Xue Baochai's concept of abstinence: full of poems and books, saying that a woman without talent is virtue

There are countless women in A Dream of Red Mansions, and Xue Baochai is the most beautiful and outstanding one. When people talk about Xue Baochai, they always think of moral terms such as "chastity and chastity", but few people can realize that Xue Baochai is actually the most contradictory figure in the Red Chamber. Baochai is learned and versatile, but she is not proud but ashamed; Obviously, poetry is outstanding, but it is said that this is not doing anything; Although she has nothing to do, she is indeed a contradictory girl and often wins the championship in the poetry club. Many readers say: Xue Baochai is hypocritical. She is full of books, but she always advises other girls not to learn cultural knowledge, saying that "a woman without talent is virtue". Isn't it inconsistent?

The phrase "a woman without talent is a virtue" came into being in the late Ming Dynasty, but this concept has a long history, and it didn't take shape until the Song Dynasty. Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty advocated "keeping justice in nature and eliminating human desires", especially for women, and highly publicized the concept of abstinence. The main reason is the "foolish woman policy" implemented by the ruling class to strengthen its control over the people. "Virtue without talent" was the first "foolish woman policy" implemented by * *. Influenced by Yuan Zhen's Biography of Yingying in the Tang Dynasty, the rulers at that time said that "a woman's talent is easy to be unfaithful" and thought that Cui Yingying, a young lady's girl, would pass on love poems to Zhang Sheng privately, thus stealing a private meeting and losing her life. Bufeiyan, a famous woman in Tang Dynasty, fell in love with the scholar next door because of her bad relationship with her husband Wu. They kept secret together for two years and were found and beaten to death! Martial arts can also be regarded as maintaining the dignity of feudal ethics! Therefore, in the eyes of the world, intellectual women often cheat. As a noble lady, even if she has the opportunity to learn cultural knowledge, she should give up and concentrate on housework to prove her chastity and virtue.

Since the ancestors also love reading and collecting books, a smart girl like Xue Baochai must be rich in knowledge. However, in her mind, she felt that her erudition was inappropriate. It is inevitable that girls will "change their temperament" when writing poems and lyrics, so they often advise other sisters to "do things right" and take needlework as their responsibility. This is not because Xue Baochai is hypocritical, but because she hopes that all women in the world can "take the right path" and be girls that society likes, which is exactly what Xue Baochai was assimilated by feudal society. In fact, even ancient sages acknowledged the rationality of human desires. As long as they know the right needs and proper restraint, they will not get lost in desire. Confucianism preaches the idea of moderation, not abstinence. Xunzi said: "those who have sex are natural;" Love, the quality of sex; Those who want, love also. " "Book of Rites Quli" says: "You can't follow your desires (vertically), and you are in bliss." It can be seen that Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty actually deviated from the human id, and Xue Baochai, who was deeply influenced by this theory, naturally had to live in self-discipline all the time and did not enjoy the happiness of a girl's youth at all!

Although Xue Baochai's thought and style were praised by Jia family. But there are exceptions The first person who didn't absorb Baochai's charm was Jia Mu. Xue Baochai's failure to please grandma is just like Lin Daiyu's failure to please Mrs. Wang, which is not only the cause of blood relatives, but also the disagreement between the two sides. It can be seen from the book that although the ruling idea that "a woman without talent is a virtue" is popular in society, all the girls in Jia's family who are favored by their ancestors are talented. From spring to spring, they are all stunts, and the girl of relatives and Xiangyun are even more amazing female poets. It can be seen from the degree of Jia Mu's love for these girls that the old lady is not pedantic and does not follow social orthodoxy in everything. On the contrary, she regards girls' talent as a good performance of family education.

The Wangs, another of the four families, paid little attention to their daughter's education. Mrs. Wang is stupid, values virtue over talent and doesn't appreciate talented girls. Her niece Wang Xifeng is a rich woman and can't even read. Although Xue Baochai is brilliant, she repents every day and preaches that it is useless for women to study. It is really disappointing! In addition, she is also a person who likes lively scenery, and Mrs. Wang just likes quiet, which is even worse than her niece Baochai. Since the daughter-in-law has no brain of her own, how can she let her grandson marry a granddaughter who has no brain of her own? At this point, readers will say, isn't it said in the article that Daiyu likes to leave, but she doesn't like to get together? It should be that Lin Daiyu loves silence more than Xue Baochai. But this is not the case.

Lin Daiyu was glad to leave because she was afraid of leaving. If we could be together, she wouldn't have such an idea. Whenever there is an activity in the Grand View Garden, the first participant or organizer is Lin Daiyu, whose organizational ability is no less than that of Tan Chun. Tanchun established the first folk society "Haitang Poetry Society" in Daguan Garden. Daiyu not only strongly supported it, but also suggested that everyone should have a title, make a big fuss, and be quite a leader. Later, the organization of Haitang Society was neglected, and people gradually forgot to write poems. This club is on the verge of collapse. At this time, Lin Daiyu reorganized her team and renamed it "Peach Blossom Club", becoming the second leader of this club. This kind of active participation in organizing activities is almost extinct in Xue Baochai. Even if Baochai participated, it was passive participation out of face.

It's just a matter of poetry. There are many other words in the book that show Baochai's laziness in "social intercourse". In the spring of January, everyone in the Jia family scrambled to go out to the theatre and was overjoyed, but Baochai didn't want to go, feeling "boring". It's really a pot of cold water, very boring! This character is different not only from Jia Mu, but also from other people in the garden. Baochai is really not like a girl. She has no fun at all, and she is so lacking in energy that people can't lift their spirits. Therefore, it is impossible for Jia Mu to like Baochai anyway. It's not just blood relationship. When Baochai's cousin Baoqin arrived at Jia's house, didn't she immediately get the love of Jia's mother? Sleeping in your arms, even Daiyu has never enjoyed such treatment! Obviously, Jia Mu is not the kind of narrow-minded cronyism old woman. There is a reason why she likes Daiyu and doesn't like Baochai. In addition, let's talk about the aesthetic differences between Jia Mu and Baochai.

Everyone in Jia family has a pair of rich eyes, and Jia family is no exception. But compared with others, Jia is obviously more cultured and tolerant. In fact, Jia naturally knows the deteriorating family economic situation of the Xue family. Needless to say, after a long time, anyone with eyes can see it. Although Xue Baochai is pragmatic, a girl's frugality did not please her grandmother. Jia Mu came all the way with wealth. She likes material comforts and luxurious life. Of course, she doesn't like the self-denial and frugality of Xue's mother and daughter. Back to the 40th time, Jia Jialing granny liu and others in the garden, this description:

"Is this your Miss Xue's home?" asked Grandmother Jia. They all said, "Yes." Grandmother Jia hurried ashore, climbed the Yunbu stone steps, and entered Wu Hengyuan together, only to feel the strange fragrance. Those grass vines, the colder and greener, are all solid, like coral bean, so tired and lovely. Entering the house is like a snow cave, and there is nothing to play. There is only one clay pot in the case, which contains several chrysanthemums, two books, a big teacup and a teacup. There are only green curtains hanging on the bed, and the mattress is very simple.

Grandmother Jia sighed, "This child is too honest. Since you have no furniture, you might as well ask your aunt for some. I have no theory, and I didn't expect your things to be at home naturally. I didn't bring them. " Yuanyang sent for some antiques and was angry with Xi-feng. "Don't send something to your sister, it's too cheap." Mrs. Wang and Xi Xifeng both laughed and said, "He doesn't want it himself. It was originally sent by us, but it was all returned. " Aunt Xue also smiled and said, "There are not many things in his family." Grandmother Jia shook her head and said, "No way. Although he saves trouble, if relatives come, it doesn't look like it; Second, young girl, it's a no-no to be so plain and clean in the room. We this old woman, the more it is time to live in the stable ... "

In this passage, the grandmother's criticism of Baochai can be described as serious: "Although he saves trouble, if relatives come, it's not like it;" Second, young girl, it's a no-no to be so plain and clean in the room. We, an old woman, should live in a stable more and more. " In this statement, the reasons for criticism have been fully expressed: the first reason is that although Baochai herself is simple and simple, she doesn't look like the house where your wife lives in case she visits relatives. What I know is that Baochai likes simplicity, but what I don't know is that the Jia family has wronged their mother and daughter. Granny Liu is a ready-made relative, or a relative of Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue's family. This relative came to Jia's house and saw a brilliant life. Jia's mother's room, Daiyu's room and Tanchun's room are all like Fairy Palace, but the room of Xue Baochai, a relative of the Wangs, is so shabby. Isn't this obvious to granny Liu that the Jia family is unjust? Suspected of abusing relatives! Grandmother Jia took Granny Liu to the garden and took the initiative to go to Baochai's house. Originally, she wanted to show off to her relatives, but she met Xue Baochai who was uncooperative. It's really a slap in the face. She must be unhappy! The second reason is that Jia Mu likes luxury. The girls she likes are all types who have the ability to live and like to dress up, such as Daiyu and Qingwen. Everyone says they are lazy, but in the eyes of Jia Mu, this is their character that knows how to enjoy, so they can be called women. Women will enjoy life, and ascetic monks are not suitable for women. The Lady Dowager was dissatisfied with Mrs. Wang, and she was a vegetarian all day. Besides, Xue Baochai was willing to live a simple life.

This shows that the relationship with Xue's mother and daughter is just polite. I have never seen an old lady call all girls "so-and-so girls". Only Baochai has called "Miss Xue", but she is polite but distant. Grandma must seldom visit Baochai's residence. If she had visited earlier, there would have been no books this time, and grandma would not have been embarrassed to "lose face" in front of grandma Liu this time. Jia's words and deeds in this paragraph seem dull, but in fact they have become extremely angry. Granny Liu, who bared her teeth all the way, was silent at this time, but she knew how to read and feel. She knew that it was better to "shut up"!

Every time I read a passage about Xue Baochai, readers always think of Ban Zhao, a famous woman in the history of China. Ban Zhao was born in a noble family, and his brothers and sisters were immortals. Eldest brother Ban Gu is a famous writer and historian, and the main author of Hanshu. Ban Chao, the second brother, joined the army and went to the Western Regions twice. He is an eternal hero who paved the "Silk Road". Even though the two brothers are so excellent, Ban Zhao, as a younger sister, is still on par with them. Ban Zhao married Uncle Cao at the age of fourteen and soon became a widow. When he helped his eldest brother Ban Gu edit Hanshu, he showed great talent and was appreciated by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He called her into the palace to give lectures to concubines in the harem and teach Confucian culture. At the age of 70, Ban Zhao completed the Women's Commandment, which included seven items: inferiority, husband and wife, caution, women's behavior, determination, obedience and uncle, and it was popular all over the country for a while. His thoughts such as "three obedience and four virtues", "the husband has the intention of remarriage, and the woman has no second choice", "the man is strong and the woman is weak, and the woman must unconditionally obey her husband regardless of the merits" have influenced the women in China for nearly two thousand years. In the society at that time, although the ruling class had many behavioral commandments for women, the Women's Commandment was the most thorough in terms of women's ideological control. Because it is a code of conduct advocated by women themselves, it is more used by rulers. From this perspective, Ban Zhao is really a sinner of women in China!

Xue Baochai in A Dream of Red Mansions is a Ban Zhao-style figure who is better than men in talent and ability, but still advocates the idea that "women are humbler than men". Of course, you can't doubt Xue Baochai's sincerity, just as you can't doubt the starting point of Ban Zhao's creation of Women's Commandments. They are not natural harmers, but victims, especially other women. Other women have at least had the illusion of equality in their minds, simply thinking that it is a sin, and even their thoughts are dedicated to society. Poor thing! Alas!