Chapter 9: Imagery Contrast (Part One)

Contrast and Juxtaposition
(Contrast and setting off)

Section One: Definition and Function of Contrast

I. Contrast: Opposition and Mutual Comparison

“Imagery contrast” refers to the form in poetry in which two images of opposite nature (mutually opposed), possessing mutual exclusivity, are used in a connected or parallel arrangement. Through juxtaposition and comparison, the images become more vivid precisely because of their mutual conflict.

In poetry, “imagery contrast” is mainly expressed through the rhetorical devices of “contrast” and “juxtaposition.” “Contrast” is also a major constitutive element of formal beauty in aesthetics and a primary type of “simple association” in psychology.

In rhetoric, “contrast” refers to the technique of placing two mutually contradictory and opposing things, or two different aspects of the same thing, side by side for comparison, thereby achieving a vivid and distinct expressive effect.

The functions of “contrast” include:
(1) revealing differences in character between people and distinctions in the essence of things;
(2) extracting sharply different stages in the development and transformation of things to create strong expressive effects such as contradiction and conflict;
(3) making people and things, when placed within their own internal contradictions and oppositions, appear more vivid and prominent.1

In domestic rhetorical studies, “contrast” is generally included within the figure of “juxtaposition” and is not treated as an independent figure. Although contrast is indeed a major aesthetic foundation of juxtaposition, there are nevertheless differences between the two in terms of function and scope of application. Accordingly, the author treats “contrast” and “juxtaposition” separately, analyzing them with examples.

1. Definition of Contrast:

Regarding “contrast,” A Comprehensive Guide to Rhetoric defines it as follows: “Contrast is a technique that places side by side two things that differ, oppose, or contrast, or two different, opposing, or contrasting aspects of the same thing, in order to make them mutually defining and achieve a clear expressive effect.”2 Here, contrast is viewed as a technique that clarifies meaning and strengthens expressive effect.

A Comprehensive Guide to Rhetoric holds that within the material and spiritual world there exists a relation of unity of opposites (such as large and small, high and low, far and near, old and new, truth and falsehood, good and evil, beauty and ugliness). Once an author, through deep insight, discovers the points of contrast, the use of contrast can reveal the essence of things and clearly express the writer’s intention and ideological orientation.3

1. Contrast as a Rhetorical Figure and Contrast as a Technique

A Comprehensive Guide to Rhetoric points out: “The similarity between contrast as a technique and contrast as a rhetorical figure lies in the fact that both are based on contrast and both depend on the obvious differences between two things, two states, or two concepts grounded in the unity of opposites. The difference lies in the fact that contrast, as a linguistic structural format with a specific expressive function, is used within a particular context and is generally a basic method of expression in narration, explanation, and argumentation. Its scope of application is generally broader than that of the rhetorical figure of contrast and may extend to the whole text.”

Thus, the concept of “contrast” encompasses the entire discourse. It applies across multiple levels, including words, phrases, simple sentences, compound sentences, sentence groups (paragraphs), and even entire texts. It is therefore a higher-level concept, and is categorized in A Comprehensive Guide to Rhetoric as a discourse-level rhetorical device with holistic applicability. The “rhetorical figure of contrast,” by contrast, refers more specifically to devices operating at the level of words, sentences, and paragraphs.

II. Historical Development of Contrast

1. Contrast in Aristotle’s Three Principles of Rhetoric

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) articulated three major principles of rhetoric: “effective use of metaphor, strong contrast, and vivid concreteness.”4 According to Aristotle, in oratory, “clever expressions come from analogical (note: here interpretable as contrastive) metaphor and from techniques that bring things before the eyes.”

He also stated: “By ‘bringing things before the eyes,’ I mean the expression of real actions.”5 That is, through metaphors and contrastive rhetorical structures, real actions are expressed in a vivid manner, producing an effect as if the scene were present before the audience.

Regarding “contrast,” Aristotle analyzes sentence structure and states: “A periodic sentence composed of clauses can be divided into paratactic and antithetical types… In a pair of clauses, if one clause contains content that is opposed to the other, this forms an antithetical construction; or if one term governs two opposing contents, this also forms an antithetical periodic sentence.”

Aristotle provides examples:

Paratactic form:
“I often marvel at those who convene Panhellenic assemblies and establish athletic competitions.”

Antithetical form:
(1) “They caused both those who stayed at home and those who followed them to benefit, for they secured for the latter more land than they had at home, and left the former sufficient land in their homeland.”
(2) “These men sold you out at home, and here they again attempt to buy you.”

Taking declarative sentences as an example, the syntactic structures of paratactic and antithetical forms may be represented as:

Paratactic: S1 + S2 + V + O
Antithetical: S + V1 + O1 ; S + V2 + O2

From these examples, it is evident that antithetical constructions indeed possess strong tension and a dialectical effect resembling “thesis–antithesis–synthesis.” Aristotle concludes: “Such sentence structures are pleasing because opposing meanings are easiest to understand, and even more so when placed side by side. They also resemble syllogistic reasoning, since combining opposing meanings is equivalent to refutation.”6

1. Contrast in Classical Poetry

Poets and lyricists of antiquity were generally familiar with the concept, usage, and effect of contrast. Within the structure of parallelism, they frequently employed contrastive techniques to express contradictions and oppositions between human emotions or things, thereby producing an aesthetic effect of sharp contrast.

For example:

“Ten thousand mountains like ink, one lamp red.” (Yi Shunding, Qing dynasty, “Traveling in Snow Among Dengwei in the Twelfth Month of Bingxu”)
“A thousand miles of cloud net, a lone wild goose flying.” (Li Shangyin, Tang dynasty, “Spring Rain”)

These present size contrast between background and subject within a single line.

Further examples of contrast between two lines:

“The red gate reeks of meat and wine, while along the road lie frozen bones.” (Du Fu, Tang dynasty, “From the Capital to Fengxian County: Poem of Five Hundred Words”)
This reveals the stark contrast between wealth and poverty witnessed during the poet’s journey, realistically recording the sharp disparity between social classes.

“Soldiers at the front lines are half dead or alive, while beauties in the palace still sing and dance.” (Gao Shi, Tang dynasty, “Ballad of Yan”)

Here, the front-line soldiers suffering casualties are contrasted with the imperial court’s music and dance, producing a vivid and striking image of contrast.

From the Tang and Song dynasties onward, poets and lyricists increasingly used contrast. The following categories summarize major forms:

(1) Color Contrast
“White clouds seen from afar merge upon return; green mist disappears when approached.” — Wang Wei, Tang, “Mount Zhongnan”
“At sunrise, river flowers redder than fire; in spring, river water green as blue dye.” — Bai Juyi, Tang, “Reminiscence of Jiangnan”
“Distant peaks in smoke, countless green; geese against sunset, red as dusk.” — Zhou Bangyan, Song, “Jade Tower Spring”
“Black clouds like ink overturn the mountains, white rain like beads rush into the boat.” — Su Shi, Song, “Inscription at Drunken Stone on June 27 at Lake Pavilion”

(2) Sound Contrast
“The cicadas cry, yet the forest is even quieter; birds sing, yet the mountain is more secluded.” — Wang Ji, Southern Dynasties, “Entering Ruoye Stream”
“Moonlight over half the building, flutes of a thousand households; ten thousand miles away, night washing boards echo.” — Chen Gongyin, Qing, “Inscription at Tiger Hill”

(3) Time Contrast
“Where are those who came to admire the moon with me? The scenery seems faintly like last year.” — Wang Anshi, Song, “Spring Night”
“Last year today at this gate, faces and peach blossoms reflected red; faces are gone, but peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.” — Cui Hu, Tang, “At the Capital South Village”

(4) Spatial Contrast
“Grasses seen from afar appear near yet vanish when approached.” — Han Yu, Tang, “Early Spring Presented to Zhang the Eighteenth Assistant Director of the Ministry of Water”
“Lonely smoke rises straight in the desert; the sun sets round over the long river.” — Wang Wei, Tang, “Envoy to the Frontier”
“To view a thousand miles, go up another level.” — Wang Zhihuan, Tang, “Climbing Stork Tower”
“When white water rises, two egrets descend; where green locusts grow tall, a cicada sings.” — Su Shi, Song, “Xiyin Hall”

(5) Scene Contrast
“Helplessly, flowers fall away; seemingly familiar swallows return.” — Yan Shu, Song, “Huanxisha”
“Within thousands of mountains no birds fly; on countless paths no human trace remains. A lone boat, an old man in raincoat and bamboo hat, fishes alone in cold river snow.” — Liu Zongyuan, Tang, “River Snow”

(6) Situation Contrast
“Sunset is infinitely beautiful, only it is near dusk.” — Li Shangyin, Tang, “Le You Garden”
“Peonies full of feeling shed spring tears; roses, powerless, lie upon morning branches.” — Qin Guan, Song, “Five Spring Poems (No. 1)”
“Falling flowers seem to weep in wind and rain; birdsong is indifferent through ages.” — Qu Dajun, Ming, “Qingming Composition of Renxu Year”

(7) Motion–Stillness Contrast
“Ancient trees, no one on the path; deep mountains, where is the bell?” — Wang Wei, Tang, “Passing Xingji Temple”
“Birds sleep on trees by the pond; a monk knocks on the door under the moon.” — Jia Dao, Tang, “Inscription at Li Ning’s Secluded Dwelling”

(8) Quantity Contrast
“One night of rain in the mountains; a hundred layers of springs upon treetops.” — Wang Wei, Tang, “Seeing Li Junsui Off to Zizhou”
“One tree in spring wind, ten thousand branches.” — Bai Juyi, Tang, “Willows in Yongfeng Workshop Garden”
“One night the east wind passes with rain; the river fills with new water, fish and shrimp abound.” — Qi Wenyou, Qing, “Leaving the City”
“Wherever there are mountains, they become paintings; wherever there are trees, they reach the sky.” — Liu Juezhan, Qing, “Xiu Peak Temple”
“Lotuses on three sides, willows on three sides; hills in one city, half a city of lake.” — The Travels of Lao Can, couplet at Daming Lake, Tie Gong Shrine

Section Two: The Theoretical Foundations of Contrast

I. Aesthetic Foundations of Contrast

“From the perspective of aesthetic principles, when two things that are extremely similar are placed side by side, and the difference between them is minimal, they tend to form a harmonious structure; when two things that are extremely different are placed side by side, and the distance between them is great, they tend to form a contrastive structure.”7

“Contrast” is established upon the essential differences between two “objects,” or upon the differences between two aspects of the same thing. If the degree of difference is very small (i.e., if similarity is too high), then “contrast” cannot be formed. “The relationship of unity and opposition between things constitutes the objective condition for the use of contrast as a rhetorical technique. When the author, relying on this objective condition, through deep insight, discovers and recognizes points of contrast, he is then able, through the use of contrast, to reveal the essence of things and clearly express the writer’s intention and ideological tendency.”8

II. Associative Contrast

Contrast is a force in which opposites mutually generate and complete each other, a combination of action and reaction. Contrast is an important method of “association,” and association is a key means of arousing aesthetic experience and constructing aesthetic images. The German aesthetician Hegel called it “the most outstanding essence of art,” while Kant regarded it as “a cognitive faculty functioning as production.” “Imagination enables perception to acquire a relative freedom beyond real space and time. The essence of imagination is the reproduction, reorganization, and renewal of representations.”9

Association can be divided into simple association and complex association. Simple association links phenomena that share similar characteristics in nature or appearance (similarity), or things that are close in time and space (contiguity), or phenomena that are opposite (contrast). It includes: associative similarity, associative contiguity, associative contrast, causal association, and sensory association. Complex association includes semantic association, relational association, reproductive imagination, and creative imagination. It refers to imagining the meaning of something upon seeing it, or imagining its relationship with other things (such as logical relations), or reconstructing and renewing ideas based on the conception of something, or creatively imagining based on one’s own aesthetic experience.10

Simple association follows three laws: the law of contiguity, the law of similarity, and the law of contrast.

1. Law of Contiguity

This refers to associations arising from things that are close in time or space. “Because two things, A and B, are relatively close in time and space, people tend to associate them together in their experiential memory.”11 The rhetorical figure of “evocation” is based on associative contiguity grounded in the law of contiguity. For example, in Su Shi’s Song dynasty poem Niannujiao: Reminiscence of the Red Cliff and Xin Qiji’s Bodhisattva Man: Inscribed on the Wall of Zao Gate in Jiangxi: “Beneath Yugu Terrace, the clear river flows; within it, how many travelers’ tears! I look northwest toward Chang’an; pitifully, countless mountains! Green mountains cannot block it; after all, it flows eastward. At dusk the river grieves for me; deep in the mountains I hear the cuckoo.” These works, due to their profound content and spatial proximity, link present and past human affairs, breaking the boundaries of time and expressing the poets’ emotions with powerful resonance.

1. Law of Similarity

This refers to associations produced by comparing things that are similar in form or meaning. “Associations of similarity are triggered by certain similarities in nature or appearance between two things, A and B.”12 This arises from psychological processes of “generalization” and “abstraction” when perceiving objects. Generalization refers to responding in the same way to similar things that cannot be distinguished. Abstraction refers to responding to the common characteristics among different things. Many literary techniques such as analogy, metaphor, and symbolism are psychologically based on associative similarity.

1. Law of Contrast

This refers to associations generated by things with opposite properties or characteristics. Contrast is “an association based on the oppositional relationship between the properties or appearances of two things, A and B. The function of contrastive association is not primarily to intensify perception of the object itself, but to strengthen the understanding and perception of the oppositional relationship between two things.”13 For example: black and white, ice and fire.

III. The Semantic Structure of Contrast

The expressive nature of contrast is mostly descriptive (i.e., “contrastive narration”) and argumentative (i.e., “contrastive reasoning”). Descriptive contrast aims to highlight the characteristics of two opposing aspects of things, or to combine two distinct yet opposing (or contrasting) objects into a vivid image. The underlying meaning does not need to be explicitly stated; readers may infer it through contextual clues. Argumentative contrast often employs explanatory or discursive modes of expression, and its effects have been discussed earlier in this text.

I. Form and Content of Contrast

The semantic structure of contrast can be examined from both form and content.

1. In form: both sides of a contrast (i.e., the “contrastive entities”) generally share similar linguistic structures. Whether words, sentences, or paragraphs, all can form contrast. Contrast usually adopts either “parallel sentence structures” or “turning sentence structures.”14
2. In content: the two sides of a contrast typically exhibit a mutually contradictory relationship, or opposition, or reversal, resulting in a strong semantic phenomenon of “sharp contrast.”

II. Comparison of Contrast with Juxtaposition and Parallelism

The “relation of contrast” is the shared aesthetic foundation and expressive mode of both “contrast” and “juxtaposition.” The two are closely related. “Parallelism,” although derived from the relation of contrast, is formally more strictly regulated.

1. Contrast and Juxtaposition

(1) Contrast emphasizes the comparison between two related things, or two aspects of the same thing, highlighting differences such as disparity, opposition, or contrast in attributes. Juxtaposition, however, expresses the same-directional or unified relationship of one thing through the parallel narration of two related or opposing things.15

(2) In juxtaposition, the positive foil (or supporting element) has a primary–secondary relationship with the main subject, functioning as background to the subject. In contrast, the two contrasting entities are in an equal (equivalent) relationship.

1. Contrast and Parallelism

Both contrast and parallelism consist of two elements. Contrast may adopt the structural form of parallelism, and parallelism may also incorporate opposing or contrasting meanings (i.e., the “antithetical opposition” within parallelism), and thus the two sometimes overlap and merge. However, they differ in the following respects:

(1) Scholar Ma Ruichao from mainland China states: “Parallelism is primarily defined by structural form; its fundamental characteristic is symmetry. Contrast is defined by meaning; its fundamental characteristic is opposition.”16 Parallelism emphasizes formal features—paired structure, balance, and aesthetic neatness; contrast emphasizes semantic relationships—opposition and contradiction in content.

(2) Parallelism requires identical structure and equal number of words; contrast emphasizes opposite meanings but does not require identical structure or equal word count.17 In other words, in the “antithetical” type of parallelism, such as “The bright moon shines between the pines; clear spring flows over the stones” (Wang Wei, Tang dynasty, Autumn Evening in the Mountain Dwelling), the structure is parallelism in form, while the meaning is contrast. The two overlap and may be regarded as a “dual rhetorical category.” Other forms of parallelism, such as “balanced parallelism” and “serial parallelism,” are not necessarily contrastive. Likewise, most instances of contrast are not parallelism. For example, “The wine and meat of wealthy gates stink; along the road lie frozen bones” (Du Fu) is contrast, not parallelism, because the syntactic structure (parts of speech, grammar, and word order) of the two clauses is clearly different.

Section Four: Forms of Expression of Contrast

I. Classification of the rhetorical figure “contrast”

According to different criteria of classification, contrast has the following forms of expression:

1. Based on the nature of the contrasting entities, there are two types: “positive proportion (zhengbi)” and “negative proportion (fanbi).”
2. Based on the scope of belonging of the contrasting entities, there are “one entity (object) two-aspect contrast” and “two-entity (object) contrast.”
3. Based on the focal point of the contrast, it is divided into five categories: “character/person contrast,” “event contrast,” “landscape/object contrast,” “situation contrast,” and “quantitative contrast.”

II. Classification Based on the Nature of the Contrasting Entities

1. Positive Proportion (Zhengbi)

Also called “analogy,” it refers to “placing together things that are identical, similar, or similar in only one aspect for comparison.”18 “Between the contrasting entities there exists a relationship of correlation; two related things or two aspects of things mutually complement, set off, and highlight each other, thereby making their respective characteristics more distinct and prominent.”19

For example, in Bai Juyi’s Tang dynasty poem Imitating Tao Yuanming, Sixteen Poems, No. 4:

“The weaving woman in the eastern household gathers mulberry leaves; when rain comes, she grieves bitterly.
Silkworms are clustered before the northern hall, yet cold rain prevents them from forming silk.
The old man in the western household leans on his hoe; when rain comes, he also laments.
He plants beans south of Mount Nan, yet heavy rain causes them to rot into stalks.”

Through the two-entity positive contrast of “eastern household” and “western household,” continuous rainy weather brings great hardship to the people, making their lives even more difficult under the suffering of rain.

Zhou Mengdie, “Good Snow, Falling Nowhere Else”20

Born in cold, nurtured in cold, ruined in cold, and colder than cold—
How high the mountain, how small the moon becomes
How heavy the clouds, how deep the sorrow becomes
And the setting sun, the setting sun is only one inch!

This section, upon repeated examination, reveals itself to contain “great profundity.”

(1) “Born in cold, nurtured in cold, ruined in cold, and colder than cold”—in terms of formal structure, this is a single-sentence “phrase-based gradation.” According to scholars, the formal structure of gradation must outwardly consist of at least three clauses; in other words, it should be presented in at least three lines. Therefore, the author assigns it a separate designation: “single-sentence phrase gradation,” because its combinatory form allows segmentation without affecting meaning. In terms of semantic content, it is an ascending gradation, a step-by-step intensification.

(2) “How high the mountain, how small the moon becomes; how heavy the clouds, how deep the sorrow becomes”—these two parallel clauses, in terms of form, are “parallel couplets,” while in terms of meaning, they are “parallel intertextual structures.” Structurally, the upper and lower lines are parallel; the upper expresses what the lower omits and vice versa, mutually supplementing one another to form complete meaning (see the chapter on “intertextuality” in this book).

(3) Adding to (2) the fourth line, “And the setting sun, the setting sun is only one inch!”, the entire passage becomes, in both form and content, an “asymmetrical contrast of one entity with three aspects.”

1. Negative Proportion (Fanbi)

This refers to “placing two opposing things, or two opposing aspects of the same thing, into comparison. Such contrast highlights contradiction, produces distinct features, and creates strong visual disparity, making it one of the most commonly used forms of contrast.”21

For example, Du Fu’s line: “The wine and meat of wealthy houses stink, while on the road lie frozen bones,” and Gao Shi’s line: “Soldiers at the front lines die half alive, while beauties in the palace still sing and dance,” both employ the technique of “negative proportion” to present stark disparities in human conditions and social realities across different spaces at the same time.

In modern poetry, such techniques are also common:

Qiao Lin, “Wick”22

In the wilderness
a wooden house
in the world
one person
a long night
a short wick

“Long night” and “short wick” contrast in that the former refers to a unit of time, while the latter refers to a unit of length; in nature, they are not of the same category. However, in the poet’s cognition, as the wick burns shorter and shorter and the flame is about to extinguish, in relation to the long night, it is perceived psychologically as a contrast between “long duration and short duration.” The author holds that even if the nature of the contrasting entities differs (such as “long night” and “short wick”), as long as there exists at least one point of similarity (the wick burns down, the light is about to go out, brightness does not last long), the contrast can be established, because contrast itself contains subjective cognitive components.

Luo Qing, “Key Beach”23

Shells, shells
Shells are keys lost by the sea
Pick up any one at random
and it can open
the secrets hidden deep in the seabed
for ten thousand years

A small shell can open the secrets of the sea—this is a contrast of size between “small and large.” Although the shell’s lifespan is short, this “key” can unlock “secrets hidden deep in the seabed for ten thousand years,” which constitutes a temporal contrast between “short” and “long.” Through contrast, the disparities in scale and time between shell and ocean are made vividly explicit, capturing the reader’s attention and curiosity, thereby giving the passage strong poetic readability.

III. Classification Based on the Scope of the Contrasting Entities

1. One Entity (Object), Two Aspects Contrast

This refers to comparison made between two opposing or contrasting aspects within a single entity.

For example, Liu Yuxi’s Tang dynasty poem Wuyi Lane:
“The swallows from the old Wang and Xie mansions have flown into ordinary households.”
This poem adopts a one-entity-two-aspect perspective: through the contrast between past and present, swallows still build nests under eaves, but the once bustling prosperity has completely disappeared.

Luo Fu, “Year-End Without Snow”24

He looked around
the books were all asleep
only a sheet of white paper was still awake
awake yet blank

Why are all the books asleep while only the white paper remains awake? Both possess human-like “attributes”: when tired, they require sleep; when forced, they may remain awake. The poet further perceives the white paper as “awake yet blank,” which is clearly the result of anthropomorphic thinking and the aesthetic transference described as “I view things, and therefore all things take on my coloration.”25

Thus, within the poet’s subjective emotional cognition, books are asleep while a single sheet of paper is awake. Moreover, this corresponds to the poet’s own state: although awake, his mind is completely blank. The contrast between the sleeping majority (books surrounding him) and the waking minority (a single sheet of white paper) forms a quantitative disparity. The poet identifies this key point and employs it, and the contrast emerges naturally, as if saying: “All under heaven sleep, I alone remain awake; all beings are turbid, I alone remain clear.”

1. Two Entities (Objects) Contrast

This refers to placing two opposing or contrasting things together for comparison.

For example, Li Shen’s Tang poem Compassion for the Farmers (No. 1):

“In spring one grain is sown, in autumn ten thousand seeds are harvested.
Across the land there is no idle field, yet farmers still starve to death.”

The contrast between spring sowing and autumn harvest highlights the farmers’ hard labor; yet the poem suddenly turns: despite no abandoned fields and despite a situation of abundance, farmers still die of starvation. The implication is clear though not explicitly stated: external forces must have intervened in the rural self-sufficient production system, and exploitation and heavy taxation are evidently the main causes of such suffering.

Zhang Fangci, “Bitter Gourd”26

Only after walking through
do I realize that it is middle age
a face
wrinkled by time

sunken parts are old illnesses
protruding parts are new wounds

in casual conversation
someone says
it tastes best when cold mixed

As people reach middle age, muscles loosen and facial wrinkles emerge—this is a natural biological process and common knowledge. If poetry merely records this, it becomes a diary rather than poetry. The poet must take a different path. Through associative similarity, the poet connects the image of the “aged face” with “bitter gourd,” finding their shared feature: wrinkles. Both the aged face and bitter gourd are covered with such “things,” and are thus placed into contrast.

The poet touches the uneven wrinkles on his face: the sunken parts caused by “old illness” (perhaps acne scars from youth), and the protruding parts caused by “new wounds” (not likely mosquito bites still swollen). Meanwhile, someone nearby casually jokes: “no matter old scars or new wounds, since it is bitter gourd (not a bitter face), it is best served cold mixed.” This humorous remark injects theatrical climax into the poem.

Luo Fu, “Fan”27

You should understand this by now
even if you
are as cold and lonely as a fan surviving a great war
you are still better than I
who face a thousand pages of shocking history
blind like a sheet of white paper

On one side is a fan that has survived a “great war” (perhaps for swatting mosquitoes or cooling); on the other is the poet-scholar who has read “a thousand pages of shocking history,” yet the poet considers himself inferior to the fan. Although this statement contains exaggeration, it is precisely where the poetic interest lies. Through metaphor and associative similarity, a contrast between two entities emerges, somewhat exaggerated, with hyperbole enhancing its aesthetic effect.

Yu Guangzhong, “Crickets and Machine Guns”28

Perhaps singers are more listenable than shooters
A machine gun proves its existence through roaring
A cricket, merely through silence

This is a struggle between motion and stillness, passion and quietude, violence and peace. Through the juxtaposition of machine gun and cricket, contrast is created. The machine gun’s roaring violence is ultimately transient, while the poet believes the cricket’s sound prevails, because it brings no human destruction, but instead quietly affirms existence through gentle intermittent chirping within silence.

IV. Based on the Focus of Contrast Between Entities

1. Character / Person Contrast

Li Minyong, “Martial Law Landscape”29

The city
has formed a new boundary
on one side are unarmed civilians
on the other side are gas guns and tear gas
from Minsheng Road to Minquan Road to Minzu Road
stagnating in the damp night

What is presented in this passage is a contrast between “civilians and military-police,” that is, a confrontation between “unarmed people and gas guns and tear gas.” In the late martial law period (around after 1980), mass “street movements” gradually emerged. This poem records the historical era of resistance. In present times, Taiwan’s democratic politics has gradually matured; street movements (demonstrations or protest marches) have become commonplace. The ruling party no longer casually deploys the military to encircle and suppress protesting crowds, and the police no longer play the role of repression, but at most merely “maintain public order” or “prevent physical clashes between opposing groups.”

Yu Guangzhong, “Holding a Grandchild”30

You are too small, not yet a prophecy
I am too old, almost becoming an anecdote
How can the end of worldly experience connect
with the beginning of innocence? Just born full moon
unless I hold you closely
in the most primitive way, using body heat, using touch
using upstream blood calling to downstream blood

In this section, the poet generously uses three sets of contrasts in succession to emphasize the age gap between grandfather and newborn grandchild:
“You are too small, not yet a prophecy / I am too old, almost becoming an anecdote” is a parallel-form contrast, and also a parallel structure (antithesis/couplet);
“The end of worldly experience—how can it connect / with the beginning of innocence?” is a contrast in the form of question and answer, also a self-questioning rhetorical reversal;
“using upstream blood calling to downstream blood” is a bloodline-connected contrast, also a form of inherited continuity and juxtaposition.

1. Event Contrast

Fei Ma, “Inflation”31

A handful of banknotes
once could buy
a smile

a handful of banknotes
now can buy
more than
one smile

The same universal currency, due to continuous devaluation, loses purchasing power. The poet uses the phenomenon of inflation to express dissatisfaction with governmental authority. In the past, the same currency could buy a relatively satisfactory smile; now, the equivalent amount of currency can no longer buy a proper commodity, but only a faint remnant of value—something closer to a bitter, forced smile that makes people shake their heads. This poem reflects the severe inflation period around the early post–1949 era and the social suffering of the people.

1. Landscape / Object Contrast

Li Minyong, “Darkroom”32

This world
fears bright thought
all cries
are blocked at the exit
truth
exists in an opposite form
as soon as a trace of light seeps in
everything will be destroyed

Under the long-term authoritarian rule of the Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo administrations and the ruling Kuomintang, the people of Taiwan were constrained by the “White Terror.” For the authorities, “truth” was the product manufactured through dual channels of propaganda and education designed to “enlighten the ignorant masses.” For ordinary people, “truth” was something fabricated through strict surveillance, harsh suppression, and the concealment of facts alongside the manufacturing of illusions.

The cognitive gap between the two sides is as distant as the South and North Poles. In such a spatiotemporal context, the poet states:
“truth / exists in an opposite form / as soon as a trace of light seeps in / everything will be destroyed,”
reflecting the paranoid mentality of those in power.

Through the motif of a “darkroom,” this poem uses contrasts between “light and darkness” and “truth and false truth” to express, in an indirect and symbolic manner, the suppressed resentment and latent resistance of the Taiwanese people, cloaked in the external form of a “poem on objects.”

1. Situation Contrast

Bai Ling, “A Small Collection of Tea Drinking (Seven Pieces): No. 4”33

The leaf sinks to the bottom of the cup
water says:
you are too complex

the leaf rises again to the surface and says
you are physics
how could you understand my chemistry

Through dialogue between water and tea leaf, the poem contrasts how their opposing viewpoints arise from different conditions and directions of thinking. From the perspective of water, the unfolding of tea leaves is a physical phenomenon of thermal expansion and contraction. From the perspective of the tea leaf, however, the release of fragrance and sweetness is a chemical reaction.

Jiao Tong, “Clown”34

There are always some errors
lurking between us,
some rough patches on the road peeking out, and always
some ordinary thoughts stumbling—
tripping this scene of joking and banter.

In the applause I hear deafening loneliness.
The spotlight examines my fallen thoughts,
mocking cymbals are cheering,
joking with a life gone off-key,
in this scene of clowning,
the noisy ridicule makes me feel extremely lonely

“The applause contains a deafening loneliness I hear” and “the noisy ridicule makes me feel extremely lonely” are two contrasting lines placed at the end of two sections, serving as structural closure. Through contrasts such as “liveliness vs loneliness” and “noise vs solitude,” the poem presents the contradiction and conflict between external reality and the clown’s inner emotional experience. Such contrasts often highlight the sharp gap between inner subjectivity and external environment, producing a strong dramatic tension.

1. Quantitative Contrast

Xi Murong, “The End of Poetry”35

I therefore gradually become timid
hesitating over every word and sentence
when what must be deleted finally
exceeds the part that is to be expressed
I stop writing poetry

For a poet engaged in literary labor, facing the psychological dilemma described as “when what must be deleted finally / exceeds the part that is to be expressed” often leads to a writing bottleneck. Many poets may arrive at the same decision as Xi Murong.

As expectations for one’s poetic quality increase, the pressure correspondingly intensifies. When the poet becomes increasingly dissatisfied with their work, and after repeated cutting and trimming only very little remains, the poet helplessly concludes: “I stop writing poetry.”

This poem adopts a subjective (psychological) form of contrast, quantifying “the part to be deleted” and “the part to be expressed,” making its method of composition highly distinctive.

Notes:

<1> Cheng Wei-jun et al. (eds.), Comprehensive Reference of Rhetoric, Taipei: Jianhong, 1998, p. 1147.
<2> Cheng Wei-jun et al. (eds.), Comprehensive Reference of Rhetoric, Taipei: Jianhong, 1998, p. 529.
<3> Same as Note 1.
<4> Aristotle, Rhetoric, “Book III, Chapter 10,” p. 244. Translated by Cui Yanqiang and Yan Yi, first edition, Taipei: Huiming Culture Publishing House, December 2001. The original translation reads as follows: “If writing can present things before people’s eyes, it will also be welcomed, because what people ought to see is what is happening, not what will happen. Therefore, three points should be emphasized: metaphor, opposition, and actuality.”
<5> Same as Note 4, Chapter 11, p. 246.
<6> Same as Note 4, Chapter 9, p. 240.
(7) Yang Chunlin and Liu Fan (eds.), Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing House, 1991, p. 481.
(8) Cheng Wei-jun et al. (eds.), Comprehensive Reference of Rhetoric, Beijing: China Youth Press, 1991, p. 1147.
(9) Cited from Liu Shucheng, Xia Zhifang, and Lou Xiyong (co-authors), Fundamentals of Aesthetics, Shanghai: People’s Publishing House, 1987, p. 336.
(10) See Note 9: “Imagination is a psychological category with broad content. Its primary form is simple association. Simple association can further be divided into various forms such as proximity association, similarity association, and contrast association. The higher forms of imagination are reproductive imagination and creative imagination.” “Meaning association” and “relation association” are additions made by the author based on references to modern aesthetic works.
(11) Same as Note (9), pp. 337–338.
(12) Same as Note (9), p. 338.
(13) Same as Note (9), p. 263.
(13) Yang Chunlin and Liu Fan (eds.), Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing House, 1991, p. 481.
(13) Cheng Wei-jun et al. (eds.), Comprehensive Reference of Rhetoric, Beijing: China Youth Press, 1991, p. 552.
(16) Ma Ruichao (author), Wu Zhankun (ed.), General Theory of Common Rhetorical Devices, Shijiazhuang: Hebei Education Press, 1990, p. 184.
(17) Same as Note 16, p. 184.
(18) Lu Jiaxiang and Chi Taining (eds.), Dictionary of Rhetorical Methods with Examples, Hangzhou: Zhejiang Education Press, 1991, p. 61.
(19) Yang Chunlin and Liu Fan (eds.), Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing House, 1991, p. 481.
(20) Reprinted from Zhang Cuo (ed.), Island of a Thousand Songs, Taipei: Er-ya, 1987, pp. 131–133.
(21) Yang Chunlin and Liu Fan (eds.), Dictionary of Chinese Rhetorical Art, Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing House, 1991, p. 481.
(22) Reprinted from Bai Ling and Xiang Ming (eds.), Selected Short Poems, Taipei: Er-ya, 1997, p. 34.
(23) Reprinted from Luo Qing, Video Poetics, Taipei: Bookman, 1988, pp. 161–162.
(24) Reprinted from Luo Fu, Wounds of Time, Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1981, pp. 101–104.
(25) Wang Guowei, Remarks on Ci Poetry in the Human World, Taipei: Tianlong, 1981, p. 2.
(26) Reprinted from Bai Ling and Xiang Ming (eds.), Selected Short Poems, Taipei: Er-ya, 1997, pp. 38–39.
(27) Reprinted from Luo Fu, Diagram of Dreams, Taipei: Bookman, 1999, pp. 99–100.
(28) Reprinted from Zhang Cuo (ed.), Island of a Thousand Songs, Taipei: Er-ya, 1987, p. 33.
(29) Reprinted from Li Minyong, Landscape of Martial Law, Taipei: Poetry Journal Press, 1990, pp. 30–31.
(30) Reprinted from Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong (Volume II): 1982–1998, Taipei: Hongfan, 1981, pp. 216–218.
(31) Reprinted from Zheng Jiongming (ed.), Mixed Chorus, Kaohsiung: Chunhui, 1992, p. 309.
(32) Reprinted from Li Minyong, Landscape of Martial Law, Taipei: Poetry Journal Press, 1990, pp. 27–28.
(33) Reprinted from Xiao Xiao (ed.), Taiwan Poetry Selection 2005, Taipei: Er-fish Culture, 2006, pp. 76–79.
(34) Reprinted from Jiao Tong, Sleepless Song, Taipei: Er-ya, 1993, pp. 58–59.
(35) Reprinted from Xi Murong, Edge Light and Shadows, Taipei: Yuan-shen, 2006, pp. 48–49.