Chunyan’s artistic image

Whose new swallow pecks the spring mud

The title was chosen just because of the word "yan", and the spring swallow is considered a "new" swallow. Cao Gong's description of her is self-evident It is novel and different from other maids in the book:

Those maids in Jia's house, as long as there is an event in this book, most of them have their appearance, name and life experience, and they are all narrations One by one, detailed descriptions, or comments from characters in the book, Chunyan does not have these. Therefore, even for works like Xiaohong and Qiuwen, some people will write articles for them, praising or criticizing them. Chunyan's writing is not less than that of the two of them. Probably because there are no examples of love or great evil, it is rare to write about it.

How did Chunyan’s name come about? Duke Cao did not explain, maybe it was caused by a family member, maybe by the master Baoyu, or maybe it was caused by the eldest maid Xiren. No one knows what Chunyan looks like. Mr. Cao was really surprised. Even the silly eldest sister only appeared once. There was also a description of "she was fat and broad-faced, with two big feet", but Chunyan didn't get a word of it. Just from the name, I think she should be as light as a swallow and as smiling as a spring breeze - otherwise, she would be living up to this good name and surname in vain.

Chunyan's life experience is not new. Generally, those who work as maids will not be much better at home, and the same is true for Chunyan. However, her life experience was quite novel. She reported her life experience without waiting for anyone to ask, which made her look like the heroic "Swallow Li San". From her words and later from her mother’s words, we know: Chunyan has a younger sister and a widowed mother, and the three of them depend on each other; their family’s finances are pretty decent, and Chunyan’s entry into the Grand View Garden saves her family a lot of money. I also earned four to five hundred yuan a month for my family. Later, her mother adopted Fangguan as her goddaughter and made a lot of money. In Chunyan's opinion, their family was considered generous; Chunyan said nothing about her father; in addition, she had an aunt who was Ou Guan's godmother, Mrs. Xia; and another aunt, whose last name was unknown. Work as an errand in the Grand View Garden, only taking care of the flowers and plants.

When did Chunyan enter the Grand View Garden? According to her own words, she was selected by Baoyu and others when they first entered the garden. At that time, "four girls were added to each place." Waiting for one of the maids. Baoyu and others entered the garden on the 22nd, which was mid-spring and February. The willow trees had just sprouted and the swallows came early. Although they came, they were penniless. When we saw Swallow, the book was already at Chapter 59. Not counting the unknown chapters, it was already nearly halfway through, and she appeared later than her mother who entered the garden that night.

Although it was late, Chunyan's appearance was not as sensational as Chai Dai and other young ladies in the family, but it was still earth-shattering among the maids. They laughed and cried, and actually performed a full martial arts performance. It was just after Qingming Festival and it was mid-spring. There is a poem by Bai Juyi, "A few early orioles are vying for warmth in the trees, and some new swallows are pecking at the spring mud." Coincidentally, this description is somewhat consistent with the background of the spring swallow's appearance. On that day, the peach blossoms were red and the willows were green, and the orioles and swallows were swallowing. Ying'er, known as the "innocent", got so playful that she ignored her master's usual words and deeds, pinched the willows, and made a flower basket. It was at this moment that Chunyan appeared with a smile, very plainly, without any description, just the word "laugh" and the sentence "He's mother's daughter".

Chunyan walked up with a smile, but she said, "If you don't say something surprising, you will never stop." The first thing he said was Baoyu's "beads and fish eyes theory" about his daughter. I think it came from Xun who stayed in Yihongyuan for a long time. . Although Chunyan thought this was a bastard's talk and didn't understand how one person could act in three different ways, she still felt that it was quite reasonable and gave examples without hesitation. That example was none other than her relatives. So, we know the character of her family:

Her mother and aunt are what Baoyu calls fish eyes. The old sisters take money more and more seriously as they get older. Although they have plenty of money, they are insatiable.

I don’t know how much money I made from Fangguan and the others before entering the garden. Now that I have entered the garden, I have accumulated a lot of grudges: her mother quarreled with her goddaughter after entering Yihongyuan because of Fangguan’s hair washing. It's a shame; her aunt wanted to sue her in front of Baoyu for Ou Guan's burning of paper, but failed, and she was blamed a lot by Baoyu; her aunt was only interested in profit and had no regard for human feelings, and now she is in charge of that area Huacao, her own hard work was not counted, and she forced the two sisters to take care of her. They wanted to tear her in half, one half worked as an errand in Yihongyuan, and the other half looked after Hualiu for her aunt, making her worry about missing her own errand.

Chunyan is open-minded and cautious when she first appears. She goes round and round telling Ying'er that if she picks flowers and willows, her aunt will complain, but she doesn't want to "spoil the flowers." She was not "struck by lightning", but she herself caused "unforeseen disaster". Although she tried her best to persuade Ying'er not to pick flowers and willows, she didn't succeed, but Ying'er refuted it with confidence - their girl usually didn't want those special flowers and plants, but now she picked some, and her aunt did too. Sorry to say it. Just at this moment Chunyan's aunt came. As Ying'er said, her aunt didn't have the courage to criticize Ying'er, so she only pointed the finger at Chunyan. Before the relationship started, the "innocent" Ying'er added fuel to the fire, saying that Chunyan had made it up to bother her. The helpless Chunyan had no choice but to tell her aunt that Ying'er was just joking. Unexpectedly, the "profit-oriented" old woman actually "believed" her, picked up the stick and hit Chunyan several times.

That's not all. Chunyan, who had just appeared, was really misfortunes. But at this time, her mother came out to look for her. Her aunt ignored Ying'er's excuse and only said how bad Chunyan was. Her mother was because of these things. My daughter's dissatisfaction actually vented all her usual frustrations on Chunyan. When she came up, she slapped Chunyan's ears several times. Not only that, she also called Chunyan a "little whore" and said that Chunyan "ran out to be a prodigal." I actually I don’t know what Chunyan’s daily life was like, but she probably got beaten and scolded a lot, which was in line with what her aunt said, “Your mother will tear your flesh apart and eat it.” After being beaten, Chunyan left Ying'er in tears and staged a "Jiangyunxuanli summoning the flying talisman". Chunyan, who was being chased by He's mother, took advantage of her lightness as a swallow and quickly ran to Yihongyuan to bring in reinforcements - Baoyu and Xiren. With the help of them and Sheyue, Chunyan subdued her mother. And her mother was convinced of her from then on.

This is Chunyan's first appearance, and it is also the one with the most written and ink. Later, she also appeared intermittently a few times, but they were all intermittent and trivial. But it is these little things that allow us to see Chunyan's character - she is Baoqin among the maids. In the Yihong Courtyard where dragons and tigers compete, she, like She Yue, does not compete with other maids for favor, nor is she competitive. She is also very enthusiastic and loves to help others; she is as smart as Xiao Hong; as light as a swallow, she also loves wine and fun like Xi Ren and Qingwen; for her mother, she is the same as Tan Chun "Grieved", but she is still very filial; to the people around her, like Baochai, she is kind to everyone, but has no particularly close friends.

What is Chunyan’s status in Yihongyuan? According to what she said when she first appeared, she was a second-class maid, but seeing as how she later served in Debaoyu's house, and on Baoyu's birthday, she was of the same status as Bihen and Si'er, but also seemed to be lower than Qingxi. First class maid. Although she is in the Yihong Courtyard where dragons and tigers are fighting, Chunyan is not as intrigued as other maids. She is not like Qiuwen, Xiaohong or Si'er who try every means they can think of to win Baoyu's favor. However, the indisputable Chunyan won Baoyu's heart easily and skillfully as soon as she appeared on the scene: when Chunyan ran to Baoyu for help, Baoyu naturally took her hand. The scene was like lovers who have known each other for a long time. The lover was wronged outside and came crying to tell her grievances to her lover. The lover took her hand and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here with you." How could Baoyu ever say such bold words to other girls! I think Chunyan also trusts Baoyu, otherwise she wouldn't treat his bastard words as wise words to others. And Baoyu lived up to her trust. He not only helped her calm down her mother, but also taught her how to comfort Ying'er.

“A nest of gold or silver is not as good as a nest in the earth.” Chunyan was very happy when she told her mother that she could be released in the future. Therefore, I think she would also be willing to find a good home if possible. Build your own nest with your husband. I hope that in mid-spring of a certain year, I can see someone’s new swallow peck at the spring mud!