What are the female images in Water Margin?

? "Water Margin" not only depicts the heroes who draw out their swords to help each other when the road is rough, but also shapes many female images with distinct personalities. These female images from all walks of life reflect the social status quo at that time from different angles. The women portrayed in Water Margin are mainly divided into four categories: one is the heroine, such as Hu Sanniang, Sun Erniang and Gu Dasao; One kind is an adulteress, such as Pan Jinlian, Yan Poxi and Pan Qiaoyun. There is also a class of marginal weak women, such as Lin Chong Niangzi Jin Qiaolian. In his portrayal of these female images, we can not only see the pain of women living in the male world at that time, but also deeply understand the author's sincere sympathy for women.

Keywords:: the root of female image influence

In China's classical literature for thousands of years, writers have created many female images of flesh and blood. These female images are both intelligent and beautiful, but influenced by traditional feudal cultural thoughts, they lack independent personality. They are always attached to men and dominated by men. At the same time, it is full of the author's unique feelings about these typical female images.

The Water Margin is one of China's four classical novels. The Water Margin is the first novel written in the vernacular in the history of China, also known as The Water Margin of Loyalty, generally referred to as The Water Margin, which was written at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty. "Water Margin" describes the historical fact that farmers headed by Song Jiang were forced to make a living by corrupt officials at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, and they all took mountains as the king and formed an alliance uprising. It also describes the whole process of the uprising from its occurrence to its failure.

The Water Margin has created more than 700 characters, including more than 70 women, accounting for one tenth. Their general low social status, coupled with social chaos and court corruption, is full of many unstable factors, and everyone's life is in danger. In this era, people are worried, and many women do whatever it takes to survive, regardless of personal dignity. Some sold their bodies, some compromised, some rose up and became heroes among women. By portraying such a series of characters, the author Shi Naian painted a historical picture for readers, so that we can taste these flesh-and-blood characters.

Analysis of female image

The female images in Water Margin can be roughly divided into three categories from the perspective of social ethics:

The first kind of heroic female images are praised and eulogized. Hu Sanniang, Sun Erniang, Gu Dasao

The second ugly female image is hatred and contempt. Pan Jinlian Yan Poxi Pan Qiaoyun

The third kind of weak female images of sympathy and pity. Lin Niangzi, Jin Cuilian and Yu Lian.

1 Positive heroic female image

(1) Positive images: Hu Sanniang, Gu Dasao and Sun Erniang.

1, Sun Erniang

(1) Character profile: Liangshan hero, one of the important characters in Water Margin, is called enchanting first. In the Water Margin, he is Zhang Qing's wife, the proprietress of the black shop, nicknamed "Dragon". Mengzhou Road Cross Slope and Zhangqingkai Hotel sell human flesh. Song Wu was sent to Mengzhou, passing through Hengpo, and was killed by Sun Erniang. The armed forces of the Song Dynasty drunk and arrested Sun Erniang, Zhang Qing for mercy, and Song Wu Zhang Qing.

Sun Erniang met his wife, and Sun Erniang later followed Zhang Qing to Liangshan, where he hosted and saw off at the Xishan Hotel in Liangshan Park, and was the 3rd hero in Liangshan 103. Sung River conquered Fang La and Sun Erniang was killed.

(2) Image analysis: In ancient Chinese literary works, the author pays more attention to the description of appearance when portraying women, and modifies and describes the beauty of women through various rhetorical devices. However, the author of Water Margin does not follow the traditional description method of depicting female images, but depicts female images from another angle. Gu Dasao and Sun Erniang are both heroes, but they are both ugly and have ugly names.

Sun Erniang, her appearance is mainly in the 27th chapter of Water Margin, "The Dragon Mother sells human flesh on Mengzhou Road, and Wudutou meets Zhang Qing on the cross slope". Sun Erniang is the most meticulous and prolific of the three heroines. As soon as she appeared, the author gave her a powerful rendering. Let's take a look at the appearance and dress of the female worm Gu Dasao:

"There is a woman sitting in front of the window sill, revealing a green tulle shirt, wearing a hair clasp ring on her head and some wild flowers in her temples. She is wearing a red silk skirt, her face is painted with rouge lead powder, and her chest is open, revealing a pink gauze waist with a gold button on it. " The author still seems to think that her description is not enough, and this time she describes it with a poem:

"The eyebrows murderous look, eye dew yoshimitsu. Stupid waist is like a reel, and sticks are like mulberry hands and feet. Thick with a layer of greasy powder, covering up the naughty, thick rouge, straight into the hair. The red skirt wraps the belly beautifully, and the yellow hair is bright gold. The bracelet is a witch's arm cage, and the red shirt reflects the night fork essence. "

This is a woman who has been masculine by the author. She has no beautiful appearance, elegant posture and gentle personality. She looks like an exaggerated and weird, unkempt and murderous witch. She doesn't have the gentle and submissive beauty of women, so she can be described as ugly. But under this ugly appearance, the author endowed her with an extremely distinctive personality: hot-blooded, strong, extraordinary and bold. The traditional women in ancient China were obedient to Nuo Nuo and her husband. Sun Erniang, on the other hand, runs a black shop with high martial arts and chivalry. From her description, we can see that she is warm, generous and outgoing.

For example, when Song Wu shouted, "Restaurant, is this steamed bread human flesh? Is it dog meat? " She smiled and said, "Guest, don't make fun of me. Let's live in peace with the world and wander around. Where is the smell of human flesh steamed bread and dog meat? Jizu has been a scalper since he came to my house. " She is fierce and vulgar. When Song Wu was knocked down by hemp, she laughed: "Caught! You are like a ghost, and you ate my mother's foot washing water. " "Today these three heads are licensed, but they have been sold for two days," he said happily. I got these things again. "She saw that the two people in the shop couldn't drag Song Wu, so she drank it to one side and said," You bird people and bird women can only eat and drink, which is useless. I have to do it myself! "It can be seen that her strength is not comparable to that of ordinary people. In China's ancient literary works, literati attached great importance to women's material attributes. When portraying women's images, most of them are keen on the feeling that women are ashamed to spend flowers and sink fish into wild geese. Although Sun Erniang is a daughter, she has no such beauty. She is more masculine. But she also has a thoughtful side, which is reflected in the part where she helped Song Wu make up to avoid being pursued by the public. Sun Erniang made careful arrangements for this: the Song armed forces dressed as walkers, not only covered with gold seals on their foreheads, but also used imperial edicts as amulets, which were foolproof. Before leaving, "Sun Erniang took out this dispatch, sewed a brocade bag with him, and taught Song Wu to hang it on his chest. "Visible under her rough ugly appearance also has a wise heart. Sun Erniang doesn't appear many times in the novel, but her fiery, fierce, passionate and straightforward image of a Jianghu heroine is impressive and unforgettable.

Sun Erniang is a female image with a strong sense of spiritual autonomy. On the one hand, she does not obey her husband, but goes her own way. Her husband, Zhang Qing, has repeatedly told me that the third class should not be bad, but Sun Erniang has his own opinion. As long as it is profitable, he can't care so much, so he will kill every guest, so peace has almost become Sun Erniang's steamed bread stuffing. On the other hand, Sun Erniang, as a woman, deals with men every day, which doesn't conform to the traditional concept that women can't go out, can't go out and can't show their faces. The author affirms Sun Erniang's behavior, which shows that he supports women's independence from men.

2. Gu Dasao

(1) Profile: The second heroine of Liangshan has a skill, and originally opened a hotel outside the East Gate of Dengzhou. Gu Dasao is

Aunt Jie Zhen's daughter. After Jie Zhen and Anta were framed and imprisoned by Taigong, Gu Dasao invited Zou Run. Zou Run's uncle and her husband Sun Xin and her husband Sun Li robbed the prison. Gu Dasao also entered Zhujiazhuang as Sun Li's harem, and together with other heroes in Liangshan, attacked Zhujiazhuang from the inside. Gu Dasao Liang Shanhou and her husband Sun Xin opened Liangshan Dongshan Hotel and returned to their old jobs, becoming the first 10 1 hero in Liangshan. After being accepted, Gu Dasao was made king of Dongyuan County.

(2) Image analysis: The second heroine in the novel is Gu Dasao, nicknamed the female blade. In Chapter 49 of Water Margin, "Jiebao Double Prison Break", I invited Le and took a message to introduce Gu Dasao:

"I have a room where my sister ... sees ten miles outside the east gate ... called female blade Gu Dasao, runs a restaurant and gambles on killing cows at home. My sister, there are thirty or twenty people near him. My brother-in-law Sun Xin also lost to him ... Only my sister and brother are the best ... If you tell me what happened, my sister will come to save me. "

This sentence at least tells us that Gu Dasao runs a hotel, but it is not a black shop, but a diversified business, selling wine and beef and opening a casino. Just for money, not for life. Gu Dasao is very capable. He can fight with 30 or 20 people, and he is closely related to Jerbo. Finally, Gu Dasao is warm-hearted. "You must come and save me" not only adds that Jie Zhen and her brother are the best, but also reveals that she is a generous and impatient person. Visible Gu Dasao is how brave and martial arts high strength. For its appearance, the author also wrote a description:

"Thick eyebrows, fat face and waist. Insert a strange hairpin ring to reveal two fashionable bracelets. Six red skirts, as muddy as Betty Wong Liu Hua; Several layers of green collar, dyed with three spring willows. Sometimes when I get angry, I mention the mine field and hit my husband on the head; Suddenly, he knocked the guest's leg with a stone cone. Born unable to sew, she is a female worm in the mountains. " (Back to 49)

From this description, we can see that Gu Dasao is a bit like a fierce tigress. If Sun Erniang still has some beauty, Gu Dasao is even worse than her. "Fat face and waist" shows that Gu Dasao is not beautiful. She is more masculine than Sun Erniang, and her personality is quite urgent. When she is angry, she will mention the mine field to hit her husband. When in a hurry, knock the guest's leg with a stone hammer; When Lehe introduced Gu Dasao about the imprisonment of Jie Zhen and Jerbo, Gu Dasao couldn't wait to call the Huo family: "Go talk to the second brother's family!" When Sun Xin expressed the idea of robbing the prison, Gu Dasao said, "I'll go with you tonight." The state of anxiety has jumped to the page, and even Sun Xin laughed: "You are so rude!" Her personality is very similar to that of another hero in Liangshan, Li Kui jy. She is also an extremely brave and resourceful person. If she thinks that the incident will definitely implicate her husband's brother, just tell him that I'm afraid he won't come, so she pretends to be ill, invites her husband's brother and wife, and then goads them into submission. In the process of robbing the prison, she hid a sharp knife by sticking meat, and pretended to be a woman who delivered food, so she improvised in the cell. Finally, she successfully rescued Jane Jebo and joined the team in Liangshan. Gu Dasao doesn't appear in many novels either, but her impatient, violent and resourceful personality is impressive, and she deserves to be called "Mother Worm".

Gu Dasao can't be a woman, as can be seen from Never Sewing. "A woman without talent is virtue", and she can only concentrate on needlework, which is what a woman should do. However, Gu Dasao is not like this. She is "a woman worker with a stick and a gun." We can see that she has deviated from the traditional concept of asking women to "keep the front door and the second door" and "concentrate on women".

From the two female images of Gu Dasao and Sun Erniang, we can see a more positive side of the author's view on women. He broke the tradition that female images have external beauty through the ages. Women don't have to have external beauty, as long as they are courageous and knowledgeable, they are also worthy of praise and praise. This is a powerful challenge to the dominant traditional male power.

3. Hu Sanniang

Character profile: Hu Sanniang, known as "Zhang Zhang Qing", ranks 59th among Liangshan heroes. Is one of the three female generals in Liangshan. Originally engaged to Zhu Biao of Zhujiazhuang, when Sung River attacked Zhujiazhuang, Hu Jiazhuang, who was in Longgang, sent troops to rescue Zhujiazhuang and wanted Sanniang to capture Wang Ying of Liangshan alive. Later, she was captured by Lin Chong, surrendered to Liangshan and became the first girl in Liangshan. Later, Hu Sanniang and Wang Ying were married by Song Jiang, and they were in charge of all the Liangshan armed forces. Later, Fang La was conquered, and her husband Wang Ying died in battle.

He also killed Hu Sanniang when she went to see Zheng Biao.

The author also created a perfect heroine image for us. The third heroine of the Water Margin, Hu Sanniang, mainly appeared in episode 48, "One single catch of the king dwarf tiger, two dozen of Zhujiazhuang". Compared with the other two heroines, Hu Sanniang is the most beautiful of them. Her appearance, personality and martial arts are all first-class perfection, which is the object of the author's praise.

Hu Sanniang, as soon as she appears, she will take the lead. I heard her voice before I met her. First of all, Du Xing introduced Hu Sanniang to Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu:

"Nothing else in his village is important, except one daughter, the most heroic one, called Zhang Hu San Niang, which makes her two sons and daughters double."

Later, when Hu Sanniang appeared, the book read:

"Fog temples cloud huan jiao female general, limelight shoes treasure stirrup oblique tread. The golden armor is lined with red yarn, and the lion has a waist and a tail span. If a soldier is killed by a frost knife, the jade hand will be taken away by fierce soldiers. The natural and beautiful begonia flower is the first step to go out. (back to the 48th)

Thus, Zhang Qing is beautiful and charming, with outstanding martial arts, and the image of a beauty hero is immediately presented to readers. She first fought against Wang Aihu and captured Wang Aihu alive. Then go to war with Ou Peng, and Ou Peng didn't take advantage of him; And fighting with marin, the fighting scene is very intense; But the most brilliant thing about her is that in the battle with Wang, Wang can only parry, his hands are shaking and his shooting is chaotic. Later, she "released the ape's arm, lifted the king from the saddle and captured him alive". And then beat Ou Peng. Although he lost to the leopard head Lin Chong and was captured alive, he was still heroic. There are few descriptions of Hu Sanniang's language and actions in Water Margin, and the scenes are limited. In the whole novel, Zhang seems to be a dumb beauty and seldom speaks. The only time he spoke was when he was fighting in Hotan. Wang was stabbed by Qiong Ying. When Hu Sanniang saw him stabbing her husband, she cursed, "How dare a thief throw a prostitute!"

Hu Sanniang is almost a lifeless figure in Water Margin, just a symbolic woman, and has no right to choose a free marriage. After her family was killed by the Liangshan army, she didn't say a word, and finally she was married to the dirty king by Song Jiang as a favor, and she was also a black sheep. At this time, her family's bones are not cold, and Hu Sanniang can only silently accept this arrangement. The author portrays Hu Sanniang as a beautiful woman who has no thoughts of her own and is subject to male chauvinism. Although she acquiesced in her marriage, she was not satisfied, which showed that in feudal society, women had to compromise in order to survive, which was a manifestation of "men are superior to women". Let us realize that in a patriarchal society, not only our father, brother and husband can control their own destiny, but even a person who has nothing to do with themselves can easily control a woman's destiny at will. Although Hu Sanniang felt wronged, she still had to bleed to death with those who controlled her fate. Her tragedy shows that even if she is beautiful, noble, brave and invincible, she will never break the oppression of male rule. It can be said that Hu Sanniang is just an inhuman female image in Water Margin. Even so, it can't erase her heroic and beautiful image.

2 The ugly female image on the opposite side

(2) Negative images: Pan Jinlian, Yan Poxi and Pan Qiaoyun.

Pan Jinlian, Yan Poxi and Pan Qiaoyun, from the ethical point of view, are typical representatives of this kind of bad women, and they are the objects of the author's disgust and contempt. The author not only shows their similarities, but also writes their differences, which enriches the text.

Female images in literary works. They all have beautiful appearances, but each has its own misfortune. They all have unhappy love and marriage. In order to pursue happiness, they have deviated from the tradition of ethics. But the social environment at that time was not tolerated by traditional ethics, so their fate was very tragic. Their fate can't be controlled by themselves, and it is even considered as the reason why men are caught up with Liangshan and the disaster of women.

From the history, we can know that the traditional female role has a very low status in society. In the long feudal society of China, women lived at the bottom of society, and under the multiple oppression of political power and male power, the basic concept of "men are superior to women" was formed. Women are in a subordinate position in society, not independent economically, and mentally bound. For example, Liu Lanzhi in Peacock Flying Southeast is a very beautiful, hardworking and filial woman, but she was forced to leave Jiao Zhongqing against the wishes of her feudal parents, which eventually led to a tragic death. Such advantages abound in history.

Pan Jinlian, Yan Poxi and Pan Qiaoyun are all urban women at the bottom of society. They all have their own misfortunes, are extremely dissatisfied with their marriage, and are full of fantasies and pursuits for beautiful love and marriage, so they will do things that violate feudal ethics.

1, Pan Jinlian

Pan Jinlian is a successful female image in Water Margin. People's evaluation of Pan Jinlian has always been very low, and she is often described as an "adulteress and slut". In the Water Margin, Pan Jinlian did have an affair with Ximen Qing because he was dissatisfied with his marriage with Wu Dalang, and personally poisoned her husband in order to be with Ximen Qing. But she is the most miserable of all the women in the Water Margin. Analyze the image of Pan Jinlian from the following aspects:

1. She comes from a humble background, but she is kind by nature. For the birth of Pan Jinlian and his marriage with Wu Dalang, the book reads as follows:

"Qinghe county has a large house, there is a girl, nicknamed the lotus of pan, more than twenty years old, quite feminine. Because the big family wanted to pester her, the maid told her master's wife that she wouldn't agree. That big family held a grudge against him, but instead of paying him a penny, they gave it to him for nothing. "

As can be seen from this description, Pan Jinlian was born in a humble background and was sold as a maid in a large family. She is a woman who deserves what she deserves. Just because she is beautiful, the director wants to take her as a concubine. She didn't want to be a concubine, so she refused her master's unreasonable request, which angered the extended family. The extended family held a grudge and forced her to marry Wu Dalang. If she is dissolute by nature, greedy for money and obeys the wishes of a large family to become a concubine, it can also be said that it is a better home. But she refused, refused the request of a large family, which just shows that she is a kind-hearted person, not a greedy person.

After marrying Wu Dalang, she yearned for a quiet life. When some migrant children often come home to lose their temper with her because of her beauty, she is willing to move from Qinghe County to yanggu county with Wu Da, and close the doors and windows early to avoid trouble.

Pan Jinlian and Wu Dalang have an unfortunate marriage, and the husband and wife are not a good match. This is mainly manifested in the following aspects:

First, the appearance does not match.

"The eyebrows are like willow leaves in early spring, and I often hate clouds and rain; The face is like a peach blossom in March, hiding the amorous feelings of the moon. Slim waist, introverted Yan lazy warbler unintentionally; Talk softly and seduce bees and butterflies. Jade is enchanting and fragrant. " It shows that Pan Jinlian is very beautiful.

Husband Wu Dalang:

"He is less than five feet tall, looks ferocious and has a ridiculous mind. He was also given a very vivid nickname by Qinghe county people, called' three-inch bone bark'. "

Less than five feet means short. The skin is like a grain of skin, which means it is rough. How can Wu Can Dalang, who is short and ugly, deserve the beautiful Pan Jinlian?

Second, the personality is not harmonious.

Pan Jinlian once told Song Wu that she is fast in her life and can't stand such three people who don't look back, don't pick up and don't look back. When she quarreled with Wu Da, she called him a man. She doesn't make decisions, but she listens to others. She told Ximen Qing that her husband was useless, so stop joking. All these can be seen from the differences in personality and thoughts between Pan Jinlian and Wu Dalang, and her dissatisfaction with Wu Dalang.

Third, the personality is not equal

As the saying goes, a perfect match is a perfect match. But Pan Jinlian has beauty, but Wu Dalang has no talent. He only sells cooking honestly every day.