The Study Of Bi Xing And Contemporary Poetry

Bi is metaphor or analogy, referring to implications. Xing combines the function of metaphor but focuses on introducing the beginning and the following. No matter it is of comparing this to the other or arousing the other with this, it is of saying this but referring to the other, which is just the discourse mode of Bi Xing. In terms of constructing the social speech space to the most and building the text to the least, Chinese men of letters have long been in the grips of the discourse mode of Bi Xing, which is very noticeable in contemporary Chinese poetry.This thesis consists of four chapters.Chapter one arranges the traditional Bi Xing poetics systematically and introduces it from the perspectives of social criticism and aesthetic expression. Being deeply rooted among people, Bi Xing is closely related to Chinese political and cultural tradition. Satirizing without using denouncing words and remonstrating without frank speech, Chinese men of letters express social comments by using Bi Xing rather than speaking directly, which is more of satisfying the need of the ruler and father's guidance and the requirements of feudal ethics than meeting the purpose of rhetoric. Chinese men of letters use objects to express ideas through Bi Xing, and in this way build a discourse system of Confucian ideology on the basis of the natural landscape of birds, animals and plants. However, when birds, animals, plants and daily life become symbols and are incorporated into the system of values, another poetics is bound to appear. Then Bi Xing becomes a way of chanting life and indulging in aesthetics. On the one hand, poets develop the implications of language by using Bi Xing, attaining aesthetic pleasure during the process of artistic creation of polishing their writings; on the other hand, the discourse mode of saying this but referring to the other conforms to the dialectical relationship between man and nature. What is said by the poets is the scene and thing, but what is implied is the poets'mood and ideas. The feeling and setting are happily blended, and the object and one-self unite into one. The poets get the revelation of life from the dialogue with nature.Chapter two is about the Bi Xing study during the "seventeen years". From the perspective of social discourse space, during the "seventeen years", the unification of ideology and the standardization of ethics were completed. A variety of realities made intellectuals return to the history unconsciously and picked up the traditional mode of discourse again. Using Bi Xing instead of speaking directly and satirizing without using denouncing words became the major way of expressing social comments for men of letters, while birds, animals and plants the language screen. The criticism against Liu Sha He and Ai Qing reflected the nations' being alert to birds, animals and plants. Guo Moruo's writing of The Blossoms of a Hundred Flowers reflected intellectuals' being obedient to "birds, animals and plants" and the construction of a safe poetic discourse. From the perspective of aesthetics, during "the seventeen years", beginning from transforming folk songs, Bi Xing had been integrated into the construction of poetry enlightenment, which means the gradual disappearance of Bi Xing in the perspective of aesthetic connotation. This thesis studies the absence of Bi Xing in terms of language, artistic conception, nature and natural humanity, etc.Chapter three is about misty poems and Bi Xing study. After the Cultural Revolution, poets resorted to remonstrating through poems and followed the discourse mode of satirizing without using denouncing words, which was, however, the last "poetry remonstrance". In terms of society, the nation gradually finished the frequent political movements and stepped onto the way of modern construction; in terms of poetry development, the rising of misty poetry reflected that the poets took the initiative to get rid of the role of "remonstrator" and stepped into reality as an individual. Under such circumstances, poets' euphemistic expression is no longer to meet the need of satirizing and remonstrating but to meet the artistic need. The aesthetic principle of gentleness and honesty formally ended and the new one was gradually being established. Correspondingly, Bi Xing broke the shackles of "metaphor" and "introduction" and was incorporated into the modern rhetoric together with synaesthesia, becoming the way of brewing poetic and sensing nature for poets.Chapter four is about the Bi Xing study of the third generation poetry. The development of Bi Xing poetics is closely related to Chinese tradition of "poems expressing ideas". As far as the construction of images are concerned,"Xiang" refers to birds, animals and plants, while "Yi" refers to ideas; as to the personality structure of poets, the daily life is this side, while the spiritual belief is the other. Saying this but referring to the other is exactly the way for Chinese poets to constructing spiritual home through poetry. Although the "ideas" largely differ from each other,"the seventeen years' poetry" and "the misty poetry" share the poetic heritage of expressing ideas through objects. After "misty poetry","the other side" collapsed and the poets fell into an embarrassing condition of having no ideas to express. In this case,"the third generation" poets began to construct poetry of "this side". At the micro level, the third generation poets discarded Yi but kept Xiang, nearing the signifiers. In terms of the construction of images and language, they undermined the traditional way of writing. At the macro level, the third generation poets took a departure from their previous as well as their contemporary poets'creative attitude of facing the other side and facing the distant and advocated the poetic concept of returning to the body and life reality.In conclusion, this thesis goes beyond the rhetoric and studies the development of Bi Xing rhetoric in contemporary poetry from the perspective of discourse mode and ideological evolution. It displays the anxiety of contemporary poetry under the influence of Bi Xing, and reveals the embarrassing condition of poetry since the end of the last century.