Chapter 43 Chapter 42: The Maids in Yihong Courtyard

Xiren, the big servant girl, is the most reviled character in history.People think that she is the most villainous, the most tasteless, hypocritical and murderous to deceive Baoyu... She is almost a collection of all evils, and her crimes cannot be forgiven.Zhang Ailing was not affected by this prejudice, but she had the courage to stand up and defend her. She cited how Cheng Ben changed the text repeatedly, deliberately damaging Xiren's image.She also interpreted that the "slave" and "shrew" scolded in "Furong Daughter" have nothing to do with attackers, but refer to the slanderer of Wang Shanbao's family.

It can be seen that she has a benevolent heart and is unwilling to wrong an innocent person according to the common customs.The merit is immeasurable. She said that when she was young, she liked to go to theater, and when a person came out on stage, she would first ask if she was a good person or a bad person? ——The childish concept of self-laughing does not understand that human personality is complex, and the boundary between yin and yang cannot be mechanically divided.This is probably also confessed from the standpoint of a novel author.This may also be the reason why she doesn't criticize and ridicule others.

There is another phenomenon, but it is worth discussing—— The twelve hairpins in "Red Mansion", numbering only twelve, are called the main hairpins, and the 96 deputy hairpins are all maidservants. In the second half of the book, there are corresponding and even important plot stories, which are not the same as the foil of the fiction, and Zhang Ailing He didn't say much to so many daughters, even Yuanyang, Ping'er, Zijuan, etc. were not touched.After careful statistics, it turned out that her intentions were concentrated on the maids in Yihong Courtyard.Including Xiren, Qingwen, Sheyue, Tanyun, as well as Qianxue who was expelled, and Xiaohong who was excluded, she all expressed interest and gave pen and ink.

How should this be explained?Very thought-provoking. If I am not seeking "deep understanding", then whether this phenomenon reflects Baoyu, the heroine of Zhang Ailing who does not talk much on the surface. All kinds of things surrounding Baoyu's daughters have received attention, which is the attention Baoyu has received. This seems to be the reflection of Eileen Chang's psychological depth. A question not unrelated to this is the fat inkstone.Zhang Ailing has already confirmed that the critic is a woman, and she is a "prototype" of the person in the book, which is very important; but she has not shown enough interest in this "comrade".She uses fat criticism, limited to those few articles (plus misunderstandings and illusions) that can help her arguments of "big demolition" and "big relocation".As for Zhi Yan's many important insights, especially the expression of artistic aesthetics and the guidance of literary ingenuity, it seems that Zhang Ailing is not interested.

This is very strange.Because she has loved all kinds of art since she was a child, and she is proficient in it.Her "painting theory" on Zhiyan - using the painting method to compare Xueqin's brushwork with many names, and she has not fully studied the great characteristics and important functions of "Curving Lines Thousands of Miles" - seems to feel that it is not so keen. This is not in line with her talent. Again, what is my knowledge of Zhang Ailing's "ancient prose" (that is, ancient Chinese language and literature, including various styles of prose, poems, words, and songs)?Never seen, never judged.Although she said that she was "too deeply poisoned by ancient prose", it is good to save a word when writing.Judging from this sentence, he has a deep understanding and feeling, probably better than those gentlemen who insist on "vernacularization".

"Few words but long ideas, short words but far-reaching meanings", this is a major feature and advantage of traditional Chinese language, but people who only understand "vernacular" will not understand it, and they will not be able to "dialogue" and "consensus". ".If you are not proficient in the so-called "ancient prose", if you measure Cao Xueqin's writing skills and word casting with Western language standards, you will be in the opposite direction.It's a pity that Zhang Ailing only pays attention to the early and late sequence of manuscripts written with different characters such as "Lao, 嫽, grandma" and "Kuang, (彳kuang, one word), shopping" and so on, but does not talk about the writing style of which book. It is close to Xueqin's real work, or which fragments were added by later generations.

In these respects, she appears inadequate, incomplete, and even reckless and slavish (others). However, the "New Red School" has been going on for a hundred years.For a hundred years, "red scholars" are like crucian carp crossing the river, but there are very few female true scholars.In my mind, I can only recommend Zhang Ailing as the best among them, surpassing others.This makes me feel that this person is precious, and it is unfair to make more demands. The poem says: How many times have they called themselves families for a hundred years, and there is a difference in knowledge.

If it is said that women are really outstanding, Ai Ling is the best in China.