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Chapter Seventeen: The Transference Between Sensory Images —Synesthesia

2025/07/02 17:17

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Chapter Seventeen: The Transference Between Sensory Images —Synesthesia

Section One: Definition and Function of Synesthesia

I. Synesthesia: The Intercommunication of the Senses

“Synesthesia,” also known as transferred perception (or transferred sensation), is a rhetorical device that uses vivid and concrete language to depict the qualities or appearance of objects by shifting the sensory perspective. “Synesthesia refers to describing the qualities perceived by one sense through the perception of another.” The renowned British musician Marion once remarked: “Sound is audible color, and color is visible sound,” illustrating that sound and color can be interrelated — that interactions between the senses indeed exist.

In modern China, Qian Zhongshu was among the first to propose the “theory of sensory correspondence” (see below). A more complete explanation can be found in Modern Chinese Rhetoric, co-authored by Li Yunhan and Zhang Weigeng:

Human senses such as hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch are distinct, yet interconnected. When describing objective phenomena, using imaginative language to transfer the perception of one sense to another — leveraging their interrelation — can inspire readers to associate and appreciate the poetic or literary imagery.

The function of synesthesia can be explained from both the creator’s and the reader’s perspectives. For the writer, it allows for more vivid and comprehensive depictions of form, color, sound, taste, etc. For the reader, it provides tangible and multisensory imagery — visible, audible, tactile, and flavorful — which in turn stimulates active thinking, stirs emotional resonance, unleashes the imagination, and fosters a shared creation of an emotionally powerful artistic realm.

II. The Historical Origins of Synesthesia

Liu Xie, in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons (Wenxin Diaolong) “On Colors and Objects” (Wuse), wrote:

“Poets are moved by things and their associations are inexhaustible. As they linger amid myriad phenomena, they muse upon sights and sounds. When depicting essence and form, they adapt in response to objects, and when composing tones and rhythms, they meander with the heart.”

This means that poets, being highly sensitive to things, can form endless and multifaceted sensory associations — associations that shift fluidly with objects and resonate with the heart.

In the chapter “Adaptation and Transformation” (Tongbian) from the same text, Liu Xie states:

“The vitality of writing lies in transformation; by adapting to emotions, one achieves integration; by relying on spirit, one attains transformation. Literary structure evolves continuously, renewing daily. That which transforms endures, and that which integrates never lacks.”

This suggests that the principles of literary creation are in constant flux and evolution. Innovation ensures longevity, and the integration of diverse methods ensures richness.

As a method of expression, synesthesia has long existed in classical Chinese poetry, though it was never systematically categorized or theorized. The following two examples are commonly cited “poetic eyes” (shiyan, i.e., focal words or images):

1. The character 鬧 (nao, “noisy/lively”)
A visual-to-auditory synesthetic transfer

“Beyond the green willows, morning clouds drift lightly; atop the red apricot branches, spring is lively.”
— Song, Song Qi, Yu Lou Chun
“Horses dash, carriages race, and lanterns bustle with noise; yet the earth lies quiet, the people idle, and the moon shines fair.”
— Song, Huang Tingjian, On a Sixteenth Night Reminiscing Qingxu
“Cold windows cut through the emerald void, while damp eaves bustle with mossy green.”
— Song, Huang Tingjian, To Brother Wang Shibi
“At midnight the fireflies bustle, as the Milky Way spans ten thousand miles.”
— Song, Chen Yuyi, Arriving at Huarong County by Boat at Night
“The hundred grasses exhale fragrance as butterflies bustle; the stream swells and egrets idle.”
— Song, Lu You, On Tomorrow’s Visit to My Garden
“Wind stirs the plum blossoms to bustle, while light rain brings fragrance to apricot flowers.”
— Song, Yan Jidao, Immortal by the River
“To the north of the water, cold mist and snow resemble plum blossoms; to the south, plum blossoms bustle like heaps of snow.”
— Song, Mao Pang, Washing Creek Silks

Song Qi became famous overnight for the line “Spring’s vitality bustles atop the apricot branches,” earning him the nickname “Minister of the Red Apricot.”
The brilliance of this line lies in the single word nao (鬧, “bustles” or “noisy”). Wang Guowei remarked: “With just one word, nao, the entire poetic realm emerges.” The character nao functions as the poetic eye (shiyan), holding a pivotal role in the verse.

In the examples above, nao serves as a key verb while also functioning as a latent adjective. Due to its adjectival undertones, it occasionally “transforms form into sound,” such as in “Hundred herbs exhale fragrance, butterflies bustle,” where taste (e.g., fragrance) is linked to sight (e.g., butterflies); or it fuses sight with hearing, as in “To the south of the river, plum blossoms bustle like heaps of snow” and “Wind stirs the plum blossoms to bustle.” At times, it “transforms the abstract into the concrete,” as in “Spring’s vitality bustles atop the apricot branches” or “Cold windows cut through the green, damp eaves bustle with moss.” Other times, it “transforms the passive into the active,” as in “Horses gallop, carriages race, and lanterns bustle.” This differs from a purely adjectival use, as seen in Fan Chengda’s Song-dynasty poem Boating Two Days After the Start of Autumn: “Walking into bustling lotuses where no water remains, red ones drunken, white ones drowsy,” where nao functions more as a descriptor than a dynamic element.

2. The Character Shi (濕, “Damp/Wet”)
Visual to tactile synesthetic shift:

“The mountain path knew no rain, but empty green dampened my clothes.” — Tang, Wang Wei, In the Mountains
“Boats gathered at dusk along the willow banks; the evening glow beneath the waves was wet.” — Song, Zhao Yanduan, Washing Creek Sands

Visual to auditory synesthetic shift:

“Flowers shiver in the dawn breeze, butterflies dreaming; willows grieve, spring rain wets the orioles’ song.” — Yuan, Huang Geng, To Yu Jingren
“Dense fog blurs the banner’s shadow; frost flies, dampening the drum’s sound.” — Ming, Lin Hong, Beyond the Pass

Auditory to visual shift:

“Morning bells beyond the clouds are damp; fine mists veil the sacred stone halls.” — Tang, Du Fu, Moored Below Kuizhou After Rain
“Several thatched cottages in a riverside village, willows gently arching at the gate. At the ferry, the boatman calls while one stands alone, a straw raincoat soaked in the misty dusk.” — Song, Sun Di, On the Road to Wumen
“The oriole’s cry sounds tearful, dampening the highest blossoms.” — Tang, Li Shangyin, The End of the World
“Moonlit waves surge to the sky, soaking the heavens; the cool moon sets, sparse stars pierce through.” — Tang, Li Shangyin, Yantai: Autumn

Auditory to tactile shift:

“Crows pressed by trees fly without dispersing; at the window, the cold drum falls silent, damp.” — Tang, Xue Feng, A Rainy Night in Chang’an

In all these poetic instances, the character shi (“wet” or “damp”) generates a variety of novel aesthetic experiences of sensory interplay: transforming sound into form (e.g., “Morning bells beyond the clouds are damp” merges hearing with vision), or blending vision and hearing (e.g., “The oriole’s cry sounds tearful, dampening the highest blossoms”; “A straw raincoat soaked in the misty dusk”; “Willows grieve, spring rain wets the orioles’ song”), or fusing vision, hearing, and touch simultaneously (e.g., “Empty green dampened my clothes”; “Cold drum falls silent, damp at the window”).

These classical poetic examples reveal that synesthesia in ancient Chinese poetry was not only a powerful method for enhancing aesthetic expression, but also a reflection of how ancient literati experienced beauty through inter-sensory perception in daily life.

Section Two: Theoretical Foundations of Synesthesia

I. Synesthesia and Symbolism

The original meaning of synesthesia refers to the harmonization of conflicting elements or the reconciliation of opposing emotions within a work of art. French Symbolist poets advocated for the interpenetration and intuitive correspondence between different senses — that visual imagery could suggest auditory imagery, and olfactory impressions could blend into tactile sensations.

Synesthesia thus refers to the mutual transference of sensory perceptions — where the five senses interact, interweave, and interchange their respective experiential domains.

As a primary expressive method, synesthesia belongs to the Symbolist movement that emerged in the late 19th century. For instance, Paul Verlaine (1844–1896), a leading French Symbolist poet, wrote:

“The poplars still voice boundless sorrow; the fountains still whisper their silvery murmur,”
— a shift from visual to auditory sensation.

Or Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) wrote:

“The echo dim as night, vast as day,”
— a shift from hearing to vision.

Contemporary Chinese literary critic Li Yuanluo remarks:

“This ‘theory of sensory correspondence’ was the theoretical foundation of Symbolist poets and served as the guiding principle of their creative practice. It expanded the poetic realm, enhanced expressive power, and propelled the development of modern French poetry.”

2. Qian Zhongshu and the “Theory of Sensory Correspondence”

Qian Zhongshu, in his essay On Synesthesia, writes:

“In daily experience, sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste often intersect and communicate. The domains of the senses—eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and body—are not strictly separated. Colors can seem to possess temperature; sounds may appear to have shape; sensations of warmth or coldness can seem to carry weight; scents may appear to have texture. Such expressions frequently occur in everyday language. For instance, we say ‘bright light’ but also ‘loud sound’—using the word bright (originally describing light) to describe sound, as though sight and hearing were interchangeable at this point. Or take idioms like ‘bustling’ (re’nao) and ‘calm’ (leng’jing), which indicate that ‘heat’ and ‘noise’, or ‘cold’ and ‘quiet’, share a common thread in sensory experience and are firmly linked together.”¹⁰

In 1962, Qian introduced the Western “theory of sensory correspondence” into Chinese literary studies, being the first to propose the concept of synesthesia (sensory intercommunication), and applied it to the analysis of classical Chinese poetry. As critic Li Yuanluo explains:

“Perhaps because poetry is the art most rich in imagination and suggestiveness—whereas fiction and prose must attend more to realistic depictions of scenes and characters—synesthesia is used far more extensively in poetry than in novels or essays.”¹¹

3. Synesthesia: Figurative Language Through Sensory Transfer

Synesthesia is a rhetorical device that achieves a more precise and vivid description by transferring impressions from one sense to another. In practice, it involves using figurative language to shift perception from one sensory domain to another, often relying on adjectives or metaphors.

In modern literary works, the use of synesthesia allows readers to engage multiple senses in their aesthetic perception, thus overcoming the limitations of any single sensory experience. This makes the aesthetic response evoked by the text richer and more intense. Consequently, in modern literature, synesthetic expressions often appear in depictions of everyday life.

In formal Chinese rhetoric textbooks, synesthesia is sometimes only discussed under the category of depictive language (e.g., in Huang Lizhens work), or substituted by related terms like transferred epithet (as in Huang Yongwu), or transferred perception (as in Zhang Chunrong), with little systematic treatment in dedicated chapters.

Scholar Huang Yongwu, in On the Emergence of Imagery, notes that transferred epithets intentionally interweave different sensory faculties, allowing one sensory impression to be reassigned to another. This creates a heightened, unconventional aesthetic effect and brings liveliness and innovation to sensory imagery. In poetry, this technique of sensory interchange is sometimes used to deliberately shift the adjectives from one domain of sensation to another—producing an atmosphere of dreamy reversal and exquisite disorientation.¹²

Zhang Chunrong differentiates metaphor and synesthesia by explaining that metaphor involves intellectual mediation, using associative similarity to produce concrete, vivid effects; while synesthesia involves emotional penetration, employing the interconnection of the senses to achieve a deep and unique resonance.¹³

In the author’s view, synesthesia, or “sensory intercommunication,” is built upon the foundation of sensory description, and can be seen as an advanced form of it. Sensory description—often referred to as plain sketching—is widely used in prose. Based on that, poets allow different senses to infiltrate one another, creating an aesthetic atmosphere of cross-sensory interaction, often providing readers with an unusual and inspiring aesthetic experience.

Section 3: The Semantic Structure of Synesthesia

Synesthesia arises from psychological associations between different senses. When the five senses interact and intercommunicate, the perception of one sense (e.g., A) is transferred to another (e.g., B), producing a novel and subtle aesthetic sensation—hence the term transferred perception (yijue).

Synesthesia (or yijue) differs from metaphor. Although words like “as if” or “seems like” often appear in synesthetic expressions, the base and the vehicle in synesthesia come from different sensory domains, and thus lack similarity—the key component of metaphor. Metaphor is based on analogical association, whereas synesthesia stems from psychological connections among the senses. While synesthesia may externally resemble metaphor and may sometimes combine with personification or hyperbole (borrowed-form synesthesia), there are also many instances of direct synesthesia that operate independently of other rhetorical figures.

Though both metaphor and synesthesia are grounded in human psychological responses, they differ fundamentally:

Essential Nature:
- Metaphor relies on imaginative comparison, with the base and the vehicle sharing a point of similarity.
- Synesthesia depends entirely on the communicability of sensations, with no actual similarity between the senses involved—only a psychological linkage.
Effect:
- Metaphor tends to generalize or abstract the base concept, using a more vivid and familiar vehicle to explain the unfamiliar—thus moving from complex to simple.
- Synesthesia, by contrast, shifts from the ordinary to the mysterious—moving from surface reality to profound, layered perception.

Section 4: The Forms of Synesthetic Expression

There are two main classification standards for the forms of synesthetic expression:
(1) Whether or not it relies on other rhetorical devices—divided into:

Direct synesthesia, and
Assisted synesthesia.
(2) Sensory correspondence and association—divided by the primary and interacting sensory domains involved, as:
Auditory transference,
Visual transference,
Olfactory/gustatory transference,
Tactile transference, and
Multisensory synesthesia.

I. Based on Whether Other Rhetorical Devices Are Used

1. Direct Synesthesia

This form of synesthesia exists independently without the aid of other rhetorical devices. For example, the Song Dynasty poet Lin Bu (Lin Hejing) in "Plum Blossoms in the Mountain Garden" wrote:

“All other flowers have withered—only the plum remains radiant,
Her solitary charm fills the whole garden.
Sparse shadows slant across the shallow stream,
Subtle fragrance wafts beneath the yellowing dusk.”

The final two lines are a celebrated depiction of the plum blossom’s elegance. The third line appeals to visual perception (the plum’s posture), while the fourth invokes olfactory sensation (its fragrance). Later generations referred to this as “subtle fragrance and sparse shadows,” a direct instance of synesthesia.

Another example is Guan Guan’s poem “Cicada”:

He took the cicada song recorded
From the opposite mountain this year
And brought it out
To let the children
Warm themselves by it.

This refined short poem captures a vivid sensory transformation—cicada sounds becoming literal warmth for children to “warm themselves by,” transforming sound into both visual and tactile imagery. The synesthetic technique here is both intuitive and skillfully executed.

2. Assisted Synesthesia

This type requires other rhetorical devices, such as metaphor, personification, or hyperbole. For instance, in the Tang Dynasty poet Qian Xu’s "Unfurled Banana Leaves":

“The cold candle burns green with no smoke;
Her fragrant heart stays curled, fearing the chill of spring.
A sealed letter lies hidden within—
Secretly read by the East Wind.”

This poem uses both metaphor and personification. The new banana leaf, yet to unfurl, is compared to a green candle and a folded letter. Because it resembles a candle, it is “cold” and “smokeless,” evoking a tactile sensation of chill. And because it resembles a sealed letter, it is personified as being secretly read by the East Wind. The “green candle” is a visual image, but the “cold” is tactile, thus synesthesia occurs. Likewise, “fragrant heart curled in fear of spring chill” combines a personified visual image (fragrant heart curled) with an invisible tactile perception (chill), again creating synesthesia. “Letter” is visual; “East Wind” (as personified) implies touch, which is invisible. The use of synesthesia here significantly expands the poem’s imaginative space and enhances its artistic depth.

In Lo Fu’s poem “The West Lake Has Grown Thin”:

She has truly grown thin—
As thin as the delicate cicada song of summer.
The wind sways the willows past her
And happens to wrap around her waist,
Wrapping inch by inch into
Autumn.

The line “She has truly grown thin” is visual, and then he uses a simile: “as thin as the delicate cicada song of summer,” which is auditory. There is no actual similarity in form or nature between a slim West Lake and cicada sound, so they cannot be joined through analogical association. Rather, there is a psychological connection—a sensory interplay between visual and auditory perception, evoking a unique aesthetic experience for the reader.

II. Sensory Correspondence and Association

Based on the senses involved, synesthesia can be divided into five types:

Auditory transference,
Visual transference,
Olfactory/Gustatory transference,
Tactile transference, and
Multisensory synesthesia.

Li Yuanluo states:

“Skillful use of synesthesia can render images vivid and fresh, offering novel and peculiar aesthetic experiences. Because such imagery stimulates multiple senses in the reader, it can trigger rich associations and emotional responses—this is the special aesthetic effect of synesthesia.”¹⁵

Let us examine the following examples from modern poetry:

1. Auditory Transference

In Lo Fu’s "Jinlong Zen Temple":

The evening bell
Is the path down the mountain for tourists.
Ferns
Along the white stone steps
Chew downward all the way.

Li Yuanluo comments:

“The sound of the bell is auditory; the mountain path is visual. The lingering bell and the winding path resemble each other in shape and rhythm. Thus, Lo Fu creates a visual-auditory synesthetic link—transforming sound into shape.”

This transformation of sound into form is also seen in:

Lo Fu, “Saigon Night Market”:

A man chewing gum
Draws the accordion
Into a long, empty alley.

The accordionist walks down an empty alley, and the drawn-out music evokes the image of the alley itself being “stretched out.” This transformation of sound into spatial image is a hallmark of Lo Fu’s poetic style.

Walisi Yugan, “Our Gentle Grassland I”:

After sunset, a vast grassland
Rises behind me with the sound of a bell.
Dear ㄌ, I seem to hear
The round tones of lively laughter,
Like tropical fish swimming in water—
Playing, quarreling, spitting bubbles.

Through a simile, “the round tones of laughter” are transformed into “tropical fish,” exemplifying auditory transference. Yugan, a teacher in the mountain town of Heping, Taichung, heard his students’ chatter during recess, but instead of finding it noisy, he imagines it as a group of tropical fish—lively and playful. While most teachers may long for peace during breaks, Yugan, a beloved “leader of children,” cherishes this closeness.

Hou Jiliang, “Late Spring”:

In the depths of the alley, a lonely footstep sounds—
Desolate as falling autumn leaves.

Here, “a lonely footstep” (auditory) is likened to “falling autumn leaves” (visual). This use of simile converts an invisible sound into a visible image. Visual-auditory transformations are the most common form of synesthesia. As Li Yuanluo explains:

“Among all forms of synesthesia, the interplay between hearing and sight is the most frequent and essential. This is because hearing and sight are the most refined, sensitive, and interconnected of all human senses. They are the advanced faculties through which we aesthetically perceive the world, whereas smell, taste, and touch are considered lower senses.”²¹

Mei Xin, “Alley 181: Part Two”22

A dog’s barking deepens the night
Dogs from the neighboring alleys
Respond to the dog of Alley 181
Barking without end
A child’s wailing in the deep night
Feels like the night suddenly cramped
I lie awake, insomniac,
In a night broken by snores and dream-muttering

The line “a child’s wailing in the deep night / feels like the night suddenly cramped” is a metaphorical synesthetic expression—turning sound into shape. The cry is described as a muscle cramp, concrete and vivid, strange yet striking. As the author reads this, the heart too seems to cramp. The charm of synesthesia is clearly revealed in this poetic moment.

Shen Huamo, “Chanting”23

Hometown is a forgotten song
Whose shadow awakens
From last night’s silent notes
A snapped string bursts forth
A high note, startling as splattered blood…

If the poem had said “a high note like an oriole’s startled cry,” it would have been a pure auditory description. But instead, the poet compares the sound of the high note to splattered blood, which is visual. These two perceptions differ greatly in nature. This technique of transforming sound into form, employed by the female poet Shen Huamo, makes the imagery strikingly vivid and shocking.

2. Visual Transference

Lo Fu, “Following Rain Sound into the Mountains Without Seeing Rain”24

Descending the mountain
Still no rain in sight
Three bitter pine nuts
Roll along the trail markers
Right to my feet
I reach out to grab—
A handful of birdcalls

Lo Fu, “Echo”25

I can’t recall how you became so thin
As thin as a line of flute sound
I try to grasp you with both hands
But you slip and dodge
Between the flute’s seven holes

This technique of form-to-sound transformation—from visual to auditory—is a hallmark of Lo Fu’s synesthetic style. Take the example:

“Three bitter pine nuts / roll to my feet along the trail / I reach out to grab / a handful of birdcalls.”
Not only is this aurally rich, but also wildly imaginative. Any seasoned reader would recognize this as Lo Fu’s unique poetic fingerprint.

In “Echo,” the line “as thin as a line of flute sound” uses metaphor to turn the visual image of thinness into an auditory one. Such remarkable imagination stems from synesthetic skill.

Lo Fu also expertly handles form-to-taste/smell/touch transformations, such as in “A Lane in Huaxi Street”26:

A woman, freshly made up, stands at the door
Holding a smile
With the scent of fresh paint
Another squats beside a street stall
Slurping oyster soup
While scratching inside her pants

The woman’s smile is “painted” with the smell of fresh paint—a brilliant, biting metaphor. Without explicitly saying the prostitute used cheap, heavy makeup, the poet compares her scent to that of fresh paint—harsh and intrusive.

Bi Guo, “Impression of Early Autumn”27

Truth be told, the autumn moon is like a boozy remark
Hung casually on the tree by Uncle No. 2
A little sour, a little sweet
Swaying in the wind

“The autumn moon is like a boozy remark… / A little sour, a little sweet.”
Through metaphor, the moon becomes a boozy, flavorful comment—enticing and rich. Just seeing it makes one feel tipsy. This is a case of visual imagery transitioning to taste, challenging the reader’s aesthetic palate.

Hou Jiliang, “Poetry on the Road”28

The car in front suddenly speeds up
Like an arrow shot from the bow
I downshift and press the gas
As the speed
Joyful as a burp released
After being held in far too long
I saw poetic images
Racing beneath the sun
Like gleaming cars

“The car in front suddenly speeds up / Like an arrow shot from the bow”—this is a typical simile. Both the car and the arrow are visual images and thus not examples of synesthesia.

“The poetic images / Racing beneath the sun / Like gleaming cars”—again, a visual simile. No cross-sensory interaction occurs.

However, “As the speed / joyful as a burp released after being held in”—here we see a visual (car speed) transformed into an auditory (a released burp). This cross-sensory interaction allows for a true synesthetic moment—where sensation shifts and transforms, yielding a richer poetic experience.

3. Olfactory and Gustatory Transference

Lo Fu, “Snake Shop”29

One slice if venomous
One slice if not
Beheaded, then skinned
With a hiss—
Revealing a white, tender body
Then halved at the waist
And stewed into a soup
Thicker than tears

“Stewed into a soup thicker than tears”—the taste of the thick soup is mixed with the sight of tears, a mingling of flesh and sorrow. Such a broth would probably repel any connoisseur. Clearly, this is the poet’s empathetic observation—after witnessing the snake’s beheading and dissection, the poet himself loses appetite. This shows how synesthesia can function in just one line—concise yet profound.

Lo Fu, “Water’s Edge”30

At that moment, the fragrance of your hair
Winds its way toward me
Like a clear spring flowing across my lips
I turn abruptly, only to see
A pond of blooming water lilies
In your eyes

“The fragrance of your hair / like a clear spring flowing across my lips”—here, smell merges with taste, a sensuous encounter imagined between fragrance and lips. The poet leans in to smell his wife’s hair, but imagines it as a spring that flows over his lips, becoming almost tangible and tastable. This sensory blending is truly admirable, showcasing the poet’s mastery in synesthetic imagination.

4. Tactile Transference

Lo Fu, Angel in the Fire31

You said my blood was not warm enough
Mist in your eyes
Hair like autumn grass
A belly too soft with fat
And hands cold as a snake
Your laughter—
Terrifying as a solar eclipse

“Hands cold as a snake” is a tactile sensation (“cold”) rendered as a visual metaphor. The appearance of the metaphor bridges the tactile and the visual senses.
“Laughter terrifying as a solar eclipse” links a sound with a visual image, using metaphor to heighten a sense of horror and awe.

Lo Fu, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow32

A pair of wings
Fly into the moonlight beyond the palace
Whispering, fading farther away
Flickering and bitter

In this stanza, “wings” and “moonlight” are visual images. Through synesthetic blending, they link to “whispers”—an auditory image. This marks a transition from visual to auditory. Then it deepens as “whispers” are further associated with “flickering” (a visual verb) and “bitterness” (a gustatory adjective). These pairings create a layered transformation of sensory perception, emotionally charging the audible whisper with visual shimmer and a taste of bitterness. This poetic move is what the writer terms “turning the concrete into the abstract.”

Yindi, Soft and Hard33

The breasts of a forty-year-old woman
Soft like
The grassy fields of spring

At first glance, this appears to be a simple visual simile—linking two visual images. However, the poet employs synesthesia, transforming the tactile experience of softness into the visual metaphor of a spring meadow.
Although “spring meadow” leans toward visual imagery, its meaning is rich and multi-sensory:

The green lushness is visual

The scent of grass is olfactory

The softness underfoot is tactile

Thus, in reading this instance of tactile-to-visual synesthesia, we must not limit ourselves to sight alone.

5. Multisensory Synesthesia

Lo Fu, Under the Shared Umbrella34

In our days under the same umbrella
Our laughter never got wet
We walked along the rails of Qingtong Valley
Toward the mining area
Peeling oranges as we went
Calculating
The speed at which cold rain turned into a sneeze

This short poem is another case of synesthetic interplay.

“Our laughter never got wet” combines auditory imagery (laughter) with tactile imagery (wetness), echoing the shared shelter of the umbrella.

“The speed at which cold rain turned into a sneeze” reverses the direction—melding tactile sensation (cold rain) with auditory response (sneeze).

This reversible structure is rare, akin to a “reversible reaction” in physics. It demonstrates Lo Fu’s mature grasp not only of hyperbole but also of synesthetic technique—melding senses with poetic precision.

Li Jinwen, Like Smoke35

Until even a cup of tea wakes up
The story is brewed from snow, forged by fire
When told: like smoke

“Story” here leans toward auditory imagery. Yet the poet uses:

“brewed from snow” — a gustatory metaphor

“forged by fire” — involving both visual and tactile senses

Thus, the story gains flavor, heat, and vividness. The poet then completes the synesthetic cycle by saying the story is “like smoke,” merging visual and olfactory imagery. In these three lines, nearly every sensory domain is activated—sound, taste, touch, sight, and smell—forming a rich, multi-layered web of sensory transformation. It’s a compact but masterful demonstration of synesthesia’s poetic power.

【Notes】

(1) The distinction between transferred epithets and synesthesia:
“Transferred epithets involve the borrowing of adjectives across senses, such as asking one to listen with their eyes or see with their ears, tending to remain within the boundaries of physical sensory organs. However, feeling warmth upon seeing red, or cold upon seeing green, leans more toward the function of emotional projection.”
In other words, transferred epithet is the mutual borrowing of sensory experience, while synesthesia is the unifying perception of the senses through the mind or consciousness.
See: Huang Lizhen, Practical Rhetoric (Revised Edition), 2004, Taipei: National Publishing, p. 169.

(2) Yang Chunlin and Liu Fan, eds., Encyclopedic Dictionary of Rhetorical Art in Chinese, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing, 1991, p. 1129.

(3) From Li Yuanluo, The Aesthetics of Poetry [On the Synesthetic Beauty of Poetry], Taipei: Dongda, 1990, p. 536.

(4) Li Yunhan and Zhang Weigeng, Modern Chinese Rhetoric, Taipei: Shulin, 2005, pp. 124–125.

(5) Lu Jiaxiang and Chi Taining, eds., Dictionary of Rhetorical Modes with Examples, Hangzhou: Zhejiang Education, 1990, p. 229.

(6–7) Liu Xie, Wenxin Diaolong, annotated by Zhou Zhenfu, Taipei: Liren, 1984, pp. 845, 569–571.

(8) Zhu Guangqian, Psychology of Art, [Chapter 6: Aesthetic Feeling and Association], Taipei: Sanmin, 15th reprint, 1982, p. 94.

(9) Li Yuanluo, The Aesthetics of Poetry [On the Synesthetic Beauty of Poetry], Taipei: Dongda, 1990, p. 519.

(10) Qian Zhongshu, edited by Shu Zhan, Selected Essays from Qian Zhongshu, Vol. 6, Guangzhou: Huacheng, 1990, p. 92.

(11) Li Yuanluo, The Aesthetics of Poetry [On the Synesthetic Beauty of Poetry], Taipei: Dongda, 1990, p. 522.

(12) Huang Yongwu, Chinese Poetics (Design Volume), Taipei: Juliu, 1982, pp. 17–18.

(13) Zhang Chunrong, New Thinking in Rhetoric, Taipei: Wanjuanlou, 2002, p. 169.

(14) Quoted from Guan Guan, Selected Poems of the Century by Guan Guan, Taipei: Er-ya, 2000, p. 87.

(15) Li Yuanluo, The Aesthetics of Poetry, Taipei: Dongda, 1990, pp. 534–535.

(16) Quoted from Lo Fu, Magic Songs – Collected Poems of Lo Fu, Taipei: Penglai, 1981, pp. 46–47.

(17) Li Yuanluo, The Aesthetics of Poetry, Taipei: Dongda, 1990, p. 547.

(18) Quoted from Lo Fu, Magic Songs – Collected Poems of Lo Fu, Taipei: Penglai, 1981, pp. 10–11.

(19) Quoted from Walisi Yougan, The Mountain is a School, Taichung County: County Cultural Center, 1994, pp. 20–21.

(20, 28, 30) Quoted from Hou Jiliang, Symphonic Poems, Taipei: Future Book City, 2001, pp. 61, 231–232.

(21) Li Yuanluo, The Aesthetics of Poetry [On the Synesthetic Beauty of Poetry], Taipei: Dongda, 1990, p. 535.

(22) Quoted from Mei Xin, Selected Poems of Mei Xin, Taipei: Er-ya, 1998, pp. 104–105.

(23) Quoted from Shen Huamo, The Mood of a Narcissus, Taipei: National Publishing, 1978, p. 44.

(24) Quoted from Lo Fu, Magic Songs – Collected Poems of Lo Fu, Taipei: Penglai, 1981, pp. 25–26.

(25) Quoted from Lo Fu, Illustrated Dreams, Taipei: Shulin, 1999, pp. 48–49.

(26) Quoted from Lo Fu, The House of Moonlight, Taipei: Chiuko, 1990, p. 61.

(27) Quoted from Bi Guo, The Consciousness of Flesh, Taipei: Er-ya, 2007, p. 106.

(29, 31, 33, 36) Quoted from Lo Fu, The Stone That Brews Wine, Taipei: Chiuko, 1983, pp. 93–94, 103–104, 11.

(32) Quoted from Lo Fu (1981), The Wound of Time, Taipei: China Times Publishing, pp. 201–204.

(34) Quoted from Lo Fu, Magic Songs – Collected Poems of Lo Fu, Taipei: Penglai, 1981, pp. 134–145.

(35) Quoted from Yindi, Ten-Year Selected Poems of Yindi, Taipei: Er-ya, pp. 127–128.

(37) Quoted from Li Jinwen, A Self-Guided Trip of a Spanish Coin, Taipei: Er-ya, 1998, pp. 28–29.