Romanticism in China and Japan

In the poems between the Chinese and Japanese writer, there are multiple similarities, yet at the same time differences. When it comes to the Japanese poem, the author uses very specific imagery to express what they are currently trying to say. For instance when it comes to describing the location of where they are the Japanese poem tries to paint a very specific scene so that you can understand the situation that he is in. The picture he is trying to paint shows how he missed his wife and the distance between them. In the Chinese poem the author is attempting to show him missing his old country. This was because at the time in China there were multiple political wars being waged.  The Japanese poem however highlights the people of Japan and how they were feeling. This is because at the time the Japanese people were trying to avoid conflicts when it came to politics and instead focused on themselves. This is where the similarities tie in. In both poems they are crying out for help and trying to save something. In the poem by the Chinese author they are trying to cry out about how old they are and how little they can do to try and save their own country from falling into political turmoil. This is from “white hairs, fewer for the scratching, soon too few to hold a hairpin up.” This shows that because his hair is growing white, along with the fact that he is beginning to lose his hair, that he is growing old in age. In the Japanese poem the author is showing how they had lost their wife. The author shows how he was chasing after his wife, yet because she disappeared, he will never be able to truly be reunited with her. This can be found in the line “Disappears, leaving me full of regret, So vanishes my love out of sight;” Another similarity they have is the relation nature. In the Japanese poem it states “Oh, yellow leaves falling on the autumn hill.” along with the line before of “But because of the yellow leaves
Of Watari Hill, Flying and fluttering in the air”. In the Chinese poem it relates to nature by stating “feeling the times flowers draw tears; hating separation, birds alarm the heart.” In both of the poems they have the events that are affecting the author, effecting the nature and world around them as well. These poems relate to romanticism by painting what the author is seeing at the time. Without the knowledge of the time period’s current events these poems would be much less meaningful. However with the knowledge we are able to see how the authors were feeling at the time, and the way they were viewing the world around them.

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