The Moon and Its Emotions: A Comparative Study of the Symbol of "Moon" in Chinese and Western Poetry
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the moon as a poetic image across Chinese and Western traditions, treating affect (e.g., longing and solitude) as culturally mediated rather than universally fixed. We read representative texts to compare two recurring orientations: Chinese poems often make the moon a hinge for interior introspection and ethical reflection, whereas many Western poems stabilize meaning through concrete description and naturalistic framing. These are tendencies, not binaries; both corpora also contain counterexamples that complicate the contrast. Situating image use within each traditions aesthetic priorities, the analysis shows how shared symbolism acquires different weights, producing convergences at the level of affect yet divergence in the mode of representation.
Author: Xinyue Wang
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4409207056