〈The Interplay of the Real and the Imagined in Classical Poetry〉

∕ Chen Qufei

Published in Congrong Literary Quarterly,
Issue No. 44, January 2026

I. The Interplay of the Real and the Imagined in Classical Poetry

1. Concepts of the Real and the Imagined in Ancient Poetic Criticism

(1) Liu Xie, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons — “On Spiritual Thought”

Liu Xie observes:

“The thinking of literary creation is wondrously far-reaching. Thus, in utter stillness and concentrated contemplation, the mind communes with a thousand years; in subtle emotional stirring, the vision traverses ten thousand miles.”

This passage illustrates that a poet’s mental activity is capable of transcending time and space, integrating abstract emotions with concrete imagery, thereby achieving a state in which the imagined and the real are fused into a harmonious whole.

(2) Mei Yaochen, Fragments of Poetic Jade

Mei Yaochen emphasizes that poetry should

“render scenes that are difficult to describe as though they were before one’s eyes, and allow inexhaustible meanings to be revealed beyond the words.”

He advocates presenting elusive or ineffable scenes with vivid immediacy, while allowing meanings that cannot be fully articulated to resonate beyond language itself. This aesthetic principle is a quintessential manifestation of the mutual illumination between the imagined and the real.

(3) Wang Fuzhi, Ginger Studio Talks on Poetry

Wang Fuzhi asserts:

“Poetry values implicitness; its meaning lies beyond the words.”

He stresses that poetry should be restrained and suggestive, enabling readers to apprehend poetic meaning outside the literal text—an approach that exemplifies the technique of interweaving the real and the imagined.

II. The Concept and Functions of the Interplay Between the Real and the Imagined

(1) Definition and Significance

“Mutual generation of the real and the imagined” (xu–shi xiangsheng) is a vital artistic technique in classical Chinese poetry. It refers to the interaction, interpenetration, and transformation between real scenes, objects, and events (shi) and imagined or conceptual scenes, objects, and events (xu), which together articulate a unified thought or emotion.

• The Real (實): Refers to scenes, objects, and environments existing in the objective world—concrete, tangible, and perceptible images.
• The Imagined (虛): Refers to intangible or conceptual scenes, including subjective perceptions, hypothetical constructs, memories of the past, anticipations of the future, as well as dreamscapes and supernatural realms involving immortals, spirits, and ghosts.

(2) Functions

1. To enrich poetic imagery and expand the poetic realm, offering readers a broad aesthetic space and deepening aesthetic experience.
2. To create striking contrasts or atmospheric resonance, thereby highlighting and intensifying the poem’s central theme.

III. Representative Poems and Analytical Examples

1. Gao Shi, Listening to a Flute on the Frontier

The snow is gone; the nomad sky is clear—
horses return to pasture.
Under the bright moon, a Qiang flute sounds by the watchtower.

May I ask where the plum blossoms fall?
All night the wind scatters them across the mountain passes.

• The Real: A direct depiction of frontier life—the melting snow, the season of pasturing horses, and soldiers returning with their herds.
• The Imagined: The phrase “plum blossoms falling” is reinterpreted so that what seems to scatter in the wind is not merely flute music, but drifting petals of plum blossoms.
• Effect: Through the fusion of the real and the imagined, the poem expresses the soldiers’ homesickness, evoked by the melody and transformed into visions of plum blossoms from their homeland.

2. Li Yu, Yu Meiren

When will spring flowers and autumn moons ever end?
How many past events can one recall?
Last night the east wind again filled the small tower—
the bright moon made memories of the fallen kingdom unbearable.

Carved balustrades and jade steps must still remain,
only youthful faces have changed.
Ask how much sorrow one can bear—
it is like a river of spring water flowing endlessly east.

• The Real: Spring flowers, autumn moons, the small tower and east wind, the palace with carved railings, and the altered faces of former palace women.
• The Imagined: “A river of spring water flowing east” transforms abstract sorrow into a vivid, flowing image.
• Effect: By rendering abstraction concrete, the poem gives sorrow a palpable form, greatly intensifying emotional expression.

3. Yan Jidao, Partridge Sky

In embroidered sleeves, you eagerly lifted the jade cup;
that year, we drank until flushed with intoxication.
Dances dipped low beneath willows and the moon at the tower’s heart;
songs scattered peach blossoms in the breeze behind the fan.

Since our parting, I have longed for reunion—
again and again my soul meets yours in dreams.
Tonight I hold the silver lamp alone,
still fearing that our reunion may only be a dream.

• The Real: Vivid recollections of past banquets and dances, such as “embroidered sleeves lifting a jade cup.”
• The Imagined: Post-separation longing expressed through dream encounters—“my soul meeting yours.”
• Effect: The interweaving of memory and imagination conveys both nostalgia for past joy and the solitude of present reality.

4. Liu Yong, The Bells of Rain

The chill cicadas cry mournfully;
at the long pavilion at dusk, the sudden rain has just ceased.
At the capital gate, drinking beneath the tent brings no cheer—
reluctant to part, yet the orchid boat urges departure.
Hands clasped, tearful eyes meet;
words fail, choking in silence.

Thinking of the journey ahead—
a thousand miles of misty waves,
evening haze sinking deep into the vast southern sky.

Since ancient times, affection has grieved over parting—
how much more so in bleak autumn!
Where will I wake from drunkenness tonight?
By a willow bank, in the dawn wind and fading moon.

From now on, through passing years,
fine moments and beautiful scenes will be empty.
Even if there are countless tender feelings,
to whom can they be spoken?

• The Real: The upper stanza depicts the immediate, painful scene of lovers forced to part.
• The Imagined: The lower stanza envisions life after separation—a projected future entirely imagined.
• Effect: Through the seamless blending of the real and the imagined, the poem expresses with poignant intensity the sorrow and reluctance of farewell.

IV. Techniques and Structural Arrangements of the Interplay Between the Real and the Imagined

1. Structural Arrangement

Interweaving of the Real and the Imagined:
Patterns such as imagined–imagined–real–real, or imagined–real–imagined–real are frequently employed to avoid a monotonous reliance on either the real or the imagined alone. Such alternation enhances structural layering and aesthetic depth in poetry.

2. Contrast and Foil Between the Real and the Imagined

Counterpointing (Contrastive Foil):
Joyful scenes may be used to heighten sorrow, or sorrowful scenes to accentuate joy, thereby intensifying emotional expression.

Example: Xie Hun’s Farewell at Xie Pavilion employs “red leaves and green hills” as a foil to underscore the pain of parting.

A song of laborers loosens the departing boat,
Red leaves, green hills, and swift-flowing waters.
At dusk, sobered from wine, the traveler is already far away;
Wind and rain fill the western tower across the sky.

Here, the brightness of the scenery intensifies the melancholy of farewell through contrast.

V. The Relationship Between the Interplay of the Real and the Imagined and Types of Imagery

• Concrete (Real) Imagery:
  Imagery possessing tangible form, observable and experienceable through the senses.
• Abstract (Imagined) Imagery:
  Imagery without physical form, perceptible only through subjective sensation and emotional awareness.

Application:
Through the interplay of the real and the imagined, abstract emotions can be rendered concrete, while concrete scenes can be imbued with abstract emotional resonance, thereby enhancing the expressive power of poetry.

Conclusion

The complementary relationship between the real and the imagined is a pervasive and essential artistic technique in classical Chinese poetry. By interweaving reality with imagination, and concreteness with abstraction, poetry enriches its imagery and aesthetic realm while deepening emotional expression.

II. The Complementarity of the Real and the Imagined in Modern Poetry

1. Modern Poetry and Imagery Theory

(1) Zhu Guangqian’s Poetic Perspective

Zhu Guangqian states:

“In writing scenery, one should not be obscure; obscurity leads to opacity. In expressing emotion, one should not be overly explicit; explicitness leads to shallowness.”

He argues that scenic description should be concrete and clear, while emotional expression should remain implicit and restrained. This pursuit of balance between scene and emotion exemplifies the principle of mutual illumination between the real and the imagined.

(2) Yu Guangzhong, On Imagery

In On Imagery, Yu Guangzhong asserts that imagery is the fundamental condition of poetry. Through a progression from simile to metaphor and finally to symbolism, poetry moves from a flat plane to a three-dimensional structure, achieving the state in which “meaning is image, and image is meaning.”

(3) Chen Yizhi’s “Theory of Imagery Integration”

Chen Yizhi proposes:

“Imagery is formed by the integration of subjective intention in the mind and objective phenomena in the external world. Subjective intention is internal, elusive, and intangible; objective phenomena are visible, audible, and tangible.”

This integration of subjectivity and objectivity constitutes a modern poetic manifestation of the interplay between the real and the imagined.

(4) Jian Zhengzhen’s “Theory of Figurative Thinking”

Jian Zhengzhen maintains:

“Imagery is the poet’s expression of inner emotional logic through external concrete objects—in other words, the visualization of abstract thinking.”

This transformation of abstract emotion into concrete form embodies the creative technique of interweaving the real and the imagined.

In poetic practice, such interweaving enhances depth and semantic multiplicity. For example, the poetry of Ya Xian often employs concrete scenes to evoke abstract emotions, producing a vivid effect of mutual illumination.

2. Theoretical Frameworks and Representative Examples of the Interplay of the Real and the Imagined in Modern Poetry

(1) The Works of the “Magician” Luo Fu

1. Luo Fu, An Afternoon of Water Hyacinths

Afternoon. In the pond,
clusters of pregnant water hyacinths crowd together.
This summer is very lonely—
if one must give birth,
let it be a whole pond of frogs.
Alas, the problem is,
we are only bloated illusions.

• The Real: A depiction of densely packed, “pregnant” water hyacinths filling the pond.
• The Imagined: The absurd notion of water hyacinths giving birth to a pond full of frogs—a surreal chain of imagery that transcends mere exaggeration and enters the realm of metaphysical fantasy.
• Effect: The fusion of the real and the imagined generates a novel and intriguing poetic resonance.

2. Luo Fu, No Rain

A long drought without rain—
this heart has long since cracked.
If you are a tear condensed but not falling,
how I wish
to become a fish in your eyes.

Where does the rain come from?
From the mountains,
from beyond the window,
from the eaves,
from the clamor of lotus leaves,
from within stones,
from the lonely chirring of crickets.

No—
from your cold
questioning voice.

What I wish to say
is precisely what the rain wishes to say,
what the faint water stains flowing past your window wish to say.

• The Real: Prolonged drought; a heart cracked like parched earth.
• The Imagined: The wish to transform into a fish within another’s eyes—a surreal metaphor born of emotional longing.
• Effect: Surreal imagination imbues the poem with a deeply affective and lyrical beauty.

3. Luo Fu, Entering the Mountains with the Sound of Rain, Yet Seeing No Rain

Holding an oil-paper umbrella,
singing “Sour Plums of March,”
among the many mountains
I am the only pair of straw shoes.

Woodpecker—hollow, hollow.
Echo—empty, empty.
A tree spirals upward
in the pain of being pecked.

Entering the mountains—
no rain in sight.
The umbrella circles a green stone;
there sits a man clutching his head,
watching a cigarette butt turn to ash.

Descending the mountain—
still no rain.
Three bitter pine nuts
roll along the signpost to my feet.
I bend down to pick them up—
they turn out to be a handful of birdsong.

• The Real: Holding an oil-paper umbrella, singing a folk tune, walking alone among the mountains.
• The Imagined: Three pine nuts transforming into a handful of birdsong.
  This not only employs synaesthesia, converting a visual image (pine nuts) into an auditory one (birdsong), but also constructs a montage-like surreal tableau.
• Effect: The integration of the real and the imagined produces a magical sense of novelty, creativity, and playful wonder.

(II) Ya Xian’s Black Humor

“Andante Cantabile”

Gentleness is necessary.
Affirmation is necessary.
A little wine and osmanthus blossoms are necessary.
It is necessary to watch, in all seriousness, a woman walking by.
It is necessary at least to know that you are not Hemingway.
The European War, rain, cannons, weather, and the Red Cross are necessary.
Walking is necessary.
Walking the dog is necessary.
Mint tea is necessary.
Every evening at seven o’clock,
from the other side of the stock exchange,
rumors rising like grass are necessary.
Revolving glass doors are necessary.
Penicillin is necessary.
Assassination is necessary.
The evening paper is necessary.
Wearing flannel trousers is necessary.
Horse-race tickets are necessary.
An aunt inheriting an estate is necessary.
Balconies, the sea, smiles are necessary.
Languor is necessary.

And once regarded as a river, one must keep flowing on.
The world has always been like this, always like this:—
Guanyin is on the distant mountain,
poppies are in the poppy fields.

Ya Xian’s “Andante Cantabile” is a quintessential modern poem exemplifying the aesthetics of mutual illumination between the real and the imagined. The following discussion briefly examines the poem from three perspectives—imagery, rhythmic structure, and poetic meaning—through the theoretical lens of xu–shi (the imagined and the real).

1. Interweaving of the Real and the Imagined: A Dual Poetic Field

Each line of the poem follows the repetitive structure of “… is necessary.” On the surface, this enumerates concrete elements of everyday life (the real). Beneath these assertions of “necessity,” however, lies a philosophical meditation on existence, history, and the human condition (the imagined).

(1) Real Imagery (Concrete Objects and Events)

“Wine,” “osmanthus blossoms,” “mint tea,” “revolving glass doors,” “flannel trousers,” “horse-race tickets,” and “an aunt inheriting an estate” are all tangible objects or recognizable life events.
Social phenomena such as “rumors rising like grass from the other side of the stock exchange,” “the evening paper,” and “assassination” appear as fragmented yet unmistakably real-world references.

(2) Imagined Imagery (Abstract, Symbolic, Emotional)

“Gentleness” and “affirmation” operate at an abstract emotional level.
“You are not Hemingway” evokes a cultural reflection on heroism and personal identity.
“Guanyin on the distant mountain” symbolizes compassion and transcendental faith.
“Poppies in the poppy fields” metaphorically suggests the entanglement of beauty, temptation, and destruction.

The juxtaposition of these real and imagined images gives the poem both tactile immediacy and philosophical depth.

2. The “Andante” Structure of Form and Rhythm: A Symphony of the Real and the Imagined

The title “Andante Cantabile” refers to a musical tempo—moderately slow, lyrical, and flowing. This musical implication corresponds to the poem’s rhythm:

The repeated phrase “… is necessary” forms a chant-like cadence, similar to a recurring musical motif, advancing steadily and calmly.
The poem then shifts abruptly to abstraction:
“And once regarded as a river, one must keep flowing on,”
transforming the accumulation of mundane realities (the real) into a metaphor for the continuity of life (the imagined).

Through rhythm and form, the poem allows the real and the imagined to alternate like musical phrases, producing a lyrical flow that is both sensory and introspective.

3. Poetic Synthesis: A Philosophy of Necessity Through Mutual Illumination

Through an inventory of “necessities,” Ya Xian outlines the existential conditions of being human, drawn from multiple dimensions:

1. Material reality (food, clothing, daily habits);
2. Inner life (emotion, security, belief);
3. Historical and social memory (war, cannons, the Red Cross, newspapers);
4. Personal symbolism and metaphor (Guanyin, poppies, sea, balcony).

The final lines—
“Guanyin is on the distant mountain / poppies are in the poppy fields”—
serve as a masterstroke, suggesting that each symbol abides in its rightful place, and the world continues according to its own logic. This calm detachment echoes the poem’s resigned clarity: “the world has always been like this.”

Summary: A Poetics of Mutual Illumination

Analytical Aspect	Characteristics
Real Imagery	Everyday objects, social events, concrete time and space
Imagined Meaning	Emotion, faith, philosophical reflection, existential symbolism
Rhythm and Syntax	Musical repetition, measured pacing, poetic breath
Xu–Shi Strategy	The real evokes the imagined; the imagined reflects the real
Overall Style	Philosophical lyricism infused with modern alienation

This is precisely the poetic style in Ya Xian’s work, where aesthetic meditation and sensory perception of reality converge through the dynamic interplay of the real and the imagined.

(III) Zheng Chouyu’s Romantic Wanderer’s Sentiment

“Error”

I pass through Jiangnan,
where the face waiting in the seasons
blooms and fades like a lotus.

When the east wind does not come,
March catkins do not fly.
Your heart is like a small, lonely city,
like blue-stone streets at dusk.
Footsteps do not sound,
the spring curtain is not lifted—
your heart is a tightly shut window.

The clatter of my horse’s hooves
is a beautiful error.
I am not one who returns—
I am only a passerby…

Zheng Chouyu’s “Error” is a modern poem rich in the aesthetics of mutual illumination between the real and the imagined, blending personal emotion with spatial imagery. The poem’s subtle power lies in its restrained lyricism and deep emotional resonance.

1. Fusion of Real and Imagined Imagery

(1) Real Imagery

“Jiangnan,” “blue-stone streets,” “March catkins,” and “horse’s hooves” are concrete images with clear spatial and temporal references.
“Footsteps unheard” and “a tightly shut window” are sensory descriptions grounded in sight and sound.

(2) Imagined Imagery

“The face waiting in the seasons” abstracts time and beauty.
“Your heart is like a small lonely city” spatializes emotional isolation.
“My horse’s hooves are a beautiful error” transforms a physical sound into a metaphor for missed emotional timing.

This technique—using concrete scenes to mirror inner states—is central to xu–shi poetics.

2. Rhetorical and Rhythmic Strategies

• Metaphor: the beloved’s heart as a closed city;
• Synaesthesia: silence and stillness convey emotional coldness;
• Temporal layering: March, spring curtains, dusk;
• Symbolic reversal: horse’s hooves typically signal return, yet here signify transience.

Concrete imagery envelops an abstract theme of emotional non-arrival and missed connection.

3. Aesthetic Effect: A Lyrical Field Constructed by Xu–Shi Interplay

Strategy	Effect
The Real Evokes the Imagined	Physical spaces reflect emotional absence
The Imagined Reflects the Real	Inner closure intensifies external stillness
Time–Space Interweaving	Expands emotional depth
Image Chains	Lotus → city → window → horse’s hooves

Thus, “Error” stands as both a nostalgic love poem and a paradigmatic work of poetic field construction through mutual illumination.

(IV) Yu Guangzhong’s Ballad-Style “Nostalgia” Series

“Nostalgia”

When I was young,
nostalgia was a small stamp.
I was on this side,
my mother on the other.

When I grew up,
nostalgia was a narrow ship ticket.
I was on this side,
my bride on the other.

Later on,
nostalgia was a low grave.
I was outside,
my mother inside.

And now,
nostalgia is a shallow strait.
I am on this side,
the mainland on the other.

“Nostalgia: Four Quatrains”

Give me a ladle of Yangtze water—
that wine-like Yangtze water.
That drunken taste
is the taste of nostalgia.

Give me a crimson begonia—
blood-like begonia red.
That burning pain
is the burning pain of nostalgia.

Give me a flake of snow-white—
letter-like snow-white.
That waiting for a letter
is the waiting of nostalgia.

Give me a sprig of wintersweet—
mother-like wintersweet fragrance.
That maternal fragrance
is the fragrance of homeland.

These two poems represent the most iconic examples of mutual illumination between the real and the imagined in Taiwanese modern poetry. Yu Guangzhong entrusts abstract emotions and historical identity to concrete sensory objects, allowing imagery to carry emotional memory.

Evolution of Imagery and Deepening of Emotion

Object	The Real	The Imagined
Stamp	Communication object	Childhood longing
Ship ticket	Transportation	Romantic separation
Grave	Physical boundary	Irreversible loss
Strait	Geographic reality	National and historical rupture

Through this progression—from stamp to strait—Yu Guangzhong aligns stages of life with layers of nostalgia, achieving a profoundly condensed and resonant poetic structure.

III. “Four Quatrains of Homesickness”:

The Interweaving of Synesthesia and Symbolism between the Concrete and the Abstract

Strategies of Interplay between the Concrete and the Abstract through Synesthesia

Image	Concrete Aspect	Symbolic Meaning	Abstract Emotional Projection	Stylistic Features
Yangtze River water	Tangible body of water	History, homeland, bloodline	Intoxication and obsession of homesickness	Personification + synesthesia (gustatory sense)
Crabapple red	Visual color	Blood, wounds, passion	National trauma, pain of displacement	Metaphor + symbolism (color)
Snow-white	Tactile and visual sensation	Faith, waiting, winter	Anticipation of letters from home	Analogy + metaphor (purity)
Wintersweet fragrance	Concrete olfactory object	Mother, homeland	Roots of nostalgia and familial affection	Synesthesia + personification

Through repetitive, chant-like structures, the poet turns concrete images (such as the Yangtze River water and crabapple red) into vessels that contain abstract emotions—homesickness, familial attachment, and collective memory. By employing synesthetic strategies involving smell, color, taste, and touch, abstract emotions are materialized and sensorially embodied, allowing the emotional bridge between the concrete and the abstract to emerge with natural coherence.

Yu Guangzhong: “What Does the Sound of Rain Say?”

What does the sound of rain say through the night?
The upstairs lamp asks the tree outside the window;
The tree outside the window asks the car at the alley’s mouth.
What does the sound of rain say through the night?
The car at the alley’s mouth asks the distant road;
The distant road asks the bridge upstream.

What does the sound of rain say through the night?
The bridge upstream asks the umbrella of childhood;
The umbrella of childhood asks the soaked shoes.
What does the sound of rain say through the night?
The soaked shoes ask the croaking frogs;
The croaking frogs ask the surrounding mist.

What does the sound of rain say through the night?
The surrounding mist asks the upstairs lamp;
The upstairs lamp asks the person beneath it.
The person beneath the lamp raises his head and says:
Why hasn’t it stopped yet—
Falling from legend into the present,
From drizzles into torrents,
From dripping eaves into rivers and seas.
I ask you, stirring moss—
What does the sound of rain say through the night?

Yu Guangzhong’s “What Does the Sound of Rain Say?” is a modern poem that demonstrates an exceptionally fluid and progressive use of the interreflection between the concrete and the abstract. While the poem revolves around repeated questioning of the “sound of rain,” what it ultimately seeks to express is not a single answer, but a spiritual and mnemonic pursuit that unfolds from concrete imagery. Through a chain of interrogative links, the poet allows the tangible “sound of rain” to guide readers into psychological, historical, temporal, and mnemonic currents of abstraction.

The following discussion briefly examines the poem from the theoretical perspective of concrete–abstract interreflection.

I. Constructing the Relationship between the Concrete and the Abstract:

From Sensory Reality to Inner Allegory

Concrete Images (External World)
Rain sounds, lamps, windows, cars, bridges, umbrellas, shoes, frogs, mist

Abstract Emotions (Inner World)
Questioning, loss, memory, childhood, history, the passage of time, existential uncertainty

The “sound of rain” functions as a concrete auditory point of departure. Rather than describing the rain directly, the poet employs a chain of personified “objects questioning objects,” transforming the sound of rain into a universally heard yet undecipherable sign. The repetition of interrogatives establishes a rhythmic structure that leads from the concrete toward abstraction, gradually psychologizing and symbolizing poetic meaning.

II. Progressive Layers of Concrete–Abstract Interreflection

Poetic Sequence	Transformation of Concrete Images	Interreflective Implication
Upstairs lamp → tree → alley car	Mutual questioning among still and moving objects	Loneliness and waiting in nocturnal space
Car → road → bridge	Extension of spatial movement	Life’s migrations and explorations of the past
Bridge → umbrella → shoes	Shift into mnemonic symbols	From childhood protection to adult vulnerability
Shoes → frogs → mist	Sensory disorientation	Uncertainty of reality and emotional turbulence
Mist → lamp → person → raised head	Closure of inquiry	Return to conscious subjectivity and reflection on time and history

This circulation—from external objects to internal emotions and back to conscious awareness—constitutes a classic pattern of “interwoven concreteness and abstraction,” forming a three-layer cycle of sensory perception, psychological response, and linguistic articulation.

III. The Poem’s Final Movement:

The Superimposition of Symbol, History, and Existence (Peak of Abstraction)

In the final stanza, language becomes increasingly abstract and philosophical:

“From legend into the present,
From drizzles into torrents,
From dripping eaves into rivers and seas.”

Here, “drizzles,” “torrents,” “eaves,” and “rivers and seas” signify an expansion of both time and space—from individual memory to historical flow. The concluding image of “moss” represents historical sediment and the silent witness of time. The sound of rain thus transcends mere acoustics and becomes a poetic embodiment of existence itself—akin to homesickness or historical consciousness—indescribable yet persistently inhabiting the human mind.

IV. Effects of Concrete–Abstract Interweaving in Structure and Rhetoric

Technique	Description	Function
Chain questioning	A asks B, B asks C	Guides readers from concrete reality to abstraction
Personification and dialogic form	Lamps, bridges, shoes endowed with inquiry	Projects inner consciousness onto objects
Sensory transference	Sound → light → touch → sight → smell (mist)	Intensifies perceptual immersion
Symbolic leaps	Rivers, seas, moss	Introduce temporal and historical depth
Rhythmic recurrence	Repeated line “What does the sound of rain say?”	Creates philosophical suspension and abstraction

Conclusion

“What Does the Sound of Rain Say?” stands as a paradigmatic modern poem of concrete–abstract interreflection. Rather than relying on narrative or description, it advances through questioning, fusion of self and object, and the interlacing of real scenes with memory. The poem constructs a multifaceted mirror image in which the sound of rain is simultaneously a natural phenomenon, historical time, and personal memory.

V. Li Kuei-hsien: “Bottle Palm”

Words that cannot be spoken
Are like flowers that cannot bloom,
Buried only in the belly.

Love that cannot be spoken
Is like fruit that cannot set,
Also buried in the belly.

After closing the mouth,
It grows into such a bottle-shaped belly,
Fermenting sourness, sweetness, bitterness, and spice.

The self that refuses to grow
Lets its hair fall loose as strings,
Strumming a mandolin-like belly.

Has the long sword returned?
Speech—no.
Freedom—unspeakable, unspeakable…

Li Kuei-hsien’s “Bottle Palm” is a poem rich in symbolism. Viewed through the lens of concrete–abstract interreflection, its brilliance lies in how tangible forms (the concrete) mirror abstract emotions (the unspeakable), employing metaphor and object–self fusion to expand poetic meaning.

I. Abstract Meanings Carried by Concrete Images

The poem’s central concrete images are the “bottle palm” and the “belly”:

• Bottle palm: With its bottle-like shape and swollen trunk, it is both a literal plant and a symbol of sealing, fermentation, and repression within the inner world.
• Belly: Though a physical body part, it becomes a repository of emotion and language—housing “unspeakable words” and “unspeakable love,” thus bearing both emotional and sociopolitical pressure.

These concrete images serve as vessels through which abstraction becomes visible and embodied.

II. Cyclical Structure of Concrete–Abstract Reflection

The repeated simile structure “like…” transforms abstraction into sensory form:

“Words that cannot be spoken / are like flowers that cannot bloom”
“Love that cannot be spoken / is like fruit that cannot set”

Here, flowers and fruit are concrete natural images, while words and love remain abstract. Their interreflection allows readers to perceive silence and repression both emotionally and visually.

III. Bodily Imagery and the Fusion of Historical–Political Contexts

In the poem’s closing lines—

“Has the long sword returned?
Speech—no.
Freedom—unspeakable…”

—the classical allusion to Jing Ke’s “return with a long sword” is transplanted into a modern context, suggesting that the “self that refuses to grow” represents not merely an individual, but suppressed thought and confiscated freedom of speech. Historical fiction, political symbolism, and embodied imagery converge to deepen the interreflection between the concrete and the abstract.

IV. Transformation and Translation of Emotion and Language

Lines such as “fermenting sourness, sweetness, bitterness, and spice” and “strumming a mandolin-like belly” complete the embodiment of emotion. Feelings are imagined as fermenting within the bottle-shaped belly and ultimately transforming into sound—suggesting that repression may be transmuted into poetry or art. This exemplifies the dynamic transformation and mirroring between abstraction (emotion, speech) and concreteness (body, instrument).

Conclusion

Through the technique of concrete–abstract interreflection, “Bottle Palm” transforms unspeakable love and suppressed thought into tangible images of plants, bodies, containers, and sound. The poem captures both the fermentation of inner emotion and the metaphorical confinement of speech within a specific historical moment, producing a tense yet fluid poetic dialectic between the concrete and the abstract.

VI. Li Min-yung: “Prisoner of War”

Lieutenant K has no homeland.
At the moment of capture,
he swore to cast it away.

On the day of release,
he gazed at those who came from the homeland
and silently
wanted to hand himself over to them.

Arms were prohibited.
Arms were not prohibited.
The homeland was gone.
The homeland still existed.

A double epistemology
was experimented upon Lieutenant K.
Perhaps one day
it will be your turn or mine.

The world quietly wipes away its tears.
The world quietly sheds its tears.

Li Min-yung’s “Prisoner of War” is a modern poem that combines political gravity with philosophical reflection. Its poetic depth exposes the identity dilemma of Lieutenant K and the ambiguity and instability of national belonging. Approached from the poetic perspective of interreflection between the abstract and the concrete, the poem presents a tangible manifestation of epistemological rupture through the interweaving of historical reality and psychological dislocation.

###I. Contradictions between the Abstract and the Concrete within Historical Reality

The poem opens with an apparent statement of “concrete reality”:

“Lieutenant K has no homeland
At the moment of capture
he swore to cast it away.”

This appears to narrate a historical fact: Lieutenant K became a prisoner of war and renounced his nationality. Yet this ostensible concreteness immediately gives rise to an abstract psychological state in the subsequent lines:

“wanted to hand himself over to them”

This impulse is neither a military order nor a historical record, but a fluctuation of inner will—uncertain and ambiguous—blurring the boundary between nation and individual, authority and conscience. Here, abstraction and concreteness begin to interlace, and poetic meaning unfolds within this zone of indeterminacy.

II. The Interweaving of Affirmation and Negation: Abstract–Concrete Paradox

“Arms were prohibited.
Arms were not prohibited.
The homeland was gone.
The homeland still existed.”

Through symmetrical sentence structures, the poet constructs semantic opposition and contradiction. This strategy of abstract–concrete interreflection forms a kind of paradoxical reality:

• prohibition and non-prohibition coexist;
• disappearance and existence occur simultaneously.

The world thus seems to lose its absolute reference points, entering a gray zone where abstraction and concreteness merge.

This stanza foregrounds an epistemological collapse: conventional truths and values are no longer reliable. The abstract and the concrete no longer function as opposites but as mutually reflective and mutually transformative structures.

III. Fictionalized Historical Projection and the Universalization of Reality

“A double epistemology
was experimented upon Lieutenant K.
Perhaps one day
it will be your turn or mine.”

These lines elevate Lieutenant K’s individual predicament into a universal condition. The word “experiment” introduces a detached, critical perspective, implying that society as a whole has entered a mode of thinking where abstraction and concreteness overlap and truth becomes unstable.

Here, abstract–concrete interreflection operates not only at the level of language and imagery but also across temporal axes—where historical experience intersects with future possibility. What once belonged to history may become the imminent reality of “you or me.”

VII. Xiang Yang: “Stance”

You ask me my stance; silently,
I look at the birds flying across the sky
and refuse
to answer.

Among the crowd we are the same:
breathing air, joy or sorrow,
standing upon the same land.

What differs is our gaze. We
simultaneously witness, on both sides of the road,
countless footsteps coming and going.
If I could forget
diverging paths, I would answer you:
wherever human feet tread
is homeland.

Xiang Yang’s poem “Stance,” when examined through the lens of abstract–concrete interreflection, reveals a poetic operation that avoids direct assertion. Instead, it constructs depth and openness through the circulation between abstraction and concreteness, emotion and scene, consciousness and reality.

I. The Abstract–Concrete Transformation of “Silence” and “Birds”

“You ask me my stance; silently,
I look at the birds flying across the sky
and refuse
to answer.”

“Stance” is originally a concrete political or ideological position. Yet the poet responds with “silence” and the image of “birds in flight,” transforming a demand for concrete declaration into an abstract poetic gesture.

This abstract–concrete strategy simultaneously avoids explicit political reference and elevates the poem’s philosophical dimension. The birds symbolize freedom, evasion, and an uncontainable spirit, dissolving the expected answer into poetic indeterminacy.

II. Shared Bodily and Emotional Experience (Concrete) vs. Divergent “Gaze” (Abstract)

“Among the crowd we are the same:
breathing air, joy or sorrow,
standing upon the same land.”

These lines depict humanity’s shared corporeal condition—breathing, emotion, physical grounding—constituting concrete existence rooted in bodily reality.

“What differs is our gaze…”

“Gaze” refers to perspective, value, and interpretation—an abstract dimension beyond sensory experience. Here the poem constructs a tension field:

• Concrete: we inhabit the same world and daily life;
• Abstract: we interpret that world through divergent viewpoints.

III. The Poetic Abstraction of “Stance” into Shared Human Empathy

“If I could forget
diverging paths, I would answer you:
wherever human feet tread
is homeland.”

Rather than confronting the conflict-laden term “stance” directly, the poet abstracts it into a poetic ethic of shared belonging. Concrete political disagreement is transformed into an abstract, empathetic vision of homeland and humanity.

This strategy dissolves opposition and appeals to a shared sense of destiny, using poetic abstraction to transcend political rigidity.

Conclusion

On the surface, “Stance” appears to evade confrontation; in reality, it responds to concrete political inquiry through poetic abstraction. Silence counters conflict; birds symbolize freedom. The poem continually interweaves sameness and difference, body and gaze, land and homeland, achieving a poetic synthesis that gestures toward ethical transcendence.

This is the poetic force of abstract–concrete interreflection: neither escapist nor dogmatic, but a poetic reconfiguration of reality that opens alternative ways of seeing.

III. Categories of Technique and Theme

1. Surrealism and Symbolism

Poets: Lo Fu, Ya Xian, Zheng Chou-yu, Yu Guangzhong
Characteristics: Use of symbolism and metaphor to transform concrete imagery into abstract emotion and thought, achieving abstract–concrete complementarity.

2. Social Realism and Political Concern

Poets: Li Kuei-hsien, Li Min-yung, Xiang Yang
Characteristics: Depiction of concrete social phenomena to reflect abstract political and humanistic reflection, forming interwoven poetic landscapes.

3. Musicality and Formal Experimentation

Poets: Ya Xian, Yu Guangzhong
Characteristics: Fusion of musical rhythm and poetic language, producing aesthetic effects through abstract–concrete interpenetration.

IV. Summary

Through diverse techniques and stylistic approaches, the poets discussed above integrate the principle of abstract–concrete complementarity (interreflection) into modern poetry, enriching both the expressive forms and conceptual depth of Taiwanese modern verse. Their works reveal not only individual artistic signatures but also the intellectual climate and social transformations of their era.

Appendix: Abstract–Concrete Interreflection in Modern Poetic Theory

This survey of abstract–concrete imagery strategies in modern poetry is organized into three thematic dimensions: theoretical concepts, representative examples, and modes of expression.

I. Theoretical Concept:

The Significance of Abstract–Concrete Interreflection in Modern Poetry

Abstract refers to psychological states, memory, dreams, and symbolic layers.
Concrete refers to tangible, physical reality.

Modern poetry frequently employs the concrete to articulate the abstract, the abstract to inflect the concrete, and their interweaving to construct profound poetic space. This approach emphasizes the polysemy, leap-like logic, and psychological depth of poetic imagery, wherein abstraction and concreteness generate contrast, metaphor, and emotional tension.

II. Analysis of Representative Poets and Works (Classified by Poet)

1. Lo Fu (Representative of Surrealism in Modern Chinese Poetry)

Works: Dialectics of Love, Golden Dragon Chan Temple, Death of the Stone Chamber

Use of the Abstract and the Concrete:
Lo Fu employs mysticism, dream imagery, and stream-of-consciousness techniques to abstract real-world scenes. Through symbolic motifs such as religion, death, and love, his poetry traverses the boundary between the concrete and the abstract, creating linguistic hallucinations and profound poetic depths.

Example: Golden Dragon Chan Temple
The poem depicts a scene at dusk in which the poet descends a stairway along a path overgrown with ferns.

“The evening bell—
the path by which tourists descend the mountain—
ferns
along the white stone steps
chewing their way downward”

In this passage, the auditory image of the “evening bell” merges with the visual image of “the path by which tourists descend,” presenting an interweaving of time and space and a synesthetic transition from sound to sight.

“If snow were to fall here”

This sudden hypothetical imagination interrupts the preceding narrative, introducing a turn in thought that deepens the poem’s Chan (Zen) resonance and contemplative depth.

“and one would only see
a startled flying cicada
lighting
one by one
the lamps of the mountain”

Here the poet links the “flying cicada” with “lamplight,” creating a synesthetic fusion of visual and auditory perception, revealing a leap of poetic imagination and expressive freedom.

2. Ya Xian (Representative of Symbolism in Modern Poetry)

Works: The Abyss, The Abandoned Woman, The Madwoman

Use of the Abstract and the Concrete:
Ya Xian excels in the use of highly musical language and symbolic imagery—such as moonlight, velvet, and abyssal depth—to blend concrete scenes with psychological landscapes, constructing poetic spaces that resemble inner theaters shadowed by history.

Example: The Abyss

“Today’s clouds plagiarize yesterday’s clouds.”
“Time—the cat-faced time;
time—pressed against the wrist,
time signaling in semaphore.”

These lines exhibit high poetic sophistication in their depiction of “time.” The anthropomorphic symbol of the “cat-faced” time conveys slipperiness, ambiguity, and cunning; “plagiarism” powerfully exposes the repetitiveness and existential emptiness of contemporary life. “Time signaling in semaphore” further materializes abstract temporality into a wartime communicative gesture, producing synesthetic effects across visual, tactile, and emotional dimensions.

3. Zheng Chou-yu (Paragon of Lyricism and Romanticism)

Works: Mistake, Farewell

Example:
In “Mistake,” the line

“I pass through Jiangnan;
the face waiting within the seasons
blooms and withers like a lotus”

Here, “Jiangnan” is concrete, while “the face like a lotus” is abstract; their interweaving forms a poetic sense of temporal flow and sorrowful beauty.

Use of the Abstract and the Concrete:
Zheng skillfully renders nostalgic and drifting scenes through concrete depiction, integrating psychological feeling and a subtly surreal atmosphere.

Another example from “Mistake”:

“My clattering horse hooves are a beautiful mistake;
I am not one who returns, but a passerby…”

“Horse hooves” function as concrete imagery, while “mistake” and “passerby” are abstract concepts. Their mutual reflection conveys emotional solitude and rootlessness.

4. Yu Guangzhong (Integrator of Classical and Modern Traditions; Pioneer of Neo-Classicism)

Works: Nostalgia, Listen to the Cold Rain, White Jade Bitter Gourd

Use of the Abstract and the Concrete:
Yu transforms abstract emotions such as nostalgia and separation through concrete imagery—postage stamps, ferry tickets—achieving poetic transmutation.

Example:
In “Nostalgia,” the progression from

“a small postage stamp”
to
“a shallow strait”

demonstrates how each layer of “nostalgia” is rendered through concrete imagery to depict the abstract emotion.

III. Summary of Expressive Techniques

Poet	Abstract (Symbolic)	Concrete (Real)	Stylistic Features
Lo Fu	Black flame, eternity, dreams, death, soul	Buddha statues, stone chambers, horses, temples, night	Surreal interwoven imagery; mystical poetic realms and existential dialectics
Ya Xian	Faces, time, memory	Cat faces, cherries, waters of Lethe	Musicality, elegance, symbolism
Zheng Chou-yu	Heart, solitude, mistake	Horse hooves, small towns, windows, Jiangnan	Romantic wandering; restrained lyricism
Yu Guangzhong	Longing, emotion, cultural memory	Postage stamps, night rain, jade objects	Fusion of classical and modern; refined metaphor

IV. Conclusion

Through interwoven strategies of abstract and concrete imagery, these poets collectively construct multidimensional spaces in Taiwanese modern poetry that traverse reality and psychology, history and futurity, land and soul. Their varied deployments of abstraction and concreteness—whether through metaphor, montage-like leaps, or symbolism—constitute practical achievements through which Taiwanese modern poetry transcends traditional literary boundaries and integrates multiple sensory and linguistic resources.

Chen Qu-fei
2025.05.23