Chapter 88 The "Contradictory Evidence" of History——The Relationship between E Chang, Hu Zhongzao's Inquisition and the Legend of "Dream of Red Mansions"

Chinese culture is both majestic and colorful.For example, we can sometimes use the method of "contradictory evidence" to find out the truth about important topics that have been lost for a long time and are extremely difficult to study in history.Therefore, this method can also be used to get a glimpse of some historical situations of Xueqin's novels. What is the "reverse proof" method?What I mean is: a statement that came out late and was known to be inaccurate, but has been circulating for a long time, can be "turned around" to prove the true historical reality earlier.This method is both "reverse" and "reverse", and it may not be respected by others, but it is really a truth that cannot be ignored.

The example I gave is a subtle relationship between a "previously famous" literary inquisition and Xueqin's book, which can give people a very new line of thinking and a lot of cultural camps. This literary inquisition took place in the 20th year of Qianlong (1756).But we have to go back to the scandal of Yongzheng's conspiracy to seize the throne.It was Nian Gengyao and Long Kedo who helped Yongzheng "success" with military force, but Yongzheng eradicated them all, thanks to only one person: Zhang Tingyu.Zhang Tingyu's greatest "credit" is that when he personally edited Kangxi's "Records of the Holy Ancestor", he wiped out all the broken traces of how Yongzheng conspired to seize the throne, and made the greatest distortion of historical facts. (This "tradition" of distortion and tampering has continued to the "Siku Quanshu" and the "countermeasures" of the "Countermeasures." Therefore, Yongzheng is particularly favored, and he wants Zhang Tingyu to "enjoy the Taimiao" in the future-the only Han Chinese who entered the Manchu Ancestral Temple. Pet.

Yongzheng made proper arrangements, especially the "four sons" Hongli as the successor, and Zhang Tingyu and Ertai as the two main auxiliary ministers who "supported and protected the young master". Ertai, Manchurian, surnamed Xilinjueluo.He was originally from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (slave), but later because he was in the top class, the official history denounced that he was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs: and because he was condemned after his death, the flag was demoted and lowered to the Xianglan Banner (the last banner of the Eight Banners) [Note 1].Ertai was an upright person, and he refused to cater to Yongzheng (who was still the prince at that time) when he was in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but was admired and trusted by Yongzheng.Under Yongzheng's subordinates, he didn't have any bad deeds of morality, but he was very respected.

The two auxiliary ministers have very different personalities, and gradually developed from "not getting along" to sharing friends and building parties.Each of the two has a group of people who are "loyal" to their own party and faction, and the situation is becoming more and more fierce day by day. Under Zhang's subordinates were Zhang Zhao, Wang Youdun and many others (Zhang and Wang were both ghostwriters of Qianlong's "calligraphy").On the other hand, Xu Ben, Hu Zhongzao and others built barriers for E Gong. (Xu Ben and Pingjun Wang Fupeng, etc., were both ministers in charge in the early Qianlong period.) Although E Gong later became a "militarist" general, he was actually a Jiangsu minister who loved literature, cherished talents, and stimulated culture. He is quite capable of chanting, and he was known in Kangxi because of his poems, so he also has this kind of family tradition.He has also served as the chief examiner, and he is a toast under his disciples, and he knows it - there is a Hu Zhongzao in it.

Ertai died in April of the tenth year of Qianlong (1746), and Zhang Tingyu died in March of the 20th year of Qianlong.At the end of the day, Zhang irritated Emperor Qianlong, suffered a lot of humiliation, and was almost punished.Epai is of course applauded.The members of the Zhang Party took revenge on the Hubei Party.Then someone came up with a clever trick, and selected Hu Zhongzao, a student of Egong they hated and feared the most, as the target, picked up his poems, weaved slander, and reached Qianlong, who was confused.Hu Zhongzao was an official cabinet bachelor at that time.Ertai's eldest brother, Eshan, had a son named Echang, who was the governor of Gansu.The poems that Zhongzao and Echang sang and exchanged with each other in friendship were unexpectedly taken out of the word "rebellion", so a great literary prison broke out [Note 2]——Zhongzao was killed, Echang "given himself to die" , Confiscated property.Qianlong was so furious that even the dead Ertai was blamed, and he was removed from the Xianliang Temple!

No one dared to associate with the home of the felony, not even the closest relatives. The situation was so dire that it was impossible to live in the city, so they fled to the western suburbs.He made a living by E Shifeng, the son of Echang, as a curtain maker.In his later years, E Shifeng married the daughter of the Fucha family in Xiangshan, and settled down in Jianruiying area at the foot of Xiangshan.Shifeng had a son named Shaofeng, his second daughter Xilinchun and sister Luxian.Although their family status has declined, their family style of poetry and prose is not falling, and they all have high attainments.

Xilinchun is the granddaughter of Echang, and also the grandson of the nephew of Xilin, the fifth son of Qianlong, Prince Rong Yongqi Fujin (Princess).During the third or fourth year of Daoguang (1823).In order to make a living, Xilinchun found his old relative, Prince Rong's Mansion, and stayed behind as a "teacher" of poetry and essays for the sisters of Belle Yihui (actually a female companion who instructed and corrected the family). Yihui (the grandson of Yongqi, the son of Rongjun Wang Mianyi) is a young prodigy who can write poems and poems since he was very young.Needless to say, Wen Zao's ingenuity is the lead of the mutual admiration of the two poets.

Yihui wants to marry Xilinchun as the side Fujin, but this is impossible, because the clan concubines are only allowed to choose among women from the Baoyi (servant and servant) family belonging to the mansion, and Xilin's family is a common surname in Manchuria, even more so. What's more, she is a descendant of a sinner.Therefore, it was unanimously denied by the rules of the system and the public opinion of relatives and friends.Yi Hui had no choice but to turn to Gu Wenxing, the second-class guard in the mansion, for help, but also hit a wall (the servants of the old man's family can teach the young master).In the end, when Gu Wenxing passed away due to illness, his son Gu Chunling accepted the "request"—entrusting Xilin Chunjia to protect Gu Wenxing's daughter and declare it to the clan's residence, which was approved.The two finally became married.This is a very peculiar story in the cultural history of Manchuria.Later, Yihui called herself Taisu, and Xilin Chunnai called Taiqing—this is why Xilinchun was also called Gu Taiqing. In the past, many people couldn't figure out the relationship between the two names, and even suspected that she was originally from the Han nationality, and so on.

Knowing these past events, how can we negotiate with Xueqin's book?The age of this matter is much later than that of Xueqin! (At least sixty or seventy years apart) It's interesting to say: it is this person and thing that came out late that "reverses" and has a very wonderful "relationship" with people and things in earlier years! It turns out that among the Manchus in the Outer Three Camps (i.e. Outer Firearms Camp, Yuanmingyuan Guarding Army Camp, and Jianrui Camp) in the western suburbs of Beijing, there was once an "Anecdote about Red Studies". This is a true story about the relationship between Xilinchun and Xilinchun.

Now, people with "scientific common sense" must be laughing at it, thinking that they can't even figure out the chronological order of history, and messing around with other associations is so worthless. When I write this humble article, I dare to say: wait a minute, there is no need to sneer and reprimand, but to think about the reasons why such a strange talk happened? For very obvious reasons, I think there are three or four points to cite—— (1) However, the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren successively conferred the titles of Prince Rong, Prince Rong, and Belle Rong. The mansion is commonly known as Rongfu, which makes people feel that it is related to the "Rongfu" in the book.

(2) Xilinchun is the grand-nephew of Prince Rong Lao Fujin—just as Shi Xiangyun is the grand-niece of Jia Taijun, which is more suitable. (3) Xilinchun wrote a "Dream of Red Mansions" during the Xianfeng period, which can easily be mistaken for the same thing as Xueqin's. (4) It just so happened that Xueqin was also a sinner, and she lived in the Sanying area of ​​the western suburbs.This adds to the confusion factor. With these four reasons, combined intricately and subtly, the rumor that "it was written about Rong Beile and Xi Linchun" was produced, which is not surprising at all.It is different from the general unreasonable nonsense. However, what is very important is not to correctly explain the problem of this legend, but to understand that there are several layers of key historical content hidden in it—— On the first floor, Xueqin's residence in the western suburbs, from legend to textual research, is attributed to a mountain village near Jianrui Camp. On the second floor, Xueqin's book, the book "Copied and re-evaluated" by Zhiyanzhai appeared in the 19th year of Qianlong's reign; and in the 22nd year, Duncheng persuaded Xueqin to write a book on Huangye Village.It can be seen that Xueqinzhi will leave the city and go out of the suburbs in less than 20 to 21 years, and this is the same time when the Echang branch avoided living in the suburbs because of the difficulty in the capital. On the third floor, Zhang Yonghai, a Xiangshan Bannerman, conveyed the rumors he knew about Xueqin in the early 1960s: Xueqin had a friend named "Ebi" with whom he "turned the flag back to the camp".This seems to reveal a long-lost historical relic, that is, the exile of Xueqin in the Xiangshan area is related to Echang [Note 3]. The most important relatives of the E family are Prince Zhuang Yinlu's family.In October of the first year of Qianlong, E Mi, the fifth son of Ertai, was specially ordered to marry Prince Zhuang's family and become the prince's son-in-law.Prince Zhuang was originally a beneficiary who supported Yongzheng, but in the fourth or fifth year of Qianlong, he became the leader of the big rebellion.The Cao family's suffering again is connected with this case [Note 4].In Xueqin's previous generation, there were also servants in Prince Zhuang's Mansion.Prince Zhuang was also appointed to manage the House of Internal Affairs.Kuang'e and Cao's two families were originally from the same aristocratic family who belonged to the inner government. They are not relatives or old friends, and it is not surprising that they interact with each other.The legend of Xiangshan only connects the Cao and E clans together, which should be a trace of its long-standing origin. Then, there is a layer of mystery about the "ability relationship" between historical real characters and characters in novels.Everyone is familiar with it. There are at least 12 records, which prove that the second half of Xueqin's original book is the story of Baoyu and Xiangyun's joys and sorrows, and their final reunion.Xiangyun was originally Shi Taijun's nephew and granddaughter, and her prototype was an unfortunate person of the granddaughter's generation of Li Xu's family, who happened to be the descendant of the criminal family.The rumored "Rongbeile and Xilinchun" [Note 5], widely circulated in the Sanying in the western suburbs, is a meaningful word-of-mouth that everyone in the Manchurian Banners knew the truth of Xueqin's original plot. ——This is what I call "historical evidence against".I am afraid that many researchers who are only accustomed to a single, straight-line logical thinking and reasoning method do not understand and accept this tortuous relationship. Therefore, no one has paid attention to the true meaning of the legend of the Outer Three Camps. Annihilation, with occasional traces, was distorted and utilized by a few people, creating a lot of confusion and becoming a sad cultural phenomenon [Note 6]. In the history of Chinese culture, this kind of peculiar genius has appeared in all dynasties. Xueqin called it a person who "comes from both good and evil". He gave many examples, including Tang Minghuang and Song Huizong.In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Shunzhi, Nalan Xingde, Mianyi, Yihui, and many other royal families and princes and nobles were especially numerous, and we have no way to name them. I once called them "poet-type" and "artist-type" figures. The infatuated kind who was born in a wealthy family and a special genius [Note 7] was mentioned by Xueqin.But they are also fateful tragic figures.If you don't understand this historical and cultural phenomenon, you will definitely treat Xueqin's book as a general love story of a beautiful man and a talented person, thus discarding the extremely important historical, social and cultural connotations in it.It is a pity that Xueqin's "Two Fu" theory and the systematic research and interpretation of the subject of "Two Fu Characters" have not yet been realized by anyone who has realized its importance and concentrated their efforts on in-depth academic research.The essence of most of the understanding is still not beyond the level and category of "brother and sister".Perhaps this is a faithful portrayal of the cultural level and spiritual realm of those who talk about Chinese culture but don't know what Chinese culture is, and those who talk about red studies but don't know what red studies are about?However, in recent years, there have been signs at home and abroad that people have begun to realize that the theme of Xueqin's books is to write "love letters" about people, the fate of talents, and the high-level relationship between people.This is a new phenomenon worthy of attention.Because, the essence and significance of Hongxue has never been equivalent to "novel literary theory", but a high-level philosophical knowledge of the Chinese culture.In this sense, Hongxue is a kind of cultural studies.Naturally, we also have "fiction red studies", but what is more needed in the future is "cultural red studies".I can't stand still, even the kind of understanding that "red studies must return to literature" is probably too superficial and "outdated". When Yihui was in his teens, he had a seven-character poem [Note 8] inscribed on it. He wrote: Is the karma in the dream real?Famous flowers clustered in Yulouchun. Describe the ignorance of Prajna, showing that Vairocana has a colored body. Lihen has poor Chenglucao, who knows how to make up for heaven and man? When is the ninth year of transportation?I plan to ask Emperor Wa a question. What is the main sigh of this young nobleman in the middle of the Qing Dynasty after reading Qin's book?One is "karma" (note, this is the meaning of Buddhism, not to be confused with "marriage"), and then philosophy (view of life), although it also involves "separation and hatred", but the last three sentences (that is, the summary of an article acupoints), but it is attributed to lamenting the talent and ambition of mending the sky without using it—there is no "concept of form and space" at all.He deeply regrets the abandonment of "leftover talents", that is, the fate and fate of talents!Today's "red scholars" rarely know about this historical phenomenon, and don't need to experience it. However, now that we know that although it is a bit late, it is still not all late. The question is: Haven’t we reached the historical moment when we should meditate again? Written by Renshen on April 26 at Hongxuan, a temple in the eastern suburbs of Yandu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Note 1] Ertai himself served as a member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Wailang and Langzhong. His son E Rong'an (real name E Rong, changed to Rong'an by the emperor) was imprisoned in the eighth year of Qianlong for the case of Zhong Yongtan. Criminal justice.Gao Bin, a relative of the E family, is also a member of the House of Internal Affairs.All can be proved. [Note 2] The case began in February of the 20th year of Qianlong, and Liu Tongxun and other officials were secretly ordered to investigate it strictly, which was extremely tense and severe.For this reason, Emperor Qianlong issued a very long edict, admonishing the Eight Banners, in which it is said: "...Recently, I have followed the habits of the Han people, often explaining the chapters and sentences a little, that is, pretending to be poetry, using exaggeration to praise,...that is, like E Chang, who was born in Manchuria and received the grace of the country, was the governor of Guangxi. He saw Hu Zhongzao's disobedience in his poems. Not only did he not feel angry, but he sang with him back and forth. ...If there is someone who reads books under the guise of a name, is ignorant and deceitful, sings chanting, and commits arrogance and bad habits, I will rehabilitate his family! Gengzi in March of the 20th year of Qianlong." Looking at this, we know that Xueqin and others regard poetry as a What kind of political atmosphere did peers persuade ("poetry is as brave as iron")? [Note 3] In 1962, I went to the Jianrui Camp in Shanshan, and I asked the old bannerman Zhang Yonghai, and it was said that he knew some legends about Cao Xueqin.The facts at that time were: Zhang Zhi’s narration was very simple and simple, and there were some appendages or inaccuracies in it, but he didn’t intend to make it up at first; later, some people pursued it too much, which led to some “supplements” and made others “follow the vines” , Such as snowballing, "Legend" has reached the scale and style of "Shuo Pingshu". This has nothing to do with Zhang Yonghai, and it should be judged separately.Zhang Yun: Cao Xueqin lived behind Xianghuang Banner Camp. He had a friend named "Ebi" who could paint.Cao and E came here because of "turning the flag back to the camp".He has no further explanation or description for this.Later, someone said that the so-called "turning the flag back to the camp" refers to the "delegation" of criminals who committed the same case to the barracks as errands.In the past, because there was no corroborating evidence, it is okay to leave it alone.Thinking about it now, maybe this shows that Xueqin's move to the western suburbs is related to the Echang case, because the time is also very consistent.Of course, this is just speculation, and it is for reference. [Note 4] Refer to my book "A New Evidence of a Dream of Red Mansions" and "A Biography of Cao Xueqin". There are 80 volumes of Xueqin's novels in existence.This phenomenon is remarkable. [Note 5] The historical facts of this matter are based on the "Monan Collection" written by Jin Qiyu and the preface he wrote for Yihui's "Weiguan Collection·Shu Chun Jing She Ci Collection". [Note 6] As described in "Note 2", Zhang Yonghai only led us to look around the front and back of Xianghuang Banner, and did not introduce Zhengbai Banner. The small official's office, that is, later Shu Chengxun claimed that it was Xueqin's "former residence" with a very patterned courtyard. It was different from the small barracks of ordinary banner soldiers, and it was the residence of the battalion officer.But in recent years, many people have called this place "Zhengbaiqi Village", and it is said that it is the "Huangye Village" written by Xueqin.Little do they know that the new battalion built just over ten years ago in Qianlong was huge, so how could there be a "village" in the battalion? The so-called "Zhengbai Banner Village" is just that after the Qing Dynasty barracks were abolished since the Republic of China, the banner soldiers became civilians. , the place where they lived was divided into a certain "village". Similarly, the word "Jianruiying" was only a historical place name later. What is even more surprising is that the "Legend" also said that : The leader of Zhengbai Banner asked Xueqin, he went to Xueqin's house to "invite Mr. Cao", etc., and so on. It is self-contradictory, and there are too many unquestionable words. Some of us do not understand the history of the Qing Dynasty Those who are in the system can listen to it as "news", but this is two different things from academic research, and it should be carefully distinguished. [Note 7] Refer to the second edition of my book "A Dream of Red Mansions and Chinese Culture".Yongqi, Mianyi, and Yihui, the three generations are all talented.Yongqi was originally Qianlong's intended heir, but unfortunately died early.Mian Yi is sick and weak, but he has a wide knowledge of hundreds of schools, and even recites "Xunzi" and "Huainanzi" fluently, which makes Zhao Lian admire him.Yihui is proficient in all kinds of arts, and his poetry and prose in his teens are already at a very high level. Modern people would find it hard to believe if there are no real objects left.However, there were indeed a large number of such talents in the Qing Dynasty, and Xueqin was one of them. [Note 8] Yi painted this poem, which is very famous and valuable. It can be noted that he still titled the book "Story of the Stone", and used Buddhist words and mythological fables throughout.But in fact, I lamented that Xueqin has similarities with himself, and the formation of acupuncture points is the emotion of legacy, not the hatred of "love". "Fate" is also a Buddhist language. The couplet of "Prajna" and "Kunlu" has made it clear that Xueqin is a man of great wisdom, but she still has to express her sorrows, joys, and joys with excuses, and express her true "inside" with the appearance of worldly colors. ".The understanding was profound, and at that time Yihui was only a young man with a weak crown. What people in the future will never imagine and believe is because of his celestial beauty and knowledge.