Clouds, the physical manifestation of the water cycle in the sky, are the accumulation of water droplets, gas and ice crystals in the atmosphere. Rain, on the other hand, is the water droplets that fall from the sky, which is an important fresh water for human life.
Although in daily life, we often see clouds and rain, but once you put them together, do you think of that "rainbow after rain" picture? It is a wonderful scenery given to us by nature, and it is also a beautiful expectation in life.
The meaning behind these two words is far-reaching, and it is by no means as simple as clouds and rain. In ancient times, whether it was romance, legend, or classic, when describing the relationship between men and women, it would be vaguely used"Go to Wushan clouds and rain together"or"It's rainy"to describe.
Take the masterpiece of classical literature "Dream of Red Mansions" as an example, the book is right"Clouds and rain"The use of the word "two" is even more frequent. The title of the sixth episode is"Baoyu tried the clouds and rain for the first time", the content describes the sublimation of the relationship between Jia Baoyu and the attacker, and the sweet scene when they first experienced the forbidden fruit.
In traditional Chinese culture, the relationship between men and women is considered a private matter and is not easily discussed openly. However, it is also a universal expression of human emotion, and many literary works must also deal with this theme.
In order to describe the subject more noblely,"Clouds and rain"The word has a meaning that goes beyond its own meaning, and expresses what was originally unspeakable in a formal and solemn way.
This is undoubtedly a perfect sublimation of the word. We have to marvel at the wisdom of the ancients, who always found a unique way to express the meaning they wanted to convey in their literary creation, without losing their elegance and thought-provoking.
Why did the ancients name the affairs of men and women "clouds and rain"? The legendary clouds and rain of Wushan may reveal its mysteries. The fairy life of the clouds and fog is fascinating, and the affairs of men and women can also bring people a similar sense of ethereal fairyland, making "cloud and rain" the best choice to express this emotion.
However, this is only a description of how it feels, not the source. To trace its origin, we need to go back to the ancient Chinese mythology and legend of Wushan Goddess.
Yaoji, the goddess of Wushan, was both the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven and the daughter of the Emperor Yan, who died unmarried and was buried in the sun of Wushan. Since this place belonged to the territory of the Chu State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, she was also regarded as the patron saint of the Chu State.
In addition, at that time, there was also a goddess of Gaoqi in the state of Chu, who was the god of the clan when men and women were combined and gave birth, and even the noble king of Chu would go to worship every year to pray for the prosperity of the country and the clarity of politics.
Over time, these two goddesses gradually merged into one and became the goddess of Wushan, possessing the ability to sow clouds and rain and bring benefits to the people. In ancient times, due to the limitations of scientific and technological means, people's planting mainly depended on the weather, so the gods who could bring rain had magical power, and the original cloud and rain naturally referred to the cloud and rain in Wushan.
The ancient Wushan Mountain has a long history and is dotted with numerous monuments. As early as more than 2 million years ago, the earliest Homo erectus in Asia, "Wushan Man", thrived here.
Wushan's natural scenery is beautiful, rich in resources, and now it is an important city in the Three Gorges reservoir area of the Yangtze River, and it is also a must-pass place to visit the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Wushan has all the Wu Gorge and most of the Qutang Gorge in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, the clouds and rain in the gorge are changeable, the posture is thousands, it is the ultimate beauty of the clouds, the rain scene is incomparable, you can feel the dream of clouds and rain when you are immersive.
The clouds and rain of Wushan Mountain is the symbolic scenery of Wuxia, once you experience it, you will seem to be in the clouds and rain, and the admiration of beauty will arise spontaneously, and this visual enjoyment will make you feel as if you are fluttering like a fairy.
This emotional experience allows people to associate Wushan clouds and rain with the affairs of men and women, thanks to ancient texts such as Chu Ci's "Gao Tang Fu" and "Divine Maiden Fu". These ancient texts tell the story of King Chu Xiang and Song Yu who were shocked by the scenery in front of them when they visited Yunmengtai, and King Chu Xiang was fascinated by the surrounding clouds, so he asked Song Yu what it was.
King Chu Xiang asked Song Yu, what is the woman in the dream? Song Yu replied that she was the daughter of Wushan. She said that she was a guest of Gaotang, and because she heard that King Chu Xiang visited Gaotang, she was willing to offer her pillow.
The woman said that she lived in the sun of Wushan, the high hill, and every morning turned into morning clouds, and at night turned into rain, and spent morning and twilight under the balcony.
King Chu Huai understood the deep meaning of this implicit sentence, so he doted on the daughter of Wushan. When the daughter of Wushan left, she told King Chu Huai, if you miss me, come to Wushan to find me, I live in the south of Wushan, morning clouds, evening rain, every morning and evening under the Gaotang.
The next day, King Chu Huai woke up and saw Chaoyun, so he built a temple for her here for future generations to look at. The wisdom of the ancients was displayed in the Chu Ci of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and works such as "Gao Tang Fu" had a far-reaching influence at that time.
Under its influence, the term "cloud and rain" became popular and became an obscure expression for the affairs of men and women. In the Tang Dynasty, the word "cloud and rain" was written into the poems by many great poets.
Since ancient times, literati and writers have been drunk with love poetry and wine, giving Yunyu deep affection. Since Li Shangyin and Tang Fu, Chu Tianyun and rain have become a symbol of love in people's hearts. Du Fu also sighed in the poem: "The old house of the country is empty, and the clouds and rain are barren. ”
Since then, the word cloud and rain has spread in poetry, implying the lingering and sympathetic emotions between men and women. After the Ming and Qing dynasties, clouds and rain frequently appeared in the **, and today, clouds and rain are still widely used by people to add color to the emotional depiction.
If you go deeper**"Clouds and rain"Behind the cultural meaning, you will find the wisdom of the ancients extraordinary. In the ancient Chinese civilization, which was dominated by agriculture, we relied on nature and sought to live in harmony with nature, which was also the basis for human reproduction.
Therefore, our culture advocates the love of men and women, the birth of children, and the pursuit of the unity of nature and man. Such a concept makes our feelings closely connected to nature"Clouds and rain"That's a fitting term.
Moreover, we Chinese pursue subtle beauty, and too direct expression is not in line with our cultural restraint. We also can't accept the direct expression of Westerners about men and women.
Then, we need to look for a subtle and restrained way of expression. And the term "clouds and rain", both in form and feeling, can be appropriately combined with the relationship between men and women, so it is widely accepted.
From this, we can see that the ancients were good at expressing emotions with the help of natural scenes, and expressed different meanings in ordinary words, and this noble wisdom makes us deeply admired.