Chapter 50 Chapter 49: The Soul of the Red School

Ms. Zhang Ailing said: "Ten years of sleep obsession with textual research won the name of Nightmare of the Red Chamber." Imitating Xiao Du (Muzhi)'s "Ten Years of Yangzhou Dream", ten years of energy wasted in a book "Nightmare", the results of textual research how?Judging from my personal opinion, it is almost hard to say how many items can be concluded.But I don't mean to underestimate her. On the contrary, I think that we should cherish her spirit of hard work and truth-seeking. The research that I said is difficult to establish is the theory of "demolition" and "moving"; I cherish and admire her. It is her pursuit of the "old authenticity", especially her deepest pursuit goal, which is to express the psychological honesty beyond words.

She tasted it: When she first saw an "old-time authentic version" recorded in "Continued Reading Micro Cottage Notes", the second half of the plot was quite different from the popular Cheng Gao pseudo-sequel version. Extremely depressed, Baoyu was extremely poor, and fell into the ranks of battling watchmen (watching at night to knock on clappers), while Xiangyun was exiled as a servant; Tragedy", at this point, it is really like "the stone breaks the sky, the clouds hang down the sea", and it will be unforgettable for a lifetime! How do you say these eight big characters?Translated into "Baihua", it means that the sky is falling apart and the earth is turned upside down!

This extremely huge and strong shock made her feel that the reason why she used to feel about "the sky is dark and tasteless" after the 80th chapter is because it is not the original work of Xueqin's real book, and the "old time true book" The ending plot is the brand-new realm where she feels "the sun is shining again, and all kinds of flavors are still alive".This feeling is simply too huge and profound!So unforgettable for a lifetime, is it an ordinary, temporary, fleeting thing? Therefore, she realized that the 120 chapters of the "complete book" published today are fakes, the last 40 chapters are the dog tail of the continuation, and the 80 chapters of the book, "Red Mansion" is not finished, which constitutes a life-long difficulty for her. A great hatred of repatriation.

Therefore, she has to try her best to track down the "old authentic book". In fact, this is her only wish and ultimate goal of "Ten Years of Obsessed with Textual Research". Now that you know this meaning, you can understand why the last chapter of "Five Details" in "Nightmare" is the title "Old Time Authentic Version", which is the finishing touch to the true psychological track. This point is Zhang Ailing's "red school soul". It should be noted that not everyone has the same vibration like hers. Some have a slight feeling, and some even have no sense of the sudden change of heart, thinking that it is "almost", saying that if it is not the original work, someone else wrote it. Not out, and so on.

It can be seen that Zhang Ailing's innate artistic sensitivity is the most precious talent, and the blunt can't appreciate it. Even if you "break it apart" and talk to her, it will be indifferent and useless. Then, we can proceed to pry into, how is Eileen Chang's pursuit of the "old authentic version" that will be unforgettable for a lifetime? According to a very brilliant expert’s analysis and general explanation for us: the result of Zhang Ailing’s textual research is that Xueqin wrote two different endings for the eighty chapters of the book: one is Bao, Xiangzhonghui, Baishou Double stars, as it is said in the "Old Time Authentic Version".The other is "letting go on a cliff", which is generally interpreted as the ending story of Baoyu abandoning Baochai and Sheyue's wife and concubine and becoming a monk. Experts point out, which one does Eileen Chang take for this contradiction?There is no conclusion yet, but she is psychologically inclined to the ending pattern of the "old and true version" of the white-headed twin stars and the reunion of Baoxiang.

This is extremely intriguing. Now the question is: If there are two different plots in the eighty chapters recorded in the notebooks and other books I have seen today, is it definitely the second half of the two systems? In this regard, people should be allowed to have doubts and study in depth, and it is not advisable to be misled by such thoughts and go further and further.Because "abandoning and becoming a monk" does not mean that it is equal to the final outcome, the case cannot be resolved.this is one.Second, the abandonment of wives and concubines is Baoyu's own action, and Baochai and Sheyuezai, who are unwilling to be abandoned, will try to save this situation——in the previous article, it is not that Baoyu "enlightened" the "Zen machine" and wrote "Gathering As soon as you were "broken" by Chai and Dai, did you immediately regret and give up that idea?Isn't it just the preset foreshadowing of the future?Third, even if you become a monk, at best it will only end Baochai's game, just as there will be a follow-up after ending Daiyu's game.Fourth, "letting go on a cliff" must point out that you should be a monk?No one has said that, and there is no such "logic" to be found.

Looking up the allusion of "letting go on a cliff", the dictionary is quoting from Volume 20 of "Jingde Biography of Lantern Records", the real Zen master has the phrase "letting go on a cliff".This suddenly became clear. It turns out that few people in the world can understand the spirit, language, and teaching methods of Zen, and they mistakenly interpret this phrase as ordinary people who say "everything goes to nothing". .So what about "Zhixu", it is no longer the most basic "all realms return to emptiness" to senior Zen monks who have left home, it is a joke of Zen masters.The Zen master always tells his disciples that "the husband has his own ambition and does not act like the Tathagata." The tone of encouraging him to "straight beard" is "just want", this tone is great wisdom, great benevolence and courage, regardless of everything, always Forward and not backward. ——Let go from the cliff, which refers to reining in the cliff. It means to persuade people to "rein in" when facing the cliff. "Cliff", reaching the high level of "Upward Road"!

It's a pity that red scholars are too unfamiliar with this one, so they unanimously interpret it as "see through the world of mortals and make up your mind to become a monk". If so, wouldn't it become a "curriculum" at the "kindergarten" level of Zen? The Ci book also quotes the words "Magnolia Slowness" written by Zhu Dunru, a famous Song Dynasty scholar: "The emptiness is unobstructed, and you are obsessed with yourself. Let go of the parade, and sing and sing everywhere to welcome you." All common sense and vulgar obstacles, free and easy to move forward-then there will be another scene.

From this we know for sure: Baoyu's "letting go on a cliff" written by Xueqin refers to the fact that he is in danger, at the juncture of life and death, but he ignores the "proverbs" and "rules" and bravely chooses the road he wants to take—it does not mean "Becoming a monk".All wrong. As for Zhipi's clear statement of "abandoning and becoming a monk", there is no contradiction at all, because Baoyu was a monk, mourning Dai and Chai, and at that time he didn't know Xiangyun's life and death, so he had nothing to look forward to; Xiangyun's trace was reported, and his "monk" immediately became a "love monk" and returned to the world to meet her.These are two patterns, and they are successive processes, and there is no "contradiction" at all.

Baoyu's return to vulgarity is also hinted at in the book.For example, shortly after the opening of the book, I wrote about a young novice monk in the Gourd Temple who returned to vulgarity because he could not bear the desolation of Buddhism. Then, doesn't chanting Baoyu have the meaning of "poverty is unbearable and desolate"?He is a "worldly" person, not a "fairy".He and Xiangyun want to live a "new dream" of life in the world, not a "returning to the sky" "poor girl from the embroidered family, lying alone next to the ancient Buddha with the blue lamp." Isn't it very clear?

The "old authentic version" does not have the problem of "two types" and "two parts".Xueqin's book writing will not have such a bizarre purpose and "idea". The poem says: What's the point of letting go of the cliff?It's not returning to the sky to hang on to the evening. Just reining in the horse with the admonishment rules, the love monk does not regret being Xiangyun. [Note 1] Please change the font here Zhang Ailing believes that there is no family copying in the "Old Authentic Version". This is obviously in conflict with the words "Ning Rong's family has no backup and is extremely depressed" in "Continued Reading Micro Cottage Notes". Is there a misunderstanding?I am afraid that I may have misread the original text, please refer to Qian Min’s text in the appendix for proof. [Note 2] As for "letting go of the cliff", some people think that it means "grasping" the cliff with both hands, hanging for half a life, hanging by a thread of life, - as soon as you let go, you will be crushed under the cliff...In fact, this is ridiculous; no one, a strong man, can "catch" a cliff, and there is nothing to grasp on that cliff.Besides, even if you "catch" it, how long can you last?I can't even stand it for a few seconds, so what's the difference between "spreading" and not "spreading"? However, this similar "interpretation" provides "evidence" for the argument that "Baoyu became a monk" as the "end".