"A Dream of Red Mansions", a vernacular chapter novel, one hundred and ten chapters (or one hundred and eight chapters). It was once called "The Story of the Stone". In the first chapter of the novel, it is said that this book was also named "The Record of the Love Monk", "Feng Yue Bao Jian" and "The Twelve Hairpins of Jinling". As for the author of "Dream of Red Mansions", some researchers now believe that it is Hong Sheng, Zhang Yiquan or someone else, but there is still not enough evidence to obliterate Cao Xueqin's copyright, which has long been recognized by red scholars. The first eighty chapters of "A Dream of Red Mansions" had been copied out during Cao Xueqin's lifetime, along with comments from his friends Zhi Yanzhai, Jihusou and others; after the eighty chapters, the "last thirty chapters" have been basically completed. The draft was roughly finalized, and Zhi Pi revealed that after Daiyu's death, Baoyu once "mourned the scenery". This time the text included the eight characters "Falling leaves rustling, the cold smoke is deserted" and the twenty-sixth chapter "The phoenix tail is dense, the dragon sings softly" " into corresponding text, and revealed that there is a complete chapter: "Xue Baochai borrowed words to satirize Wang Xifeng, a heroic hero who knows his fate." Even the "last chapter" of the book is a story about "Love List" is slightly mentioned, but unfortunately, this touching The soul-stirring "Last Thirty Chapters" text did not spread to the world due to a complicated reason, and finally became a heart-wrenching tragedy in Chinese literature.
Cao Xueqin, whose given name is Zhan, whose courtesy name is Mengruan, and whose pseudonym is Xueqin, also has other names such as Qinpu, Qinxi, and Qinxi Jushi. His ancestral home is Xiangping (now Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province), also known as Fengrun, Hebei Province. The ancestors were originally Han, but they had already become the "guayi" (meaning slave in Manchu) of the Zhengbai Banner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs before the Manchus took over the Central Plains. Its ancestor Cao Zhenyan was a hero who entered the pass from Longlong and belonged to Dorgon's system. His great-grandmother Sun was Kangxi's wet nurse, and his grandfather Cao Yin was Kangxi's "attendant" when he was young. After Kangxi ascended the throne, the Cao family became famous for a while. In the second year of Kangxi's reign (1663), great-grandfather Cao Xi was the first to take charge of weaving in Jiangning. Later, his grandfather Cao Yin, his uncle Cao Yong, and his father Cao Fu successively succeeded him for three generations. He was an important weaver who could not be held by anyone but the emperor's confidant. For more than ten years, this was the heyday of the Cao family. However, in the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign (1727), he was found guilty of being implicated and his family property was confiscated. The following year, the whole family returned north, and their family fortunes declined. It is said that in the early years of Qianlong's reign, the Cao family suffered another greater disaster, and it was in ruins ever since.
Cao Xueqin happened to experience the prosperity and decline of the Cao family throughout his life. He was born in Nanjing in either the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi (1715) or the second year of Yongzheng (1724). He moved back to Beijing with his family in the sixth year of Yongzheng (1728). There is very little material about his life and biography that has been handed down. We can only get a glimpse of his downfall in his later years and his habit of "eating porridge and wine on credit" from some sporadic records and the poems of his friends Duncheng, Dunmin, Zhang Yiquan and others. embarrassment. His immortal masterpiece "A Dream of Red Mansions" was written at this time. Due to poverty and illness, his youngest son died in infancy. He passed away while the manuscript was still waiting for final polishing. Regarding the year of his death, it may be said that it is New Year's Eve in the 27th year of Qianlong's reign (1762), or it may be said that it is New Year's Eve in the 28th year of Qianlong's reign (1763), or it may be said that it is the beginning of the 29th year of Qianlong's Jiashen (1764).
The first eighty chapters of "A Dream of Red Mansions" are copied and are called "The Story of the Stone" (or "The Story of the Stone Re-evaluated by Zhi Yanzhai"). Most of them are accompanied by comments from Zhi Yanzhai and others, so it is also called "The Story of the Stone". "Ben" or "fat". There are eleven versions of "Zhi Ping" that have been discovered so far, and three were copied before Cao Xueqin's death, namely the Jiaxu version (1754), the Jimao version (1759) and the Gengchen version (1760), all of which are incomplete. Book. The remaining eight are the preface by Qi Liaosheng, the Jiachen version, the Mongolian Prince's Mansion version, the Mengmanu version, the preface by Shu Yuanwei, the Leningrad version, the Nanjing Library version, and the Zheng Zhenfeng version. Because these manuscripts are closer to the time when Cao Xueqin was writing, they are closer to the original appearance of the novel. At the same time, the book also retains the comments of Zhi Yanzhai and others who are closely related to Cao Xueqin, which is helpful for studying Cao Xueqin's family background, life, and the basis for the creation of "Dream of Red Mansions". The creation process, as well as the general outline of the lost "Last Thirty Chapters" story, are of great reference value and are important materials for studying "A Dream of Red Mansions".
The novel writes that in ancient times, Nuwa was refining stones to mend the sky, but left a stubborn stone unused at the foot of Qinggan Peak. This stubborn stone has been tempered and has become spiritual, so he begged the immortals Mang Mang and Miao Miao to send him to "a prosperous country, a family of poems and rituals, a land of prosperous flowers and willows, a land of wealth and gentleness". The two immortals couldn't resist it, so they transformed it into a piece of "psychic gem" that was "appreciable and can be held" and sent it to the police fairy in Taixu Illusion Realm. At that time, the attendant of the Chixia Palace Shenying used nectar water to water the withering indigo grass on the banks of the Sansheng Stone on the bank of the Western Ling River, finally allowing the indigo plant to "extend time" and cultivate into a female form. Shenying's waiter Fan had a burning heart and wanted to be a human being. Jiangzhucao felt his kindness and vowed to repay him with the tears of his life and follow him down to earth to go through calamities. This is the so-called "wood and stone alliance" and "tears to repay debts". The "psychic gem" transformed from a stubborn stone was "carried into the mortal world" by Shenying's waiter. I don't know how many lives and calamities have passed, Taoist Kongkong passed by Qinggan Peak and saw writings engraved on a large stone, so he copied it from beginning to end. Cao Xueqin read it and added and deleted it, so this book was created.
There is a Calabash Temple in the city of Gusu. Next to the temple lived a rural eunuch, Zhen Shiyin. He felt sorry for the poor scholar Jia Yucun who lived in the temple and gave him money to help him take the imperial examination. Unexpectedly, on the night of the Lantern Festival, her beloved daughter Yinglian was abducted, and then a fire broke out in the Calabash Temple, causing harm to the Zhen family. When Zhen Shi was living in poverty and was suffering from illness, he was enlightened by the lame Taoist's "Good Song" and escaped into Buddhism. Jia Yucun passed the imperial examination and was elected county magistrate. However, he was dismissed due to greed for money and arrogance, and then went to Yangzhou Salt Administration Lin Ruhai's house.
One day, I met my friend Leng Zixing by chance and listened to his speech on the rise and fall of Rong and Ning. He said, "Although the airs are not very low, the inner pockets are also full." At that time, because the imperial court was recruiting revolutionary personnel, Jia Yucun asked Rong to Lin Ruhai, the son-in-law of the government, helped. Lin Ruhai also wanted to entrust his daughter Lin Daiyu to his grandmother Jia Taijun because of his wife's death, so he asked Jia Yucun to send his daughter to Beijing and at the same time write a letter of recommendation to his brother-in-law Jia Zheng.
When Daiyu entered Rong Mansion for the first time, she was even more careful about everything. When they met Baoyu, they both felt familiar and had a sense of deja vu. Seeing that Daiyu didn't have a psychic jade on her body, Baoyu took off her own and threw it on the ground, causing an unhappiness. One day, plum blossoms bloomed in Ning Mansion, and Jia Zhen's wife, Youshi, invited Jia Mu and others to enjoy them. Baoyu took a nap in the bedroom of Qin Keqing, Jia Zhen's daughter-in-law, and sleepwalked in the illusion of Taixu. He saw the "Album of Twelve Hairpins in Jinling", listened to the music of "A Dream of Red Mansions", and had fun with the fairy Keqing. After waking up from the dream, he and his eldest maid, Xiren, enjoyed the fantasy together.
With the help of Jia Zheng, Jia Yucun was appointed to Jinling Yingtian Mansion. As soon as Jia Yucun took office, he accepted the case of Yinglian's abduction and murder. The person who snatched Yinglian and killed the original buyer was Xue Pan from the Xue family, one of the four major families in Jinling. Jia Yucun was afraid of the power of the four major families and ignored Zhen Shiyin's gift of silver, so he broke up the case. After Xue Pan took away Yinglian, he went to Beijing with his mother Aunt Xue and sister Baochai. After Xue Baochai came to Beijing, he temporarily lived in Jia's mansion. He was loved by people for his dignified appearance, modesty and easygoingness. When Baochai was ill and had leprosy when she was young, the monk gave her a gold lock to ward off evil spirits, and she wore it everywhere from now on. One day, I saw Baoyu also had a treasure that matched his golden lock. I thought about it for a long time. This is the so-called "gold and jade marriage". Daiyu and Baoyu were childhood sweethearts, and they already fell in love with each other, so Daiyu often took the opportunity to ridicule the so-called "good relationship between gold and jade".
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Qin Keqing died of illness. Jia Zhen was as grief-stricken as if she had lost her wife. In order to make the funeral beautiful, he donated a fifth-grade dragon ban captain to his son Jia Rong, and asked Wu Xifeng, the wife of Jia Lian of Rongfu, to assist in the funeral. Sister Feng was smart and capable, and the day of the funeral was very beautiful. That night, they stayed at the Tiekan Temple in the suburbs. Because of greed for money, Sister Feng forcibly broke up a young couple who were in love, causing them to commit suicide out of hatred. In the coming year, Jia Zheng's eldest daughter was canonized as a concubine at the beginning of Yuan Chun, and the emperor allowed her to go home to "visit relatives". The Jia Mansion then carried out extensive construction work and built a garden. Baoyu inscribed the foreheads of each door in the garden. On the night of the Lantern Festival, Yuan Fei Luan came into the house and named the garden "Grand View Garden". She also ordered Baoyu and her sisters to write poems. Daiyu wanted to show off her talents, but she was only ordered to compose one song, which was a bit regretful. Concubine Yuan returned to the palace and ordered Baoyu and her sisters to live in the garden. After entering the garden, Baoyu played with the girls in the garden all day long and was very happy. The book boy Mingyan brought "The Romance of the West Chamber" into the garden, and Baoyu and Daiyu admired the wonderful text together. Because Baoyu uses Zhang Sheng and Yingying to describe herself and others, Daiyu is very angry, but she also makes associations. At that time, Lin Ruhai had also died of illness, and Daiyu was living under someone else's roof, often feeling melancholy and crying. In late spring, when I see fallen flowers floating in the air, I feel my life experience. I carry a hoe to bury the flowers and recite "Flower Burial Ci", which expresses my sadness. Due to her sensitive nature and deep love, Daiyu had misunderstandings, and she often quarreled and quarreled with Baoyu. The girl Xiren is good at caring for others, and Baoyu values ????her very much, so she advises Baoyu to study and focus on business. On this day, Shi Xiangyun, the granddaughter of Jia's mother's family, also advised Baoyu to pay attention to her economic career. Baoyu overcame her and said: Sister Lin never said such nonsense. Daiyu happened to be passing by and was very happy after hearing this. Bao and Dai now "live in two places and share the same love."
One day, Jia Baoyu's mother, Mrs. Wang, summoned Baoyu. Baoyu took advantage of his mother's sleeping side and teased her maid Jin Chuaner. When Mrs. Wang heard this, she angrily chased Jin Chuan'er away. Jin Chuan'er couldn't bear the humiliation and threw herself into a well and died. Jia Huan lied that Jin Chuan'er committed suicide because of Bao Yu's attempted rape. At the same time, Prince Zhongshun sent someone to Jia's Mansion to find Qi Guan'er, an actress who had a close relationship with Bao Yu. Jia Zheng was furious, thinking that he would "kill the king and his father" in the future, so he beat him vigorously. It was not until Jia's mother came after hearing the news that the storm calmed down. Xiren then gave his loyal advice to Mrs. Wang, who then treated Xiren as his aunt. The autumn wind gradually picked up in the Grand View Garden. Baoyu's sister Tanchun advocated the establishment of the Haitang Poetry Society, and Jia Zheng's daughter-in-law Li Wan volunteered to be the general reviewer. The sisters composed twelve chrysanthemum poems, and Daiyu was superior in skill, overwhelming all the other girls. At that time, cousins ??such as Xing Xiuyan, Li Wen, and Xue Baoqin all lived in the Jia Mansion, and the Grand View Garden was bustling with activity. Grandma Liu, an old village woman, was related to Mrs. Wang and went to Jia's house to enjoy the autumn breeze at the end of the year. Jia's mother left her alone to chat. There was a big banquet in the Grand View Garden, and everyone was teasing Grandma Liu. Grandma Liu was experienced in the world and was willing to be a joke. Later, she took the silver gift from the Jia family and returned to the countryside. Before leaving, she named Sister Feng's daughter "Sister Qiao". Jia's mother liked the excitement and funded a banquet to celebrate Sister Feng's birthday. Sister Feng returned home drunk early and discovered that her husband, Jia Lian, was having an affair with the servant girl, so she caused a riot in the Rong Mansion and forced the servant Bao's second daughter-in-law to death.
Laws and extravagance in the Rong Mansion are increasing day by day. Jia Zheng's brother Jia She actually falls in love with Yuanyang, the maid next to Jia Mu, and wants to marry her as a concubine. Jia She's wife, Mrs. Xing, boldly told Jia Mu about this. After hearing this, Jia Mu was furious and scolded Mrs. Xing. Jia She's plan failed. Since Xue Pan entered the capital, he has been making noises and making noises all day long. One day, he was teasing Liu Xianglian and was lured to the outskirts by Liu Xianglian and beaten up. Xue Pan felt that it was hard to meet people, so he went out to do business. Daiyu's maid Zijuan lied that Daiyu would return to her hometown in Suzhou. After hearing this, Baoyu was shocked and suffered from dementia. Zicuckoo was ordered to explain it in many ways, and Baoyu recovered from his illness. Everyone knows what Bao Dai is thinking, and everyone thinks they are a good couple. On Baoyu's birthday, all the sisters had a feast in the Grand View Garden. Miaoyu, the Taoist nun who led the spiritual practice in Cuicui Temple in the garden, also wrote a post to express her congratulations as an "outsider". Jia Jing of Ning Mansion died after swallowing pills, so You took charge of the ceremony and invited his mother and two younger sisters to come and help. Jia Lian has coveted the You sisters for a long time, and the second sister You also has the same desire.
Jia Rong arranged a match, and Jia Lian secretly married Sister You outside. Although Sanjie You has always been misbehaving, she is very strong-willed and vows not to marry anyone other than Liu Xianglian. Later, when Jia Lian went out, he met Liu Xianglian on the road and expressed his wishes to the third sister. Liu Xianglian readily agreed. After Liu Xianglian returned to Beijing, she chatted with Baoyu and found out that Third Sister You was Jia Zhen's sister-in-law, so she had the intention of breaking the contract. Third Sister You committed suicide when she heard about this. Liu Xianglian regretted it so much that she escaped into Buddhism. Jia She's daughter Yingchun's maid Siqi had an affair with her cousin Pan You'an. One day, Yuanyang accidentally bumped into their private meeting, and Pan You'an hurriedly left the embroidered spring bag in the Grand View Garden. The stupid eldest sister picked up the sachet and was seen by Mrs. Xing. When Mrs. Wang found out, she was furious and wanted to inspect the Grand View Garden. Sister Feng, a fellow member of Wang Shanbao's family, ransacked the Grand View Garden at night. Yingchun was cowardly and the chess player was expelled. Tanchun was full of energy and beat up the evil servant woman. Xichun was independent of the world and lived in a corner. When Mrs. Wang saw Qingwen's beauty and charm, she suspected that she had brought Baoyu into trouble, so she ordered her to be kicked out of the Grand View Garden. Qingwen was expelled and died with hatred. Baoyu wrote "Hibiscus Elegy" to commemorate her and express his infinite nostalgia and sadness.
Xue Pan married Jin Gui, and Xiang Ling was tortured so much that she finally couldn't bear to be trampled on, "causing Xiang to return to her hometown." After Yingchun got married, she was bullied by her husband "Zhongshan Wolf" and died a year later. When Tan Chun married overseas, he "sent his eyes to the riverside with tears in his eyes during the Qingming Festival", which was full of desolation and resentment. The Grand View Garden is getting deserted. Daiyu composed "Ten Du Yin" and sighed melancholy all day long. Rumors abounded in the Jia family. It was rumored that Daiyu had bad conduct and that Baoyu had "untalented affairs". Daiyu was in a situation where "the wind, the sword, the frost, the sword were facing each other," and she "treasured other people but didn't know how to cherish herself," and her condition worsened. Jia's mother died of illness, and the big tree that Lin Daiyu relied on for shade collapsed. Mrs. Wang passed on Yuanchun's decree to choose Baochai as Baoyu's daughter-in-law. Daiyu "died after all her tears" and finally "proved her destiny". Baoyu "mourned the scenery" and was so sad that he wished he could live. After Baoyu got married, he ignored "Baochai's sarcastic words" and just missed Daiyu.
When Yuanchun passed away, the Jia family was in a state of desolation. At that time, the historians, Wang family, etc. who were "related to" the Jia family all suffered disasters one after another. Jia Baoyu "sent away" the maids around him and went home. When Xiren came, he told her to "keep Musk Moon at least." Jia Lianxiu abandoned Wang Xifeng, and Mrs. Xing, Aunt Zhao and others were secretly proud. "Ruthless uncle" Wang Ren and "treacherous brother" Jia Rong sold Qiao Jie to Goulan. Rong Ning's second house had all kinds of misdeeds, and finally suffered a catastrophe, and the "registration confiscation" inspection was carried out. Everyone in the Hefu was detained and punished. Jia Yun, Xiao Hong and others visited generously, and many people tried to rescue Baoyu, Baochai, Xifeng and others. Xifeng was so disheartened that she "cryed to Jinling" with her sick body in her arms, and passed away in her hometown. Grandma Liu went bankrupt to redeem Sister Qiao, who was living in the land of fireworks, and ordered Ban'er to marry Sister Qiao "without shame". The attacker and the chess player "enshrine" Baoyu and Baochai. Baoyu went through the cold and cold world, and finally abandoned Baochai and Sheyue, "letting go on the cliff". On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a fire burned Jia's mansion to a white ground. "The vast white ground is so clean!"
The fairy girl in Taixu Fantasy Realm revealed the "Love List", and Baoyu said "Love List" "Not feeling", Daiyu means "Qingqing". The waiter of Shenying and Jiangzhucao finally meet. The stubborn stone has also regained its old shape, returned to Qinggan Peak, and engraved what he has experienced in half his life on his body, allowing it to be eroded by wind and rain, and the years are lost...
"A Dream of Red Mansions", the unconquerable peak of Chinese novel literature, has never been conquered. Since the day she came out, there have been different opinions about her purpose. Mr. Lu Xun once said with some irony: "Confucian scholars see the Book of Changes, Taoists see prostitution, talents see lingering, revolutionaries see rows, and gossips see the secrets of the palace." Cao Xueqin himself seems to be well aware of the difficulty of understanding, The first quatrain of the book goes: "The paper is full of absurd words and a handful of bitter tears! It is said that the author is crazy, who can understand the meaning?" Although Westerners have a famous saying: "There are a thousand Hamlets for a thousand readers", this is definitely This does not mean that you can comment at will. In any case, it is the only way to understand the flavor of the novel based on its content and its publication background.
"A Dream of Red Mansions" was written around the middle of Qianlong's reign, which coincided with the "Kangxi-Qianlong Era" of the Qing Dynasty, which was a century of peace. But Cao Xueqin was deeply aware of his rough experience and abject situation, and was keenly aware of the ugliness of that era and the sadness of life. His "Dream of Red Mansions" is his unique taste and feeling about the social life at that time. "A Dream of Red Mansions" centers on the love and marriage tragedy between Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai, and describes the entire process of the Jia family's rise and decline, exposing the darkness and ugliness of society under the feudal system. At the same time, the novel also starts from "Thousands of Reds" Starting from the miserable situation of "One Cry" and "All Beauty and Sadness", it reveals the hopelessness and sadness of life. The work seems to be mourning the decline of old things and the suffocation of new things at the same time. The whole novel is always filled with a pessimistic and nostalgic mood. It can be said that the novel has the meaning of an elegy for the feudal system, but at the same time the author praises the rebels of the feudal system who are still in their infancy and have preliminary democratic ideas, and expresses new hazy ideals.
In this encyclopedic work of the late feudal society, Jia Baoyu’s rebellious life and the life tragedies of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling and others form a huge and uplifting tragedy. The love and marriage tragedy between Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai is the main part of the tragedy of the entire novel, and Jia Baoyu is the center of it. As Mr. Lu Xun said in "A Brief History of Chinese Novels": "The mist of sadness is everywhere. Those who are understood by Hualin by breathing are only precious jade.
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Jia Baoyu is a direct descendant of Rongguo Mansion. He was born with a "spiritual treasure jade" in his mouth, which can be said to be a natural heterogeneity. He is smart and smart. Although he is not engaged in "real work", he has many poems and songs. Even Jia Zheng, who disliked him, secretly applauded him. He was outstanding among the arrogant and extravagant children of the Jia family. It was precisely because of his unique status as heir that he was able to stay in the family for a long time. He "hangs around" and comes into contact with mostly innocent girls. His special living environment and atmosphere make him deeply disgusted with the hypocrisy, corruption and spiritual and moral decay of the feudal aristocracy. "Between Confucius and Mencius, he was committed to economic principles." If he was asked to study, he would make a fuss in the study and disapproved of the "Four Books and Five Classics". He was "stupid and stubborn and afraid of reading articles", and he begged his elder sister to ask others to do his homework for him. , but he was obsessed with "Zhuangzi", and couldn't put it down for "The Romance of the West Chamber" that the bookboy smuggled into the house. "He didn't even want to eat." He looked lifeless, without the brilliance he usually displayed in dramas, but he often secretly went out of his house to drink and recite poems with Feng Ziying, who was "hunting with fists", and Liu Xianglian, who was "bold by nature". He fell in love at first sight with Qi Guan'er, an actor named Shun Wangfu, which led to his death. He pinned all his passion and ideals on the insulted and harmed girls in the Grand View Garden. He believed that "the spirit of beauty in heaven and earth only exists." To women, men are not just trash. " He also said: "Daughters are flesh and blood made of water, and men are flesh and blood made of mud. When I see a daughter, I feel refreshed, but when I see a man, I feel stinky. "He was willing to work for the girls and was willing to help them put on their makeup and change their dresses. Even the story that Grandma Liu made up about the girl drawing firewood made him "think about it all night." His infatuation with girls reached an almost perverted level. For example, he likes to eat the red rouge on the maid's mouth. These weird words and deeds are essentially the result of the reaction against the "male filth" and "national thieves". These rebellious behaviors are naturally not allowed to be defended by feudalism. Readers, Jia Baoyu was called the "unfaithful evildoer" and the "devil king", for which he was almost beaten to death by his father. It should be noted that Jia Baoyu's rebellion was not resolute and thorough, and he also had many habits of a playboy. He once got angry because of Qingwen's rebuttal, he once kicked Xi Ren for being late in opening the door, while he abandoned the morals of feudalism, he could not do without the wealth of a wealthy family. He was a "rich man". "Idle man". The boundless emptiness always surrounds him. He can play in the Grand View Garden all day long, or indulge in poetry and wine with Liu Xianglian, Jiang Yuhan, etc., but he can never get rid of the pessimistic feelings of the feudal apocalypse. He likes to gather but not like to disperse. , seeing the flowers blooming but thinking about them withered, the pessimism reaches the extreme, and the heart is like a dead tree, letting go of the cliff.
On the road of rebellion, Jia Baoyu got to get along with him since childhood. Lin Daiyu, who did not say "those bastard words" to him, developed a deep love based on their mutual comrades. Lin Daiyu's parents died when she was young, and she lived in Jia's house. , makes her sensitive and suspicious, and often uses words "more dangerous than a knife" to fight back and ridicule others in order to maintain her purity and elegance. All of this is regarded as "mean" and "small-minded", which is not suitable for a gentle and honest girl. Fan. In the Jia family where "three hundred and sixty days a year, wind, sword, frost and sword are facing each other", it is her love with Baoyu that supports her life. At the same time, it is this rebellious love that makes her Living in infinite pain and melancholy, Lin Daiyu had to test Baoyu again and again due to the intervention of Xue Baochai's "gold and jade marriage", and when Jia Baoyu confided his true feelings to her, she was "so angry that she could not speak". It's not that Lin Daiyu can't see Baoyu's true feelings, it's just that in such an environment, her requirements for love have reached an extremely demanding level. She is torturing Baoyu and herself, and she tastes the noblest and most intense taste in this torture. And the most personal pain. Compared with Baoyu, she likes to separate but not to gather together. She would like to hold a small hoe in a corner of the garden, bury the incense grave, and weep the red leaves. She would like to lie quietly in the "bamboo shadows are scattered, Xiao Xiangguan shed tears in the wind. She always faced the hypocrisy and pretense of feudalism with a sincere heart. In the end, her heart was crushed in the dark environment of "wind, frost, and sword." "The cold moon buries the flower soul" should be the best explanation of Lin Daiyu's lonely life.
In the novel, another unforgettable girl image - Xue Baochai, is the same as Daiyu. , looks like a flower and jade, but has different charm, temperament and life aspirations from Lin Daiyu. Xue Baochai is dignified and virtuous, elegant in manner, and knowledgeable. As early as at that time, some of her admirers "swung their fists" to argue about her superiority to Daiyu. Before liberation, some people even shouted, "Marry a wife like Xue Baochai." Judging from the novel, it is difficult to say that Baochai and Daiyu are superior to each other. They represent two types respectively, in a state of "two peaks confronting each other". The beauty in Baoyu's heart is "who is bright and charming, just like Baochai." , romantic and graceful, just like Daiyu." Xue Baochai abides by feudal ethics and has a strong sense of feudalism. For this reason, Baoyu once scolded her for "being a pure and white woman, but also learning to fish for fame and reputation, and became a traitor to the country." However, because of this, she received won unanimous praise from people.
When Jia Mu asked her what she liked to hear and eat, she checked what Jia Mu said she liked to hear and eat; when Concubine Yuan sent a "very novel" riddle from the palace, she "uttered few compliments and deliberately thought about it." ", even Aunt Zhao, who seemed to hate everyone in the Jia family, praised her for being "a good person." In that era, people who knew how to be human were inevitably hypocritical, but Baochai's hypocrisy was the same as sincerity. She sincerely did things that seemed hypocritical. Perhaps because she had been taking Lengxiang Pills since she was a child, Baochai seemed to be indifferent to everything. She did not like "flower fans", and even her bedroom was decorated "with no playthings" and "like a snow cave" ", even the tragedy of Sister You and Liu Xianglian only resulted in a faint sentence from her: "This is also their destiny in their previous lives." Being ruthless to everything is the reason why she is good to everyone. "No matter how ruthless it is, it's also moving." The drink lottery she drew happened to be her own truth. It should be said that these "perfect" beauties did not intentionally compete with Daiyu for the precious jade, nor did they use any means to seek the position of "the second mistress of the treasure". She knew that Bao Dai was deeply affectionate, and she also knew that she and Bao Yu had an unsatisfactory marriage, but the feudal moral standards made her silently swallow this bitter pill. She is also a tragic figure, but she is not the tragedy of a rebel, but the tragedy of a defender.
The description of the tragedy of love and marriage in "A Dream of Red Mansions" is delicate and profound, which has moved generations of readers. The new brilliance and anti-feudal significance that flashed in it profoundly reflected that era and made The more people read it, the more emotions they will have.
Revolving around Jia Baoyu’s rebellious life path, the tragic experiences of the Twelve Hairpins in Jinling, and the tragic love and marriage of Bao, Dai, and Chai, the novel also exposes the decadence and moral decay of the feudal aristocratic family. Rong Ning's second mansion, the so-called "family of poetry, etiquette and hairpins", is actually extremely dirty at heart. They squandered lavishly, eating a meal of crabs was enough for a country person to live for a year; the funeral procession for Keqing was like "a mountain of silver weighing on the ground." They have no shame. Jia She, despite his age, wants to marry a maid as a concubine and threatens to escape his clutches; Jia Zhen and her daughter-in-law are very close friends; Jia Rong and Jia Lian, even though they are "hot and filial" , not forgetting "crazy whoring and gambling", the debauchery and shamelessness reached an unspeakable level, just as Jiao Da drunkenly cursed: "I want to go to the ancestral hall to cry for my grandpa. Where would I have given birth to these beasts! Every day!" The family steals like a dog and plays with a chicken, a person crawls on ashes, and a brother-in-law raises a brother-in-law, what don’t I know?" Mutual hatred and suspicion caused by property and power in the family happen every day, or is it what You said? To be honest: "Everyone in our family can only talk about fake etiquette and decency. After all, everything they do is enough." This is a car that exudes a rotten atmosphere under the tenderness of feudal ethics. of zombies.
Cao Xueqin indeed keenly felt the suffocation of the feudal apocalypse, and he vaguely understood the social roots that created the tragedy of "A Dream of Red Mansions". But he attributed all this to the pain and impermanence of life. In the novel, the beautiful and sad story of Shenying's waiter and Jiangzhucao, the Taixu illusion and the vigilant fairy who are in charge of the world's customs and moon debts, as well as the Yiseng Yiyi who comes and goes without a trace, and the indistinct Zhen Baoyu all give the novel a unique and melancholy story. The novel has a layer of sentimentalism and nihilism, and the whole story is filled with empty, dream-like sadness.
"A Dream of Red Mansions" is the highest peak of ancient Chinese realist literature. Her great achievements are not only reflected in her profound ideological significance, but also in her extraordinary artistic achievements. "Since the release of "Dream of Red Mansions", traditional thinking and writing methods have been broken." Mr. Lu Xun's words undoubtedly pointed out the unique status of "Dream of Red Mansions" throughout the ages.
The structure of "A Dream of Red Mansions" completely breaks the traditional single-line structure of Chinese classical novels and adopts many linear structures. She uses Jia Baoyu and the Twelve Hairpins of Jinling as the main line, and the process of Jia's prosperity and decline as the sub-line. She organically organizes many characters and complicated events together to form a main network structure. It shows us a picture of historical life in the last days of feudalism in an all-round and multi-level way. Cao Xueqin grasps thousands of threads in his hands and displays them clearly and completely at the same time, which is unique in the history of Chinese literature. No wonder Qi Liaosheng sighed in the preface to "A Dream of Red Mansions": "I heard two songs of Jiangshu, and a song It's in the throat, and the sound is in the nose. Huang Hua's left wrist can write, and his right wrist can write. It's so amazing! I haven't seen it before. One song and two songs, one strict and two seals, this is something that is impossible to achieve, but it is a miracle that the book "The Story of the Stone" is obtained, hehe!"
"A Dream of Red Mansions" goes against the stereotypical writing method of "everything is good for good people and bad for bad people" in character creation, and truly depicts the richness and complexity of characters. This can be clearly seen in Wang Xifeng. Wang Xifeng is sinister and vicious. She set up a lovesickness trap with poison, gained power in Tiekan Temple, and forced Sister You to death with a fake knife. These are all her actions, but she has a beautiful face and a cheerful personality, just like Wang Kunlun in " It is said in "A Theory of Characters in the Dream of Red Mansions": "I hate Sister Feng, I scold Sister Feng, but I don't see Sister Feng and miss Sister Feng." Jia Baoyu is a character praised by the author, but he is also a playboy who does not change his habits, forcing people to kneel down and throwing tea cups. Combining beauty and ugliness like this does not mean that beauty and ugliness are indistinguishable, but that beauty and ugliness are truly represented, making the beautiful more beautiful and the ugly even uglier.
"Dream of Red Mansions" is good at describing daily life delicately and realistically, for which she "is deeply impressed by "The Golden Vase"", but compared to the triviality and complexity of "The Golden Vase", it is more typical and Tendency. Food and drink in Jia's house can be said to be a daily chore, but the author took the trouble to write about it again and again, but each time he wrote it, it had its own characteristics, revealing the author's unusual meaning. For example, in the seventy-fifth episode of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jia Mu and others enjoyed the full moon. They still had delicacies from the mountains and seas, and they still played music, played, and sang, but they lost the lively atmosphere of the past. In the end, it was only a cold moon and dim lights. This shows the signs of decline of the Jia family.
The language of "A Dream of Red Mansions" is highly artistic, "characterized by its simplicity and purity, accuracy and expressiveness, simplicity and variety". She is outstandingly reflected in the individuality and action of the character's language. For example, when Sister Feng appears, she first says, "I came late and did not greet the guests from afar." This is enough to show Sister Feng's unrestrained style and her special status in this family. . In addition, the rich vocabulary and numerous common sayings in the novel also add a lot to the novel.
"A Dream of Red Mansions" is a great realist work, which has reached the highest peak of Chinese classical novels both ideologically and artistically. Huang Zunxian, a poet of the Qing Dynasty, hit the nail on the head when he said that her novel "is the first good novel in history. It should compete with the sun and the moon for glory, and it will last forever." "A Dream of Red Mansions", as a dazzling pearl in the history of Chinese literature, will always shine brightly.
There are many sequels to "Dream of Red Mansions" (Cheng Gao's Forty Chapters, Later Dream of Red Mansions, Continuation of Dream of Red Mansions (1), Continuation of Dream of Red Mansions, Heavy Dream of Qi Mansion, Continuation of Dream of Red Mansions (1), Love in the Mirage Dream, New Dream of Red Mansions (1), New Dream of Red Mansions (2), Repeated Dream of Red Mansions, Continuation of Dream of Red Mansions, New continuation of Dream of Red Mansions, Supplement to Dream of Red Mansions, Additional Dream of Red Mansions, Dream of Red Mansions Realized, Drawing of the sequel to The Twelve Beauties of Jinling, Supplement to Dream of Red Mansions, Supplement to Dream of Red Mansions, Supplement Dream of Red Mansions (2), Fantasy of Red Mansions, Fantasy, Fantasy of Red Mansions, Continuation of Dream of Red Mansions, Fantasy of Taixu, New Story of Stone (1), New Story of Stone (2), Remnant Dream of Red Mansions, Remaining Dream of Red Mansions, True Dream of Red Mansions, Stone Replenishment Notes, Farewell Edition of Dream of Red Mansions, Destiny between Wood and Stone, Cause and Effect of Bao and Dai, New Continuation of Dream of Red Mansions, Three Dreams of Red Mansions, Awakening from Dream of Red Mansions, Ghost in Red Mansions, Four Dreams, After Dream of Red Mansions, Dream of Red Mansions Again, Repeated Dream of Red Mansions, Continued Dream of Red Mansions, Continued Dream of Red Mansions, Three continuations of Dream of Red Mansions, Supplementary Dream of Red Mansions, Suspicious Dream of Red Mansions, Suspicious Dream of Red Mansions, Great Dream of Red Mansions, Dream of Feng Yue, Dream of Red Mansions, Jiyouyun's copy of Dream of Red Mansions, Duanfang's copy of Dream of Red Mansions, Sanliuqiao's collection of Dream of Red Mansions, Chen Tao'an's original copy of Dream of Red Mansions The original version of Dream of Red Mansions, the old version of Dream of Red Mansions as seen by Dai Chengfu, and the new version of Dream of Red Mansions), among which the most famous and most harmful is "The Forty Chapters of Cheng Gao". Whether these forty chapters were written by Gao E remains to be studied, but what is certain is that its author is not the same person as the author of the first eighty chapters of "A Dream of Red Mansions". The text of these forty chapters may have been forcibly grafted on after the first eighty chapters, and was edited and deleted by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E to become the 120-chapter version, so it is called "Cheng Gao version" or "Hundred and Twenty Chapters version". The first version printed and issued in Xinhai (1791), the 56th year of Qianlong's reign, was called the Cheng Jia version, and the revised and reprinted version in the 57th year of the Qianlong reign (1792) was called the Cheng Yi version. In addition, there are the Cheng Bing version, the Wang Ping version (that is, the review version of Wang Xuexiang, the owner of Huhua), the Zhang Ping version (that is, the Taiping idler Zhang Xinzhi’s version), and the Yao Ping version (that is, the version of Wang Xuexiang and the Da certain mountain man Yao "Huo Yanhuo" printed during the Guangxu period. Also> Commentary) and so on. The last forty chapters of "Cheng Ben" are not just a continuation of the book. Its authors may be Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E. In order to unify the first eighty chapters with the last forty chapters, they made unscrupulous changes to the first eighty chapters. Deletions, additions and deletions have maliciously changed the original appearance of Cao Xueqin's original work. The so-called "forty-three volumes of "Jinyu Yuan"" are based on the "forty chapters after Cheng Gao" with three chapters added in front of it to make it a complete story with a beginning and an end. For the original work of "Dream of Red Mansions", this is a good idea. With these forty-three volumes of "Jin Yu Yuan", "The Forty Chapters of Cheng Gao" can be separated from the original work of "A Dream of Red Mansions", and the original version of "A Dream of Red Mansions" can be returned to readers. Therefore, we attach great importance to this compiled "Golden Jade Fate". The other sequels to "Dream of Red Mansions" have little artistic value. Most of them are sequels to the 120-chapter edition, which are not worth mentioning.
It is recommended that those who are reading "A Dream of Red Mansions" for the first time should not read all the sequels including the last forty chapters, but only read the first eighty chapters.