Essential Critiques of Love Poetry

Author: Liu Guohua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Love is an ancient yet ever-young topic, a song that never fades. Discussing love in the era of the great convergence of Eastern and Western cultures brings a unique perspective. Heaven (Qian) represents the masculine, while Earth (Kun) represents the feminine. The way of Heaven creates males, and the way of Earth creates females. All things in the universe are born with yin and yang, male and female, which is the structure of cosmic harmony. Longing for what is unattainable, one lies awake in thought. Restless and pacing, the poetry of the longing scholar and his distant wife fades away, guided by reflection. For instance, Wang Changling's "Regret for a Wife at the Tower": A young wife in seclusion knows not sorrow, Dressed in fine attire for the spring day, She ascends a jade tower. Suddenly, she sees the willow by the road, And regrets teaching her husband to seek nobility. In books, there are golden houses, In books, there are jade-faced beauties.