What secrets are revealed in the three Lantern Festival celebrations in "A Dream of Red Mansions"?

The first chapter of the novel tells about the night of the Lantern Festival. Zhen Shiyin, a country official in Gusu City, sent his servant Huo Qi to take his precious daughter Yinglian to watch the lanterns on the street. In the middle of the night, Huo Qi went to relieve himself. Yinglian was accidentally lost. Huo Qi is a "misfortune", a bad name. This accident broke up the Zhen family and led to the girl's miserable life.

As we sigh and lament the impermanence of the world, we can’t help but assume that if on that scorching summer day, Zhen Shiyin saw the leering monk Yinglian crying, Zhen Shiyin became vigilant and heard the four sentences of the lewd monk. "The spoiled and spoiled child laughs at you, and the snow is fluttering in the sky. Just be on guard against the festive Lantern Festival, when the smoke and fire are extinguished." If we take precautions, can Yinglian (Xiang Ling)'s fate be safe?

The second time I wrote about the Lantern Festival was Chapter 18. Jia Yuanchun, the eldest daughter of the Jia family who had been in the palace for many years, was promoted to a virtuous concubine. She was granted the honor of the Holy Emperor and returned home to visit relatives. The date happened to be the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Festival.

The so-called relatives' visit, in ordinary people's homes, means that the married daughter returns to her natal family, but when it comes to the royal family, it becomes the majestic "Yuanfei's visit to relatives". The Jia family started preparations a year in advance for this visit, and spent a huge amount of money to build the magnificent, elegant and unique Grand View Garden. On the Lantern Festival of the following year, the Grand View Garden was decorated with lights and colors, scents lingered, dragons danced on tents, and curtains Flying colorful phoenixes are shining everywhere, and music and string songs are always playing, just like a fairyland on earth or a mirage. Even Concubine Yuan, who had seen the world in the palace, looked at the scenery inside and outside the garden in the sedan chair, and nodded and sighed: "It's too luxurious and expensive!"

This Lantern Festival is really "cooked by fire" "oil, flowers and brocade", the power and glory of Jia's family reached the extreme. Concubine Yuan was favored by the holy family, returned home to visit relatives, and reunited with her family. She should have been happy to talk about family happiness with her parents and relatives. However, what we saw was a scene that was not so happy and even sentimental: "Concubine Jia's eyes were filled with tears. "Weeping", "sobbing and weeping" with Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Wang. The other sisters were surrounding, "weeping and speechless". Concubine Jia endured the sadness and forced a smile, comforted her grandmother and mother and said: "Send me off that day." It's such a shameful place to go. Today, when my wife came home, instead of talking and laughing, she started crying. I didn't know how long it would have been before I came back," and she said to her father who was kneeling outside the curtain with tears in her eyes. "A farm house, even if it is filled with salt and cloth, can eventually gather family happiness; although now it is extremely rich and rich, with all the flesh and blood, it is ultimately boring!"

In such a grand, festive and prosperous moment, facing wealth and honor Glory, but Concubine Yuan lamented that it was "a shameful place to go" and "ultimately boring".

Even the four plays "Banquet", "Begging for Skills", "Immortal Fate" and "Leaving the Soul", which are specially designed for parents-in-law, have profound meanings - dramas are like life. "The Banquet" tells the story of Mo Huaiyu in the Ming Dynasty who was harmed by evil spirits because of "a handful of snow" in a jade cup. , "The Death of Concubine Fu Yuan." I can't imagine how much grief and pain Concubine Jia must have felt after listening to these plays.

The third Lantern Festival is the fifty-third chapter of the novel. On the eve of the 15th, Jia’s mother ordered a dozen banquets of wine to be placed in the flower hall, a small play was arranged, and all kinds of lanterns were hung. He led the sons, nephews, grandsons, grandsons, daughters-in-law, etc. of Rongning's second house to hold a family banquet. Drinking and ordering, watching operas and laughing, eating Yuanxiao, setting off firecrackers, watching fireworks, and giving rewards with loud bangs and bangs, it was very lively until the fourth watch.

This time at the Lantern Festival family dinner, parents, children, nephews, and the whole family were reunited, lively, and enjoying family happiness. It seemed like a perfect holiday gathering, but there was a hint of coldness and disharmony. .

First, before the banquet, "Jia Mu also sent people to invite men and women from various clans, but some of them were old and too lazy to lively; some had no one at home and it was inconvenient to come; or some were suffering from diseases. There are those who want to come but are unable to come; there may be those who are jealous of the rich and ashamed of being poor but cannot come; there are even those who hate Sister Feng’s behavior and are angry and cannot come; there may be those who are shy, not used to seeing people, and dare not come... ..." There are only a few people from the Jia clan, and there are not all of them.

After drinking for the second time, Baoyu was about to go out. When Jia Mu found that the attacker was missing, she showed a slight displeasure and said, "Why is the attacker missing? He is a little too big now, so he sent the little girl out alone." Mrs. Wang hurriedly stood up and smiled back: "My mother disappeared the day before yesterday. Because she was very filial, it was inconvenient to come forward." After hearing this, Mrs. Jia nodded and said with a smile: "I can't tell the master about filial piety and unfilial piety. If he still follows I, can't I be here now? It's because we are too lenient and someone made it happen that we didn't check this." The words of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were gentle, but they revealed a sense of disharmony. sound.

Xiren was originally Jia Mu’s maid, who was trained by Jia Mu. She was sent by Jia Mu to take care of Baoyu. She gained Mrs. Wang’s trust by giving advice to Mrs. Wang. In the thirty-sixth chapter, Mrs. Wang asked Wang Xifeng to cut off the one tael of silver from Xiren's monthly salary as a maid, and give another two taels from her own monthly money to Xiren, and treat her equally with Aunt Zhao and Aunt Zhou. Mrs. Wang did not discuss this matter with Jia's mother beforehand, and even her husband Jia Zheng didn't know about it. As a mother-in-law, Jia Mu was dissatisfied, but at this time, Mrs. Wang had grown stronger. Her biological daughter was given the title of Concubine Xiande and was favored. Years ago, her natal brother Wang Ziteng was promoted to a nine-province inspection officer. To Jia Mu, she was still Respectful and filial, after all, Mrs. Wang is a woman of noble origin and good education. But when it comes to matters concerning her children, it is not up to Jia Mu to make the final decision. Although Jia Mu is still the ancestor with the highest status in the Jia family, she is like a statue on a shrine. She can no longer control many things. Her existence is more of a ritual and symbolic meaning. Jia Mu felt it, but the family's interests were the most important thing, so she didn't say anything.

After three rounds of wine, Wang Xifeng saw that Jia Mu was happy and suggested beating drums to spread the plum blossoms, issuing the order "Spring joy comes to the brows". Whoever gets the flowers will tell a joke. It's a happy and auspicious combination of love and scenery, but the two jokes that the author arranged for Wang Xifeng for the first half of the first month are not so good.

One is "It's also the first half of the first lunar month, and the whole family enjoys lanterns and drinks. It's really lively. Grandmother-in-law, great-grandmother, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandson's daughter-in-law, great-grandson's daughter-in-law, grandson, and grandnephew Sons, grandsons, granddaughters, granddaughters, granddaughters of cousins, grandsons of Didi DaDa... Oh, it was so lively!" The story ended abruptly, with no result. Under questioning from everyone, Wang Xifeng laughed and said: "There was a whole room full of people sitting together, and they dispersed after a night of drinking." Wasn't the joke about the real scene in front of him? But everyone found it "cold and tasteless".

The other "deaf man setting off firecrackers" dispersed in a hurry. Think of what the leprous monk said in the first episode: "It is good to be on guard after the Lantern Festival, when the smoke and fire are extinguished." Sister Feng's last sentence "We should just 'deafly set off firecrackers' and disperse." It was an ominous sound.

Think carefully, many years ago, the tragic Lantern Festival in Zhen Shiyin’s family was just a fate that sent Yinglian (Xiang Ling) to Jia’s house and experienced the world together with that group of people. Ups and downs.