There are many Chinese and foreign allusions in ancient history, and these allusions often vividly express the inner spirit of historical events in the form of rich imagery. It not only enriches the expression of history, but also adds a deeper meaning to the historical story.
The artistic expression of Chinese and foreign historical allusions can show the magnificence of history through allegories, symbols, metaphors and other forms. For example, the famous “broken arm survival” allusion in ancient China tells the story of Zhao Dun, a native of the Jin Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period, who was besieged by the enemy in the war, and in order to escape, he cut off his shoulder with a knife and stayed in the siege to escape. This allusion is used to describe a person who sacrifices a part of his life in order to survive at a critical juncture, which means heroism and decisiveness in an existential crisis. This kind of artistic expression tells people how to persevere in the face of difficulties and not be afraid of hardships through simple visual displays.
And in the West, there is a famous allusion “Stone Axe Broken Corris” is a similar example. This allusion comes from ancient Greece mythology, telling the story of Koriskos, the prince of Casaos, who competed to chop wood with a primitive stone axe, and finally failed to complete the task because the stone axe was too worn out to break. But it was because he honestly told the judge that his stone axe was broken, and he received the golden stone axe sent by God, showing the virtues of honesty and integrity. This allusion tells people that only honesty and trustworthiness can achieve success in the form of an allegory.
The artistic expression of Chinese and foreign historical allusions can also show the deep meaning of historical events through symbolism and metaphor. For example, the “oath of trusteeship” in Romeo and Juliet expresses the commitment to the promise and the loyalty and devotion of the person; Another example is the “three horses in the same groove” in Mencius, which compares the three horses to the story of three princes as a metaphor for the unity, cooperation and harmonious coexistence between people. These allusions show the good and evil, loyalty and betrayal of human nature through symbolism, making historical events more profound.
Another allusion is “Three Monks Have No Water to Drink”, which tells the story of three monks walking through a vast wilderness, thirsty and without water to drink on the way. One of the monks found a well, but the water in the well was too deep to drink directly, so he decided to fetch water, but he couldn’t dig it because it was too deep. Seeing this, the second monk also wanted to try, but the same problem still appeared, but basically made a little effort. The third monk found that the two partners worked in vain, so they “sat down and thought”, so when they went down the well again, they did not speak in vain, and finally dug the source of life in the well to the ground, and the three of them drank the water to quench their thirst.
The artistic expression of Chinese and foreign historical allusions has played an important role in the inheritance of history and the transmission of values. Through the combination of images, abstractions, symbols and other techniques, historical allusions can make people intuitively feel the inner spirit of historical events, arouse people’s thinking and resonance, and have a profound enlightenment on history and life. This kind of artistic expression not only enriches the expression form of historical stories, but also makes historical allusions more appealing and interpretable, and becomes a valuable heritage of historical traditions and cultural heritage.
