Comment on A Dream of Red Mansions

Among the many characters in A Dream of Red Mansions, there is a character whose author left a deep impression on readers, although he did not write much. He is granny Liu, a country woman. Granny Liu has a story and personality, which plays an important structural role in the novel. With him, many characters and events in the novel can be linked together to form an organic whole. The novel uses Granny Liu to lead the story, promote the plot and prompt the ending.

Although he is not the protagonist in A Dream of Red Mansions, he is mentioned by the author from time to time in his works. Grandma Liu's appearance left a deep impression on people. Cao Xueqin pays great attention to the appearance of important people in A Dream of Red Mansions, and the appearance of Grandma Liu shows his extraordinary knowledge. For example, the sixth time (1) this is the beginning of the narrative, starting from Granny Liu's house, describing the scene when he entered Guo Rongfu. In the 39th to 42nd chapters, he described in detail his second visit to Guo Rong Mansion. On the 39th time, I wrote that he was "talking nonsense" and made it up for fun. He is infatuated with Baoyu, and naturally, he would rather "get to the bottom of it." Fortieth time, in the "Two Feasts Grand View Garden", he was willing to be a clown. The forty-first time, he was full of food and wine, lost his way, and strayed into Yee Hong Court. The forty-second time, he named Feng's daughter "Qiaojie" and finally returned home with a full load. But in the last forty chapters, I wrote it twice: the first time 1 13, Feng was seriously ill and asked Qiaojie to do it for her. In the 119th time, he took Qiaojie and Pinger to the countryside to hide and became a matchmaker for Qiaojie. [2]

Through these descriptions, granny Liu will be vividly portrayed. He witnessed the whole process of Jia's rise and fall, honor and disgrace. As soon as Granny Liu entered Guo Rongfu, she carefully opened her joints and established a relationship with famous families in Jinling. When the two entered the Rong Guo mansion, Granny Liu pretended to be crazy. Granny Liu took care of Guo Rongfu and stepped forward to become an important ending figure in A Dream of Red Mansions. As such a successful artistic image, what role does Grandma Liu play in her works? How is his character shaped?

I think Granny Liu mainly plays the following three roles in her works.

First, A Dream of Red Mansions has a grand structure, many characters, complicated plots and profound implications. So at first, Cao Xueqin spent five years back to pave the way, and by the sixth time, "Let's talk about the economic benefits of Fu Rong. From top to bottom, there are more than 300 people, and there are only a dozen or twenty things a day. It's like a mess, I don't have a clue, go to a program. " I was thinking how wonderful it is to receive a letter from that person, but it was thousands of miles away. This is a small family. Because it is related to Fu Rong, it came to Fu Rong today, so it is still a clue to talk about this family. "This family is granny Liu's family, and it is' farming for a living'. This family is granny Liu, the widow of the Wangs. Cao Xueqin regards Grandma Liu as the opening "procedure" and narrative "clue" of this masterpiece A Dream of Red Mansions, which shows that Grandma Liu's position in the book is extraordinary.

Grandma Liu entered Guo Rongfu from the beginning of the story of A Dream of Red Mansions to the end of the book. However, Granny Liu's several visits to Guo Rongfu did not constitute a clue to the plot of A Dream of Red Mansions, but played a structural role in connecting the plot of A Dream of Red Mansions. Granny Liu's three visits to the mansion was a turning point for the Jia family to turn from prosperity to decline. Therefore, if readers read it carefully, they will find that whenever there is a major turning point in the plot of A Dream of Red Mansions, Granny Liu will appear in Guo Rongfu. This is the characteristic of structural words. When Granny Liu entered Guo Rongfu, Guo Rongfu was in a period of "increasing population, prosperous affairs and prosperous master and servant". Both Daiyu and Baochai have come to Guo Rongfu, and the three protagonists in A Dream of Red Mansions have already gathered together, and the story is about to begin. Granny Liu came to Fu Rong and opened the curtain of A Dream of Red Mansions. When Granny Liu entered Guo Rongfu, Jia Yuanchun had already "chosen the Fengzao Palace". In order to welcome Yuan Fei's provincial relatives, Fu Rong invested heavily to build a more magnificent Grand View Garden. Even Yuan Fei thinks it is "too extravagant and expensive"! Since then, the stage of the story of A Dream of Red Mansions has moved into the Grand View Garden, and Grandma Liu has arrived, which has led to stories such as "Shi Taijun's two banquets in the Grand View Garden". Through granny Liu's visit to the Grand View Garden, the author described the usual luxurious living conditions of a noble manor, and fully demonstrated the heyday of Fu Rong. At the same time, the love entanglement between Bao, Dai and Chai also deepened. Granny Liu's three visits to Guo Rongfu were a moment of great changes in Guo Rongfu. Not only did the heroine Daiyu "burn the manuscript and break her infatuation", which ended the tragedy of Bao and Dai, but also the incident of "Jinyiwei attacking Ningguo Mansion", which implicated the mansion. Although the Lady Dowager took out her private money to "disperse Yu Ben" to maintain the situation, it was still difficult to support the building and return to the underworld. Wang Xifeng, who once dominated Fu Rong and the world, also alienated from others. She was too sick to protect her own daughter, so she had to entrust the fate of her daughter Qiaojie to grandma Liu in the mountain village. Granny Liu does not bear the great trust. Until the end of the book on120th floor, she not only found a well-off husband's family for Qiaojie, but also sent Qiaojie back to Fu Rong, and explained the fate of the last role among the twelve golden hairpin. A Dream of Red Mansions has many characters, complicated relationships and tortuous plots, with Granny Liu going to Guo Rongfu as the series. Therefore, Granny Liu's structural function is obvious.

Second, the book "A Dream of Red Mansions" has written more than 400 famous people with surnames, most of whom are Jia Jiazong's relatives, and only Granny Liu is an important person who has nothing to do with it. He is a special witness to the rise and fall of the Grand View Garden. He expanded the ideological connotation of A Dream of Red Mansions from a special angle.

Grandma Liu's son-in-law is surnamed Wang. "My ancestors also worked as a small kyou-kan. I used to know Xifeng's father, Mrs. Wang. Because the Wangs were snobbish, they joined the church and regarded him as a nephew. " So this so-called "distant relative" is actually a fake relative without any blood relationship. Later, the ancestor of this "distant relative" died, and a son named Wang Cheng "moved out of the city and lived in the countryside because of the depression of his family business. Wang Cheng also died one after another, with a son nicknamed Dog, a wife named Liu and a son nicknamed. Another girl is called Qing Er; A family of four, taking farming as a profession. " This Liu is the daughter of Grandma Liu in the book. It can be seen that Granny Liu has nothing to do with Fu Rong.

Granny Liu entered the aristocratic family as a poor woman of the lower class and observed the magnificent house from the perspective of a poor widow who had been farming all her life. The choice of this perspective is also closely related to Cao Xueqin's feelings in the days when he became depressed at home. Therefore, Granny Liu is also a figure that Cao Xueqin insisted on shaping, and he enriched the ideological connotation of A Dream of Red Mansions from another angle.

As soon as Granny Liu entered Guo Rongfu, the author showed the power of Guo Rongfu from Granny Liu's perspective. Grandma Liu saw the majestic stone lions on both sides of the door, the sedan chair horse at the door, and the gatekeeper who "hugged his chest and abdomen", so he trembled and called him "uncle" when he saw everyone; And the people don't even care about it, which is in stark contrast to Granny Liu's condescension. Grandma Liu went to Guo Rongfu for the second time, focusing on the wealth of Guo Rongfu. This time, Cao Xueqin spent nearly four times describing the colorful scenery of the Grand View Garden and the luxurious daily life of Guo Rongfu through the eyes of Grandma Liu. As soon as Grandma Liu entered the door, she occasionally met an "ordinary meal". Grandma Liu settled it: "The money for this meal is enough for us farmers to live for a year!" It is even more unparalleled when you arrive at the "Two Feasts in Shi Taijun Grand View Garden". Grandma Liu visited the Grand View Garden and just entered the garden, she said, "We country people will go to town next year to buy paintings and stickers ... Everyone said,' How can we see paintings!'" "Thinking about painting is just a fake ... but when I look at this garden today, it is ten times better than painting! "It serves to show the magnificent Fu Rong wind light! In the process of visiting the garden, the author randomly points out two strokes: what Xifeng wears and uses is either gold or silver, or China or foreign; For the dishes at the banquet, the author specially described a dish-eggplant. Xifeng said, "The eggplant that just came down has been peeled. Just wash it, cut it into broken nails and fry it in chicken oil. Then mix chicken breast with fragrant bacteria, new bamboo shoots, mushrooms, spiced bean curd and dried fruits of various colors, cut into nails, simmer in chicken soup, collect sesame oil, mix with bad oil and seal in a porcelain jar. When you want to eat, take it out and stir-fry chicken feet. Granny Liu shook her head, spat out her tongue and said, "My Buddha! How many chickens did you pour for him? What a strange smell! " (4) Cao Xueqin wrote such a dish in detail, vividly describing the extravagant life in Fu Rong. The inexplicable reaction that made Granny Liu "shake her head and spit out her tongue" made poor farmers reach unimaginable levels, thus revealing the extravagant life like an official in Fu Rong more profoundly! The Fu Rong that Granny Liu saw for the third time was quite different from what she saw for the first time or the second time. He hurried to town only because he "heard that his aunt had moved here". Fu Rong is no longer as powerful as it used to be. Granny Liu didn't see the owners who "stood up and told her what to do", and she didn't have to "sneak" or "rub" around, but "walked all the way through the back door" and waited for a long time to find someone. When I met Feng, this elegant and energetic aunt was "skinny and in a trance" and dying. When grandma Liu first came to Fu Rong, she asked for help. This time, Xifeng regarded Granny Liu as the most trustworthy and helpful person. He gave his biological daughter Qiaojie to Grandma Liu. Therefore, Granny Liu is not only a witness of Fu Rong's rise and fall, but also a "comparator" of Fu Rong's rise and fall.

Third, Granny Liu is a bright spot among many characters in A Dream of Red Mansions, although she doesn't have much pen and ink.

Cao Xueqin claimed that A Dream of Red Mansions was a work of mourning for gold and jade, and a tragedy of "like eating birds and throwing trees, leaving nothing behind". Indeed, the protagonists in A Dream of Red Mansions, including "Twelve Golden Hairpins", all have unhappy endings, and even some minor characters in the book, such as Jin Chuaner, Qingwen, Si Qi, Yuanyang, You Erjie, You Sanjie, Aunt Zhao, and even the "ancestor" Jia, all have tragic endings. But grandma Liu is not. Although he is not as talented and beautiful as the ladies and gentlemen in the Grand View Garden, he has never been as worried as they are. Even if his family is too poor to prepare for the winter, there is no danger of being robbed and imprisoned. On the day when Fu Rong declined, Granny Liu's family earned several acres of land through hard work, dug a well and planted some vegetables and fruits. I buy a lot of money a year, enough for them to chew. "When Feng was desperate, she lent a helping hand and really helped her. She has brought unprecedented relaxation and joy to the people of Fu Rong. She is a bright spot in the dull atmosphere of A Dream of Red Mansions.

Next, let's talk about how Granny Liu's image was shaped so successfully. This is mainly discussed from the following two aspects.

First, use simple and natural personalized language.

Literature is the art of language, and writing characters' language well is an important means to shape characters' images. Cao Xueqin is a skillful craftsman in writing character language. He is good at creating characters with personalized language. Personalized language is the reproduction of the essence of image in many aspects, such as birth, social status, life experience, cultural accomplishment, hobbies and so on, which gives us a feeling of hearing his voice and seeing him.

Granny Liu is a working woman living in the countryside and a sophisticated old widow. She has no children and lives with her daughter-in-law On the one hand, we should help our daughter and son-in-law live wholeheartedly, on the other hand, we should always pay attention to the discretion of language. For example, the sixth time, the son-in-law and the dog were annoyed at home because of their poor family circumstances. Grandma Liu couldn't see the past and advised, "Uncle, don't be angry with me: which person in our village is dishonest and keeps how many bowls to eat!" This kind of language and tone is completely in line with Granny Liu's identity. It is gentle and convincing, and she is afraid of making her son-in-law angry. It also shows the hardships of life.

Let's look at a paragraph of language between grandma Liu and Wang Xifeng. Granny Liu entered the Rongguo Mansion to "get rich", that is, to get a gift from her past relationship with the Wangs to solve the current life crisis. I heard that Xi-feng gave him twenty taels of silver, and there was this passage:

Grandma Liu smiled happily and said, "We know it's difficult, but as the saying goes, a thin camel is bigger than a horse." . No matter what he does, you are always pulling a hair stronger than our waist. Zhou Rui's family just winked at his rude words. "。 Feng smiled and ignored it. She asked Pinger to bring yesterday's bag of silver and a bundle of money to Granny Liu.

People in Zhou Rui's family thought Granny Liu was rude and just winked at him, but it was this rude language that touched people's hearts. It is such a simple language that writes the true colors of Granny Liu, and it is also thanks to such a simple and natural personalized language that the typical image of Granny Liu has gained immortal artistic vitality.

The so-called true colors are consistent and appropriate with the identity, personality, feelings and subjective and objective conditions of the characters here and now. Let people recognize "this" as soon as they hear it, and let readers see people from what they say. Granny Liu entered the mansion and was appreciated by Grandmother Jia (this time she sent some fashionable gifts to express her gratitude). Yuanyang washed him, put on clothes, and sent him to be a female attendant, so that ladies and gentlemen could have an appetite and help digestion. One of the programs is the drinking order. Grandma Liu's familiarity with poetry and songs is not as good as that of a lady and gentleman. She can only speak and write slang, and the result is inevitably ironic. Excerpts are as follows (40th):

It turned out that both Feng and Yuanyang wanted to hear Granny Liu's jokes, and they deliberately made a mistake. For Mrs. Wang, Yuanyang said one for her, and it was Granny Liu's turn. Grandma Liu said, "When our crops are idle, a few people often do this, but it's not as good as it sounds. I will give it a try. " Everyone laughed: "It's simple, just say it, it doesn't matter." Yuanyang said with a smile, "The senior on the left is a person." Granny Liu thought for a long time and said, "It's from the fields!" Everyone burst into laughter. Grandmother Jia said with a smile, "Good point, that's what I said." Grandma Liu also smiled: "We cultivators are just ready-made true colors, don't laugh, sister." Yuanyang said, "Three or four greens in the middle match red." Grandma Liu said, "Burn the caterpillar." Everyone laughed: "This is true, you are still talking about your true face." Yuanyang said with a smile, "Yao Si on the right is really beautiful." Grandma Liu said, "A radish and a garlic." They laughed again. Yuanyang said with a smile, "It's a flower." Grandma Liu put her hands together and wanted to laugh, then grabbed her and said, "The flowers have all fallen into big pumpkins." Hearing this, everyone could not help laughing.

Grandma Liu makes these ladies and gentlemen very happy. These words can only be said from Granny Liu's mouth, and it seems that only these words can make people see Granny Liu's expression and posture. After reading this wonderful article, we not only sympathize with Granny Liu being cheated, but also appreciate Cao Xueqin's artistic ingenuity, and vividly write Granny Liu's true colors. We can recognize this as Granny Liu just by looking at the language. These rustic words are naturally revealed in grandma Liu's mouth, which makes this image more vivid and vivid. It is precisely because of this that this artistic image has been passed down from generation to generation in people's lives.

First, exquisite detail description.

The artistic achievements of A Dream of Red Mansions are various, and the description of details is an important aspect. For literary works, detail description is an important means to reflect life scenes and shape characters. In excellent literary works, successful detail description can strengthen the authenticity, vividness and vividness of the works, and then form a strong artistic appeal, which makes readers involuntarily attracted by the artistic realm depicted in the works. Cao Xueqin is a master of detail description. He not only portrayed the main characters through detail description, but also described many vivid details of small people like grandma Liu.

For example, for the sixth time, Granny Liu went into Guo Rongfu and asked Xifeng for help.

Grandma Liu knew, but she blushed before saying anything. You want to say, why are you here today? I had to say helplessly, "I shouldn't have said anything when I saw you for the first time today." I came all the way to your old place, and I have to say ... "

Just when I was so nervous that I didn't know what to do, Jia Rong came to borrow Feng's screen. Jia Rong left, granny liu sat down and said:

"I brought your nephew here today, not for anything else, because his parents didn't even have food, and the weather was cold, so I had to take your nephew to your old age." As he spoke, he pushed the board and said, "How did your father teach you at home? Send us to do bad things? Just eat fruit! " Xifeng understood. Hearing that he was speechless, she smiled and said, "Needless to say, I understand."

Granny Liu really can't talk? Don't! From his exhortation to his son-in-law, from his conversations with many people in the house, from what he saw and heard at the banquet, and from the way he sometimes deliberately played the fool, we know that Mr. Liu is a sophisticated and accommodating person, but at this moment, as a poor relative, he is embarrassed and embarrassed to beg from his rich relatives, and he doesn't know how to speak. He had to "blush" before saying anything, and then he was busy pushing the board. With extremely concise writing style, the author vividly outlines and describes Granny Liu's psychological activities, facial expressions and subconscious actions in this specific situation, and vividly depicts a Granny Liu.

For example, in the fortieth novel, Granny Liu entered the mansion and was appreciated by the Jia family for a few days. At the banquet, Granny Liu's personalized language and exaggerated performance made everyone laugh:

Granny Liu sat down, picked up chopsticks, and did not put down her hand heavily. It turned out that Xifeng and Yuanyang had agreed to give Granny Liu a pair of chopsticks inlaid with gold and ivory. Granny Liu saw it and said, "This fork is heavier than our shovel. Where can we move it? " Make everyone laugh. ..... Xi picked up a bowl of pigeon eggs and put it on Granny Liu's desk. When Grandmother Jia said "please", Grandma Liu stood up and said loudly, "Liu, Liu, you eat like a cow. Don't look up after eating an old sow! " Say that finish, but drum cheeks, eyes looking straight ahead, without saying a word. At first, they paused, and then they all burst out laughing together. ……

Grandma Liu picked up chopsticks, but she didn't listen. She added, "The chickens here are also very handsome, and the eggs laid are small and strange. I'll get one! " Everyone stopped laughing, but they laughed again when they heard this. Grandma Liu praised the little egg, and Xi-feng said with a smile, "One tael each! Try it quickly, it won't taste good when it is cold. " Granny Liu stretched out her chopsticks to hold them. Where can she hold them? The bowl was full of noise for a while. I finally picked up one, then stretched my neck to eat, slipped down again and rolled on the ground. Put down the chopsticks and pick them yourself. Someone underground has picked them up. Granny Liu sighed, "One or two pieces of silver are gone without hearing the noise!" Reading this, it really makes people laugh. Here, the author only uses ordinary words, but vividly shows Granny Liu's expression, movements, voice and smile in front of the readers, which has a strong artistic effect and left a deep impression on the readers.

For example, Granny Liu followed Grandmother Jia to the garden, and he was dazzled by the scenery in the Grand View Garden, but when she arrived at the archway of mothering Villa, it was described as follows:

Granny Liu said, "Oh dear! There is also a big temple here. " Then he climbed down and kowtowed. Everyone bent over with laughter. Granny Liu said, "What are you laughing at? I know all the words on this arch. We have the most temples like this, all of which are archways like this, and that word is the name of the temple. " Everyone laughed: "Do you know what temple this is?" Grandma Liu looked up and pointed to the words and said, "This is not the Jade Emperor Hall!" Everyone clapped their hands and laughed and made fun of him. Grandma Liu felt a ringing in her stomach, so she took the maid, asked for two sheets of paper and took off her skirt. Everyone laughed and drank him: "Not here!" A woman, busy with life, guarding the northeast corner.

Here, the author regards the archway as a big temple through Grandma Liu, the bamboo fence in the Grand View Garden as a lentil shelf, and the exquisite murals as real people. He was covered with headdress and reflected in the mirror, but he thought it was his mother and mocked him. Details such as "You have never seen the world, so you didn't wear a dead one when you saw the beautiful flowers in this garden" are ridiculous. Therefore, "Granny Liu enters the Grand View Garden" has become a common language in real life.

In a word, in A Dream of Red Mansions, Granny Liu is not the protagonist, but runs through the whole book, which not only plays the role of a needle, but also witnesses the rise and fall of Fu Rong. His characters are vividly portrayed in Cao Xueqin's works. The author uses simple and natural personalized language and superb detail description, so that the image of Granny Liu has been repeatedly influenced and expressed through three visits to Guo Rongfu, which is more vivid and full. This also confirms the law that "existence is reasonable".

Precautions:

(1) from a dream of red mansions original sixth back.

(2) from the original "Leng Zixing" language of A Dream of Red Mansions.

(3) from a dream of red mansions the original sixth time.

(4) quoted from the original 4 1 back of A Dream of Red Mansions.

(5) from the original "a dream of red mansions" back to the fifth.

References:

[1] Journal of Hangzhou University of Commerce,No. 1 2002 (No.52 in total)

[2]' Red Rock Zhai Re-evaluation of the Stone Story (Geng)' [Qing] Cao Xueqin Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House 1990 edition.

[3] Journal of Tongling University, vol. 1, No.2, 2002 (total No.1 14)

[4] "A Dream of Red Mansions" Wang Kunlun Page 126 Joint Publishing Company 1980.

[5] A Dream of Red Mansions Wang Kunlun Beijing Publishing House, 2004.

[6] A Dream of Red Mansions Yu Pingbo Fudan University Press, 2004.

[7] "A Dream of Red Mansions" Wang Meng People's Literature Publishing House, 2003 edition.