The ancients were much more talented than our modern people, talking about the scenery will say "spring flowers and autumn moon", and parting will say "Willow Bank Baqiao". In ancient times, due to inconvenient transportation and backward information, it was very sad to part with friends, relatives or lovers, and it was very reluctant to give up, because this time they really did not know when they would see each other again.
Therefore, on the occasion of separation, outside the long pavilion and on the side of the ancient road, the sender folded a willow stick and gave it to the person who traveled far away, which was called "folding the willow to send farewell".
The cultural custom of "folding willows to bid farewell" on the mainland was first seen in the "Book of Poetry, Xiaoya Cewei": "In the past, I used to be in the past, and the willows were yiyi; now I come to think, rain and snow." "I think back to when I first went out on the expedition, Willow yiyi was blown with the wind; now on the way back, rain and snow are flying all over the sky. Obviously, this is a description of the situation with family, friends or wives at the beginning of the year, in the tone of a border warrior, when they returned from the New Year's Pass. In ancient times, willow was the same plant, also called weeping willow or weeping poplar, because "willow" and "stay" are harmonious, implying the meaning of retention. Parting to give willow, indicating the meaning of "reluctant to let you go, stay", you can imagine the scene at that time, the people who traveled far away turned back step by step, and the people who sent them off were inseparable and in love with how sad it was!
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Northern Dynasty Lefu poem "Five Songs of Folding Willows" wrote: "Do not catch the whip on the horse, but oppose the willow branches." Get off the horse and play the flute, worry about killing the guests. By this time, the object of the lyrics had shifted from being a soldier to a description of the separation of men and women. The hero did not go away on the horse, but folded a willow and gave it to his lover. "Willow" harmonizes the sound of "staying", and folding willow indicates the intention of wanting to stay. The male protagonist folds the willow himself and has the meaning of relying on his lover.
This folk custom of "folding willows to bid farewell" is very popular among the literati and inkers of the past generations, and has become a fashion. During the Tang and Song dynasties, the poetry culture of the mainland flourished and reached its peak. The object of "folding willow farewell" is even wider, between friends, relatives, husband and wife, at every turn, stage a big drama of life and death.
During the Tang Dynasty, a post station was set up in Baqiao, and anyone who sent his relatives and friends east had to be sent to Baqiao before breaking up, and folding willows to send them. Baqiao was an important place for Chang'an in ancient times, and anyone who wanted to enter and exit Tongguan and Yaoguan must pass through here. Li Bai's "every year willow color, Baling wound farewell" is about such a custom: on both sides of the ancient Chang'an Baqiao Bridge, ten miles long pavilion, step by step, the person who sent the trip stopped here, folded the willow to bid farewell.
The capital of the Song Dynasty was in Kaifeng, Henan, and the places of farewell were all in the long pavilion, bridgehead, wharf or embankment. Drinking and singing, folding willows, playing the flute, often "where love is, it is difficult to give up". Liu Yong's "Yulin Lin": "Where is the wine awake tonight, Yang Liu'an, Xiao Feng remnant moon", Ouyang Xiu's "TaSha Xing": "Waiting for the Plum Remnant, Xiqiao Willow Thin, Grass Lavender Wind Warm Shake Signs", are all written when separated from their lovers, and lovesickness after separation.
In ancient times, "folding willows to send farewell" also contained a kind of good wishes for friends "spring is always there". Compared with other trees, willow trees are tenacious and can live anywhere. Folding willows and giving each other is the hope that after relatives or friends arrive in a new place, they can be at ease with the encounter, they can quickly integrate into the unfamiliar environment, and they can take root and sprout quickly like willow branches, and everything will go well.
This cultural custom has been passed down to this day and has deeply affected the feelings of Chinese. At the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, with the theme of "Folding Willows to Send Affection", it not only contained our reluctance to rely on athletes from all over the world, but also expressed our nostalgia and blessings for athletes who had returned to China, which is exactly the two meanings expressed by "Folding Willow": farewell and nostalgia.
This is the romance that China has passed on to the world, yes, "In this nocturne, smell the broken willows, who can't afford to be in the garden?" "In a foreign country, in the ice and snow, fierce struggle, sweat, winning flowers, applause and honor, how can you not miss your hometown? NBC described in detail the "Folding Willows" session and did science popularization for foreign audiences.
However, "Folding Willow" translates into English: Bidding Farewell with a Willow Twig, there is no such taste, there is no such romance.