-
重置
-
语音
-
放大
-
缩小
-
鼠标样式
-
辅助线
-
读屏字幕
-
退出
重置
语音
放大
缩小
鼠标样式
辅助线
读屏字幕
退出
Inspiring imagery is an artistic achievement of profound literary significance and with great aesthetic taste, obtained through the perfect blending of an author’s feelings with an objective situation or scenery. Xing (兴) is an impromptu inspiration of the author, and xiang (象) a material object he borrows from the external world in his writing. Tang-dynasty poetry critic Yin Fan first used the term “inspiring imagery” in his “Preface to A Collection of Poems by Distinguished Poets” in commenting on the works of poets in the golden period of the Tang Dynasty. It later became a standard for assessing the merit of a poetic work.
This term refers to the state of mind in which external things evoke one’s inner feelings, thus creating aesthetic appreciation. As an aesthetic term, evocation means both stimulation and association. In artistic appreciation, Confucius（551-479 BC） used evocation to refer to the psychological effect and educational function of reading poetry, and it was not meant to be a literary term only. In artistic creation, evocation means association, which is among the six poetic forms, namely, ballads, narratives, analogies, association, court hymns, and eulogy, as described in The Book of Songs. The first three refer to the content and subtypes of classic Chinese poetry, whereas the latter three elements are creative means employed by The Book of Songs. Evocation is defined by the use of similar or relevant things to create a metaphor which, by virtue of imagination and association, conveys a message through imagery and highlights the nuances of poetry. Evocation arouses one’s imagination through reading a poem, making such experience an enjoyable one. It is a rhetorical means frequently used in classical Chinese poetry. At first, evocation was closely linked to analogy. Its implication and aesthetic properties started to grow independently in the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties period, and finally became a poetic term different from analogy and association. Evocation focuses on the impact of external things on one’s emotions.
Xiang (象) refers to a visible but formless image or figure. It approximately has four different meanings. First, it refers to a manifest shape of dao. Laozi described dao as “a semblance of the unsubstantial,” also called “the great semblance.” Second, it indicates a manifest shape of objects. Xiang is less concrete or fixed than an object with a shape. It often means celestial phenomena, namely, the movements of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and the occurrence of wind, thunder, clouds, and rain. Celestial phenomena are relative to earthly shapes. Third, it refers to human temperament, namely, the human spirit and mind, manifested in words, deeds, and attitude. Fourth, it refers to figures symbolizing or imitating all things in heaven and on earth. Ancient Chinese created many kinds of systems of xiang, through the observation and interpretation of which they elucidated the changes in the movements of nature and of society, and also their laws. Among them, the system of the hexagrams and figures of The Book of Changes is the most influential.
The term means the use of analogy, association, and inner sustenance in writing a poem to give implicit expression to one’s sentiments, thus enabling the poem to convey a subtle message. The term was first used by the Tang dynasty poet Chen Zi’ang（659-700）. Xing (兴) means the development of inner feelings invoked by external objects, and ji (寄) means finding sustenance in them. Later it was extended to mean that poetry should be written to convey a message of praise or satire. The term carried on the pre-Qin poetical tradition of creating inspiration by writing about a subject and stressed that while depicting sentiments in poetry, the poet should find sustenance in it. The term represented an important development of the theory of analogy and association. It played a major role in ensuring that poets in the prime of the Tang Dynasty broke away from the poetic style of the Qi and Liang of the Southern Dynasties, which pursued ornate language instead of inner sustenance, thus enabling Tang poetry to develop in a healthy way.
The term refers to charm inherent in an inspiration, or charm created when the object or scene depicted in a poem is appreciated. It is a type of aesthetic enjoyment contained in a poem which is gained through the reader’s act of appreciation. In Canglang’s Criticism of Poetry, Yan Yu（？-1264）, a poetry critic of the Southern Song Dynasty, voiced his love for poetry’s emotional charm and argued against direct expression of an idea in poetry. He stressed the need to enable readers to gain insight and satisfaction in a natural way through personal reflection and contemplation. This term later became an important criterion for evaluating poetry, exerting a strong influence on the poetry theories of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The term refers to the meaning implicit in an inspiration, or meaning and charm generated when poetic emotion encounters an external object or scene. It is an artistic image an author creates when appreciating the beauty and charm intrinsic in an object or scene. According to this term, an author should incorporate his sentiments and thoughts into the object or scene depicted to convey them through artistic images and aesthetic appreciation. This will spark the reader’s imagination and thus enable him to gain a deeper appreciation of a poem.
Imagery refers to a typical image in literary works, which embodies the author’s subjective feelings and unique artistic conceptions. Yi (意) literally means an author’s feelings and thoughts, and xiang (象) refers to the image of a material object in the external world, an artistic image reflecting the author’s thoughts and feelings. In literary creation, imagery often refers to those images in nature with which an author’s feelings and thoughts are associated. Emphasizing the harmonious relationship between beauty in both form and content, it is a mature state of literary creation.
Qixiang (气象), originally a term about the general state of scenery and physical objects in nature, also refers to the prevailing features of a society in a given period of time. This description carries the meaning of great appeal and impact as well as scenery and objects. When applied to art, it refers to the overall style and appeal in a piece of artistic work. It connotes grandeur and magnificence, and is often used in conjunction with such words as “heroic,” “immense,” and “sublime.” Literary critics of the Tang Dynasty began using the term to comment on the style and features of a poem or an essay. Since the Song Dynasty, the term has become an important concept in literary criticism, used to critique the style and artistic flair of poems, essays, calligraphy, and paintings. It is often thought to reflect the prevailing features in literature and art of a particular period. For instance, during the prime of the Tang Dynasty, the term referred to the appeal of both poems and the poets who wrote them.
The aesthetic conception evoked by a poem or prose transcends what a physical object denotes, and a reader needs to perceive and appreciate the beauty of such aesthetic conception. Jing (境) here refers to an aesthetic conception created by a poem or prose, while xiang (象) refers to the image of a concrete object portrayed in such writing. Composed of words, a poem describes individual objects through which it evokes a coherent poetic conception beyond the physical appearance of such objects. This proposition was first put forward by poet Liu Yuxi （772-842）of the Tang Dynasty to express his understanding of poetry. He pointed out that words and images were concrete while aesthetic conceptions were abstract and subtle and therefore hard to describe. Liu’s proposition, namely, aesthetic conception transcending concrete objects described, marked an important stage in the development of the theory of aesthetic conception in classical Chinese poetry.
Readers of poetry create images and scenes in their minds based on what they are reading. These are the readers’ imaginations based on what is depicted in the poems. The term comes from Daoist theories about the relationships between discourses, ideas or meanings, and images that symbolize profound meaning in The Book of Changes. From the Wei, Jin to the Tang Dynasty, poetry critics sought “the image beyond an image, the scene beyond a scene” in order to pursue the spiritual implications and the beauty of images that are beyond textual descriptions. This term gives expression to the artistic and aesthetic tastes and ideals of the Chinese nation.
中华思想文化术语传播工程 秘书处
电话：010-88819132
邮箱：shuyu@fltrp.com
中华思想文化术语微信公众号
指导单位：教育部语言文字信息管理司 主办单位：国家语言监测与研究网络媒体中心
京公网安备 11010802039713号