**4. Willows as References to Females**

In Yuan *zaju*, many words compare women with willow trees, such as *liuyan* 柳 眼 (willow leaf-shaped eyes), *liuyao* 柳 腰 (willow-like waist), *liumei* 柳 眉 (willow leaf-shaped eyebrows), and so on. *Liuyan* was used as a metaphor for the slender and beautiful eyes of a young woman. For example, Xiao Tao 小 桃, a young lady who was transformed from a peach tree by Lü Dongbin in *Chengnan liu,* had a beautiful pair of *liuyan* (Wang 1990, 5.304). In this mythical text, the word *liuyan* was only used to refer to the beauty of the eyes, which were as narrow and long as willow leaves. In real life, this eye shape was often associated with deities and fairies. Before her incarnation, Xiao Tao had been a peach of immortality. The most prominent female deity in Chinese mythology, the Queen Mother of the West or Xiwangmu, gave the peach as a gift to Lü Dongbin. Lü ate it and dropped the kernel under the east wall of the Yueyang Tower, and it quickly grew into a willow tree. Later, Lü delivered it into a human being (Wang 1990, 5.297). In this text, the function of the word *liuyan* is to highlight the beauty of Xiao Tao with her fairy aura. Since the term does not appear very often in Yuan *zaju*, we will not dwell on it here.

The word *liumei* appears frequently in Yuan *zaju*, mostly used as a figurative reference to a woman's thin and slender eyebrows, especially those of a young girl. Li Yunying 李 雲 英, a female character created by Li Tangbin 李 唐 賓 (fl. 14th c.) in *Li Yunying feng song wutong ye* 李 雲 英 風 送梧桐 葉 (Wind Sends a *Wutong* Leaf for Li Yunying), had attractive willow leaf-shaped eyebrows, and her beauty was enchanting. "Slim and graceful, she just finished dressing up. Her curved willow leaf-shaped eyebrows were light black, and her face was like a peach, fragrant, red, and delicate. Her waist was so small that one could hold around it with one arm, and her demeanor was utterly graceful. Her flower-like face was more beautiful than a painting. She was three times fairer than a fairy." 玉娉婷 新 梳 掠,曲彎彎 柳 眉 青 淺,香馥馥 桃 臉 紅 嬌。腰 肢 一 捻 輕,舉 止 十 分 俏,便似 畫 真 兒 描 不 成 如 花 貌。有 三 般 兒 比 並 妖 嬈 (Wang 1990, 5.359).

In most cases, *liumei* was used together with other words to describe the pretty face of a young girl. In *Sa Zhenren yeduan bitao hua* 薩 真 人 夜 斷 碧 桃 花 (Perfect Man Sa Holds a Night Trial of Peach Flower) by an anonymous author, when Zhang Daonan 張 道 南 saw Xu Bitao 徐 碧 桃, a young maid with delicate cheeks and eyes, he was enchanted: "Looking at her with her cloud-like hair, almond-shaped face and peach-like cheeks, her willow leaf-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, I could not but be touched." 看 他 那 雲 鬟 霧 鬢,杏 臉 桃 腮,柳 眉 星 眼,不 由 咱 不 動 心 也 (Wang 1990, 6.660). In the works of Yuan dynasty playwrights, the charm of women with willow leaf-shaped eyebrows is irresistible to men. In Jia Zhongming's 賈 仲 明 play *Jing Chuchen chong dui yu shu ji* 荊 楚 臣 重 對 玉 梳 記 (Jing Chuchen Met the Jade Comb Again), Gu Yuxiang 顧 玉 香, a singer, had a pair of curved eyebrows that made her look different. A merchant, Liu Maoying 柳 茂 英, after seeing Gu, was so enchanted by her beauty: "Her willow leaf-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes were full of emotions, and the white teeth and red lips gave her such a heart-melting look. When she smiled at him, his legs became weak. When she leaned on him, his spirit fled his body instantly." 散 春 情 柳 眉 星 眼,取 和 氣 皓 齒 朱 唇。和 他 笑 一 笑 敢 忽 的 軟 了 四 肢,將 他 靠 一 靠 管 烘 的 走了三 魂 (Wang 1990, 5.433) Almost all of the beautiful women in Yuan *zaju* had willow leaf-shaped eyebrows.

In Yuan *zaju*, *liumei* is usually used to describe a woman's narrow or curved eyebrows, and its main function is to emphasize the feminine beauty of tenderness. Because willow leaves are long, thin, fragile, and gentle, they give people a very soft impression. The evocativeness of *liumei* is somewhat similar to that of willow leaves, so it can arouse people's feelings of compassion. From the point of view of literary rhetoric, the term *liumei* was used so often in Yuan *zaju* to describe the long and thin eyebrows of women that it became a cliché rather than an original or idiosyncratic description of an author. Trite as

it is, this cliché reflects the collective aesthetics of the Yuan opera writers: women with willow leaf-shaped eyebrows are beautiful. The term *liuyao* is usually used to describe the slender waist of a young woman in Yuan *zaju*. In Wu Changling's 吳 昌 齡 (fl. 13th century) *Xiyou ji* 西 遊 記 (Journey to the West), an old man boasts the beauty of his daughter: "I am a widower, lonely and clumsy, but my child is graceful and beautiful. She was born with a waist like a willow and eyes like peach blossoms. She is a piece of fragrant jade that even Bian He would be overjoyed to see" 老 漢 鰥寡孤 獨 連 拙,俺 孩 兒 風 流 美 麗 奇 絕。他 生 得 楊 柳 腰,桃 花 眼,是 一 塊 生 香 玉 卞 和 也 歡 悅 (Wang 1990, 3.450). Similar to *liumei*, *liuyao* is also used with other words to describe women's beauty. For example, in Yang Jingxian's 楊 景 賢 (1345–1421) play *Ma Danyang dutuo Liu Xingshou* 馬 丹 陽 度 脫 劉 行 首 (Ma Danyang Delivers Liu Xingshou), Liu Xingshou 劉 行 首, a young woman who does not want to be delivered, says to Wang Chongyang 王 重 陽: "I have a willow-like waist and my face is as beautiful as a begonia flower. I am bedecked with gold and silver and dressed in colorful clothes. Why would I want to follow you and become a monk?" 我 楊 柳 腰 肢,海 棠 顏 色,穿 金 帶 銀,偎 紅 倚 翠,我 跟 你 出 家 有 甚 麼 好 處 (Wang 1990, 5.332).

The term *liuyao* is used to describe not only a woman's slim waist but also the waist of a demon or spirit. In *Journey to the West*, Wu Changling used the term on Princess Iron Fan 鐵 扇 公 主 (Tieshan Gongzhu), a spirit: "He was afraid of my beauty—my willow-like waist (*yangliuyao*), my peach-blossom like face, which would be broken with just a gus<sup>t</sup> of wind." 更 怕 我 楊 柳 腰 肢嫋娜,耀 武 揚 威 越逞過,更 怕 我 桃 臉 風 吹 得 破 (Wang 1990, 3.484). Although Princess Iron Fan is a spirit, her beauty is not different from that of an ordinary girl, i.e., she also has *liuyao*. It is clear that the term *liuyao* had a very broad usage in Yuan *zaju* to describe both humans and spirits.

The term *yangliuyao* in the above text is identical to *liuyao*, the willow-like waist, which seems clear enough and does not need much explanation. *Liuyao* is used to describe a woman who is slim with a willow-like waist, walks gracefully, and is a beauty in the eyes of men. Like *liuyan* and *liumei*, *liuyao* was also a cliché that Yuan playwrights used to describe women. It reflects the aesthetic tendency of Yuan playwrights to see women with slender, willow-like waists as beautiful.

To sum up, it can be said that in Yuan *zaju*, the three words *liuyan*, *liumei,* and *liuyao* are used to figuratively describe the delicate beauty of women, i.e., *liuyan* is used to describe a woman's thin and long eyes, *liumei* to describe her slender eyebrows, and *liuyao* to describe her slender and gentle waist.

It appears that Yuan dynasty playwrights had similar aesthetic standards for women, preferring those with *liuyan*, *liumei*, and *liuyao*. It would seem that the authors mentioned above in Yuan *zaju* use *liuyan*, *liumei* and *liuyao*, three common references to the willow, to describe elements of the female ideal of beauty. This aesthetic was not unique to them, but rather it was inherited from the literary narrative tradition of older generations. The practice of using the willow as a figurative reference to people originated from *Shijing* 詩 經 (The Book of Songs). The poem "Caiwei" 采 薇 (Plucking the Bracken) says: "Long ago when we started, the willows spread their shade. Now that we turn back, the snowflakes fly. The march before us is long; we are thirsty and hungry. Our hearts are stricken with sorrow, but no one listens to our plaint." 昔 我 往 矣,楊 柳依依。今 我 來 思,雨雪霏霏。行 道 遲遲,載 渴 載 飢。我 心 傷 悲,莫 知 我 哀 (Mao 1982, 9.414).<sup>5</sup> However, only later did *liumei* and *liuyao* become literary vehicles to describe women. Since the two are different terms, we discuss them separately below.

The first writer to use the term *liuyao* was Yu Xin 庾 信 (513–581), the poet of the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. In a poem entitled "He renri wanjing yan Kunming Chi" 和 人 日晚景 宴昆明 池 (Written at the Evening Banquet by the Kunming Pond on the Seventh Day of the First Month), Yu writes: "The scene of spring is in full swing; Zhao and Li used to pass by. In this gorgeous garden comparable to Shanglin, beautiful women have thin willow-like waists; like the imperial resort Xinfeng, paths here lead to banquets." 春 餘 足 光 景,趙 李 舊 經 過。上林柳 腰 細,新 豐 酒 徑 多 (Yu 1980, 4.317). The second couplet of this poem seems to be about the willow tree, but the context suggests

that it is an allusion to a beautiful woman of the Han dynasty who was known for her thin waist and who appeared in the Shanglin Garden.

In the Six Dynasties period (220–589), the literary imagery of the willow had already been formed. According to a study, "by the late Southern Dynasties, the imagery of willow had long been on the path of classicization. In this process, Yu Jianwu 庾肩吾 (487–551) and Yu Xin, who were father and son, and the Xiao brothers—Xiao Tong 蕭統 (501–531), Xiao Gang 蕭綱 (503–551), and Xiao Yi 蕭繹 (508–555)—played major roles." (Cheng 2011, p. 56). One of Yu Xin's greatest contributions was that he coined the term *liuyao* as a figurative reference to the waist of a young woman.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, *liuyao* became a ready figure of speech used to describe the beauty of a woman's waist. Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846), Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770), Li Shangyin 李商隱 (813–858), Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 (773–819), and other poets frequently used the image of a beautiful woman with *liuyao* in their poetry. Han Wo 韓偓 (842–923) depicted the image of a young girl with a "willow-like waist and lotus-like face" (柳腰蓮 臉) in his poem "Pinfang Lu Xiucai" 頻訪盧秀才 (Frequent Visits to Scholar Lu) (Zhonghua shuju bianjibu 1999, 682.7895). In "Nangezi" 南歌子 (Nangezi), Wen Tingyun 溫庭筠 (812–866) described a young girl with large eyes and a willow-like waist: "Her eyes were as tender as waves, and her waist was as graceful as a willow" 轉眄如波眼,娉婷似柳腰 (Wen 2010, p. 59).

Song dynasty writers were also used to describe women with *liuyao*, but the beauty of these women varied. For example, Yan Jidao 晏幾道 (1038–1110) wrote of such a girl with long, slender eyebrows: "Her eyebrows were long and dark like a distant mountain, and her waist was as soft as a thin willow" 遠山眉黛長,細柳腰肢嫋 (Tang 1965, 1.229). Yang Wujiu 楊無咎 (1097–1169) wrote about a girl with *liuyao*, and she was a smart and tender woman: "[her] willow-like waist and flower-like look were natural and beautiful, [and she was] smart and gentle" 柳腰花貌天然好,聰慧更溫柔 (Tang 1965, 2.1199).

Similar to this was the case of the term *liumei*, except that it appeared later in Chinese literature than *liuyao*. The famous Tang poet Bai Juyi used the willow as a vehicle for women's eyebrows in his "Changhen ge" 長恨歌 (Song of Everlasting Sorrow). In describing the beauty of the imperial concubine Yang Yuhuan 楊玉環, he wrote: "Hibiscus looked like [her] face and willows looked like [her] eyebrows. Facing this natural scenery, how can [the emperor] not shed tears?" 芙蓉如面柳如眉,對此如何不淚垂 (Zhonghua shuju bianjibu 1999, 435.4829). In this poem, both hibiscus and *liumei* are figures of speech, personification and metonymy to be exact, used not only to describe a woman's beautiful face and long and thin eyebrows, respectively, but also to refer to a specific person, Yang Yuhuan.

The late Tang poet Li Shangyin combined the words willow (*liu*) and eyebrows (*mei*) into willow's eyebrows (*liumei*) in the poem "He ren ti Zhenniang mu" 和人題真娘墓 (In Response to Poems Written on Zhenniang's Tombstone): "The willow's eyebrows were growing mechanically, and the elm pods were flying like paper money." 柳眉空吐效顰 葉,榆莢還飛買笑錢 (Li 2005, p. 115). Although in this case, willow's eyebrows mean willow leaves rather than a woman, it is one of the early instances of joining *liu* and *mei* into *liumei* in poetry.

In the writings of Tang and Song writers, *liumei* could be used to describe both unmarried and married women. In the Tang dynasty, the poet Li Xun 李珣 (855–930) wrote about Xiao Niang 蕭娘, a married woman: "When the dew dropped to the quiet garden and the leaves fell, sorrow gathered on Xiao Niang's willow leaf-shaped eyebrows" 露滴幽庭落 葉時,愁聚蕭娘柳眉 (Zhonghua shuju bianjibu 1999, 896.10188). The Song dynasty poet Chao Buzhi 晁補之 (1053–1110) describes a young girl who just reached puberty: "[her] willow leaf-shaped eyebrows were soft, apricot flower-like cheeks lightly brushed, and two lovely dimples as always" 柳眉輕掃,杏腮微拂,依前雙靨 (Tang 1965, 1.576).

It is worth noting that in Tang and Song literature, the term *liumei* referred to a much broader category than *liuyao*; it could be used to describe both commoner and royal women. For example, in the Song dynasty lyricist Zhao Zhangqing's 趙長卿 "Yu Meiren" 虞美人

(Lady Yu), *liumei* refers to an imperial concubine: "To whom did the sorrowful willow leaf-shaped eyebrows unfold? It seems to be to the King of the East; she was happy to see the old friend come. When the sorrow is finally gone, peach blossoms are still blooming as lovely as before. However, where is the concubine now?" 柳眉愁黛為誰開。似向東君、喜 見故人來。碧桃銷恨猶堪愛。妃子今何在 (Tang 1965, 3.1772).

This usage is very common in Tang and Song literature, and the Song literatus Bai Yuchan 白玉蟾 (1194–1229) even used *liumei* as a metaphor for all women who become sentimental in springtime. In his "Shangchun ci ji Ziyuan si shou" 傷春詞寄紫元四首 (Four Poems for Ziyuan about Spring Sentiment): "Why does a sorrowful person become sentimental in spring? The spring rain makes people emotional for no reason. Not only are sorrowful people lonely and sad, but many willow leaf-shaped eyebrows are frowning by the river." 幽人何事苦傷春,春雨無端愁殺人。不但幽人獨愁怨,江頭多少柳眉顰 (Bai 2013, 6.219).

### **5. Willow Metaphors and Belief about Willow's Fertility in Chinese Folk Religion**

As observed, authors of Yuan *zaju* and writers from the Tang and Song dynasties tend to use the three terms about the willow to depict the delicate beauty of women. Our analysis of these rhetorical devices shows that they were closely related to the ancient Chinese folk beliefs about the fecundity of willows.

In northeastern Chinese shamanic mythological beliefs, the willow tree is the goddess of creation, who created all things. For example, in the shamanic beliefs of the Xitala 喜塔 拉 clan of Hunchun 琿春 County in northeast China, the supreme god of the universe is Abka-hehe, whose image is the shape of a willow leaf, which looks like the female genitals (Fu 1990, p. 76). In the oracle of the Fucha 富察 clan in Hunchun County, the entire clan was born by the willow tree goddess (Fu 1985, p. 198). There are many other similar mythical stories, which will not be listed here. This shows that in shamanic beliefs in this area, the willow tree represents fecundity, the source of human beings who are her descendants, and hence, a close and sacred relationship between the willow tree and human beings.

Similarly, the Han Chinese in the Central Plains also believe in the reproductive ability of the willow. In today's eastern and southern parts of Henan Province, on the day before a wedding, an essential ritual is to lay willow sticks on the bridal bed so that the new couple will give birth to successful children (Meng 1994, p. 64; Ren 1997, p. 2). The willow tree has many branches, so the willow sticks symbolize many children and grandchildren. It was believed that this ritual would also help the children become successful candidates in the imperial examinations at the provincial level. We can infer that the aforementioned shamanic and Han Chinese beliefs in the willow's fecundity already existed before the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties and the aforementioned rituals during those dynasties were inherited from earlier times.

The crux of the question is how this folk belief in the fecundity of the willow is translated into the three metaphorical terms in Yuan *zaju*. To put it simply, the rhetorical technique of using the willow as a metaphor for women is an indirect presentation of the folk beliefs about fecundity. The willow tree has a vigorous vitality, and this phenomenon gave rise to folk beliefs about its fertility, while associating the tree with women who have the ability to reproduce. Willow trees mostly grow near water, and their branches are slender and soft, similar to the graceful body of a young female. Literati linked these physical characteristics of the tree to females, so the graceful beauty of the willow is compared to the slender beauty of women.

These associations are based on the reality that willow trees have been commonly grown in China. According to Guan (2006, p. 9), the cultivation of willow trees in China originated in the Zhou dynasty (1045–256 BCE), more than three thousand years ago. It developed significantly during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE). In the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) and Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), willows were introduced into royal palaces. In the Sui (581–619) and Tang dynasties, willows were planted on a large scale both in and out of royal residences. They could be found everywhere on riverbanks, official roads, gardens, and royal palaces (Guan 2006, pp. 8–11). A willow tree consists of branches, leaves, roots, catkins, etc. Long and slender is the intuitive impression of the tree to people. On this basis, words such as *liuyan*, *liumei*, and *liuyao* appeared in Chinese literature to describe the delicacy of women.

However, the introduction of these rhetorical terms to Chinese literature is attributed to the efforts of literary figures of two eras: the court-style poets of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, who explored the expressive power of poetry about women and affection, and the poets of the early Tang dynasty, who expanded the scope of the imagery of the willow (Wang 1987, p. 20). As discussed above, Yu Xin, the poet of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, first introduced the metaphorical term *liuyao* into Chinese literature, while the poets of the Tang Dynasty expanded the use of the terms *liuyan*, *liumei*, and *liuyao*. The writers of Yuan *zaju* inherited these metaphorical figures of speech and did not create any new ones.

To summarize, the three metaphorical expressions that associate the willow with female beauty in Yuan *zaju* originated from the ancient Chinese folk belief that the willow has a powerful reproductive capacity. However, the transformation from folk belief to literary device was not straightforward but accomplished through a complex process. Specifically, this transformation took place at two levels. The first level was analogical association. The second level was aesthetic imagination. The aesthetic imagination was based on the analogical association. The analogical association was formed among the people and its exact origin is difficult to prove. The aesthetic imagination took place in the literary world, beginning with the court-style poems from the Southern and Northern Dynasties and flourishing in the poetry of the Tang and Song dynasties. Thus, it can be said that the ancient Chinese folk belief about the fertility of the willow gave rise to the association of the willow with women, and the aesthetic imagination of the court-style poets in Southern and Northern Dynasties and the early Tang poets created the three metaphorical words of *liuyan*, *liumei,* and *liuyao*.
