---- An Analysis of the Metaphorical and Symbolic Meaning of the Water Imagery in Tang Poetry
Deep Longing
Poets used the deepness and endlessness of water as a metaphor for their feelings, expressing their longing for their friends and hometowns.
Pre-modern Chinese painting of the Stream
‘Reflections in a Clear Stream’ - Cheng Zhengkui (1604 - 1676)
For instance, in Li Bai’s “To Wang Lun,” the last two sentences “A thousand feet deep is the Peach Bloom Pond, But not deeper than my friend's love so fond” uses the deepness of the water in Peach Bloom Pond as a metaphor for the friendship between Wang Lun and Li Bai. Though the Peach Blossom Pond was a thousand deep, it was shallower than the friendship Wang Lun had for him. Through this metaphor, we could see the deep affection between Wang Lun and Li Bai.
Moreover, in Li Bai's "Sending Wei Wan from Wangwu Mountain back to the mountain house," the phrase "if the Yellow River continues to flow, the whitehead will always think of each other" uses the continuous flow of the Yellow River as a metaphor for the endless love for each other. The endlessness of the Yellow River fully reflects the author's deep affection for his friend Wei Wan and expresses his love for him.
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Furthermore, in Li Bai's "Jiang Xia Xing", the meaning of these two lines "last year down Yangzhou, send yellow crane tower. I saw the sails go far away, and my heart flowed with the Yangtze River" is that when he went down to Yangzhou last year, I was in front of the Yellow Crane Tower to see him off, but seeing that the sails had gone far away, my heart went with him along with the river, which shows that The heroine hopes to break the barrier of space and follow her husband like flowing water. The circulation of water comes from its constant flow, and this unceasing flow is often used as a metaphor for the persistent pursuit of certain ideas or emotions.
Dong Qichang's painting of "Landscapes in the Manner of Old Masters" (Wang Wei). Album leaf. Nelson-Atkins Museum