Hitting the "Poplar" tree from a hundred paces away: Is the target the poplar or the willow tree?

Have you heard of shooting an arrow through a target at a hundred paces?

In the Jingmen Garden of the Garden Expo Park, there is a scene like this: a willow tree stands tall and straight, facing the wind. Not far away, there is a golden statue fully armed and holding a bow and arrow, and the arrow in its hand seems to be about to break through the wind!

What is shown here is the famous scene of the Chu general Yang Youji shooting at several red willow leaves one hundred steps away in a row during an archery competition. So why is the idiom "Yang" mentioned in the idiom, but a willow tree is planted here to represent "shooting through the willow tree from a hundred steps away"? Was it a poplar or a willow tree that Yang Youji shot?

In fact, Liu Xiang of the Western Han Dynasty wrote in "Strategies of the Warring States: Strategies of the Western Zhou Dynasty": "There was a man named Yang Youji in Chu who was good at archery. He shot at willow leaves from a hundred steps away and never missed a single shot." It clearly pointed out that Yang Youji shot at willow leaves. So why don't people say that Yang Youji "shot a willow through a hundred steps" but "shot a poplar through a hundred steps"? In fact, in ancient my country, "Yang" referred to a type of "willow". In the "Explanation of Wood" chapter of "Er Ya", the earliest monograph on the meaning of words in ancient my country, there is such a record: "Cheng (chēng), river willow; Mao (máo), marsh willow; Yang, cattail willow." Therefore, it is not surprising to say that "shot a willow through a hundred steps" is "shot a poplar through a hundred steps".

Then the "Yanghua" in the poem "When Wang Changling was demoted to Longbiao, I sent this letter to him from afar" written by the poet Li Bai, "Yanghua has fallen and the cuckoo is crying", actually refers to the catkins flying all over the sky in spring. In the imagery of Chinese classical literature, "Yanghua" is precisely the most changeable and emotionally complex "flower". In the writings of different poets, "Yanghua" often has very different meanings. Some people love the free and unrestrained fluttering of Yanghua in the wind, so they wrote "The spring breeze is free in the Yanghua, which is unwilling to be painted in the hall"; some people hate the fluttering of Yanghua, which goes with the flow, so they wrote "Human feelings are like catkins, which are melodious and follow the spring breeze"; some people cherish the softness of Yanghua, which makes people feel melancholy, so they wrote "The luxuriant flowers are full of feelings, and the gentle wind contains thoughts". All these show the charm of Yanghua.

In fact, throughout history, the word "yangliu" is not the only word whose meaning has changed and has been misunderstood by people. Do you know other words with different meanings in ancient and modern times?

Source: Chongqing Garden Expo Park Management Office

Audit expert: Li Yuanyuan

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