Chapter 3. Imagery Description: Mimesis (Descriptive Writing)
Section 1. Definition and Function of Mimesis
I. Mimesis: Vivid Sound and Color
Mimesis is also called “mózhuàng” (imitation description), “mókuàng” (state imitation), or “móhuì” (depictive drawing). It refers to “describing, as it truly is, the various situations and conditions one perceives, especially the sounds, colors, shapes, smells, and tactile sensations within them; this is called state imitation.”1 “Depictive writing is the imitation of things through human senses, and therefore it possesses a strong emotional coloration.” “The use of the mimesis technique can enhance the imagery and vividness of expression and writing, depicting things with sound and color, taste and form, state and emotion, making the reader feel as if personally present, truthfully presenting the characteristics of things, rendering atmosphere, and strengthening expressive effect.”2
II. The Historical Development of Mimesis
In ancient Chinese literary theory, discussion of “mimesis” is most systematically presented in Liu Xie’s The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, “On Physical Objects”:
“In each season there are its objects; in each object there is its appearance. Emotion shifts with objects, and language arises from emotion. A single leaf may already move intention; the sound of insects is enough to stir the heart. How much more so when clear wind and bright moon share the night, and white sun and spring forest share the morning! Thus poets are moved by things, and associations are inexhaustible. Wandering among the myriad phenomena, they linger and contemplate in the realm of sight and hearing; in depicting qi and drawing forms, they follow things and turn with them; in attaching colors and sounds, they also move with the mind. Thus the brilliance describes the freshness of peach blossoms, the graceful depiction fully expresses the form of willow branches, the bright and rising sun is rendered in its appearance, the heavy snow and rain are modeled in their state, the chirping follows the sound of the yellow bird, the insect song imitates the rhythm of grass insects; the bright sun and twinkling stars, in a single phrase exhaust the principle, and in two characters exhaust the form: using the few to encompass the many, leaving no aspect of emotion and appearance unexpressed.”3
In this passage, the analysis of the two-way interaction between aesthetic subject and object is not a simple “object-response,” but emphasizes that while responding to objects, the mind also governs and integrates them. The fusion of mind and object treats “following objects in their transformation” and “accompanying the mind in its wandering” as inseparable processes. “This passage explains that poets, stimulated by the material environment, generate associative chains and thus form a stream of consciousness. First, the poet must carefully observe objective circumstances while ‘wandering among the myriad phenomena’; then, in ‘lingering in the realm of sight and hearing,’ the senses are used to select and organize external things. After observation, selection, and organization, one can ‘depict qi and draw forms, following objects in their transformation,’ indicating that in describing sound, qi, and form, one must faithfully reflect objective conditions. Moreover, ‘attaching colors and sounds, also moving with the mind’ indicates that through linguistic and phonetic mediation, the objective situation is already influenced by subjective conditions.”4
“Only the clear wind on the river and the bright moon among the mountains. The ear receives them as sound, the eye encounters them as color. Taking them is unrestricted, using them is inexhaustible. This is the inexhaustible treasury of creation…” (Su Shi of the Song Dynasty, “Former Ode on the Red Cliff”). Poets and lyricists, in “wandering with spirit among things” and “being moved by things and thus singing,” all fully utilize the senses to describe phenomena. “There is the realm of the self, and the realm of the non-self… In the realm of the self, one observes objects through the self, thus all things bear the coloration of the self. In the realm of the non-self, one observes objects through objects, thus one does not know which is self and which is object. Ancient poets mostly wrote in the realm of the self…”5 From the perspective of rhetoric, “observing objects through the self, thus all things bear the coloration of the self” is close to “projection,” corresponding to the rhetorical device of mimesis; “observing objects through objects, thus one does not distinguish self from object” is close to “empathy,” corresponding to the rhetorical device of transformation.
Ancient poets and lyricists were skilled in using sensory imitation to depict form and state, and to describe sound, appearance, smell, taste, and touch. For example, visual imitation: “In front of Xisai Mountain, white egrets fly; peach blossoms flow with water and mandarin fish are fat. Green bamboo hat, green straw cloak, slanting wind and fine rain, no need to return.” (Zhang Zhihe, “Song of the Fisherman,” Yuan Dynasty). Auditory imitation: “The great strings sound like rushing rain, the small strings murmur like whispers; mixed and chaotic plucking of large and small pearls falling on a jade plate.” (Bai Juyi, “Pipa Song,” Tang Dynasty).
Section 2. Theoretical Foundation of Mimesis
Concentric Circle Structure:
Core layer: physiological foundation—sensory perception of the five senses, imagistic simulation
Second layer: psychological foundation—generalization (mimesis), internal imitation (Inner Imitation)
Third layer: aesthetic foundation—sensory simulation (mimesis), empathy and projection
Outermost layer: rhetorical figures—mimesis and transformation
“Mimesis,” in the broad sense, refers to the imitation of various phenomena of nature and human life in literary works; in terms of rhetorical content, it refers to the description of various sensory perceptions of things.
“Mimesis” is primarily based on bodily senses; its psychological foundation comes from “generalization,” and its aesthetic foundation comes from “sensory simulation.”
The earliest Western scholar to discuss “imitation” was Plato, who believed that art is an imitation of objects in the material world, proposing the Theory of Forms. Later, Aristotle proposed that “art imitates nature,” stating that “just as some people, either through art or experience, use color and shape as media to imitate and depict various things, others use sound.”6 He believed imitation is a human instinct, and from imitation humans derive pleasure. The object of imitation is “man in action”7, which Aristotle explains as including “character, behavior, and suffering.”8 Aristotle also states that “there is also an art that uses language alone as the medium of imitation, either in prose or verse, without melody.”9 The object referred to here is poetry.
“Projection” and “empathy” are two major theoretical foundations of mimesis and transformation in aesthetics. Modern scholar Theodor Lipps (1851–1914) proposed “empathy,” arguing that artistic appreciation is based on emotion, allowing the dissolution of subject and object into one unified state, that is, transforming objects into persons endowed with emotion and activity, or transforming persons into objects, where objects and humans share emotions.
Lipps’ follower K. Gross advocated the theory of “inner imitation” (Inner Imitation), distinguishing between “ordinary perceptual imitation and aesthetic imitation.” Inner imitation theory is an aesthetic branch of empathy theory in Western thought. It holds that aesthetic experience uses internal organs of the human body to perceive and imitate external objects. It was proposed by Karl Groos (1861–1946), who regarded motor perception in inner imitation as the core of aesthetic activity. The British scholar Vernon Lee (1856–1935) also held this view, but replaced Groos’s motor perception with visceral sensation.”10 For further detail, see Zhu Guangqian, Psychology of Literature and Art.
Aesthetic master Zhu Guangqian stated: “To learn an art is to learn the knowledge and skills specific to that art. Such learning is the use of past experience, the absorption of existing culture, and thus one aspect of imitation.” Zhu explains the psychological activity of imitation through the psychological concept of “generalization: using existing past experience to acquire new knowledge,” treating imitation as a form of learning. “Imitative activity is not merely copying activity, but more importantly, creative activity. Because when an artist imitates the external world, selection, reconstruction, and organization are involved, and these processes must be combined with the artist’s ideas and ideals, becoming a completely new pattern, which is creation.” In fact, artistic imitation draws material from existing culture and the artist’s life and aesthetic experience, but in the process, art reassigns a new order to these materials; through deliberate selection and organization, and through appropriate media, they are expressed. Therefore, artistic imitation is a creative activity that renews the old and produces the new.
Section 3. Structural Expression of Mimesis
Mimesis commonly uses onomatopoeic words, color words, compound words, as well as adjective or verb-noun adjunct forms and reduplication forms.11
(1) Onomatopoeic words: also called sound-imitating words, often formed through reduplication such as “wuwu,” “hualala,” “xilili,” “dingdang dingdang,” etc.
(2) Color words: often formed by adding reduplication after single-syllable color adjectives, such as “luyouyou” (lush green), “baimangmang” (white vastness), “heichengcheng” (dark heavy), etc.
(3) Compound words: often double-sound, reduplicated rhyme, or repeated sound. For example, double-sound words: “titou,” “pipa,” “qiangqian,” “chouchang”; reduplicated rhyme words: “cangmang,” “yaotiao,” “dingning,” “paihuai”; repeated-sound words: “xiaoxiao,” “gungun”; double-sound and rhyme compounds: “zhuanzhuan,” “fufu,” “linglong.”
(4) Adjunct and reduplication forms: in order to express the state of things and realistically depict scenes, adjective, verb, or noun adjunct forms and reduplication forms are often used, such as “retengteng” (steaming hot), “kongdangdang” (empty and vast), “lanyangyang” (lazy and relaxed), “piaopiaoran” (floating), “mantuntun” (slowly), “qiangqiangliangliang” (staggering), “daitoudaina” (dull-headed), etc.
Section 4. Manifestation Forms of Mimesis
Mainland scholars generally classify the forms of mimesis into six types: “color imitation,” “sound imitation,” “form imitation,” “taste imitation,” “state imitation,” and “scene imitation” (Cheng Wei-jun et al., p. 557; Yang Chun-lin et al., p. 1188). Huang Qingxuan classifies them into six categories: “visual,” “auditory,” “olfactory,” “gustatory,” “tactile,” and “comprehensive mimesis.” These six categories all directly appeal to the senses, showing that literary imitation is based on the physiological foundation of human sensory function. The author adopts Huang Qingxuan’s classification and uses modern poetry for mutual verification:
I. Visual mimesis
“Depicting the color of things often uses descriptive adjectives; sometimes single-syllable color adjectives are reduplicated, or reduplicated syllables are added after them to imitate visual color.”12 For example: “Green green riverbank grass, lush lush garden willows” (Ancient Han poetry); or “white vastness,” “lush green,” “red flushed,” “golden bright.”
Luo Fu, “Autumn Words Eight Poems: Cold Forest”13
Heavy snow is approaching
What does that person use to keep warm?
He lowers his head without reply
Bending his body
Walking into a small question mark
Because of coldness, the “bent body” while walking resembles a “question mark” in shape. This association comes from the similarity between two images. The poet grasps this similarity, allowing the visual image to gain an additional layer of associative interest. The person lowers his head without reply, yet walks into a small question mark, implying that he himself does not know where to go next.
Yang Huan, “The Key”14
I have a bunch of keys
The clumsy short ones are like idiots and dwarfs
The beautiful delicate ones are like the beauty and grace of a princess
Yang Huan’s children’s poetry is full of innocent childlike charm. In this poem “The Key,” the poet uses simile descriptions: comparing clumsy short keys to idiots and dwarfs, and comparing delicate beautiful keys to a graceful princess, precisely capturing the external features of the objects. The contrast between idiots, dwarfs, and beautiful princesses is rich in interest.
Xi Murong, “History Museum: No. 6”15
Outside the corridor, there are still thousands of lotus flowers
Quietly blooming in the water
Light purple, soft pink
And snow-like white
Like an anonymous Song painting
Slowly dyed and slowly diffused in time
In this poem, there is visual and emotionally colored description such as “quietly blooming in the water”; color depiction such as “light purple, soft pink,” “snow-like white”; and simile-based description such as “like an anonymous Song painting.” The final line presents visual depiction: “slowly dyed and slowly diffused in time,” making the entire poem present a clear and vividly colored image.
II. Mimesis of Hearing
“Depicting the sounds of things generally involves the use of onomatopoeic words to render auditory sounds.”16 For example: “huālālā,” “xīlìlì,” “dīngdāng dīngdāng,” “pīlīpālā.”
Zheng Chouyu, “Error”17
My clattering horse’s hooves are a beautiful mistake
I am not the one returning home, but a passer-by
Chouyu is a precocious poet of genius type; his poetry is romantic, aesthetically refined, and full of emotion, deeply loved by readers. “Window,” “Mistress,” “Farewell,” “Journey,” “Mountain Letters”… are all widely popular. This poem “Error” is regarded as a representative work of the wandering poet Chouyu. In the final two lines, the poet uses “dada” as an onomatopoeic rendering of horse hooves. It has circulated in poetry circles that “wherever there is the sound of horse hooves, there is Chouyu.”
Bai Ling, “Mountain Book”18
Chi-chi-cha-cha walking down
Red men and green women
…… pacing back and forth idly
The clop-clop of shoes, like a wharf’s chopping board
Children running, a swirling whirlwind passing through
Click-click, scenery stained with the years
Crowding into the shutter
In these lines, there are sounds and images of tourists, forming a common landscape in scenic areas. The voices of men and women, the clopping sound of shoes, and the “click-click” of the camera shutter are three sounds appearing in succession, producing a polyphonic and symphonic auditory effect.
Yu Guangzhong, “Gandhi Spinning Wheel”19
An afternoon after the monsoon wind has passed
In an inland place beyond depth
An ancient spinning wheel
Sings creak-creak
A monotonous nursery rhyme
In the inland where no railway reaches
At the end of a dirt road
Inside a mud-coated bamboo house
Creak-creak it sways
In a gentle rhythm
“An ancient spinning wheel / creak-creak singing” and “a monotonous nursery rhyme / creak-creak swaying” are both imitations of sound. The former uses “sing” as a verb, the latter uses “sway” as a verb, giving sound imagery continuity and repetition. These vivid sounds make the rhythm of the poem more real, as if the reader’s ears can also hear these two sounds in succession.
III. Mimesis of Smell
This refers to the description of the odors perceived from objective things. It often uses disyllabic or trisyllabic adjective reduplication forms.20
Du Shisan, “Poet”21
The poet smokes one cigarette and exhales a line of verse
Each line of verse carries the smell of nicotine and the rhythm of hypertension
For the sake of health, he resolves to quit poetry first
It is said that Li Bai had the talent of “one jug of wine, a thousand poems,” and modern poets are no less capable, using cigarettes instead of wine, thus “smoking one cigarette and exhaling a line of verse.” The poet knows this habit is harmful to health, yet without a cigarette in hand when writing poetry, it seems he cannot “exhale verse.” Thus, “each line of verse carries the smell of nicotine.” In order to quit smoking, he must first quit “poetry” itself. The verse with nicotine smell is a mimesis of olfactory perception.
Wang Qijiang, “Song of Sea Flesh: Fishing Season”24
At the end of the fishing season
The men pour a whole bucket of sewage into the sea
The sour smell of the ship fades
The human scent becomes murky
Before entering port, all seagulls gather at the bow
At night they drift into the sailors’ cabin to nap
Dreaming on the wooden boards of awakened muscles
Shouts become twice as intense as departure
Every strand of hair secretes fishy mucus
These lines describe the real life of sailors at sea. “The sour smell of the ship fades / the human scent becomes murky” and “every strand of hair secretes fishy mucus” are olfactory imitations that render the sailors’ life natural and real, giving readers a vivid sense of immediate presence.
IV. Mimesis of Taste
This refers to the description of the taste of food as perceived by people. It often uses disyllabic or trisyllabic adjective reduplication forms, such as “sweet-sweet,” “sour-sour,” “spicy-hot,” “sticky-sticky.”
Wang Tianyuan, “If Love Were Chewing Gum”25
If love were chewing gum
Tasty yet not sticky to the mouth
And when it becomes faint, hard, tasteless
Becomes annoying and can be discarded at any time
That would be great
Chewing gum cannot last long under chewing, just like modern love, which cannot endure. “Tasty yet not sticky to the mouth / and when it becomes faint, hard, tasteless” are all gustatory imitations, realistically reflecting the properties of chewing gum, just as modern people’s attitude toward love.
Bai Ling, “Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor”26
Only liquor distilled through artillery fire
is especially sober
Every drop makes your tongue
lick a bayonet
Once it enters the throat, it turns into a line of astonishing fire
burning into the stomach of history
Whose neck and ears
do not rise in succession
Kinmen’s brilliance
and sorrow
Kinmen kaoliang liquor is strong and pungent. “Every drop makes your tongue / lick a bayonet” and “once it enters the throat, it turns into a line of astonishing fire” are highly figurative gustatory imitations. The tongue licking a bayonet expresses spiciness, while the throat burning like fire expresses the liquor’s intensity.
Chen Kehua, “Meat Sandwich”27
You easily open my naked body
as if opening a can of fine natural sweet chili sauce
You spread me across the flat surface of white bread
On my crushed nipples, honey is smeared
On my navel, pickled cucumber slices are placed
Then covered with cheese of strong bodily odor
In these lines, gustatory imagery is highly rich, including “sweet chili sauce,” “honey,” “pickled cucumber slices,” and “strong bodily odor cheese.” This opened body is “seasoned” with various sauces and foods, and the poet asks readers to perceive it as a visually and sensorially edible “meat sandwich,” a playful sensory interaction between lovers.
V. Mimesis of Touch
This refers to the expression of sensations perceived by the skin, including cold, heat, warmth, coolness, roughness, smoothness, softness, hardness, or adjectival expressions (such as “cool,” “scorching hot,” “smooth,” “itchy”).
“The Stone of Brewing Wine”28
Childhood piled up with snow
melts so quickly
fortunately I still am
a stone
held in your hand
growing warm
Poet Luo Fu, who makes skillful use of hyperbole, often embeds astonishing “energy” within his lines. Through the unfolding of imagery, this energy is released, often causing readers to feel shock and tremor, admiring his unexpected imagination and astonishing poetic force (structural force). In this section, “kinetic energy” is latent in “childhood piled up with snow / melts so quickly,” which is visual mimesis; “thermal energy” is embedded in “fortunately I still am / a stone / held in your hand / growing warm,” which is tactile mimesis, expressed in the form of a hidden metaphor.
Chen Kehua, “Don’t Wear Covers, Okay?”29
When the pillow has already been dressed in a pillowcase
we begin removing eye masks, masks, earplugs, and hairnets
the nipples are like two metallic buttons
when touched, the whole world instantly loses power
“The nipples are like two metallic buttons / when touched, the whole world instantly loses power.” The “nipple” is a highly sensitive part of the human body. Through simile, the poet describes it as “two metallic buttons,” and “when touched, the whole world instantly loses power” functions both as the explanandum of the simile and as tactile mimesis itself.
Hou Jiliang, “Mistaken Love: IV”30
Have you already spent all your sorrow
so that your skin is cold as a snake
“Your skin is cold as a snake” is also a simile-based tactile mimesis, implying a state of emotional numbness, like a cold-blooded creature without joy or sorrow. In describing the emotional condition of “you,” this kind of tactile mimesis concretizes abstract emotion and makes it vividly image-like.
VI. Comprehensive Mimesis
Chen Yizhi, “Fruit Plate”31
A face fragrant with red apples
a lemon-like experience, sour and slightly bitter
melancholy like loquat in rain
homesickness is plum fruit being brewed into wine
guava insists on a somber temperament
new oranges golden and bright, resonant like jade and metal
Chen Yizhi’s poetry is typically “academic style,” elegant and refined, untouched by vulgarity. This poem presents vivid imagery and rich coloration, combining olfactory mimesis (“a face fragrant with red apples”), gustatory mimesis (“a lemon-like experience, sour and slightly bitter; homesickness is plum fruit being brewed into wine”), as well as visual and auditory mimesis (“new oranges golden and bright, resonant like jade and metal”). It can be said to possess color, fragrance, and taste in full abundance, making the reader’s appetite unconsciously stir.
Notes
(1) Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: Sanmin, 2002, p. 67.
(2) Yang Chunlin & Liu Fan (eds.), Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing, 1991, p. 1188.
(3) Liu Xie, annotated by Zhou Zhenfu, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, Taipei: Liren, 1984, p. 845.
(4) Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: Sanmin, 2002, p. 70.
(5) Wang Guowei, Remarks on Ci-Poetry in the Human World, Taipei: Tianlong, 1981, pp. 1–2.
(6) Aristotle, trans. Yao Yili, Poetics, Taipei: Taiwan Zhonghua, 1982, p. 31.
(7) Aristotle, trans. Yao Yili, Poetics, Taipei: Taiwan Zhonghua, 1982, p. 42.
(8) Aristotle, trans. Yao Yili, Poetics, Taipei: Taiwan Zhonghua, 1982, p. 31.
(9) Aristotle, trans. Yao Yili, Poetics, Taipei: Taiwan Zhonghua, 1982, p. 31.
(10) Wang Shide (ed.), Dictionary of Aesthetics, Taipei: Muduo, 1987, p. 22.
(11) Cheng Weijun et al. (eds.), Comprehensive Dictionary of Rhetoric, Beijing: China Youth Press, 1991, p. 558.
(12) Yang Chunlin & Liu Fan (eds.), Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing, 1991, p. 1194.
(13) From Luo Fu, The Stone of Brewing Wine, Taipei: Chiuko, 1983, pp. 24–32.
(14) From Gui Ren (ed.), Selected Poems of Yang Huan, Taipei: Hongfan, 2005, pp. 22–23.
(15) From Xi Murong, Nine Essays on Time, Taipei: Yuan Shen, 2006, p. 125.
(16) Yang Chunlin & Liu Fan (eds.), Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing, 1991, p. 1188.
(17) From Zheng Chouyu, Collected Poems of Zheng Chouyu I: 1951–1968, Taipei: Hongfan, 1979, p. 123.
(18) From Bai Ling, The Great Yellow River, Taipei: Erya, 1986, pp. 15–16.
(19) From Ji Xiaoyang, Orange Coast, Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau, 2003, pp. 44–45.
(20) From Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong (Vol. 2): 1982–1998, Taipei: Hongfan, 1981, p. 47.
(21) Yang Chunlin & Liu Fan (eds.), Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing, 1991, p. 1199.
(22) From Du Shisan, Notes of Sighing, Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1990, pp. 88–89.
(23) From Du Shisan, Language of Fire, Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1994, p. 49.
(24) From Wang Qijiang, The Coast of Mermaids, Taipei: Chiuko, 1999, pp. 67–68.
(25) From Wang Tianyuan, If Love Were Chewing Gum, Taipei: Bookman, 1988, pp. 53–56.
(26) From Bai Ling, The Interval of Love and Death, Taipei: Chiuko, 2004, pp. 41–43.
(27) From Chen Kehua, Beautiful and Profound Asia, Taipei: Bookman, 1997, p. 42.
(28) From Luo Fu, The Stone of Brewing Wine, Taipei: Chiuko, 1983, pp. 12–13.
(29) From Chen Kehua, Beautiful and Profound Asia, Taipei: Bookman, 1997, p. 113.
(30) From Hou Jiliang, Symphonic Poetry, Taipei: Future City Publishing, 2001, p. 225.
(31) From Chen Yizhi, Blue Shirt, Taipei: Erya, 1985, pp. 61–62.
