Chapter 14 The second floor "Red Mansion" original purpose (6)

Over the years, the "family" have said: Cao Xueqin's greatness lies in opposing "reason" with "emotion"-so a "rebel" (also an ancient revolutionist), and so on.This kind of view "has existed since ancient times", and at the latest "interpretation" of Tang Xianzu's "Four Dreams in Linchuan" has become popular. Unanimous opinion - is it all right?In fact, Xueqin's book has never been against "reason".Let's start with "love". What is "love"?How to "define"?My method is different from that of the dictionary. I once said: Jing, the best ingredient of rice; Qing, the best state of climate; Qing, the best state of water; Jing, the beauty of grass; Qian, the beauty of people ;Please, the courtesy of language; beautiful, good makeup... It can be seen from this that "Cangjie created characters" has the ultimate truth in it, and if you follow the law, you can know: emotion, the highest function and state of the heart.

Therefore, a person must have affection, the presence or absence of affection, the amount, the depth, the turbulence... can determine the quality of a person's character.A very interesting question arises here: how do the three great masters of Chinese culture, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, treat and "handle" "emotion"? Sakyamuni, does he have feelings?Ruthless?I remember a pair of couplets, the way is: "Goodness is the bone of a fairy, and passion is the heart of Buddha." It couldn't be better.If the Buddha is ruthless, he will not suffer untold hardships, just to save all living beings.All living beings must be universally saved, and his heart is at ease. Is there anyone in the world who is more affectionate than this?

Mr. Gu Sui, the first teacher, told a story: Great Master Xuanzang lived in Tianzhu for seventeen years, when he suddenly saw a fan from the Middle Earth, and fell ill due to emotion.Some people sneered and said: "What a passionate monk!" Mr. Gu Sui said: Master Xuanzang is not sentimental. Would he travel thousands of miles and go to the country for seventeen years to seek the truth (also to save people)? Coincidentally, the word "all living beings" in Buddhist scriptures can be translated as "all sentient beings". In ancient Chinese, people are also called "Hansheng" and "Hanling".This fully shows that only those who have feelings and spirituality can be called people, and only then can they be called "birth".

The great tragedy that Sakyamuni encountered was "the poison of extreme emotion" (Zhi Yanzhai commented on Jia Baoyu). Suffering must be unfeeling! Confucians don't talk much about "emotion", but only about loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, the three cardinal principles and five constant principles... This is actually to ethicize and moralize "emotion"—that is, to restrict interpersonal relationships.In fact, a true filial son is full of sincere and considerate words and deeds for his parents.If he only relies on an empty "theoretical concept" and a dogma of "filial piety", he will definitely not be able to become a "filial piety" person worthy of the name and reality.This principle is the most important, but unfortunately people are often confused.

Therefore, at the beginning, I put a lot of emphasis on it, saying that "feeling gold and stone, returning to heaven and earth. In the daylight, looking down on history: looking at the loyalty of ministers and filial piety, it is always from love" ("Biography" and "Manjianghong").And in the thirty-sixth chapter of "Qi Xuben", there is also the poem "Painting a rose is not easy, and it is good to understand the loyal son of a minister", which is exactly what it means. After seeing this kind of historical language, if you only know how to "criticize feudal thought" but don't understand the emotional essence of ancient Chinese people, then it will be difficult to talk about literature and art.

What about Taoism?Although it is said that "too high is unfeeling", "the ultimate man has no dreams", and he talks about "cleaning away the mystery (heart)", getting rid of miscellaneous thoughts, and keeping quiet wholeheartedly, it seems ruthless; but during the tour of "Hao Shang", Zhuang and Hui Discuss with each other "you are happy to fish", knowing the joy of fish, what is it but emotion?It seems that the ancient and modern great philosophers and great wisdom have all spent a lot of trouble on the issue of "emotion". Although they seem to be different, they are actually "the same."

Speaking of this, if you look at Mr. Xueqin's talents, you can see that his views and opinions of "talking about love with the main purpose" are not trivial. Baoyu (Xueqin's incarnation or phantom)'s biggest characteristic is "feeling but not feeling" - treating all ruthless and unfeeling people, things, things, and situations with "love". He was willful and willful since he was a child, so he was accused of "madness"; but he is the most reasonable, so he is the most considerate of others-this is "reasonable".For example, he feels pity for Ping'er and wants to do his best, but he knows that she is a member of his elder brother's house, and she is also a sister-in-law, so he can't forget about reason and let things go.For example, on her sister-in-law Sister Feng’s birthday, she went out of the city privately out of love to pay her respects, but she also obeyed the words of the book boy Mingyan, after paying her respects, she had to go home immediately to comfort her grandmother and congratulate her sister-in-law—this is another example. Why not "reasonable"?

You can infer three from one example. Those who are like this in the book are obvious, and there is no need to enumerate them. Therefore, Xueqin has never made "emotion" and "reason" absolute, and they have become hostile and irreconcilable.How can it be said that "Red Mansion" is a book "anti-Confucianism"? Sages such as Confucius and Mencius moralized the ethics of "love" out of the good intentions of governing the country and keeping the people safe.Xueqin is: In terms of ethics and social relations, it is appropriate and necessary to recognize "reason"; while in the environment of being alone and comfortable, "love" is poetic and artistic.The two do not constitute an absolute contradiction, and sometimes even complement each other.

Love, that is, "heaven" is also.Reason, that is, "people" is also.Harmony between emotion and reason is the principle of "harmony between man and nature"—that is, the greatest feature and essence of Chinese culture. My "way of thinking" is quite similar to that of Xueqin.That's why I said that I don't like the kind of opinions that split things into two parts and create artificial confrontations. We Chinese have never discarded the word "emotion and reason" in our daily life, on the contrary, we have always respected and used it.Baoyu is not happy with the purely "performative" vulgarity of congratulating and mourning with high crowns and gowns, because the true feelings are lost in it, and it must not be taken as evidence of "anti-reasoning".Baoyu doesn't like fame and fortune, and it's only because there is only official air, but no real feelings-he especially emphasizes the word "true".True in nature, sincere in dealing with people, and true in things... Therefore, I am very moved by the worldly pretense of "false pretending to be true, but also false".

I respect Xueqin and love "Red Mansion", all because of this.What "love tragedy", what "marriage is not free", and "anti-feudal" "rebel" and other insights are another matter, and have little to do with the "thoughts and ideas" below. The poem says: It is difficult for the later sages to discuss the former sages, and "emotion" and "reason" meet and hate each other. Studying the history of Chinese culture carefully, is it true that man and nature are one? "Love list" In the manuscript that Xueqin has written, there is originally a "love list", which should be the end of the whole book - this is a traditional form of Ming and Qing novels (such as the list of gods, the list of loyalty, the list of seclusion, and the list of women). Kejinbang).What is the basis for the existence of this "list"?Said: There is the approval of Zhiyan inkstone as evidence.Once it is about estimating the names and numbers of the chief and deputy hairpins; the other is about Baoyu's experience of various "police education" and "enlightenment", but he can't jump out of the "love list".

This is not a single text alone, not a word of imagination. The "love list" lists all the hairpins, and each person is given a "review" (equivalent to today's "summary appraisal"). The upper word is always "love", and the lower word is matched with each person's "feature". Daiyu is "Qingqing", Jin Chuan is "Qinglie", Qingwen is "Qingqu"... Few of them can be deduced, most of them cannot be imagined.The strangest thing is that Baoyu is not a "hairpin", but is the "through" (or "crown") of a group of hairpins, so it can rank first in the list.Other "turbid things" and "men's list" are not mixed.In addition, there are "foreign lists", about Zhang Jinge, Zhou Rui's daughter, Grandma Liu's granddaughter Qinger, Bu Shiren's daughter Yinjieer, Ni Er's daughter, Nongnv Eryatou, Xiren's aunt and sister, etc. Daughters who have no direct contact or residence relationship. Maybe both the men's list and the foreign list are twelve?Not sure.