2\ For many years, scholars in past dynasties thought that the image of Baoqin was a fiction of the author, a non-existent character in reality, or a failed role. Chen Qitai, a Qing Dynasty man, thought in the forty-ninth chapter of A Dream of Red Mansions: "The treasure piano comes suddenly, which sets off Baochai's writing ... Don't take it seriously as having a treasure piano". In Xu Ying's praise of Xue Baoqin, "Xue Baoqin is a flower of hue, which can be smelled, painted and killed, but a pawn cannot be planted, so there is no such thing in the world." Some modern and contemporary scholars have also made similar comments on Baoqin. They think, "Xue Baoqin finally became anticlimactic and bluffing in Cao Xueqin's works ... Xue Xiaomei, who is beautiful and versatile, really has no fresh and unique personality ... This character has no positive effect on A Dream of Red Mansions." Some people think that the beauty of Baoqin, such as paper, gives people a very vague impression, as if only a shadow had been written. Without life and heat, a vivid character image is not enough. She is like a flower in the mirror, a moon in the water and a comet flying in the sky, which makes people invisible, unpredictable, intangible and unpredictable ... in short, it is chaos.
3 Xue Baoqin's image and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reproduced)
The conclusions of the above scholars are reasonable, but the author thinks that Baoqin is a real image. There may be three reasons why she left such an illusory impression on researchers: first, it is related to the author's subjective intention of designing and arranging characters. The appearances of many characters in Cao Xueqin's works are patchwork, miscellaneous but not chaotic, and different characters have different environments suitable for their identities. Bao Qin doesn't appear many times in the book, and every formal appearance conforms to the author's subjective intention of designing this character. The bustling Jiafu has fragrant flowers and willows, a gentle and quiet grand view garden, and a dirty and dirty place. Baoqin is a pure and lovely person with aesthetic ideals, and her appearance environment must be selected. For example, in the Grand View Garden, Baoqin participated in the pure beauty scene of her daughter's talent, kindness, affection and infatuation, and the festive atmosphere in Jia's house. Second, the author's artistic means of portraying characters. Baoqin is an outstanding and brand-new figure among many characters in A Dream of Red Mansions, but she didn't make her debut until the 49th time. At that time, "Ke Qing died, Yuan Fei returned to the province, uncle and sister-in-law met five ghosts, Daiyu buried flowers, Qingwen tore a fan, Jinchuan threw herself into a well, Baoyu was beaten, Yun Xuan Meng Jiang, Haitang Club, Chrysanthemum Club, Granny Liu entered the Grand View Garden, Xifeng poured vinegar, Yuanyang cut her hair and Xue Pan was beaten ... These important events have passed, which means many good opportunities to show her character. In this case, if you want to write the characters well, you must adopt fresh and unique artistic techniques. When Cao Xueqin created the image of Baoqin, he used fuzzy art appropriately, and adopted the methods of belittling appearance, emphasizing verve and setting off the side, focusing on depicting the spiritual temperament and modal verve of the characters, and sublimating the whole picture of the characters in their respective minds through readers' re-creation. It is this vague and mysterious aesthetic feeling that makes the image of Baoqin have a unique aesthetic significance. If we can't grasp the author's unique creative technique, of course, it will be difficult to appreciate the artistic charm of the image of Baoqin. Although Bao Qin said very little in the book, he was not a dull figure. From her appearance to the end of 1980s, the author used 265,438+0 "smiles" on her, each with its own modality, including gentle smile, shy smile, brisk smile, naughty smile ... and intends to make up for the few words with its demeanor. Third, the influence of Gao E's sequel. The last forty chapters of Gao E were the declining period of the four major families represented by Jia's family, and also the period of sharp conflicts among Jia's various contradictions. The whole chapter is low in style and bleak everywhere, focusing on the tragic fate of major figures such as Chai Dai, Baoyu and Wang Xifeng. Therefore, not only Baoqin, Xiangyun and others are not taken care of enough. In the last forty chapters, Bao Qin's activities were almost ignored by his population, or just seemed to set off Baochai, neither silent nor smiling. The whole sequel is only a simple side explanation support, which makes the characters look a little thin and gives readers an anticlimactic feeling. Cao Xueqin's indirect narration is the crowning touch, but it is a pity that Gao E regards it as the skeleton of the characters. From this perspective, Gao E only partially inherited Cao Xueqin's legacy, but did not fully understand Cao Xueqin's creative intention.
4 Xue Baoqin's image and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reproduced)
In a word, various subjective and objective factors have caused researchers to misread the image of Baoqin. Through the layers of fog, we will see a woman with unique personality charm and meaning of existence-Xue Baoqin.
5 The image of Xue Baoqin and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reproduced)
Characteristics of Baoqin's image
One of the main purposes of Cao Xueqin's creation of A Dream of Red Mansions is to write carols and elegies of a group of "just a little" women. In the tragedy of daughters "a thousand red holes (crying) and Wan Yan sharing a cup (sadness)", Baoqin is a very light tragedy, and the author specially arranged a happy ending for it, even though it was "a really clean white land". Cao Xueqin's love for Baoqin endowed her with a beautiful face, amazing beauty and smart agility, which made her almost the first perfect person in the world of red chamber. It can be said that she entrusted the author's admiration for the talent, purity, beauty and youth of "small talent and small goodness" and entrusted the author's ideal.
6 The image of Xue Baoqin and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reproduced)
First of all, Baoqin has an amazing beauty. The author did not describe the appearance of Baoqin positively, nor did he say how amazing her beauty was. She just used Baoyu's exclamation that "one man on earth" surpassed "stunning" Baochai. Qingwen, Tanchun and others praised her, especially Xun Mei, walking around in the snow, and no one did not praise her beauty. No one has any doubt about Baoqin's beauty, because before her appearance, the works have carefully described so many beautiful daughters with unique characteristics and unique charm, and these people are not as good as Baoqin's appearance, so her beauty is obvious. In addition, it can be seen from Jia Mu's preference for her that her beauty is unparalleled.
7 The image of Xue Baoqin and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reproduced)
Secondly, Baoqin is also smart and agile. The book says that she was born smart and could read and write since she was a child. In this regard, Zhi Yanzhai has the following comments: "In unofficial history, there is only one woman who knows pen and ink. People who know how to read this book are first-rate talented women. If you don't believe me, just look at her comprehensive manners and humorous poems. " Baoqin first showed her talent in the 50th poem "Xue Lu Temple Strives for the Beautiful Scenery". In this couplet, Bao Qin overwhelmed Chai Dai. Among the 70 poems, Bao Qin accounts for 13, Dai Yuzhan 1 1, and Baochai only accounts for 5 poems. In the linking sentence, Baoqin has many beautiful sentences. After the joint sentence, Baoqin was pushed to write a poem about Hongmei with Wen Li and Xing Xiuyan, and as a result, Baoqin's poem was pushed to be the first of three. Baoyu was surprised to see that he was the youngest and agile. Even the most agile poets, such as Daiyu and Xiangyun, admired Baoqin's talent and poured wine to congratulate them. The unique ten nostalgic poems also show Baoqin's extraordinary talent. As Jiang Qi praised in A Dream of Red Mansions and Poems of Baoqin: "The only thing that can be done first is the beauty of snow flowers."
The image of Xue Baoqin and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reproduced)
Third, happy and lively youthful atmosphere and naive and playful daughter charm. Bao Qin's special experience makes her have a cheerful, enthusiastic and lively personality. In the feudal family Jiafu, relatively speaking, the Grand View Garden is the Garden of Eden for girls. In this relatively free sky, Baoqin can freely show her youthful grace. Seventy times, Daiyu held a peach blossom party. As soon as Baoyu read the peach blossom poem, he felt deeply that it was written by Daiyu. When asked how "Peach Blossom Walk" came from, Baoqin smiled and said, "Guess who wrote it?" Baoyu said with a smile, "Of course it's Xiaoxiangzi's manuscript." Baoqin smiled and said, "I have done it now." Baoyu said with a smile, "I don't believe it. This tone is almost unlike Wu Heng's body, so I don't believe ... Although my sister has this talent, she will never do it. " This passage seems irrelevant, but it is full of fragrance. It vividly puts the mood of a naughty, lovely, naive and romantic daughter on the paper, making people forget the sadness of the peach blossom row for the time being. In An's poem "A Couplet for Scenery", the author describes the modality in her poems one after another: "Stand up", "While listening to Baoqin's couplets", "Laugh, too busy" and so on, with one word "stand", five words "busy" and four words "laugh".
9 Xue Baoqin's image and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reproduced)
Fourthly, Baoqin and other sisters, such as Chai Dai and Xiang Yun, have elegant and noble tastes. In the flowery Grand View Garden, talking about poetry, solve riddles on the lanterns, playing chess and piano, reading and painting constitute the life content of daughters. As a boudoir woman who is proficient in literature and ink in a large family, Baoqin not only has this ability, but also has a unique interest in life. After the troupe was dissolved, the clever and naughty Xiaodouguan accompanied Baoqin. People in the garden either called her "Dou" or "Fried Bean", but Baoqin dressed her up as a piano boy and called her "Bean Boy". The word "Zi" not only conforms to Dou Guan's character, but also shows Baoqin's personality of being unwilling to be lonely and pursuing colorful life. Even if Bao Qin writes poetry, she has her own understanding. Unlike Baochai, she writes poems not to express her talents, but to seek a kind of fun and express her love for life and inner feelings. Baoqin is not influenced by Neo-Confucianism, and opposes that poetry stifles talent and fetters thoughts, and emphasizes "interest". In this regard, Qingshan Shan Nong commented in A Dream of Red Mansions in a Broad Sense: "For example, among poets, Baochai is a product of capable people, Baoqin is a product of gods, and Xiao Qiao's identity is far better than that of Da Qiao."
10 The image of Xue Baoqin and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reprinted)
Fifthly, compared with Baochai, Tan Chun and others, Baoqin is more detached and pure. Baoqin and Daiyu are both "dependent on each other" and "once bereaved", but she is much more detached than Daiyu. She is never sad or angry, nor does she often hurt spring or autumn, just like the white snow and red plum in the world of powder makeup, graceful, white and fragrant. "Miss Coward Don't Ask Tired golden phoenix" is a scene that shows her talent of exploring spring, cowardice of welcoming spring, sophistication of Baochai and purity of Baoqin. Tanchun blinked and waited for the book to go out. After a while, Pinger suddenly came in. No one responded, only Baoqin clapped her hands and laughed. "Third sister, do you dare to have a script to exorcise the gods?" The real details here evoke infinite beauty and make people feel at home. The innocent little daughter doesn't know the layers of contradictions in the Jia family, and she doesn't know that in the clean and beautiful Grand View Garden, she still needs to use the strategy of "keeping her virginity, waiting for a rabbit" and "taking it by surprise". In this complex land, the nobility and purity of Baoqin stand out.
1 1 The image of Xue Baoqin and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reprinted)
Finally, Baoqin is gentle and easy-going in dealing with interpersonal relationships, and he knows the book and is polite. Baoqin is an aristocratic family in the "four big families". A rich and powerful woman has a stronger "luxury" flavor than Xing Xiuyan and Wen Li sisters, but she is always modest and prudent, and never has the slightest arrogance. Li Wan asked her to make up riddles. She nodded and smiled and made ten natural and ingenious poems. She also said: "Poetry is vulgar, please guess." The tone is gentle and gentle, and there is no suspicion of arrogance and boasting. Aunt Lai gave her two pots of wintersweet and two pots of narcissus. She not only admired herself, but gave Daiyu a pot of daffodils and Tanchun a pot of wintersweet. Although the gift is small, it makes Daiyu, who claims to be helpless and lonely, feel deeply. Although Baoqin is Baochai's sister, there is not much difference in age, but Baoqin, who is sensible, never forgets that she has defected. She always listens to Baochai and always waits for Baochai's permission to speak and act. Even Xiang Ling, the concubine of the Xue family, was honest with Bao Qin without any pressure. She also made her a skirt with silks and satins brought from home, and treated her like a sister like Baochai. This is really hard to get for a young Baoqin. On the one hand, Baoqin's attitude towards her life situation shows her detachment, on the other hand, it also shows us her sensible and docile character.
12 the image of Xue Baoqin and its position in the structure of a dream of red mansions (reprinted)
Xue Baoqin is such a woman with unique personality charm. Her colorful personality traits reflect Cao Xueqin's highest understanding of perfection. When talking about the ideal character, Hegel pointed out many times that character must be rich: "Everyone is a whole and a world in itself". In Bao Qin's character world, external beauty and internal beauty constitute her unparalleled female beauty. It can be said that the external beauty of Baoqin is superior, and so is her sparkling internal beauty.
13 The image of Xue Baoqin and its position in the structure of A Dream of Red Mansions (reprinted)
The position of the image of Baoqin in the structure of the whole book
Every plot, story and character created by Cao Xueqin was not selected by hand, but had his own intentions. Xue Baoqin, too, not only has the significance of independent existence, but also is inextricably linked with other aspects, so we must observe it vertically and horizontally.