Chapter 79 The context of the Red Mansion is clear

Everything in the world has its ins and outs of external causes, and its internal meridians.Not only is it not an "exception", that is, "inside" also belongs to the standard grade of a type. Xiao Yi's "Qumai" is relatively easy to explain, such as the countless "sequel books", which everyone is familiar with.There are also "transformed sequels", "deformation imitations", and "singing operas against Taiwan", but not everyone knows them all.One line is to recognize that the protagonist was originally Jia Baoyu, so there are "Forked Street Lights", which all write about a son and brother who finally becomes a "right fruit" and secretly confronts Xueqin, which is a category.From then on, it is determined that writing about a group of female streamers is the theme, and it is intended to imitate, and it does not contain the intention and ambition of singing "opposing operas" like the previous category.

Wenkang, for example, does not take Xueqin seriously, and is always tit for tat—Master An is against Jia Zheng, Mr. An's "long matchmaker" is against Baoyu, He Yufeng and Zhang Jinfeng, the "gold and jade" two phoenixes, are exclusively against Chai Dai, and the elder sister of the eldest maid. The son is dedicated to attacking people.Even Aunt Xue has an "uncle and wife" to deal with.The rest can be deduced and realized.In a word, since "Red Mansion" came out, there are almost no ones who aspire to write novels that are not within the scope of influence of this book.It's not hard to appreciate Xueqin's greatness here.

But when it comes to "Lailong", it is not so easy to explain, because the "circuit" is much more complicated.Roughly speaking, it seems that it can be divided into several layers to peek at the historical roots—— Chinese novels are not the same as Western novels. They are a branch of "history", so they are called "unofficial history", "barnyard history", "foreign history", "different history", "outside biography"... .Although "storytelling" in the Song Dynasty was divided into several branches, "telling history" was the mainstream chief.This kind of history telling is especially popular with "three points", that is, the story of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" later, it has been told by the people as far back as the Tang Dynasty, and it is very popular.Why?Or they may think that people's hearts are turning to Liu against Cao, but in fact this is the result of a later "tendency" that intensified. The soul of the "Three Kingdoms" story - what is the fascinating focus?They are civil and military talents, with a dazzling array of beautiful things in eyes. The three parties have their own advantages and disadvantages, and it is difficult to distinguish between superior and inferior.Just like Dongpo's chant: "The great river goes east, the waves wash away, and there are eternal romantic figures", "The country is picturesque, and there are so many heroes at a time!" People and talents are the core of charm and the essence of things.

After the "Three Kingdoms", what is the second gift book worthy of "equal sitting"?It is "Water Margin".This is a story of historical sites in the late Northern Song Dynasty—a bit like the heroes of the "Wagangzhai" era, but it is different. It was first told and accumulated by the folks, and finally "shaped" by a writer. "Xuanhe Legacy" only records "thirty-six people" headed by Song Jiang, but when it arrived, thirty-six was only the number of "Tiangang", and there were "seventy-two" heroes, belonging to "Disha". 36+72=?interesting!is equal to 108.This is the "one hundred singles and eight generals" and "one hundred singles and eight green forest heroes" among the people of later generations.

Why must it be 108?To answer this question, it cannot be found in the consciousness of Western culture.This is an ancient topic of "mathematical philosophy" in Chinese culture. The number of words in this article is limited, so let's "press the slow watch" for the time being. What is the greatness of "Water Margin"?The point is: "Three Kingdoms" talks about, although there are a lot of talents and a gathering of heroes, it becomes a moment of prosperity, but it does not exceed the scope of emperors, generals and ministers. The greatness of the author of "Water Margin" lies in his "eyes higher than the top, bolder than the sky", and he even set up a big ambition to write about a group of "robbers" who are despised or hated by others!

Robbers, there are bad people, some people mistakenly think that robbers are "revolutionaries", all things can not be generalized, but the heroes of Liangshan are all good people who are forced to become bandits and occupy the mountains as kings.Isn't writing about them the same as singing against the "Three Kingdoms"? However, the essence of this "duet" is the same - the object of the chanting is still a person, a talent.Looking at things, there is only a "straight-line and single-line logic" to treat all phenomena in the world. Of course, you will think that any "reversal" or "targeting" no longer includes the essence of "inheritance".

But writing about Liangshan talents has its own characteristics after all—the language I use is: "Water Margin" is concerned with the encounters and misfortunes of talents, the burial and destruction of talents, which is the fundamental problem of all problems. Xueqin was deeply moved by Shi Naian's "literary heart" - he admired it very much, but he was not a person who worshiped idols blindly, and he also "had opinions" on Shi Gong: why did he hardly write an admirable However, the two "killing sister-in-law" both wrote about two undecent bad women surnamed Pan?

Xueqin doesn't take it seriously.This is because he has experienced and known many talented women, heroines, and heroines, but their fate is more unfortunate, tragic, pathetic, and painful than that of Liangshan heroes!He felt that Shi Gong was too eccentric and ruthless. At this point, a huge spark of thought suddenly exploded in Xueqin's mind - he suddenly decided on his lifelong career: vowing to write a vivid new book for a group of daughters whom he has seen and heard personally, It is specially "opposed" to "Water Margin"! This "pair" includes everything, even the title can become a confrontation:

Green Forest Hero - Pretty in Pink Heroes of the rivers and lakes - the heroes of the powder and powder Antithesis is an important aesthetic factor in the literary language of Chinese characters, and it is difficult to "comment" it with the consciousness of Western alphabetic writing. (The West only has "lines of sentences", and the confrontation with China is not the same thing).Confrontation, of course, is not just a "literal" matter.It is always an expression of thoughts and feelings "literally".Antithesis is another important factor in literary technique and structure.Antithesis includes comparison, contrast, symmetry, and correspondence.Xueqin's book, using these, has reached a state of perfection.

Xueqin's book is a "translation" of "Water Margin", but it is also an inheritance of "Water Margin": he uses 108 as the most important structural center.He "aligned" with Shi Gong, and consciously wrote about 108 women.The "Loyalty List" at the end of his book is the "Loyalty List" written by Shi Gong.His character item rule is: 12 as the "unit", twelve beauties, twelve beauties..., ranked as "nine grades and twelve beauties", 12×9=?Waiting for 108!This is Xueqin's big law of structure.From the number of female main characters to the number of chapters in the book, they are all one hundred and eight!

The whole book uses "rise and fall", "honor and disgrace", "gathering and dispersal", "sorrow and joy", "flame and coolness"... as two "fans", with fifty-four chapters before and after, and the "watershed" is between fifty-four and fifty-five chapters. .The fifty-fourth chapter is the peak of "prosperity", and the fifty-fifth chapter is the beginning of "decline". The writing, atmosphere, scenes and deeds before and after are all very different, forming a great symmetry and great changes in the inner body. Great overturn, great vicissitudes - the front and the back, the back is the front, there is a world of difference! To put it simply, Xueqin, a rare genius from ancient times, arranges his books in a neat, exquisite and beautiful structure.He got inspiration from "Water Margin", but his thought and art greatly surpassed Shi Gong's level and realm. It has changed its flesh, blood, spirit, and splendor. 1992