| Image can be seen as the window to literature analysis. And it cannot be denied that lotusimage plays an important part in Chinese classical literature. Lotus can be illustrated in twoways: One is the herbaceous-and-aquatic water lotus which belongs to Candock, and the otheris the terrestrial-and-woody hibiscus in Malvaceae category. Water lotus was introduced intothe literature field in the Pre-Qin period and hibiscus emerged in large numbers after Tangand Song dynasties. However, hibiscus always failed to equal water lotus. Thus in researchof lotus aesthetic image we will focus on the aesthetic image of water lotus. Based on theresearch of water lotus image and hibiscus image, citing the perspective of aestheticinterpretation, posted in the general framework of Chinese classical literature, this thesisspecifically analyzes the aesthetic features of water lotus and hibiscus and focuses on theinterpretation of typical cases in aesthetics and literature to do a thorough and deep research to“locus”image. For the image research, horizontally, the gap between literary style of poetry,Ci, essay, Fu is broken and combined and vertically, the thesis tries to explain logically theclues of occurrence, development and maturity for lotus aesthetic image in different periods.The thesis can be divided into three parts.The first part is about the occurrence and development of aesthetic image in lotus. AsChinese traditionally celebrated flower, water lotus, which went through the pre-Qin dynasty,Han and Wei six Dynasties, Tang and Song Dynasties until Qing Dynasty, conveys thecontinuity of the aesthetic image development and shows features of each stage. At the verybeginning water lotus was used for its dietary property and reproduction symbol later it’stransferred to aesthetic image that forms into two categories: female-oriented image andgentlemen-oriented image. Research of every period is conveyed via these two categories.The fact that lotus can be linked with Buddhism in numerous ways and that it is influenced byChinese traditional Chinese Confucianism and Taoism moral helps enrich the connotation ofwater lotus. The aesthetic image and state developed from the beauty of water lotus is theexpansion of the lotus imagery of the field of aesthetic criticism. And the image of hibiscusmainly appeared in Tang and Song Dynasties, the cultured thought highly of the legend,beauty and charm of hibiscus.The second part is the aesthetic characteristics of lotus. It comes with the specificembodiment of lotus aesthetic image. Detailed analysis of aesthetic and the charm for bothwater lotus and hibiscus are illustrated on the basis of image theory of Chinese classicalaesthetics along with Chinese classical poetry and lyrics as the example. The beauty of the water lotus image characteristics is illustrated from two ways: material beauty and scenicbeauty, in indirect and overall ways. And material beauty mainly describes beauty from waterlotus’s color, smell and form while scenic beauty displays its special beauty in water andunder the moon.The last part is analysis of lotus image typical case. According to the logical study ofclassical cases in aesthetic ideal for“Natural beauty as lotus over water”,the Ode to Lotus byZhou Dunyi as well as Lin Daiyu’s lotus image, original lotus image can be grasped andexplored more thoroughly. The aesthetic ideal for“Natural beauty as lotus over water”, fromthe perspective of aesthetic subject, is the sincerity of emotion and the spaciousness of spirit,while analyzed in aesthetic style, it shows natural and elegant beauty .The Ode to Lotus,according to the clarification of the moral principle in Lotus image, expresses the pursuit ofthe "gentlemen’s" ideal personality and self-cultivation symbolized by lotus and deepenstowards‘Bede”interpretation. Lin Daiyu is the ideal image of water lotus and hibiscus. Lotusimage plays an important role in reflecting Lin Daiyu’personality, expressing and standingout the love of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu and indicating Lin’s destiny. |
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