Chapter One: Methods of Expression in New Poetry
Section One: The Adjustment of Imagery and Methods of Expression

1. Imagery: Image-Based Thinking
“Imagery” (image) is the principal constitutive element in new poetry, and it is also the object upon which “musicality” is attached. Imagery is also referred to as “image-based thinking,” which is a mode of thinking employed in the process of literary and artistic creation. When literary artists conceive and create their works, their minds never depart from perceptual, individual, and concrete images. These images continuously move within their minds; through artistic creation, they are then nurtured into vivid and complete artistic images. It is precisely through these products of image-based thinking that they reflect the objective world and help people understand the essence of things. The most essential characteristic of image-based thinking is that throughout the entire process of thought, it never departs from concrete and perceptual images.

In the field of psychology, the term “imagery” is interpreted as “mental representation” or “image,” referring to past sensations or experiences of a certain object—that is, the reappearance of memory—and even including one’s own perceptions and value judgments.

In the field of aesthetics, “imagery” is approached from an aesthetic perspective. The so-called “aesthetic imagery” refers to the process in which the aesthetic subject (the human being), upon encountering an aesthetic object (a person or a thing), obtains an initial perceptual impression through perception and understanding. Based on one’s own aesthetic experience, these perceptual images are then subjected to various forms of “association,” “reproductive imagination,” and “creative imagination,” whereby the perceptual images are transformed and recombined to form aesthetic imagery¹. In other words, the aesthetic subject perceives external objects through subjective emotions and intentions, forming several “imagined images” in the mind, and then, with the aid of material means of artistic expression, externalizes them into concrete and perceptible images within an artwork. This image is also the combination of subjective emotion and external object, that is, the materialized manifestation of the “aesthetic imagery” in the author’s mind².

2. Imagery in Poetry
“Imagery” (image) in poetic and literary works signifies the use of concrete forms or scenes to express people’s intellectual and emotional experiences. These “concrete forms or scenes” are precisely what constitute imagery (image). Imagery in poetry can be used to express objects, actions, emotions, thoughts, and psychological states.

(1) Theoretical Foundations of Imagery in China
Among the Han people of the East, the earliest figure to introduce “imagery” into the field of literary studies for discussion was Liu Xie. In The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons: Spiritual Thought, he states: “The solitary craftsman, contemplating imagery, wields his axe”³. Using a metaphor of craftsmanship, he explains that creators rely on imagined images to carry out creation, and further points out that the use of imagery is “the foremost technique in controlling writing.”

1. The Theory of Imagery as Fusion of Emotion and Scene
Among the various theories of “imagery,” the “theory of imagery as the fusion of emotion and scene” (or “the theory of the interpenetration of emotion and scene”) most fully explains its connotation. “Emotion” and “reason,” as well as “scene” and “object,” are the four elements that poetry seeks to express. “Emotion and reason” are subjective psychological activities, while “scene and object” belong to the objective physical world. The two are mutually internal and external aspects of each other, complementing one another. A proponent of this theory is the Ming dynasty thinker Wang Fuzhi. In his Jiangzhai Poetry Talks, he states: “Scenes unite with emotion, and emotion arises from scenes; they are never separated, but follow the intention,” and “Emotion arises within scenes, and scenes are contained within emotion; thus it is said that scenes are scenes of emotion, and emotion is the emotion of scenes.” He further remarks: “Emotion and scene are named as two, yet in reality cannot be separated; the spirit in poetry lies in their boundless and marvelous fusion.”⁴ These statements indicate the mutually generative and interdependent relationship between emotion and scene. Whether “emotion arises from encountering a scene” or “emotion is embedded within a scene,” the poet must harmonize the two. In handling imagery, one must accurately grasp the principle that “emotion is abstract while scene is concrete, and the abstract and the concrete mutually obscure each other,” allowing subject and object, emotion and scene, to merge, thereby achieving a realm in which meaning exists beyond the image.

A similar line of thought can be found in Zhu Tingzhen’s Xiaoyuan Poetry Talks: “In describing scenes, sometimes emotion is within the scene, sometimes outside it; in expressing emotion, sometimes there is scene within emotion, sometimes scene arises from emotion. There has never been a scene without emotion nor emotion without scene. Sometimes one need not speak of emotion, yet emotion becomes deeper; one need not depict scene, yet the scene fully appears. They generate and merge with each other, forming a unified whole. Emotion is scene, and scene is emotion, like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water—empty yet luminous, lively and exquisite,” and “When emotion and scene are fused, there is emotion within scene and scene within emotion; they form an inseparable whole.”⁵

The modern poet Bai Ling (Zhuang Zuhuang) similarly states in his “theory of imagery as emotion and scene”: “Meaning is emotion, image is scene—either emotion is embedded in scene, or emotion arises from scene, or they are fused.”⁶ This view is consistent with Wang Fuzhi’s position.

2. The Theory of Artistic Realm
The contemporary aesthetician Zhu Guangqian extends the relationship between “emotion” and “scene” into the “theory of artistic realm”: “What earlier writers called ‘emotion arising from scene’ and ‘scene arising from emotion’—when emotion and scene generate each other and fit seamlessly, when emotion perfectly corresponds to scene and scene fully conveys emotion—this is the poetic realm. Every poem’s realm must contain two elements: ‘feeling’ and ‘imagery.’ ‘Feeling’ is abbreviated as ‘emotion,’ and ‘imagery’ corresponds to scene.” Zhu further states, “Poetry takes feeling as primary; feeling is manifested in sound and embodied in imagery.”⁷ The present author refers to this as the “theory of imagery and feeling.”

3. The Theory of Re-presentation of Impressions
How do modern poets view imagery? Zhan Zihao, in On Modern Poetry, states: “Imagery is the re-presentation of impressions after being tempered by the poet’s perception of things. This re-presented impression, after being filtered through the poet’s thought and emotion, becomes a creation; it is no longer the initial impression absorbed by the poet, but becomes perceptible imagination. Thus the imagined poetic realm is not the actual reality, yet it possesses artistic truth.”⁸ This indicates that imagery is a “creative” form of “re-presentation of impressions,” in which the reproduced imagery becomes perceptible imagination. The present author terms this the “theory of re-presentation of impressions.”

4. The Theory of Imagery Restoration
The poet Yu Guangzhong, in his essay “On Imagery,” states: “Imagery is one of the fundamental conditions that constitute the art of poetry. It is difficult for us to imagine a poem without imagery, just as it is difficult to imagine a poem without rhythm. So-called imagery is the external form of the poet’s internal meaning; the reader, based on this external form, attempts to restore the poet’s original internal meaning.”⁹ This points out that imagery serves as a shared bridge between the poet’s creation and the reader’s reading. From the reader’s perspective, by interpreting the imagery within the poet’s lines, one can “trace back” to the author’s original meaning. The present author calls this the “theory of imagery restoration.”

5. The Theory of Imagery Combination
The poet Chen Yizhi states: “Imagery is formed by the combination of the subjective meaning within the mind and the objective external image. The subjective intention is internal, hidden, and elusive; the objective phenomenon can be seen, heard, and touched.”¹⁰ Here, meaning is internal and subjective, and must combine with external objective phenomena. The present author calls this the “theory of imagery combination.”

6. The Theory of Image-Based Thinking
The poet Jian Zhengzhen states: “Images are transformed into imagery through consciousness. Poetry is the projection of the poet’s consciousness onto the objective world. Imagery is the poet’s interpretation of the object through language; it is the poet’s thinking. … Imagery thinking is an essential element of the existence of poetry. Therefore, serious poets not only require imagery to organically unify the whole poem, but also strive for each line to express poetic interest through imagery thinking.”¹¹ He believes that “imagery” is the poet’s expression of internal “emotion and reason” through external concrete scenes—in other words, the concretization of abstract thinking. In the process of such concretization, the poet must harmonize abstract “emotional thinking” with concrete “imagistic imagery.” The present author calls this the “theory of image-based thinking.”

(2) Western Theories of Imagery

1. The Theory of Imagery and Feeling
The aesthetician Benedetto Croce (1866–1952) held that: “Poetry is the expression of imagery, whereas prose is the expression of judgment and concepts.” He further stated, “Art entrusts a kind of feeling to an image; feeling without image, or image without feeling, cannot exist independently.”¹² This view points out the difference between poetry and prose in their modes of expression: poetry takes imagery as the principal component and expressive means (both method and state) of language, whereas prose takes narration and reasoning as its primary content of expression. Moreover, this theory emphasizes the relationship of entrustment between imagery and feeling. This entrustment is a kind of “attachment” relationship, which differs from the “composite” fusion relationship described in the following theory.

2. The Theory of the Complex
The Imagist poet Ezra Pound (1885–1973) stated: “An image is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time. … It is the presentation of such a ‘complex’ instantaneously which gives that sense of sudden liberation; that sense of freedom from time limits and space limits; that sense of sudden growth, which we experience in the presence of the greatest works of art.” This “composite” fusion relationship emphasizes the moment in which the author produces imagery, akin to what is called “inspiration,” and, after the triggering of this inspiration, the free association that transcends time and space.

3. The Theory of the Objective Correlative
The British poet T. S. Eliot (Thomas Stearns Eliot, 1888–1965), in his essay “Hamlet and His Problems,” stated: “The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an ‘objective correlative’; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked.”¹³ Artists express emotion through “concrete correlatives.” In the plastic arts, which are based primarily on concrete images, this theory is reasonable. However, in the art of poetry, when poets search for “concrete correlatives” to express emotion, the process has already undergone subjective filtering and selection through aesthetic experience. The present author considers that the term “subjective concrete correlative” would be more appropriate.

4. The Theory of Emotional Expression
The American poet C. Day-Lewis, regarding the role that imagery assumes in the actual creation of modern poetry, offered the following statement: “An image is a picture made out of words, presented by the poet’s imagination in such a way as to appeal to the reader’s imagination. Imagery is not used merely to describe or reflect the objects that the poet has attentively captured. When the poet sees things, he records the objects as colored by his emotions, and as colored by the overall atmosphere of the poem—this is the task of imagery.”¹⁴ The poet Chen Qianwu further elaborated: “For the poet, an image must express the emotion required by the poem being written, fulfill the task of emphasizing the theme, and at the same time connect with other images within the poem. Only in this way can imagery evoke a certain poetic resonance from within us.”¹⁵ Imagery (image) is thus a picture in language drawn by the poet’s imagination, and this “picture in language” appears in the reader’s mind as something concrete and imbued with emotional coloring.

(3) Imagery in Semiotics
In the West, within modern linguistics (semiotics), imagery is expressed through “language codes.” The code itself contains the signifier (significant) and the signified meaning (signifier). Roland Barthes (1915–1980) defined the first-order composite signifier as “form,” and the second-order signified as “concept.” The totality formed by the combination of “form” and “concept” is termed by Barthes as “signification,”¹⁶ and what is expressed thereby is “myth.”

If we broaden the framework of “imagery” and observe it from the commanding heights of “culture” and “literature,” “physical image” and “connotation” are two important components of imagery. Among these, the “physical image” belongs to sensory experience; it may be a concrete object perceived through one or multiple senses, serving as the carrier of informational meaning and constituting the objective component in cultural imagery. “Connotation,” on the other hand, is usually an abstract idea or emotion; it is the extension of the physical image within a specific literary context and even within the entire cultural environment, constituting the subjective expressive component of cultural imagery. The function of imagery, therefore, lies in expressing the abstract through the concrete, and in using the known or the easily known to illuminate the unknown or the difficult to know, across different contexts.

3. Imagery and Methods of Expression
When imagery expresses or re-presents emotions, thoughts, or aesthetic interest, what methods can be followed? This must be explored by taking into account both “form” and “content,” internally and externally. New poetry is performed through imagery; the mode of performance proceeds from the outside inward. It generally adopts certain formal designs as patterns, using certain regularized external forms to create the “atmosphere” intended to convey the emotions or aesthetic interest expressed by the imagery. The present author provisionally refers to this as “formal methods” (that is, “formal design”); whereas how emotions or aesthetic interest themselves are expressed falls under what “methods of expression” emphasize.

From the perspective of how language is recorded, the nature of Chinese characters tends toward recording language through ideographic methods, whereas alphabetic writing systems tend toward phonetic methods. Among the “Six Principles of Chinese Characters,” pictographs, ideographs, and compound ideographs record language through ideographic methods; phonetic loan characters record language through phonetic methods; and phono-semantic compound characters record language through a combination of ideographic and phonetic methods¹⁷.

“Rhetoric” is the study of how to adjust methods of linguistic expression, to design aesthetically pleasing forms of language, and to enable sentences to express the author’s imagery precisely and vividly, thereby evoking resonance in the reader. As methods of expression, devices such as metaphor, irony, and exaggeration tend toward a “descriptive” (narrative) function, whereas devices such as repetition, gradation, and parallelism—belonging to “formal design”—tend toward an “expressive” function. The two are evidently different in their functions.

Section Two: Transformation of Imagery

1. Types of Expression in Imagery Transformation
“Imagery transformation” refers to the process, within the sequence of preceding and following contexts, in which imagery A is transformed into imagery B. The two images, A and B, differ in nature, yet may share certain similar characteristics.

In poetic forms such as verse, “imagery transformation” can be divided into the following types:

(1) Conversion of Parts of Speech in Imagery (conversion)
“Conversion of parts of speech” originally refers to the phenomenon in translation between foreign languages and the native language, where parts of speech cannot completely maintain formal equivalence. At necessary and appropriate times, flexible adjustments must be made to enhance the readability of the translated text.

Applied to the creation of new poetry, “conversion of parts of speech” refers to altering the original grammatical category of certain words or phrases so that their meanings become more novel and enriched, and their expression more flexible and vivid. For example, conversions between nouns and adjectives, verbs and nouns, adjectives and adverbs, verbs and adjectives, and so on.

In rhetorical figures, “conversion” (zhuanpin) refers to the transformation of one grammatical category into another. “Category” here refers to the classification of words (parts of speech) in grammar; transferring one category into another is called conversion.

(2) Transformation of Narrative Persona
From the perspective of narratology, the narrative activity of poetry usually includes the narrative subject, the narrative object, and the narrative content.¹⁸ The so-called transformation of narrative persona refers to the narrative subject (the agent who carries out the narrative activity in the work) or the narrative object (the entity toward which the narrative activity is directed), which, due to the function of “transformation: personification or reification,” presents a narrative perspective that is either “humanized” or “objectified.”

(3) Transformation of Emotional Imagery into Concrete Imagery
Imagery of “emotion and meaning,” which the scholar Chen Zhengzhi terms “virtual imagery,”¹⁹ refers to abstract concepts, emotions, and the like, which must be transformed into concrete scenes through figurative expressive methods such as metaphor and symbolism by means of imagined concrete images. For example, in Li Houzhu’s line: “How much sorrow can one have? It is just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.” Sorrow is abstract and invisible; to express sorrow, one must rely on concrete and visible scenery. In these two lines, the poet uses metaphor to indirectly express that his sorrow is like the spring river flowing eastward. In this way, it becomes much more concrete and vivid. “Symbolism,” due to its suggestive nature, will be discussed together with similar rhetorical devices.

(4) Transformation among Sensory Images
“Sensory imagery,” termed by Chen Zhengzhi as “descriptive imagery,”²⁰ refers to the depiction of concrete scenes and objects that can be perceived through the external senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch), endowed with form, sound, scent, flavor, and tactile qualities. It primarily involves the rhetorical device of “depiction,” as well as, within the phenomenon of “sensory crossover,” the substitution of one sense for another to describe concrete scenes through “displacement and transformation.” Sensory crossover mainly refers to rhetorical devices such as “transferred sensation” and “synesthesia.”

(5) Transformation of Spatiotemporal Imagery
Time and space in poetry are often not fixed. Through the interreflection of spatiotemporal imagery, the narrator expresses human emotions and the principles of things. The primary method for this is the rhetorical device of “presentation.”

The transformation of spatiotemporal imagery involves the following aspects:
(A) The shifting of the narrative time point: simultaneous imagination of different places, recollection and retrospection of the past, or projection and speculation about the future.
(B) The deformation of narrative time and space: through the shifting of distant and close perspectives, spatiotemporal imagery undergoes various transformations such as extension, expansion, shortening, compression, condensation, reconstruction, redirection, fusion, displacement, and interweaving.²¹

2. The Psychological Foundation of Imagery Transformation: Associative Activity

(1) Imagination: The Poet’s Ability
Whether in the stage of creation or in the stage of reading and appreciation by the reader, “associative activity” (the activities of associative thinking) occupies a prominent and primary position. Through the creative activity of imagination, the artist transforms absolute rationality into concrete images within the mind, forming works that most fully express the self. This kind of “activity” is called “genius” or “talent,” and it is the artist’s most outstanding artistic ability.²²

Statements such as Lu Ji’s in Wen Fu: “The refined spirit gallops to the eight extremes, the mind wanders to ten thousand heights,” and Liu Xie’s in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons: Spiritual Thought: “The thought of writing—its spirit travels far. Thus in stillness one concentrates thought, connecting with a thousand ages; in silent movement one is stirred, and vision reaches ten thousand miles,” and “When thought and principle are subtle, the spirit roams with things,” are all vivid and profound descriptions of the psychological activity of imagination. This demonstrates that ancient China placed great importance on such psychological activities of imagination.

Poets often employ “imagery transformation” based on the function of “association.” In the process of poetic creation, “association” (associative thinking) is a major psychological activity. “Association” (that is, associative thinking) refers to a mode of thinking triggered by accidental ideas, without practical purpose or problems to be solved. It is boundless and directionless, moving from one idea (a perceptual mental image) to another (a memory image), expanding in a horizontally leaping manner—what is called “lateral thinking.”

(2) Thinking: The Trigger of Imagination
“Thinking” is the entire process of psychological activity, in which individuals use memory and experience to handle the relationships among various symbols and mental images. In psychology, “imagination” is a type of thinking, belonging in nature to associative thinking and open-ended thinking.

In terms of the artist’s creative activity, “imagination” (including association and conception) is undoubtedly a series of psychological processes. “Association” (associative thinking) refers to thinking triggered by accidental ideas, without practical purpose or problems to be solved, expanding from perceptual mental images to memory images. “Conception” (reproductive and creative imagination) is a more complex psychological activity than association; it recombines various perceptual and memory images into a completely new mental image—namely, aesthetic imagery—and stimulates a deeper level of emotional response.

Critical thinking and inferential thinking, on the other hand, belong to the modes of thinking of critics. Critical thinking is applied when critics evaluate works of art, as they must establish standards or norms (methodology) upon which to base value judgments (assessments of quality). Inferential thinking is also frequently used by critics when interpreting artworks; based on existing knowledge and experience, they construct hypotheses and arguments, and through induction or deduction, arrive at conclusions.

As for readers or audiences, although they are to some extent “critics in a broad sense,” when encountering works of art, they tend to place greater emphasis on intuitive perception and aesthetic appreciation.

3. Three Psychological Processes of Association

In the field of psychology, “imagination” (mental imagery) refers to “a phenomenon in which experienced objects are reproduced in the mind not through the senses but through memory.” This reappearance of things generally involves three psychological processes²²:

[1] Sensory Imagery (sense organs imagine):
Objects that presently exist form various images in the mind through the pathways of different sensory organs (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). Based on the images constituted by the senses, the resulting perceptual experience enables the individual to know what the object is and what characteristics it possesses.

[2] Memory Imagery (memory imagine):
In the absence of a concrete object before one’s eyes, the images of previously experienced things emerge in consciousness solely through memory. For example, in Shen Sanbai’s Records of Childhood Amusements, there are recollections of observing insects and small creatures during childhood.

[3] Creative Imagery (created imagine):
Even things that do not exist in one’s experience may give rise to new imaginative constructs in the process of thinking. Expressions such as “letting the imagination run wild” or “displaying originality” refer precisely to this kind of “creative imagery.”

Within the psychological process of “imagination,” “creative imagery” is particularly useful to artists, as it enables continuous innovation; only in this way can artistic life be sustained.

4. Two Types of Imagination

(1) “Imagination”: An Important “Psychological Element” in the Formation of Aesthetic Experience
In aesthetics, “imagination” is an important “psychological element” in the formation of aesthetic experience²³. In terms of the artist’s creative activity, the essence of imagination is grounded in past representational memory (images) and aesthetic experience (thought), and is a psychological process generated through the reappearance, recombination, and transformation of images. Throughout the entire process of imagination, sensory perception (sense) and intellectual comprehension (comprehend) are interconnected (associate). In other words, it is the integration of the images perceived through the senses (the form of the artwork) and the understanding and emotions produced by mental activity (the content of the artwork) into a unified whole.

Recalling one thing from another currently perceived object, or the evocation of one thing leading to another, are all forms of association. Objective things are interconnected, and in reflection they are also interconnected; within the brain’s “sensory association area,” “temporary connections” are formed. Association is the reactivation of these temporary connections, reflecting the interrelations among things.

Every object is connected with many other objects; therefore, the associations it may evoke are multifaceted. What association is first triggered by the perception or recollection of an object is determined by two factors: one is the strength of the connection; the other is the individual’s orientation, interests, and so forth. The strength of connection is determined by:
(1) The intensity of the stimulus. For example, when mentioning a festive night, one may think of fireworks, because that beautiful scene is a strong stimulus.
(2) The frequency of connection. When connections between things are repeatedly experienced, they easily evoke one another. For instance, mechanization and irrigation are often mentioned together in agricultural development; thus, mentioning mechanization may lead one to think of irrigation.
(3) The time of formation of the connection. Recently formed connections often have an advantage. The perception or recollection of something may easily evoke associations with things recently connected to it. For example, mentioning a novel may bring to mind a recently read one. However, the earliest formed connections may also sometimes dominate.

(2) Two Forms of Knowledge: Reproductive Imagination and Creative Imagination
The Italian aesthetician Benedetto Croce (1866–1952) stated: “Knowledge has two forms: it is either intuitive (intuitive)²⁴ or logical (logical); it is derived either from imagination (imagination) or from intellect (intellection)…; in short, what knowledge produces is either images (mental images) or concepts.”²⁵ Croce thus identifies two forms of knowledge, which simultaneously imply two different sources (imagination and intellect), natures (intuitive and logical), and products (imagery and concepts).

In discussing “intuition and association,” Croce further proposed that “intuition is not so much simple sensation as it is the association of sensations.” He divided association into two types: one is memory-based association, involving “memory linkage and conscious recollection”; the other is formative, constructive, and discriminative association, possessing a creative nature—namely, “creative association.”

In psychology, the primary form of association is “simple association,” which includes “association by contiguity,” “association by similarity,” “association by contrast,” “association by (causal) relation,” and “sensory association.” A more advanced form is “complex association” (conception), which includes “reproductive imagination” and “creative imagination.”²⁶

1. Association: Simple Association
Simple association, as a broad form of imagination, is guided by the object of present perception. It is based on the representations formed during direct perception and cannot be separated from the specific life experiences of the time and place. Its primary characteristic is the universality of experience. In other words, simple association is a psychological process that, based on existing aesthetic experience, uses “generalization” to evoke and integrate new experience through old experience, and it does not transcend the limitations of prior experience.

(1) Association by Similarity (Association by Similarity)
Definition: Based on certain similarities in nature or appearance between two things (A and B), the creator or speaker grasps the point of resemblance between them, using A as an analogy for B, referring to one while implying the other, and extending from one instance to many. “Association by similarity is formed according to the law of similarity, that is, based on similarities or proximities in nature, state, or content between things.”²⁷

Explanation: The perception or recollection of one thing gives rise to the thought of another thing that is similar or close to it in nature; this is called similarity association. For example, seeing chrysanthemums may evoke Tao Yuanming, who resigned from office and returned to live in seclusion in the southern mountains; seeing plum blossoms may evoke Lin Bu’s “hidden fragrance and sparse shadows.” Similarity association reflects the resemblance and commonality among things.

Most metaphors rely on similarity association. For example, using “autumn wind and autumn rain” to symbolize revolutionary conditions, or “the pine and cypress wither last in the cold season” to describe steadfast will and noble integrity.

The use of rhyme in poetry, where one word evokes another with the same sound or rhyme, is also a form of similarity association. Similarity association is a manifestation of the generalization or abstraction of temporary connections. “Generalization” refers to giving the same response to similar things before they are clearly distinguished, while “abstraction” refers to responding to the common properties of different things.

The rhetorical device of “metaphor” is psychologically based on “association by similarity.” Metaphor applies the similarity between two things—old and new—on the psychological basis of “generalization,” using prior experience to evoke new experience in the reader or listener, “explaining the difficult through the easy, and the abstract through the concrete.”²⁸ “Symbolism,” on the other hand, uses concrete imagery to express abstract ideas and emotions; the relationship between the concrete image and the abstract idea or emotion may arise from rational association, social convention²⁹, or even creative originality.

(2) Association by Contiguity (Association by Contiguity)
Definition: Things that are close to each other in space or time tend to form connections in experience, and thus one thing easily evokes another. “Association by contiguity is formed according to the law of contiguity, that is, based on spatial or temporal proximity between things.”³⁰

Explanation: Because two things (A and B) are close in time or space, the creator frequently connects them in experience, forming stable conditioned responses. Thus, sensing A leads to thinking of B and evokes corresponding emotional reactions. For example, mentioning a mountain railway may evoke Alishan; mentioning Qijiawan Stream may evoke the cherry salmon, because they are close in space. Mentioning Huangmei may evoke the rainy season; mentioning blooming cherry blossoms may evoke the chill of spring, because they are close in time. Spatial proximity and temporal proximity are also interconnected: things close in space are often close in time, and things perceived as close in time are often close in space.

The rhetorical devices of “presentation” and “metonymy” are aesthetically based on “association by contiguity.” Regarding “presentation,” the scholar Shen Qian states: “Presentation is a rhetorical method that, through rich imagination and vivid language, depicts a person or event so vividly that it appears before the eyes, allowing the reader to feel as if they are personally present, seeing and hearing it.” The scholar Huang Lizhen states: “Using recollection, anticipation, or imaginative projection to vividly present events of the past, the future, or those occurring elsewhere at the present time is the rhetorical method of presentation. It is a method based on the transformation of time and space, whose main function is to bring what is not before the eyes into view. When this method is used, the listener or reader feels as if another ‘scene’ in a different time and space is unfolding before them.” In short, “presentation” is a form of association that “traverses time and space, creating virtual reality.”

Regarding “metonymy,” also called “substitution” or “renaming,” it refers to “borrowing the name of something that has a real and actual connection with the referent to replace the referent itself.”³¹ In this rhetorical device, only the substitute appears, while the original referent does not; the substitute and the referent have a direct or indirect real connection, and the substitute clearly refers to the referent. The “connection” between them is based on contiguity: the two may have no similarity at all, but are related by adjacency, which allows one to replace the other. From a psychological perspective, whether it is part and whole, particular and general, species and genus, or concrete and abstract, cause and effect, container and contained, or tool and user, there exists some form of interrelation—material or immaterial—that creates a sense of “proximity” in the mind, thereby triggering associative thinking.

In structural linguistics, “association by similarity” and “association by contiguity” are the most fundamental forms of association in aesthetic imagination. The Russian linguist Roman Jakobson, in his 1962 paper “Two Aspects of Language and Two Types of Aphasic Disturbances,” first pointed out that the relationship among components in syntagmatic combinations (syntagm)—that is, the sequential arrangement of elements in a system, such as the succession of sounds in speech or characters in writing—is characterized by “contiguity.” In contrast, the relationship among components in paradigmatic sets (paradigm)—that is, the series of elements that can substitute for any given element in the syntagmatic chain—is characterized by “similarity.”

“This is a highly insightful view: contiguity has only one possibility, whereas similarity can occur in different respects; therefore, the same component may belong to a series of paradigmatic sets.”³² Jakobson further pointed out: “These two characteristics correspond precisely to the two principal types of figurative expression: metaphor, based on similarity (association by similarity), involves substitution based on resemblance—for example, comparing a girl to a flower; while metonymy, based on contiguity (association by contiguity), involves substitution based on adjacency—for example, using ‘skirt’ or ‘braid’ to refer to a girl.”³³

In another essay, “The Metaphoric and Metonymic Poles,” Jakobson argued that these two associative modes constitute the two poles of all human symbolic activity. From a linguistic perspective, they correspond to the poles of metaphor and metonymy, whose underlying principles are the laws of similarity and contiguity. Metaphor operates through implicit resemblance, whereas metonymy operates through substitution; the former primarily serves a descriptive function, while the latter primarily serves a referential function. From the perspective of literary history, these two poles correspond to representation and expression—that is, the tendencies of realism and romanticism.

Referring to the concise diagram in Ye Lang’s Modern Aesthetic System (p. 177) and reorganizing it, the present author presents Jakobson’s dichotomy of “syntagmatic axis (axis of combination)” and “paradigmatic axis (axis of selection)” as follows:

Syntagmatic combination (syntagm; axis of combination) → contiguity (association by contiguity) → law of contiguity → metonymy → expression → Romanticism
Paradigmatic selection (paradigm; axis of selection) → similarity (association by similarity) → law of similarity → metaphor → representation → Realism

(3) Association by Contrast
Definition: The perception or recollection of a certain thing gives rise to another thing that possesses opposite characteristics; this is called association by contrast. Association by contrast is an association established on the basis of the contrasting relationship in nature or appearance between two things (A and B), primarily serving to strengthen the understanding and feeling of the opposition between them. In other words, association by contrast refers to the ability to think of something opposite to a given thing, forming associations with clearly opposing characteristics.

Explanation: For example, from darkness one thinks of light, from winter one thinks of summer, and so on. Association by contrast reflects not only the commonalities among things, but also their opposing individualities. Only with commonality can there be opposing individuality. For instance, both darkness and light share the common property of “brightness,” but the former has low brightness while the latter has high brightness. Summer and winter are both seasons, yet one is hot while the other is cold. Association by contrast makes it easier to perceive the opposing aspects of things and plays an important role in understanding and analyzing them.

The rhetorical device of “contrastive juxtaposition” is aesthetically grounded in association by contrast. “So-called contrastive juxtaposition refers to placing two opposing concepts or things side by side in language, comparing them so as to strengthen the tone and clarify the meaning…”³⁴ Furthermore, “antithesis” is a more formally structured type of contrast: “antithesis employs sentences with equal word counts and identical or similar syntax to express opposite or related meanings.” In Liu Xie’s The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, the chapter “Parallel Phrases” is devoted specifically to antithesis. As he states: “Nature gives form, and limbs are paired; in spiritual principle, nothing stands alone. When the mind produces language, it organizes myriad considerations; high and low depend on each other, and thus pairs naturally arise.” Taking the bilateral symmetry of living organisms as an example, he infers the aesthetic effect whereby “ornate phrases and profound embellishment flow together, and paired meanings release harmonious rhythm.”

(4) Association by (Causal) Relation
Definition: When thinking of a certain thing, one associates it with its meaning and its relationships with other things, such as cause and effect, connotation and denotation, whole and part, genus and species, and so forth. Among these, causal association is particularly important. So-called causal association is association based on the cause-and-effect relationships that exist among objective things. This is a very common form of association.

Explanation: Associations formed due to various types of relationships among things may collectively be termed relational association. For example, associations of part and whole or genus and species, such as thinking of a pen when one thinks of stationery, or thinking of stationery when one thinks of a pen; causal associations, such as thinking of pine and cypress enduring the cold when one thinks of winter, or thinking of warmth when one sees a fire. The connections among things are diverse, and relational associations reflecting these various connections are likewise diverse.

“Relational association” is a part of “association by contiguity.” The two overlap in nature, both being based on the sense of “proximity” between two dissimilar things. The relational connections reflected by this sense of proximity arise from past experience—that is, from the level of memory. Therefore, some rhetoricians classify “metonymy” under “relational association.”

(5) Sensory Association
Definition: Sensory association refers to the responses that occur when the five senses receive external stimuli. The depiction of what is seen and heard by various senses is based on sensory association. “Depiction,” also called “representation” or “description,” refers to “the use of linguistic means to accurately and vividly portray the colors, sounds, shapes, scenes, and states of the rich and ever-changing objective world in real life.”³⁶

Explanation: Depiction is the imitation of various phenomena in nature and real life through sensory experience. It can be regarded as the broadest form of imitation and is widely used in both everyday speech and written language (literary creation), with a high frequency of use. For sensory-based devices such as “depiction” and “synesthesia,” the chapter “On Physical Forms” in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons offers a relatively systematic discussion. For example: “As spring and autumn alternate, and yin and yang shift between severity and ease, the changes in external appearances cause the mind to be stirred,” indicating that poets respond to different seasons because external changes in appearance stir inner emotions. It further states: “Each season has its objects, each object its form; emotion shifts with objects, and words arise from emotion. Even a single leaf may meet the intent; the sound of insects can suffice to move the heart. How much more so when clear wind and bright moon share the night, and the sunlit day joins the spring forest!” This indicates that different times possess distinct scenes and appearances, and these external changes influence the poet’s mood and feeling. “Thus poets, when moved by things, generate endless associations. Lingering among myriad phenomena, they ponder within the realm of sight and sound. In depicting vitality and form, they follow the turning of things; in attaching color and sound, they move in accord with the mind.”

Thus, when poets perceive changes in the external environment, various associative psychological activities are triggered, and they attempt to depict the qualities and appearances of these phenomena through poetry, lingering in contemplation and seeking fitting expressions. It further states: “Since recent times, literature has valued resemblance in form, probing emotion above scenery and examining appearance among plants and trees. What is expressed in chanting aims at depth and distance; excellence lies in embodying things with subtle precision. Thus skillful language portrays forms as if sealing an imprint in clay—without carving, yet delicately rendering the finest details. Therefore, one can perceive appearance through words and know the season through characters. Yet things have constant forms, while thought has no fixed standard; sometimes one reaches the ultimate spontaneously, sometimes careful thought leads to greater distance.” This indicates that poets observe and comprehend the subtle meanings and ingenuity within landscapes and natural objects, and through imaginative processing, enrich and diversify the images expressed in their writing.

When sensory perception shifts, and different senses interact and substitute for one another’s domains, “sensory crossover” occurs; this is called “transferred sensation” (synesthesia).

The various attributes of a single stimulus can be received through different sensory organs (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch). When these sensory images undergo “sensory overlap,” a “substitution effect” occurs—that is, an image originally perceived through one sense is expressed through another sensory modality.

The rhetorical device of “synesthesia” precisely utilizes sensory associative activity to transfer sensations produced in one sensory domain to another, thereby allowing different senses to intercommunicate.

Originally, “synesthesia” referred to the coordination of different impulses or the harmony of opposing emotions within a work of art. The French Symbolists advocated that “the various senses can correspond and communicate: visual imagery can suggest auditory imagery, and olfactory imagery can correspond to tactile imagery.”³⁷ “Synesthesia refers to the mutual shifting of sensory experiences among the five senses, where different senses interact and exchange their domains of perception.”³⁸

2. Conception: Complex Association
When the problems people face cannot be directly solved by relying on prior experience, knowledge, theories, or methods through the mode of “generalization,” independent thinking is required. Various pieces of information stored in the mind must be reanalyzed and recombined to form new connections that meet the need; this kind of thinking is called creative thinking.

Creative imagination is the form of expression of creative thinking. In nature, it belongs to divergent thinking, lateral thinking³⁹, and non-logical thinking⁴⁰. That is, without relying on immediate perception or stored representations in memory, new images can be created through analysis and synthesis. Therefore, it can break through the limitations of experience and generate new forms of image-based thinking. Generally speaking, in the process of aesthetic appreciation, reproductive imagination predominates; in the process of artistic creation, creative imagination predominates.

Section 2: Image Transformation

1. Types of Image Transformation

“Image transformation” refers to, within the sequence of preceding and following text, the shift from image A to image B. The two images differ in nature, yet they may share certain similar characteristics.

In poetic forms such as verse, “image transformation” can be divided into the following types:

(1) Grammatical conversion of images (conversion)
“Grammatical conversion” originally refers to the fact that, in the process of translating between foreign and native languages, parts of speech cannot always maintain formal equivalence; flexibility and adjustment are required when necessary and appropriate, in order to enhance the readability of the translated text.

Applied to the creation of modern poetry, “grammatical conversion” refers to changing the original part of speech of certain words or phrases so that their meanings become more novel and enriched, and their expression more flexible and vivid. For example, mutual transformations between nouns and adjectives, verbs and nouns, adjectives and adverbs, verbs and adjectives, and so on.

In rhetoric, “conversion” refers to shifting a word from one grammatical category to another; “category” here refers to the classification of words (parts of speech) in grammar. Transforming one category into another is called conversion.

(2) Transformation of narrative persona
From the perspective of narratology, the narrative activity in poetry generally includes the narrative subject, the narrative object, and the narrative content. The so-called transformation of narrative persona refers to the narrative subject (the agent who performs the narrative act in the work) or the narrative object (the entity toward which the narrative act is directed), which, due to the operation of “transformation: personification or objectification,” presents a narrative viewpoint that is either “humanized” or “objectified.”

(3) Transformation of emotional images into concrete images
Images such as “emotion” are termed “virtual images” by scholar Chen Zhengzhi; they refer to abstract concepts, emotions, and the like, which must be transformed into concrete scenes through imagined concrete images by means of figurative devices such as metaphor and symbolism.

For example, in Li Houzhu’s line: “How much sorrow can one have? It is just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.” Sorrow is abstract and invisible; to express sorrow, one must rely on visible concrete scenery. In these lines, the poet uses metaphor to indirectly express that his sorrow resembles the eastward-flowing spring river, thereby making it far more vivid and concrete. “Symbolism,” due to its suggestive nature, will be discussed together with similar rhetorical devices.

(4) Transformation among sensory images
“Sensory images,” termed “descriptive images” by Chen Zhengzhi, refer to the depiction of concrete scenes and objects perceived through the external senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch), endowed with form, sound, scent, flavor, and tactile qualities. This primarily involves the rhetorical device of “depiction,” as well as, in phenomena of sensory crossover, the substitution of one sense for another to describe concrete objects through “transposition.”

Sensory crossover mainly refers to the rhetorical devices of “transferred sensation” and “synesthesia.”

(5) Transformation of temporal-spatial images
Time and space in poetry are often not fixed. Through the interplay of temporal and spatial images, the narrator expresses human emotions and the principles of things. The primary rhetorical method here is “presentation.”

The transformation of temporal-spatial images involves:
(A) The shifting of narrative time points: simultaneous imaginings across different locations, recollections of the past, or projections and speculations about the future.
(B) The deformation of narrative time and space: through shifts in perspective (distance and proximity), temporal and spatial images may undergo elongation, expansion, shortening, compression, condensation, transformation, reorientation, fusion, displacement, and interweaving.

2. Psychological Basis of Image Transformation: Associative Activity

(1) Imagination: the poet’s faculty
Whether in the stage of creation or in the reader’s stage of reading and appreciation, “associative activity” occupies a prominent and primary position. Through imaginative creative activity, the artist transforms absolute rationality into concrete images within the mind, forming works that most fully express the self. This “activity” is what is called “genius” or “talent,” and is the artist’s most outstanding artistic faculty.

Lu Ji in Wen Fu described it as “the spirit gallops to the eight extremes, the mind travels ten thousand fathoms”; Liu Xie in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons wrote: “In literary thought, the spirit reaches far; thus in stillness one contemplates and connects with a thousand ages, in quiet movement one perceives across ten thousand miles,” and “subtle thought allows the spirit to wander with things.” These are vivid and profound descriptions of the psychological activity of imagination, showing that ancient China placed great importance on such mental processes.

When poets employ “image transformation,” it is often based on the function of association. In the creative process, “association” is a major psychological activity. Association (i.e., associative thinking) refers to a type of thinking triggered by accidental ideas, without a concrete purpose or problem to solve; it is boundless and directionless, moving from one idea (perceptual image) to another (memory image), expanding in a horizontal, leaping manner—what is called “lateral thinking.”

(2) Thinking: the trigger of imagination
“Thinking” is the entire process of psychological activity, in which individuals use memory and experience to handle relationships among symbols and mental images. In psychology, “imagination” is a type of thinking, belonging in nature to associative and open-ended thinking.

In artistic creation, “imagination” (including association and conception) is undoubtedly a continuous psychological process. Association refers to thinking triggered by accidental ideas, moving from perceptual images to memory images and expanding outward.

“Conception” (reproductive and creative imagination) is a more complex psychological activity than association. It recombines various perceptual and memory images, giving birth to a completely new mental image—namely, the aesthetic image—and stimulates deeper emotional responses.

Critical thinking and logical reasoning belong to the critic’s mode of thought. Critical thinking is used in evaluating works of art, requiring standards or methodologies for value judgment. Logical reasoning is used in interpreting works, drawing conclusions through induction or deduction based on knowledge and experience.

As for readers or audiences, although they may be considered “critics” in a broad sense, they tend to rely more on intuitive perception and aesthetic appreciation when engaging with artworks.

3. Three Psychological Processes of Association

In psychology, “imagination” (mental imagery) refers to the phenomenon of re-presenting previously experienced objects in the mind based solely on memory, without reliance on the senses. This reappearance generally involves three psychological processes:

[1] Sensory imagery (sense organs imagine):
Objects currently present are processed through sensory organs (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch), forming images in the mind. Based on these images, perceptual experience enables individuals to recognize what an object is and what characteristics it possesses.

[2] Memory imagery (memory imagine):
Without a concrete object present, images of previously experienced things arise in consciousness purely through memory. For example, Shen Sanbai’s recollections in Childhood Memories of observing insects during childhood.

[3] Creative imagery (created imagine):
Even things not present in experience may give rise to new imaginative constructs during the thinking process. Expressions such as “letting imagination run wild” or “being original” refer precisely to this type of creative imagery.

In the psychological process of imagination, creative imagery is particularly useful for artists, enabling continuous innovation and the continuation of artistic life.

4. Two Types of Imagination

(1) Imagination as a key psychological element of aesthetic perception
In aesthetics, imagination is an essential psychological element in the formation of aesthetic experience. In artistic creation, imagination is based on past representations (images) and aesthetic experience (thought), and is a psychological process involving the reproduction, recombination, and transformation of images.

Throughout this process, sensory perception and intellectual comprehension are interconnected; in other words, the forms perceived by the senses (the form of the artwork) and the understanding and emotions generated by mental activity (the content of the artwork) are integrated into a unified whole.

Association occurs when one perceived or remembered object evokes another. Objective things are interconnected, and these connections are reflected in the brain through temporary links formed in the sensory association area. Association is the reactivation of these temporary links, reflecting the interrelationships among things.

The associations evoked by any given object depend on two factors: the strength of the connections and the individual’s orientation and interests. The strength of connections depends on:
(1) intensity of stimuli;
(2) frequency of association;
(3) recency or primacy of formation.

(2) Two forms of knowledge: reproductive imagination and creative imagination
The Italian aesthetician Croce stated that knowledge has two forms: intuitive or logical; derived from imagination or intellect. In short, knowledge produces either images or concepts. These two forms imply different sources (imagination vs. intellect), natures (intuitive vs. logical), and outputs (image vs. concept).

Croce further argued that intuition is less a simple sensation than an association of sensations. He divided association into two types:

• memory-based association (conscious recall),
• creative association (form-giving, constructive, and discriminative).

In psychology, the primary form of association is “simple association,” including contiguity, similarity, contrast, causal relation, and sensory association; the higher form is “complex association,” including reproductive and creative imagination.

1. Association: Simple Association

Simple association, as a broad form of imagination, is guided by immediate perception and based on representations formed through direct experience. It remains within the limits of specific life experiences and reflects general experiential patterns. In other words, it is a psychological process that, based on prior aesthetic experience, uses generalization to evoke and integrate new experiences from old ones.

(1) Association by Similarity
Definition: Based on similarities between two things, one is used to represent the other.
Explanation: For example, chrysanthemums may evoke Tao Yuanming, plum blossoms evoke Lin Bu. Metaphor relies on such similarity-based association. Symbolism expresses abstract ideas through concrete images, based on rational, social, or creative connections.

(2) Association by Contiguity
Definition: Based on spatial or temporal proximity.
Explanation: For example, mountains evoke Alishan; cherry blossoms evoke spring. This forms the basis of rhetorical devices such as presentation and metonymy.

Horizontal and Vertical Axes (Jakobson’s Theory)

Syntagm (axis of combination) → contiguity → law of contiguity → metonymy → expression → Romanticism
Paradigm (axis of selection) → similarity → law of similarity → metaphor → representation → Realism

(3) Association by Contrast
Definition: One thing evokes another with opposite characteristics.
Explanation: Darkness vs. light, winter vs. summer. This underlies rhetorical contrast and parallelism.

(4) Association by (causal) relation
Definition: Associations based on relationships such as cause and effect, part and whole, category relations.
Explanation: For example, fire evokes warmth; cold evokes evergreen trees. This overlaps with contiguity association.

(5) Sensory association
Definition: Associations arising from sensory responses to stimuli.
Explanation: Through depiction and synesthesia, sensory experiences are described vividly. Synesthesia transfers sensations across different senses.

2. Conception: Complex Association

When problems cannot be solved through existing experience or generalization, individuals must reorganize stored information through independent thinking—this is creative thinking.

Creative imagination, as a form of creative thinking, is divergent, analogical, and non-logical. It generates new images without relying solely on perception or memory, thus breaking through experiential limitations.

Generally, reproductive imagination dominates aesthetic appreciation, while creative imagination dominates artistic creation.

(1) Reproductive Imagination

Definition: Based on descriptions provided by others, individuals construct new images in their minds, expanding their aesthetic vision.

Explanation: Rhetorical imitation and parody belong here. “Imitation” recreates existing forms with new content, while “parody” imitates style for humorous or satirical effect, combining imitation with subversion.

(2) Creative Imagination

Definition: Without relying on others’ descriptions, one synthesizes stored representations to create novel and unique images.

Explanation: Symbolism and hyperbole are typical forms. Symbolism relies on suggestive free association, while hyperbole involves exaggeration arising from imaginative transformation.

Hyperbole’s psychological basis lies in curiosity, and its aesthetic basis lies in novelty, absurdity, and strangeness. Its purpose is to intensify imagery, clarify emotion, and deepen the audience’s impression.

Section 3: Principles for the Arrangement of Chapters on Rhetorical Devices of Expression

After the revision of this book, the author arranges the order of chapters according to the frequency with which various rhetorical devices of expression appear in modern poetry texts, dividing them into three groups:

1. Basic rhetorical devices: metaphor, depiction, analogy
2. Intermediate rhetorical devices: conversion, presentation, metonymy, irony, contrast, pun, etc.
3. Advanced rhetorical devices: hyperbole, symbolism, synesthesia, surrealism

Notes

(1) Entry “Aesthetic Image,” in Aesthetic Dictionary, edited by Wang Shide, Taipei: Mutuo, 1987, p. 72.

(2) Same as (1), entry “Image,” p. 234.

(3) Liu Xie, annotated by Zhou Zhenfu, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, Taipei: Liren, 1984, p. 515.

(4) Xie Zhen, collated by Wan Ping; Wang Fuzhi, collated by Shu Wu, Combined Edition of Siming Shihua and Jiangzhai Shihua, p. 150.

(5) Zhu Tingzhen, Xiaoyuan Shihua, included in Guo Shaoyu (ed.), Supplement to Qing Dynasty Poetics, Taipei: Mutuo, pp. 2337, 2401.

(6) Bai Ling (Zhuang Zuhuang), The Birth of a Poem, Taipei: Jiuge, 1991, p. 56.

(7) Zhu Guangqian, On Poetry, “The Realm of Poetry—Interest and Image,” Taipei: Guowen Tiandi, 1990, p. 67.

(8) Qin Zihao, “On Modern Poetry: Image,” in Complete Works of Qin Zihao, Vol. 2, Taipei, 1968, p. 228.

(9) Yu Guangzhong, Rain in the Palm, Taipei: Dalin, 1969, p. 9.

(10) Chen Yizhi (ed.), Endless Yangtze Rolling On: Selected and Annotated Chinese Modern Poems, Taipei: Youth Cultural Enterprise, 1993, p. 7.

(11) Jian Zhengzhen, “Image Thinking,” in The Instant Ecstasy of Poetry, Taipei: China Times, 1991, p. 100.

(12) Quoted from Li Yuanluo, Poetic Aesthetics, Chapter 4: “On the Beauty of Poetic Imagery,” Taipei: Dongda, 1990, p. 168.

(13) Huang Jinkai, Zhang Bingzhen, Yang Hengda (eds.), Symbolism and Imagism, Beijing: Renmin University of China Press, 1989, pp. 127, 135–136.

(14) Quoted from Chen Qianwu, A Brief Introduction to Modern Poetry, Taichung: Scholar Cultural Enterprise, 1979, p. 74.

(15) Same as (14), p. 74.

(16) Roland Barthes, “Mythologies: (3) Form and Concept; (4) Signification,” in Mythologies, trans. Xu Qiangqiang and Xu Qiling, Taipei: Laureate, 2002, pp. 177–196.

(17) Chinese belongs to the isolating language type, using word order to express grammatical relationships rather than morphological changes or markers. The structural rules of sentences are basically consistent with those of phrases. The same grammatical relationship can contain a large semantic capacity and complex semantic relations without formal markers. A single word form in Chinese often belongs to multiple word classes, showing a one-to-many correspondence between word classes and syntactic components. This is mainly reflected in:
(A) word classes have no morphological markers; nouns, verbs, and adjectives enter sentences without morphological changes.
(B) Chinese has measure words, used with numerals and demonstratives to modify nouns.
(C) Chinese has particles that carry no lexical meaning and are pronounced lightly.
(D) Provided context permits, syntactic elements, including important function words, may be omitted. Word order is fixed and serves as a key means of expressing grammatical meaning.

(18) Zhou Qinghua, Narratology, Taipei: Wunan, 2002, pp. 97–123.

(19) Chen Zhengzhi, Studies on Children’s Poetry Writing, Taipei: Wunan, 2002, pp. 177–180.

(20) Descriptive image: refers to concretely describing an image so as to make emotion concrete. Such description is not objective, but permeated with the subject’s thoughts, feelings, and aesthetic ideals. Mainland scholars classify poetic imagery into four types: descriptive, metaphorical, personified, and symbolic images. See note (1), pp. 173–176.

(21) Huang Yongwu, Designs in Chinese Poetics, Taipei: Juliu Book Company, 1982, pp. 43–76.

(22) Zhang Chunxing, Psychology, Taipei: Taiwan Donghua Book Company, 2000, p. 177.

(23) Basic Principles of Aesthetics, Chapter 7: “Psychological Elements of Aesthetic Experience,” Taipei: Gufeng Publishing, 1986, pp. 246–279. The editors consider intuition, sensation (perception), imagination, emotion, and understanding as psychological elements in the formation of aesthetic experience.

(24) Intuitive knowledge: when encountering an object, one grasps only its image or form in the mind, without deliberation, differentiation, interpretation, or naming. This is the initial stage of cognition. Intuition is the foundation of all knowledge. After perceiving the image, further determining its meaning and relations leads to conceptual or logical knowledge. See Zhu Liyuan and Li Jun (eds.), Selected Twentieth-Century Western Literary Theory, Vol. 1, Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2003, p. 72, note 1.

(25) Same as (23); also see Principles of Aesthetics, by Croce, trans. Zhu Guangqian, Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2003, pp. 72–79.

(26) Ye Lang (ed.), Modern Aesthetic System, Beijing: Peking University Press, 2005, p. 178.

(27) Same as (26), p. 107.

(28) Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Part 2, Chapter 13: “Metaphor,” Taipei: Sanmin Book Company, 2002, p. 321.

(29) Same as (28), Chapter 19: “Symbolism,” p. 477.

(30) Same as (26), p. 176.

(31) Cheng Weijun et al. (eds.), Comprehensive Guide to Rhetoric, Taipei: Jianhong, 1991, p. 394.

(32) Zhao Yiheng (ed.), Collected Essays on Semiotics and Literature, Tianjin: Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House, 2004, p. 20. Jakobson termed syntagmatic relations the “axis of combination” and paradigmatic relations the “axis of selection.”

(33) Same as (32), p. 20.

(34) Cai Zongyang, Applied Rhetoric, Chapter 2, Section 3: “Explanation and Application of Contrast,” Taipei: Wan Juan Lou, 2001, p. 52.

(35) Same as (31), p. 589.

(36) Same as (31), p. 412.

(37) Zhu Guangqian, Psychology of Literature and Art, Chapter 6: “Aesthetic Feeling and Association,” Taipei: Sanmin, 1982, p. 94.

(38) Liang Zongdai, “On Poetry,” in Modern Chinese Poetics, Vol. 1, ed. Yang Kuanghan and Liu Fuchun, Guangzhou: Huacheng Press, 1985, pp. 258–264.

(39) Through analyzing and distinguishing problem situations and conditions, transforming a problem into an equivalent one or solving it indirectly via another problem. The former is direct thinking; the latter is lateral thinking. Sima Guang breaking the vat to save a drowning person is a classic example of lateral thinking.

(40) Non-logical thinking does not strictly follow logical forms; it manifests as flexible, free thinking, producing novel results. Its function is to inspire the mind and expand thinking; its basic forms are association, intuition, and inspiration.

(41) Same as (37), p. 263.

(42) Chen Zhengzhi, Rhetoric, Chapter 7: “Imitation,” Taipei: Wunan, 2001, p. 74.

(43) In a broad sense, “imitation” includes imitation and parody. The former includes sentence imitation and tonal imitation. Imitative rhetoric consists of two elements: the original text (the model) and the imitated text. Sometimes both appear; sometimes only the imitation appears. See Chen Zhengzhi, Rhetoric, p. 74.

(44) Same as (37), p. 263.

(45) When two stimuli of different intensity appear successively or simultaneously, the former is the standard stimulus and the latter the comparative stimulus; the difference between them is the stimulus difference. The minimum detectable difference is called the difference threshold. See Zhang Chunxing, Psychology, Taipei: Taiwan Donghua, 2000, p. 269.

(46) Aesthetician George Santayana pointed out that figures such as centaurs or half-human beasts were initially considered grotesque and impossible due to their divergence from known natural forms, but as familiarity increased, their strangeness diminished and they were accepted. He argued that “valuable wit is novel truth, and valuable grotesqueness is a special form of beauty.” See Notes on Santayana’s Aesthetics, trans. Wang Jichang, Taipei: Yeqiang, 1986, pp. 229–230.

(47) Same as (28), Chapter 11: “Hyperbole,” p. 285. Scholar Shen Qian’s Analysis of Rhetorical Methods, pp. 261–262, expresses a similar view (Taipei: Wenshizhe, 2002).