The Images Of Plants In Book Of Songs And Their Influences

Book of Songs writes about the plants, using analogy to express the symbolism and deep emotions. Its descriptions of the plants, in the form of song words, are very vivid and rich, with the utility of the plants and the feelings of the poets mingled. Their styles are various, from those of innocent and simple, to those of warm and lingering, to those of ethereal and vague. They gather the ancient folk's wisdom and dexterity with much affection involved. The plants carry the "idea" of the poems. The "ideas" and "images" blend with each other, setting the convention of collective spirit, achieving its eternal beauty of literature in the long history.In the ancient folk's eyes, the plants in Book of songs not only can be used to banish disease, offer sacrifices for blessing, predict the future, beautify the environment, but also can symbolize the folk's talents and virtues, express their feelings and affections, symbolize the fortune and blessing, and relieve their sorrows and worries. The lives and feelings, proprieties and temperament of the folks are interwoven with the plants. The deep meanings and symbolism extracted from the Book of Songs are still abundant and alive, nourishing the later literature.This thesis is comprised of three parts—the elements of the plants, the images of the plants in Book of Songs and their influences on later literature. The elements of the plants, is treated from two aspects, from the instinct of survival and the worshipping of the plants to the ecological accumulation. The images of the plants is treated from three aspects—the plants as the moral symbol, the plants as the medium of affection and the plants as the symbol of blessing. The plants as the moral symbol studies the symbolism of pines and cypresses, green bamboos, the Chinese parasol and other trees. The plants as the medium of affection studies the symbolism of fruits, such as Chinese prickly ash, papaya, plum trees, flowers and grass, such as the orchid grass, the Chinese herbaceous peony, lotus flowers and mulberry trees. The plants as the symbol of blessing studies the symbolic blessing of vines, gourd, grass, and willow. At last, the author studies the influences of the plants'images on the later literature and gardens.