tourists to go, began to realize that the spring is empty. Hanging down the curtain bar, the two swallows return to the rain" ("Cai Sang Zi") of the lament, Qiao Ji has "swallow hidden spring title to whose home, the warbler is old and shy to find a companion, the wind is cold and lazy to report Nga (honey), crowing death of the hungry crows" ("Water Fairy Zi") of the misery.

Secondly, it expresses the beauty of love and conveys the longing for one's lover. Swallows have been known to fly down with males and females, and to follow each other, thus becoming a symbol of love, "Thinking of the two flying swallows, nesting in the mud in the house of the king", "Swallows are newly married, such as a brother, such as a younger brother" ("Poetry - Valley Winds"), "Swallows in the flight, the difference between their feathers It is precisely because of this pairing of swallows that the lovers are attracted to the swallows, longing for the thought of being inseparable. It is because of this pairing of swallows that the lovers' longing for each other is aroused. It is because of the loneliness of the empty chamber of "dark lattice hanging over the spider's web, empty beams falling into the mud of the swallows" (Xue Daoheng, "Salt of the Past"), the despair and jealousy of "the falling flowers are independent and the swallows fly in pairs in the slightest rain" (Yan Qidao, "Linjiang Xian"), and the "light and cold mantle, swallows fly away" (Shijing - Yan Yan). (Yan Shu's "The Broken Formation"), the loneliness and coldness of "The moon is on the yellow willow, and the swallows return to the jade building first" (Zhou Deqing's "Happiness of Spring"), and the disillusionment and coldness of "Flowers blossom and hope for a distant journey, jade reduces the sadness of spring, and the swallows fly to the Cao Tang in the east wind" (Zhang Kejiu's "The Cao Tang"). (Zhang Kejiu's "Introduction to the Qing River"). The company's website is a great place to find out more about the company's services, and it's a great place to find out more about the company.

Third, the performance of the change of events, expressing the former prosperity and now decline, personnel metabolism, the death of the country broke the family's feelings and grief. Swallows in the fall and spring, do not forget the old nest, the poet seized this feature, to vent their indignation, Yan Shu in the "Raccoon River Sand" wrote: "There is nothing to do with the flowers fall away, déjà vu swallows come back, the small garden path alone wandering." The swallow's coming and going means the change of spring and autumn, the passing of years, the years do not live, deepening the lyricist's memories and thoughts of the past, the word "alone" shows the depth of loneliness, the sadness of the heavy. Jiang Kui's "swallows and geese have no heart, the western shore of Taihu Lake, go with the clouds. Several peaks are clear and bitter, and it is raining at dusk in Shangliu" ("Point Jianglip"), Zhang Yan's "I know where the swallows were back then, but the moss is deep and the grass is dark and slanting" ("High Balcony"), and Wen Tianxiang's "The landscape of mountains and rivers is the same, but the people of the city and castle are not the same anymore. The reeds on the ground are with me in my old age, and the swallows in my old home are with me." ("Jinling Post"). Swallows have no heart, but witnessed the change of events, bear the suffering of the country's collapse, showing the poet's "Kibi" grief, the load can be said to be heavy.

Fourth, on behalf of the people to pass the book, the ghost of the pain of separation. Tang Dynasty Guo Shaolan in Yan foot Department of poetry passed to his husband Ren Zong. Ren Zong left his home to travel to the lake, a few years did not return, ShaoLan made a poem tied to the foot of the Yan. At that time, Ren Zong was in Jingzhou, Yan suddenly parked his shoulder, saw the book tied to his foot, and saw that it was sent by his wife, sobbed and returned. His poem "Sending My Husband" reads: "My son-in-law went to the heavy lake, sobbed a book in blood at the window, attentively with the wings of the swallow, sent to the thinly-veiled husband." Who said that "the swallows between the beams too ruthless" (Cao Xueqin "Dream of Red Mansions"), it is because of the love of the swallows contributed to the husband's return to the husband and wife will meet. Guo Shaolan is lucky, some unfortunate women borrow swallows to send letters, but the stone sinks into the sea, no news, such as "sad swallow feet to leave the red thread, annoyed by the luan shadow idle fan." (Zhang Kejiu "Sai Hongqiu - spring love"), "tearful eyes leaning on the building often solo, double swallows to come, strangers to meet or not" (Feng Yansi "Butterfly Lovers"), its sadness of the bitter, thinking about the love of the cut, let people moved, and then weeping tears.

Fifth, the performance of travel sentiment, writing the pain of wandering. "The whole, intuition, take the image than the analog is the dominant way of thinking of the Han Chinese people" (Zhang Dai Nian "Chinese thinking bias"), flowers, birds, insects and fish, all into the literati pen, birds and animals, all show the poet's talent. Geese cry sadly in autumn, ape song stained clothes, fish pass the ruler, cicadas send far away, swallows perched indeterminately left the poet's rich imagination, or wandering, "year after year, such as new swallows, drifting Vast Ocean, come to send to repair the rafters" (Zhou Bangyan, "full of fragrance"); or the world of the floating and sinking, "look at Chang'an, the future of the tiny sideburns, the south to the north with the marching swallows, the south to the north with the marching swallows, the south to the north with the marching swallows, the south to the north with the marching swallows. The road is difficult" (Zhang Kejiu, "Happiness in front of the Palace"); or to see each other and part, "Like the social swallows and the flying hongs, they are not yet stable enough to see each other off." (Su Shi, "Sending Chen Mu to Tanzhou"; or when they are separated, "Magnets fly, mica comes to the water, earth dragons cause rain, and swallows and geese fly in their place" (Liu An, "Huainanzi"). Swallow, is not just a swallow, it has become a symbol of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation, into the blood of each and every one of the children of the Yellow Emperor.

When pronounced yān, it is often used as a place name. During the Warring States period, Yan was one of the Seven Heroes, and the ancient state of Yan, now known as Hebei, was also known as Yanzhao (燕赵). The place name Yanran Mountain often appears in the poems describing the garrison or the frontier. For example, in Fan Zhongyan's "The Fisherman's Pride", "A cup of turbid wine brings home ten thousand miles, but Yanran has not yet returned without juice"; in Wang Wei's "Envoy to the Seaside", "Xiao Guan meets the Waiting Cavalry, and they all protect the flowers of Yanran"; and in Li He's "The Line of the Imperial Guard of Yanmen", "The sound of horns fills the sky with autumn colors, and Yan Yan fat condenses in purple at night on the Seaside". The swallows' grease is condensed at night".

Goose, in the long history of the Chinese state, the ancients gave the goose a lot of personalized symbolism, making it another important literary imagery in ancient literature.

One of the symbols is the poet's longing for his hometown. For example, Fan Zhongyan's "The Fisherman's Pride" says: "The scenery is different in the autumn under the Seychelles, and the geese in Hengyang are not paying attention to their departure." The word "different" leads the whole text, writing out the border in autumn, the difference between the scenery and the hometown of Suzhou, thus arousing the world's nostalgia for the hometown. The geese flew towards Hengyang, while the poet could only stay at the frontier and think of his hometown. "One can't sleep, the general's white hair and the conqueror's tears." It is difficult to sleep at night because of the thoughts of home. After all, after so many years, the geese have gone back to the south, when can one return like the geese? This kind of imagery is also: Wang Wei's "to the plug" in "the conquest of the Han plug, the return of the geese into the Hu Tian".

Secondly, it expresses the poet's longing for his friends. For example, Du Fu's "Lonely Geese": "Lonely geese don't drink and peck, and their flights sound like a flock. Who pity a piece of shadow, lost ten thousand clouds." At the time of writing this poem, the poet had left Chengdu with his family and was stranded in Kui Zhou. In his old age, he was sick, his friends were scattered, his situation was difficult, and his heart was full of pain. He was just like the lonely goose, leaving his flock and his family and friends in his homeland. By describing the lonely geese and the cries of the Nianqun, the poet fully expresses his longing for his friends. This kind of imagery also includes: Wang Wan's "Under the Sub-Beigu Mountain", "Where can I reach the country book, the returning geese by Luoyang"; Wei Yingwu's "Winking Geese", "The night of the autumn rain in Huainan, the geese in Gaozhai", and so on.

Because the geese migrate south in the fall, the geese are a frequently occurring image in the autumn scenery. For example: Wei Yingwu's "Winking Geese", "The night of autumn rain in Huainan, Gao Zhai winks at the geese"; Fan Zhongyan's "Ao of the Fisherman's House", "The scenery is different in autumn under the Plateau, and the geese in Hengyang are not paying attention to the geese going away." Li Bai: "The long wind sends geese in the fall, and this can be sound on high buildings." And so on.

There are also references to geese in reference to letters. We are all familiar with the allusion to the transmission of letters by geese, and the use of geese as messengers to transmit letters in poetry is also common. For example, "When will the geese arrive?" (Du Fu's "The end of the day with Li Bai"), "The geese are not passing on the book, Xiang Huang dye tears" (Li Shangyin's "Leaving Thoughts"), and so on.