Chapter 23 Fifth Floor "Red Mansion" Aesthetics (1)

A great one! Greatness has long been recognized by consensus, but where is its greatness? It is called the greatness of thoughts and feelings; it is called the greatness of extensive knowledge; The aesthetic value of literature and art is an important part of this great work. The word says: It is difficult to draw a picture of the red building, but the scenery is varied.There are many fragrances in the sky and on earth, build famous gardens, beautiful water and bright mountains.He Zhi's poetry is rich and moist, with boundless picturesque beauty.Chinese culture is embedded in it, completely different from the old ones.Preserve the truth, describe the good and pass on the beauty, from ancient times to the present, and the three ends of budding.The literary talent is in the right direction, and the poetry and books are beautiful new publications.

—— "Wind into the Pine" Appreciate a corner Our word "appreciation" seems to have been left by the great poet Tao Yuanming - "to appreciate the strange texts together, and to analyze the doubts and meanings." What he proposed together with "appreciation" is the word "odd".Coincidentally, our old novels have always liked to use "odd" to advertise, such as "The World's Most Talented Scholars", "Four Great Books", etc., which can be proved.As for, it was also marked as a "new great book" (Shanyinlou's "Criticism of the New Great Book Dream of Red Mansions")-Cao Xueqin didn't say that "this is a matter of life and death, whoever remembers to make a 'strange' Biography"?Therefore, this "magical book" is bound to have more "appreciation" problems, no doubt about it.

As far as I know, there is only Mr. Ping Buqing who reads this strange book without being surprised.He said in "Xiao Qi Xia Shuo Barnyard" in Volume 9 of "Xia Wai Jian Duan": "The original name... was only a copy at the beginning, and it was copied after eighty chapters; Gao Lanshu's attendant read it and continued it, and it was easy to add and delete... the world Xiguan Gaoben, the original has been lost, but there are still books in the factory; Guihai Shangyuan once got a copy, which was brought by Zhu Weilian in the same year. The book is mediocre, and there is nothing to discuss." This "mediocre" comment , to our ears today, it is a kind of "odd" theory.

In the Qing Dynasty, there were many people who scolded and spoke ill of it, but it was precisely because of the crimes of "indulging in obscenity" and "perverting poison", in other words, because of what it showed. The content of the thoughts offended those "orthodox" scholars and gentlemen, so they were slandered and even banned.If one despises it from the perspective of "literature", I am afraid that Mr. Pingbuqing is the first person—maybe the last person. However, if Mr. Ping is completely wrong, that may not convince him.Readers of this masterpiece, at the beginning, no one will immediately feel that there is anything strange, but really feel that everything is so "flat", with no unexpected features.From this point alone, Mr. Ping's opinion is quite reasonable.

So, is Mr. Ping completely right?But not so.Read it, as long as it is not "opening the book for a few lines, drowsy" but can read it and look back ("look back" has two meanings: 1. Look at the back and always contact the front; 2. After reading the back, Go back and review again, once, twice...even many times), you will slowly discover that there are infinite "strange" things in this "ordinary". To be honest, there is only such a strangeness, that is, seeing the strange in the ordinary, that is the real wonder.Desperately pursuing "strangeness", making the article "odd" and thinking it is strange, then it will no longer be strange--then I don't know what it has become!Mr. Ping seems to have only seen "half" (one-sided) before drawing conclusions.

There are actually many people who can read through the "half" of the surface.During the Tongzhi period, Sun Tongsheng prefaced Taiping Xianren (Zhang Xinzhi) to comment on the book, and once said: "Read less about the Dream of Red Mansions, and enjoy its eloquence and boundlessness. This is where the strangeness lies!——but I don’t know why it’s so strange... After reading Miaofuxuan’s commentary, I then know that the reason why the book is passed on, and the reason why it’s passed on by its strangeness, is the reason why the book is strange, and it’s true that it’s strange and correct.” Conclusion: "It is said to be a wonderful book from ancient times to the present." But it is a pity that they led the "strange" astray again, left literature, and specifically made detailed explanations of words and sentences, and used them as "wonderful" , This is an example of appreciating the wonder but asking too much. Mr. He Buqing actually became two extremes and confronted each other.

The so-called "strangeness" of Zhang Xinzhi, Sun Tongsheng and others is completely "made by our shop", and it has nothing to do with Cao Xueqin's original intention.Since it was published, Qi Liaosheng is the first person who can really appreciate its prodigious style of writing. He said an important sentence before "Qi Ben": I heard the two songs of Jiangshu, one in the throat and one in the nose; the two pieces of Huanghua, the left wrist can play regular script, and the right wrist can use grass: amazing skills! ——I haven't seen it yet.Today, the two songs do not distinguish between the throat and nose, and the two slips have no distinction between left and right; one song has two songs, and one hand has two slips: this is an absolutely impossible thing, an unobtainable wonder! ——And unexpectedly got a book.Hee, it's different!

This analogy is wonderfully played, and it is really clear from what I have seen, and it is different from general praise. He also pointed out that the specific characteristics of this kind of "one song, two songs" and "one hand, two documents" are to make good use of the expression method of "note the other and write this, and watch it and wave it".I think that before him, no one has paid enough attention to this point; after him, no one has said it more thoroughly and to the point.For example, in the preface of "Master of Mengjue" Qianlong Jiachen (1784), it only said that "the language is different from the person, and the words are more thorough" (this refers to the tone of the language varies from person to person, and each has its own personality and demeanor), "Skilled in narrative, good at "Writing about the bones of nature" (this is of course an extremely important point, it is a very insightful literary criticism); Shu Wenwei's preface to the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong (1789) also only said "referring to things like things, that is, things are clever".Both of them failed to point out the strangeness of the "two songs" and "two documents".

The example given by Qi Liaosheng is: "Writing about the boudoir is extremely dignified and solemn, while Yanye is full of paper; And sentimental and kind-hearted, without reducing the experience of Langya; writing about Daiyu's jealousy and sharpness, but loving and pity, is no different from Sang'e Stone Girl." Therefore, he once again praised this kind of strange prose: "Gai's voice is silent." , the hand is only one hand, but the prostitution and chastity, sorrow and joy, are two-pronged. Hey, it’s different!" He saw that other novelists can only "bloom two flowers, each expressing a branch", while Cao Xueqin’s this A pen has "two sides", which is an extraordinary skill and a miracle in fiction literature.

This is very important.Now I borrow the old words of the literary critics in the Qianlong period to make a little mark as above. However, Cao Xueqin's ability is actually not limited to "two songs" and "two documents", he can sometimes reach the height of "counting songs" and "counting documents", which is especially amazing!Here may wish to cite one or two small examples to explain.In the third chapter, it is written that Sister Feng has just appeared on the stage. From Daiyu's eyes, she first appreciates her beautiful voice, and there is a passage of text to pass it on. Then, we see the following narrative:

Taking Daiyu's hand, Xifeng took Daiyu's hand, looked him up and down carefully, and then sent him to sit down beside Jia Mu, because he said with a smile: "There is such a beautiful person in the world, and I will meet him today! Besides, this person The whole body is not like the granddaughter of the ancestors, but a granddaughter of a direct relative, and I can't blame the ancestors for talking and remembering for a while!--I just feel sorry for my sister, how come my aunt passed away!" Said Then he wiped his tears with a handkerchief.Jia Mu said with a smile: "I'm fine, you come to recruit me! ... Hurry up and talk in advance." After hearing this, Xifeng turned from sadness to joy. ... He hurriedly took Daiyu's hand again, and asked, "How old is my sister? ... Just tell me what you want to eat, what you want to be stubborn; just tell me if the girls and wives are not well." Children: "Miss Lin's luggage, have you moved in? How many people have you brought? You should clean up the two servant rooms as soon as possible and let them go to rest." For tea and fruit.Seeing the second aunt again, he asked him, "Have you run out of monthly money?" Xifeng said, "I've also run out of monthly money. I just took people to the back upstairs to look for satin. After searching for half a day, I haven't seen what my wife said yesterday. I think my wife remembered it wrong?" Mrs. Wang said: "Is there any, what's the matter?" Because she said again: "I should take out two at random and cut clothes for your sister; I will ask someone to get them later at night. Forget it, don't forget!" Xifeng said: "I was planning ahead, knowing that my sister will only arrive in these two days, I have already made preparations, and when my wife returns, I will take a look at it and deliver it." Mrs. Wang Nodding with a smile.