Talk about your understanding of Cao.

Comment: Her story is a story of "harming others and harming oneself". The difference between Cao and other women is that her marriage was not voluntary at first, and it was entirely out of "parents' orders and matchmakers' words." So, she was just a victim and a masochist. However, when she couldn't get happiness no matter how hard she tried, when she began to retaliate against her relatives, she became a victim and abuser. Besides, it is also a story about "fate". In the author's eyes, Cao's marriage is just a business (all marriages in Zhang Ailing's novels are actually businesses). She sold her life and got only a little money. Therefore, of course, the most precious thing in her life is money, not affection and affection. When her love with Jize vanished, especially when Jize came to you again just to calculate her property, she was desperate for all the men and the whole world. She came to the conclusion that "people are unreliable, only money is reliable." "This is a crazy world!" All people are controlled by an invisible magic, and people's life is decided by heaven and cannot be controlled by themselves. This is the "legendary" story that Zhang Ailing wants to show, the ruthlessness of the world and the desolation of life. Because of this, Cao has always been regarded as the most complete female image and the thickest ordinary citizen image in Zhang Ailing's works, and even a unique artistic image with classic significance that Zhang Ailing contributed to China literature in the 20th century.

Cao Qiaoqi ―― Tragedy from Pursuing Success to Destruction

Zhang Ailing created a series of female images, among which Cao in The Golden Lock is one. The image of Cao is three-dimensional and developing. The novel depicts the characters' psychology incisively and sharply. It shows the hopeless struggle of a weak person and a woman in the pursuit of money, power and love, and finally becomes a victim of a patriarchal society.

[Keywords:] female success, money, power, love, destruction

Cao is a fleshy, disgusting and deeply pitiful image in Zhang Ailing's works. Cao is not immutable, but her character is gradually formed, from her girlhood to a place where normal people "intuitively think she is crazy". (1) What makes a normal person ugly and irrational? A blooming flower will not turn into a bunch of thorns for no reason, a bunch of thorns that people can't get close to and harm others. There must be wind and frost erosion and rain and snow. There is one kind of person who is the least vulnerable, and that is the person who has no desire or desire. It is precisely because there is no desire and no expectation that it will not bring disappointment and will not be hurt by various temptations from outside. People who pursue love will have pain when they have love. When they get love, the sun shines brightly, and they seem to get the happiness of the whole world. But love is because of beauty, but it is often because she is incomplete, can't get it, or gets it and loses it, which hurts deeply. People who pursue money have 10,000 thoughts and 10 million thoughts. Wealth has no end, but poverty and backwardness have an end, which makes a person lose hope. Spin a thousand silver coins and come back! Is an ideal state. When you are rich, your old friends disappear like yellow cranes, when you are penniless. Money is not everything, but it is enough to make people feel the coldness of the world. People who pursue career success may have smooth sailing, but there are always bottlenecks and plateaus waiting for you, and of course there are irreversible downturns to let you know what yesterday's yellow flowers are. In the above situations, there is a dream when there is a dream, and there is a loss when there is a pursuit. It seems that people are doomed to suffer. However, people who want nothing only exist in theory, and even the Buddha is afraid that they can't do it. Qiao Qi is a mortal, a woman who is more eager for success than ordinary people. She has been tirelessly pursuing what she thinks is success.

1. Pursuing a sense of financial success

Qiao Qi, a girl's girl, has tight eyes and round white arms. Although not as good as a large family at home, she also opened a sesame oil shop on the street, and she has no worries about food and clothing. Qiqiao is busy doing business in the shop. A catty and a half of sesame oil is bought for acquaintances, which makes people feel lively and lovely. "I like her butcher shop, her brother's sworn brother Ding Yugen, and Shen Tailor's son. I like her, maybe I just like to play jokes on her. However, she picked one of them and gave birth to a child for a long time, and the man was a little sincere to her. " (2) But Qiao Qi did not choose one of them, but chose to marry the Chiang family and a second young master of the Chiang family who had rickets. Why did Qiao Qi do this is because Georgie wants to succeed more than the average person. At that time, women could not be as independent and have their own careers as they are now. For example, Qiao Qi can open many sesame oil chain stores and be the general manager. At that time, the status of women was very low, and her father preferred boys to girls. But Qiao Qi's father was gone, but she still had a younger brother. Qiao Qi has only one chance to live a richer and richer life-to marry a rich husband. However, not everyone in a rich family can marry, and the family background is relatively strict. At that time, marriage and love were out of the question. What was emphasized was correct family, political marriage, economic marriage and unique marriage without love. A healthy young master will not marry a person with the same status and position as Qiao Qi. Second young master Jiang's family is sick and can't be cured for a day. Although he is a big family, no young lady will want to marry him, so he has to lower his conditions and find a neat, strong and hardworking husband, because he will serve his sick husband in the future. Qiao Qi meets this requirement. I believe that Qiao Qi and her brother have also carefully considered this marriage. When Qiao Qi's brother visited Qiao Qi last year, he said, "In my conscience, I should use your two money. If I had been greedy for gifts, I asked the Chiang family for 100 thousand taels of silver and sold you to them as an aunt. " (3) The maid in the old lady Jiang's room also said, "She used to be an aunt. Later, the old lady thought that since she didn't intend to marry Mr. Zhong, it wouldn't be a problem for the second room to have no daughter-in-law, so she just hired her as a grandmother and let her serve Mr. Zhong wholeheartedly. " (4) This shows that at first, both sides wanted Qiao Qi to be a concubine, and later they changed to a new mother. Qiao Qi's attitude played a big role in it. Aunt's status is low and she can't get property, but she doesn't have to abide by many rules and regulations. It is also possible to remarry in the future. Qiao Qi sacrificed the happiness of his life and married into a rich family. What is the purpose of putting all your eggs in one basket? For money, for having so much money that I could never get in my previous life circle. Qiao Qi mistakenly thought that when he married into a rich family, he really became a rich family. With so much money, he succeeded. As everyone knows, it is not easy to get this money. She needs to pay so much until even her soul is bought.

When I first arrived at Jiang's house, I didn't have much money to control. When I was alone at home before the full moon, I secretly took some jewelry from home and gave it to my brother Cao Danian. On the one hand, it is flesh and blood, and everything she does is to protect her own people. On the other hand, she is addicted to the rich. Later, when Qiao Qi's brother and sister-in-law came to see her, the situation was even more so. Qiao Qi sent them many things. "A pair of four or two gold bracelets, a pair of Xialian hairpin, a silk quilt, a gold ear digger for each niece, and a gold hairpin or mink warm map, and then give her brother one. (5) She also said that she sent several boxes of things that she couldn't take, which made her brother and sister-in-law feel uncomfortable. I used to spend money at home without looking at my brother's sister-in-law's face. It's not what it used to be. I just scared my little family with one hand. This is a temporary sense of success when I gave the money to my brother's sister-in-law. But the price is huge. According to her sister-in-law, Qiao Qi is like a different person at home, and nothing is welcome.

It seems that Cao has always been an outspoken person, daring to say anything and not avoiding people's eyes and ears. The maid and the young lady are right, too. No one dares to say anything, even the young master and the wealthy family dare not avoid being scolded. Supposedly, such a careless person has no calculation, but Qiao Qi's calculation is unfathomable. Since she planned to marry the Chiang family, she can be said to be a heroine and a schemer. Watching a husband who can't go to the fields can actually have children. The first one is a woman, but it can't be done, because the daughter can't inherit the family business and has to continue to give birth. Finally, another boy was born. The maid talked privately about "having a son-not making a sound?" (6) Mrs. Jiang's wife muttered, "How do you have two children?" (7) Even Qiao Qi didn't understand how the child was born, but she did give birth to a pair of children. Although they are congenitally deficient, like papery people, they are the fragrance of Jiang Erfu. When the son Changbai was born, the life of Qiao Qi and his wife ended. Qiqiao endured all kinds of humiliation here. Is it tolerable for a person who didn't insist on getting property and desperately wanted money, and is it possible for ordinary people to do it?

For money, Qiao Qi can distort human nature, endure humiliation and burden, and hide it. When leaving, Jiu Laohan reported the financial situation of Jiang's family. "He held his stomach tightly with his hands and leaned forward, trying to explain his every word to himself, which was confirmed by her previous investigation." The house in Qingdao, the house in Tianjin, the place of origin outside Beijing, the house in Shanghai ... "(8) In a large family like Jiang's, the second grandmother has to take care of her sick husband, raise a pair of children, and complete the errand sent by the old lady. Her popularity is very poor, but she can investigate the family's financial situation so carefully, and people have to admire her scheming. Wisdom is all hidden in the belly. Because Qiao Qi knows that if she is not smart, she will suffer. A weak woman can't be ignored in this patriarchal world, but orphans and widows are still bullied after separation.

Getting this wealth is success. When his daughter and son were addicted to opium and others dissuaded them, Qiao Qi was rich and said his family could afford it. You are a little proud. However, property is hard to come by and hard to keep. I'm always afraid of being set up for this gold chain. A woman with a pair of young children, helpless, in such an environment where money represents everything, and in such an environment where eyeing eyes stare at other people's money and wealth everywhere, every man is innocent and guilty. If she were an ordinary person, she wouldn't be in too much danger, but Qiao Qi is different. She is very rich. The third young master Jize came and made a fortune. Her family came to see her mainly for money. No wonder Qiao Qi, who is suspicious, thinks that the foreign daughter-in-law wants to seduce Changbai for good luck, and also pushes Changbai's family to act as matchmaker. He always suspects that others are greedy for money. The company commander went to a foreign school for nothing, lost something, and wanted to go to theory. Qiao Qi became a frightened bird. If you think you have paid a high price for money, you must try your best to keep it. After all, after Cao has money, he still can't change his position as a weak person. No matter how rich he is, he will eventually become someone else. A daughter is a daughter and a son is a son. Maybe he was set up or someone else's. What's in Qiao Qi? Endless fear, endless pain, take away the best love, life, in exchange for what? Don't want Jize's love (of course, Jize is fake and Qiao Qi is real), her mother's family and her children's happiness. This is by no means a strong man's abandonment and abuse of power, but a weak man's self-harm in the face of an insurmountable and insurmountable real world.

Second, the sense of success in pursuing power.

Originally, I wanted to marry into the Chiang family and become the first grandmother in Fannie and Freddie, with great power. Although I don't say it's raining, it's surrounded by a large crowd. Unexpectedly, in reality, Mrs. Jiang's second wife's status is extremely low. Don't say that the masters despise her, even the girls dare to laugh at her behind her back. The old lady just didn't know that her family was coming, and the girl only dared to tell her secretly. Qiao Qi dresses, eats and lives like a mistress, but in his bones he still buys sesame oil from a sesame oil shop. Of course, this has a lot to do with Qiao Qi's own personality, but the bigger reason is family and hierarchy. China's feudal system has a long history. Some dross has been deeply rooted in people's hearts and passed down from generation to generation, and some consciousness is almost instinctive. Xiao Shuang, a girl, was asked if she married Qiao Qi, but she sneered that she was worth it, and said that she came from an old lady. Both of them are waiters, and it is worthwhile. Don't say others think so, even Qiao Qi thinks so. Qiao Qi also feels inferior, so he should look for opportunities to show some rights everywhere, and often try to exercise some rights for himself.

Qiao Qi saw that Yun Ze had lost a lot of hair and lost a lot of weight, so she had to exercise her rights, so that she wouldn't exist like a vacuum and make people feel that she was useless. "said:" you yisow told the old lady that the big girl was not allowed to live, and asked the old lady to write to the Peng family and ask them to marry Sister Yun early. "。 Look, what is this? "(9) The people around her didn't take her words seriously. Qiao Qi felt very lost, so she made such a suggestion in front of the old lady, and she was a little confused.

The same is true of Jize's marriage, "such a talented bride! Third brother, you haven't thanked me yet! If I hadn't urged them to do it for you, this delay would have dragged on for ten or eight years after the war! Don't worry about it! " (10) has no position and power in the Chiang family, but she does not accept it passively, but bravely and actively participates in family affairs, and strives for her rights with all her strength in order to occupy a place in the big family.

In letting her daughter Chang 'an bind her feet, she exposed Qiao Qi's desperate desire for power. In the feudal family which paid attention to the pecking order, Qiao Qi suffered a great loss. Once he gets the figure on the spire, he can't wait to exercise this power over his daughter. Other people's foot-binding has been relaxed, while Qiao Qi insists on making Changbai foot-binding. Because of her words, Changbai has been in love for more than a year, and her feet can't be restored. Changbai is the victim, and so is Qiao Qi. Qiao Qi grafted his poison into this moral principle that all ministers and ministers have to die on their daughters.

3. A strong desire for love

Qiao Qi likes JiZe, one is yisow and the other is brother-in-law, which is doomed to be fruitless. Besides, JiZe is not a good man, Qiao Qi is very clear. Visible JiZe or involuntarily walked to come over, care about JiZe, don't want JiZe fooling around outside. In such a family and society, this kind of love has no place, and it is incest. Qiao Qi boldly pursues love, regardless of everything, regardless of the consequences, just seeking instant light. "Qiao Qi said with a smile,' Is it possible that I have lived a disabled life with a disabled person without even touching it?' She looked straight ahead with her eyes open, and the small solid pendant in her ear nailed her to the door like two bronze nails-the butterfly specimen in the glass box was bright and sad. "(1 1) It takes a lot of courage to make a bold confession to Jize. It is possible if healthy women yearn for healthy men. In Qiao Qi's world, it's hard to meet a better man than Jize, who is frivolous by nature. Qiao Qi walked to the door and snorted, "Who are you?" ? Don't leave it in front of me, or it will be too late! Not to mention how ridiculous you are outside, in this room ... I can't rub the sand in my eyes! Don't say I'm your sister-in-law, I'm your wet nurse, I'm afraid you don't care. "(12) Qiao Qi is guarding a disabled husband. It is natural that he yearns for the happiness of human relations, but he still likes Jize after being rejected. It's not just a matter of desire. " Over the years, she has been playing hide-and-seek, but she is not suitable. "(13)" How many times, in order to restrain herself, her bones and roots all burst into pain. " (14) Qiao Qi's love is strong and forbearing. For more than ten years, Qiao Qi has suffered from lovesickness silently and wholeheartedly. It is not difficult for a rich housewife to find a close person. Adultery was also a common thing in those days, and the remarriage of widows caused more criticism. What Qiao Qi wants is love, and more is the yearning for love from a woman who has never tasted love.

When Ji Ze wore a mask of love to seek money, he said a lot of sweet words. "Seven splints bowed their heads, bathed in brilliance, and listened to music and joy ..." (15) Knowing that Kizawa was insincere, Seven splints were desperate. However, when Jize left in a panic, Qiban was still reluctant to go and burst into tears. "Seven Qiao stood holding his head, suddenly turned upstairs, carrying a skirt, impatient and hurriedly, stumbling, constantly hitting the green powder wall shadow, and the Buddha's green coat was also stained with a large piece of light gray. She wants to see him again in the upstairs window. "(16) At this time, Qiao Qi still didn't blame Jize for lying to her, didn't blame Jize for coaxing her with feelings, and wanted to cheat her out of money, but blamed himself, regretting that he had lost the chance to get love forever. "Today is entirely her fault. He is not a good person, and she is not ignorant. If she wants him, she has to play dumb and tolerate his bad behavior. Why did she expose him? Life is alive, isn't it? After all, what is true and what is false? " (17) Good lie. Those who were cheated were exposed and borrowed. Qiao Qi has retired for this hopeless love. What is left of a weak woman in this man-eating society except pain and despair? Men in a patriarchal society are so fearless. Ten years ago, when Qiao Qi confessed to Jize, Jize weighed the pros and cons. Although he was moved, he also held a calm attitude and said how to treat the second brother, which was magnificent. For money, I did not hesitate to provoke Qiao Qi's dying heart. I only consider my own interests and ignore Qiao Qi's feelings. Women are destined to be victims of men. This is a terrible time.

Changbai is a substitute, the only one who doesn't consider Qiao Qi's money. Because he is the son of Qiao Qi, this man is also incomplete, just a place for emotional sustenance. However, when Changbai got married, it was different. Even these half people will get lost. Qiao Qi did not hesitate to break up the Changbai couple, alienated their feelings, and saved the half man. The two daughters-in-law were tortured to death soon after they got married. In this process, all four people were tragedies. The persecution of Qiao Qi was replaced by flowers, but she still had nothing. The same is true of daughter Chang 'an. "Human beings ... are untouchable! Who doesn't want your money? Your mother's money is not easy to get or keep. It's your turn. I can't stand by and watch you fall for it ― I told you to be careful in the future, did you hear that? " Qiao Qi's handling of her daughter's subsequent marriage to Tong Shifang was not so much that Qiao Qi couldn't hide her daughter's happiness, but rather that Qiao Qi insinuated that she had been greatly hurt emotionally in Chang 'an. Tiger poison doesn't eat children. Qiao Qi thinks she is protecting her daughter, but in fact she is making her suffer.

Zhang Ailing's The Golden Lock tells us that a woman who tried her best to succeed eventually went crazy and went to ruin. This is a complaint of the weak to the society, a process of conflict and struggle between a woman who is full of fantasy and hopes to realize her dream through her own personal struggle and reality, and eventually inevitably leads to failure.

Cao is the most successful female image in Zhang Ailing's novels, and she is distorted in the place where there is no light in The Golden Lock.

First of all, she is a woman who was destroyed by the marriage system of buying and selling, and married a disabled young master. She knows that this marriage is a trap and a prison with a gold chain, but she is willing to jump in because she likes money. She is strong and pungent, and knows how to ask for personal happiness, money and lust. But after she married into a famous family, her body and emotions were suppressed. She gritted her teeth and endured the widowed life to gain family status, and finally got a small sum of money after her husband and mother-in-law died. She is a struggling person. The success of the struggle turned her into a strong person. She really dominates her life and that of her children in name. So, she put herself under the heavy shackles of marriage, money and lust. "She killed several people with that heavy cangue horn, and those who didn't die also lost half their lives." (26) The money and power she finally got didn't make her live better, but more was mental torture. This deformed distortion takes herself as the center and her wrist as the radius, and begins to slaughter: