A Study On The Image Of Vegetables In The Poems Of The First Tang Dynasty

Vegetables image which is common in Chinese poetry, can be traced back to the earliest poetry collection named as Book of Songs. Vegetables in Poetry can be used to study the diet situation of that time. More importantly, as an aesthetic object, Vegetables convey abundant contents in poetry.The issue is aimed at analyzing the ways to describe vegetables in poetry chronologically. Also, It will give more concern to the important vegetable imageries. In the Zhou Dynasty, the vegetables are often used as sacrificial thing. Some are also related to people’s worship of reproduction. The two situations are reflected in Book of Songs. The description of vegetables in Book of Songs has a strong spirit of realism, with high literary level. Vegetables in Songs of Chu often appears in a symbolic way. Vegetables in Yuefu of Han Dynasty are a vivid reflection of the people’s basic living conditions of that time. However, this phenomenon seldom appears in poems written by scholars of Han. Wei Jin, North and South dynasties are always regarded as the period of literary self-consciousness. In this period, with more concentration on literature itself, the form of poetry becomes more abundant and diverse. There have been some new characteristics in the images of vegetables in poetry.With the development of the literature, some vegetables become special imageries, with concrete meaning. For example, Malva verticillata is often used to show loyalty to their emperor, while osmund is used to symbolize the noble character of a person.