中國近代化可以說是一部向海洋靠攏的進化史,並且此逐步靠「海」的歷史演進,也表現在近代詩歌裡。本文以「五四」時期兩位重要詩人:聞一多、郭沫若為例,以其詩歌中的「河」、「海」意象說明其詩歌所體現的時代特徵。在這兩位詩人的作品中,常出現「河」、「海」意象的對比特徵,並且可以看到「五四」的世紀交錯感與時代的烙印。其詩作中「河」、「海」意象的對比特徵可以歸納為以下幾層意義:在空間上,「河」往往代表「中國」;而「海」代稱「世界」。在時間上,「河」指向「過去」;「海」望向「未來」。整體而言,聞一多、郭沫若的詩歌體現「五四」詩歌「河」、「海」意象在新文學中的重要性,它不只是審美的,更反映了時代的聲音,代表著由封閉自卑到開放自得的中國血淚史,象徵「中國形象」的轉變,以及士大夫之個人與群體之關係的轉變。
The modern history of China simulates an evolutional history, which intends to draw the closeness of sea and ocean. The evolutional history of China approaches gradually to the sea also existed in poems. Glancing about the poems of Wen´ Yi Duo and Guo Mo‵ Ruo‵ who were the two most important poets in the ”wuˇ si‵” period, may discover the principle imaging ”river” and ”sea” of poems that countlessly ties the trait of ”wuˇ si‵” age. On the contrary to the ”river” and ”sea” images as addressed in this article, the cross trait between century and ages can be inspected offenly. In brief, the contrary of ”river” and ”sea” images can be expressed in few elemants as below: on the point of ”space”, the ”river” images always refer to China, and ”sea” images to the world. While on the point of ”time”, the ”river” images always reflect the past, and the ”sea” images look after the feature. On the whole, the importance about the ”river” and ”sea” images exist in the poems of Wen´ Yi Duo and Guo‵ Mo‵ Ruo can be said: it is not only the aesthetic character, but the reflex-sound of the age, which behaves as the blood and tears of Chinese history that draw from blockade to open-type. The ”river” and ”sea” images of the ”wuˇ si‵” poems signifying the change of the Chinese image, and the changes of the relationship between the individual and the community.