Chapter 12 Postscript "<Dream of Red Mansions> Textual Research"

one In the revised draft of "A Dream of Red Mansions" ("Hu Shi Wencun" Volume 3, pages 185-249), I have based on "Xueqiao Poetry Talk", "Eight Banners Classic", "Xi Chao Ya Song Collection" three Book, test the following things: (1) Cao Xueqin's name is Zhan, not Cao Yin's son, but Cao Yin's grandson. (page 212) (2) Cao Xueqin was very poor later on, and it was very poor. (3) He is a person who can compose poetry and paint. (4) In that impoverished situation, he drank and sang, and dispelled his whining mood by himself. (pages 215-216 above)

(5) From the perspective of the relationship between Cao Xueqin and his friend, Brother Duncheng, I said, "We can conclude that Cao Xueqin died around 30 years of Qianlong (about 1765)".He also said, "We can guess that Xueqin... Born around the end of Kangxi (about 1715-1720); when he died, he was about fifty years old." At that time, I searched for Duncheng's "Si Song Tang Ji" everywhere, because I knew that "Si Song Tang Ji" must have materials about Cao Xueqin.Although I admit that Mr. Yang Zhongxi ("Xueqiao Shihua") is indeed based on "Sisongtang Ji", but I always feel that "Xueqiao Shihua" is "evidence of changing hands", not "evidence of original hand".Unexpectedly, the results of the two major searches in Shanghai and Beijing disappointed me greatly.This year, I am desperate for "Si Song Tang Ji".One day, a clerk in a bookstore came to say: "I found "Si Song Tang Poetry Collection"!" I was very happy, but when I opened the book, it turned out to be "Si Song Tang Poetry Collection", not "Si Song Tang Collection" .Another day, Mr. Chen Xiaozhuang told me that he saw a copy of "Si Song Tang Ji" in a bookstore.I said, "I'm afraid it's 'Sisong Thatched Cottage' again?" Mr. Chen went back and looked, and he was wrong again.

On April 19th of this year, when I came home from university, I saw a book with a faded blue cloth cover on the table in the concierge, and a stripped old book with the words "Si Song Tang Ji" inscribed on it. !I hardly believed my eyesight, so I quickly opened it and found that it was really a manuscript of "Si Song Tang Ji"!This manuscript is indeed the only one in the world.Because this is the original copy that was engraved that day, and there are signs of corrections and deletions at the time of engraving.The most important thing is that there are many poems and essays in this book that have not been included in printed editions.For those that have been engraved, there is a stamp with the word "engraved" printed on the title, and a small red note is pasted on the title for those that have not been accepted.The Jiazi on the topic were all pasted with white paper by the editors, and none of them were engraved. ——My joy at this time is several times greater than that when I was looking for Wu Jingzi's "Wenmu Shanfang Collection" the year before last!

At the beginning of the volume, there are prefaces by Yongxi (also a poet in the imperial family of the Qing Dynasty, "Shenqingshi Poetry Draft"), Liu Daguan, and Ji Yun, and a biography by Dun Min, brother of Duncheng.There are six volumes of the book, two volumes of poetry, two volumes of essays, and two volumes of "Wren'an Bizhen". The poems and essays collected in "Xueqiao Shihua", "Eight Banners Wenjing" and "Xichao Yasong Collection" are all selected from here.In the song "Send Huai Cao Xueqin" that I cited in "Research", the original text has a note of "Zhan" and a sentence of "Yangzhou's old dream has long been extinct". "Xueqin used to weave with his ancestor Yin." "Xueqiao Poetry Talk" says that Cao Xueqin's name is Zhan, and he is the grandson of Lianting Tongzheng, which is based on these two notes.Also in this poem, the line "Jimen Sunset Pine Pavilion Zun", the word Zun was originally used as a bottle, and the inscription says, "I am at the mouth of Xifeng." According to the biography written by Dun Min, Ding Chou (1757) in the 22nd year of Qianlong , Duncheng is at Xifengkou.This poem was written in the year of Ding Chou.It is also verified that the cited "Saber Sword Zhijiu Song" has no date, but the second title of the next poem is marked with "Guiwei", which is probably composed by Renwu in the 27th year of Qianlong.In addition to these two poems, there are two uninscribed poems:

(1) Donate Caoqin garden (Note) that is Xueqin The whole diameter is full of basil and old people, and the whole family often eats porridge and wine on credit.The alleys of Hengmen worry about the rain, the ruined halls and buildings dream of old homes.Si Ye Qingqian keeps the guests drunk, and the infantry rolls their eyes to them.The one who buys pork liver food, looks at Xishan every day and eats at dusk. This poem makes us know that Cao Xueqin is also known as Qinpu.The first three sentences describe the state of family poverty, and the fourth sentence describes the feeling of prosperity and decline. (This poem was written in Xinsi, the twenty-sixth year of Qianlong)

(2) Retaining Cao Xueqin (Note) Jiashen Forty years of Huafu Yaoming, a piece of mourning?Orphan Miao Mo's soul should be chased away, (Note: A few months ago, Yi Zishang became ill due to sentimentality) The bride is wandering and her eyes are closed?Niu Gui's legacy mourns Li He, and Liu Ling is buried in a deer cart and lotus. (Appropriately, these two sentences can also be found in "Wren's Temple Bizhen", Mr. Yang Zhongxi introduced "Shihua" from "Bizhen"; Mr. Yang has never seen the full text of this poem) environs. This poem gives us four important points:

(1) Cao Xueqin died in Jiashen (1764), the twenty-ninth year of Qianlong.I said in "Textual Research" that he died about 30 years after Qianlong, only a year away. (2) Cao Xueqin was only "forty years old" when he died.This is naturally an integer, not limited to a full forty years old.But we can conclude that he cannot be older than forty-five.It is assumed that he was forty-five years old when he died, and that he was born in the fifty-eighth year of Kangxi (1719). The conjectures in "Research" are not too big a mistake. On this point, we should make a statement.Cao Yin died in the fifty-first year of Kangxi (1712), fifty-one years after Qianlong Jiashen.Xueqin will not have time to see Cao Yin.The poem note of Dun Cheng's "Sending Huai Cao Xueqin" said that "Xueqin once followed his ancestors to weave", which is a little mistake.Xueqin once worked with his father Cao Fu in Jiangning weaving.Cao Fu did weaving from the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi to the sixth year of Yongzheng (1715-1728); Xueqin was in office for about ten years (1719-1728).Among the three generations and four weavers of the Cao family, only Cao Yin is the most famous.Dun Cheng edited it in his later years and added this small note. At that time, it had been more than 70 years since Cao Yin died, so Dun Cheng and Yuan Mei made the same mistake.

(3) Cao Xueqin's son died first, and Xueqin fell ill with grief, and died soon after.According to this, Xueqin seems to have no descendants after her death. (4) After Cao Xueqin died, there was another "wandering" "bride".Is this Xue Baochai, or Shi Xiangyun?Then it is not easy to guess. The important materials in "Si Song Tang Ji" are just these.There are also some materials, but they are not important.From the biography written by Dun Min, we can know that Dun Cheng was born in Yongzheng Jiayin (1734) and died in Qianlong Wushen (1791), and we can also correct the speculation in my "Textual Research".

I got the manuscript of this "Si Song Tang Ji" on April 19th.Two days later, Mr. Cai Zimin sent another engraved copy of "Sisongtang Collection", which he had borrowed from Wanqing Poetry Society.The block edition consists of five volumes: Volume one, one hundred and thirty-seven poems. Volume two, one hundred and forty-four poems. Volume three, thirty-four articles. Volume four, nineteen articles. Volume five contains eighty-one chapters of "Wren'an Bizhen". Sure enough, those who did not have the word "engraved" in the original copy were not included in the printed copy.This further proves that my copy is extremely valuable.I am very grateful to Mr. Cai for his enthusiasm for this book.The most interesting thing is that the day that Mr. Cai borrowed the engraved copy was almost the same day that I got the copy.I have been looking for this book for more than a year, and suddenly two copies were in my hands within three days!This is really "there is no place to find when you break through the iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it."

Eleven, five, three. Second answer to Mr. Cai Zimin's discussion Mr. Cai Zimin's "The Preface to the Sixth Edition of the Stone Story of Suoyin" is my "Research on "Dream of Red Mansions"" A "discussion".He said: Knowing the person entrusted by him () can be deduced by three methods: First, those with similar personalities.Second, there are anecdotes. Three, name-related persons.Therefore, Xiangyun's boldness is regarded as his year, and his spring's coldness is regarded as his friend: use the first method.It is assumed that Baoyu meets the nightmare as Yunfeng, and that Sister Feng cries to Jinling is regarded as Yu Guozhu: use the second method.The name of Tanchun is related to Tanhua, and it is called Jian'an, and the name of Baoqin is related to the story of Confucius learning the piano from Shixiang, so it is called Pijiang: use the third method.However, every time one person is cited, the three methods or two methods are used at the same time.Others, such as Xu Yuanwen suspected in Yuanchun and Weng Baolin suspected in Baochan, are not included because they are close to isolated evidence.They think they are prudent, and they are different from those who attach themselves at will.A recent reading of Mr. Hu Shizhi's "A Dream of Red Mansions", which was listed in the "Affiliated Red Studies", called "wrong path", called "big fool", "stupid mystery"; called "very far-fetched". Attached”; I dare not admit it.

Regarding the "methodology" in this section, I just want to point out that Mr. Cai's method is not applicable.There are several kinds of novels that can adopt Mr. Cai's method.Most obviously. This book is about current events, and the characters in the story can be deduced by Mr. Cai's method: Chen Qianqiu is Tian Qianqiu, Sun Wen is Sun Wen, Zhuang Shouxiang is Zhang Xiangtao, Zhu Baoting is Baozhupo, and Pan Baying is It is Pan Boyin, Jiang Biao's word Jianyun is Jiang Biao's word Jianxia, ​​Cheng Yu's word Boyi is Sheng Yu's word Boxi.Secondly, for example, there are also things that can be deduced using Mr. Cai's method.If Ma Chunshang is Feng Cuizhong and Zhuang Shaoguang is Cheng Mianzhuang, there is probably no doubt about it.But the characters in this book are very difficult to guess; for example, Xiang Ding, I once guessed that it was a merchant, but after reading the thirty-two volumes of "Zhi Yuan Poetry Collection", I did not find any evidence, so I had to put this Mystery is sacrificed.Another example is that Du Shaoqing's name is Wu Jingzi, and his name has nothing to do with it; I didn't dare to believe it until I found "Wenmu Shanfang Collection".In addition, the people mentioned in Jin He's postscript are at best for reference and should not be trusted too much. (For example, Jin He said that Wu Jingzi's poetry anthology had not been engraved, but I was looking for the engraved edition in the early years of Qianlong.) This book is a book with real characters, and it is not easy for us to determine the characters in the book. This shows that Mr. Cai's method is applicable. Very limited.Most novels are by no means suitable for this method.Historical novels such as "Three Kingdoms", legendary novels, and game novels cannot use Mr. Cai's method to deduce the characters in the books.Therefore, Mr. Cai’s method cannot be applied. Mr. Gu Jiegang once cited two important reasons: (1) The insinuated characters in other novels just changed his name, male or male, female or female, and the occupation he did was still his own .Why do men turn into women, and bureaucrats and literati turn into family members? (2) The insinuations of other kinds of novels always preserve their original relationship.Why do things that have nothing to do with each other become related once it arrives?For example, Mr. Cai determined that Baoyu was Yunfeng, Daiyu was Zhu Zhulong, and Xue Baochai was Gao Shiqi. What is the love relationship between Yunfeng and Zhu Zhulong?What is the jealous relationship between Zhu Zhulong and Gao Shiqi? What Mr. Gu said is the most clear, so I don't need to extend it.Mr. Cai once said: "However, let's use the number one writer in Anhui (referring to Wu Jingzi), and see the number one writer in the Han army." book of.Using the three items of "character, anecdote, and name" to deduce the characters in Li is like using this method to deduce who Ximen Qing's monogamous and five concubines allude to: the result must be a very far-fetched association. For Mr. Cai's article, what I dare not agree with the most is his second section.The gist of this section is: The closest contact we have with literary books is not in the author's life, but in his works.The content of the work, that is, what Mr. Hu called "plot", is by no means without value of research. Mr. Cai seems to be underestimating the textual research on "the author's life".In any case, what he means seems to be to say that we can disregard the "life of the author" and examine the "content of the work".This is a big mistake.Mr. Cai quoted from "Biography of Tolstoy" that "all his works are autobiographical in nature; the protagonists of each book... are all his own incarnations; the stories of others described in each book are all directly related to his own body. relationship".How can the person who wrote this biography know the "biography" of the author, how can he verify the "plot" of each book in this way?Mr. Cai also quoted various conjectures about Faust, and asked them if they don't know Goethe's "life", how can they guess who Gretchen in the first part is? I think the author's life and times are the first step in researching "the content of the work".That is to say, a book uses Nian Gengyao's affairs as the background, and forges a preface from the Yongzheng period and a preface from the Qianlong period.We are fortunate to know that the author Wen Kang was born in the Tongzhi period of Xianfeng; otherwise, the stories mentioned in the book, as well as Xu Duxiang and Yuan Baozhu in "Pin Hua Bao Jian" (written by Dao Guang), would not all be supernatural prophecy?That is to say, Kuang Chaoren in the old story is Wang Zhong.Now that we know that Wu Jingzi died in the 19th year of Qianlong and Wang Zhong was born in the 9th year of Qianlong, we can conclude that Kuang Chaoren is definitely not Wang Zhong.In the old saying, the cow cloth clothes are the vermilion grass clothes.Now we know that Zhu Caoyi died in the 212th year of Qianlong. At that time, Wu Jingzi had died for 23 years, and the 20th chapter has already described the death of Niu Buyi, so it can be seen that Niu Buyi was probably another person. Therefore, I said that in order to overthrow the "affiliated Hongxue", we must search for materials that can be verified by authors, times, editions, etc.The reason why a book like Zeng is easy to be deciphered and appended to is precisely because people always ignore the big issue of "the author's life".Because they didn't know that the Cao family had such a wealthy and prosperous environment, everyone suspected that the Jia family referred to the imperial family, or at least the family of prime ministers like Mingzhu.Because they do not believe that the Cao family is a family of the Eight Banners, some people suspect that this book is aimed at denouncing the Manchus.Because they don't know the history of the ups and downs of the Cao family, they don't believe that this book is Cao Xueqin's autobiography with the truth concealed.Now that Cao Xueqin's history and the Cao family's history are somewhat clear, I really hope that readers can calmly put aside their previous prejudices for a while, and wipe their glasses to judge whether our evidence is reliable and whether our interpretation of the evidence is correct. good.I welcome such criticism.I once said: In this article, I always want to put aside all preconceived prejudices; I always have a purpose of searching for evidence; I always respect the evidence, let the evidence serve as a guide, and lead me to a considerable conclusion. The so-called "evidence" here refers only to those evidences that can determine the author, era, version, etc.;If the author, era, version, etc. are left out, then citing "Donghua Lu" is the same "irrelevant" as citing "Red Reef Painting Paddle Record"; citing Xu Sanli Guo Xiu is the same as citing Pijiang Wang Yuyang. Irrelevant".If you leave the "author's life" and don't look for evidence of "similar temperament, anecdotes, and names", then, which of the countless famous people throughout the ages can't turn into a man and move into the Grand View Garden?How about Zhu Zhulong, Xu Jian'an, Gao Shiqi, Tang Bin and others?Besides, Ban'er can be said to be "Twenty-Four Histories", and Qing'er can be said to be a piece of leeks, so why don't we simply say that it is "Chun Qiu" or "Qun Fang Pu"? Aristotle in his "Nicomachean Ethics" (Part 4, 1099a) said: Discussing this doctrine (referring to Plato's "Numerical Theory") makes us feel uncomfortable, because the person who advocates this doctrine is our friend.But since we are lovers of wisdom, in order to maintain the truth, even if we have to overthrow our own opinions, we should.Since both friends and truth are dear to us, we are compelled to love truth more than friends. I expect this attitude from everyone, especially from my beloved Mr. Cai. Eleven, five, ten. "Hu Shi Wen Cun Two Collections" Volume 4