Chapter 30 Fifth Floor "Red Mansion" Aesthetics (8)

It turns out that the dates of everyone's birthdays in the book have been clearly stated. For example, Daiyu is on the twelfth of February (born in the Flower Dynasty, so it is represented by the "Huahun"), Tanchun is on the third day of March, Baochai It's the 21st day of the first lunar month, even Jiamu, Yuanchun, Fengjie... are no exception, but they don't say when Baoyu will be born.Weird! But no matter how "cunning" Xueqin's brushwork is (the language of "Zhipi"), we can also "decipher" the maze he set up.What he used was another wonderful method of interaction between Mingxiu and Darkness: in the twenty-seventh chapter, only the date was mentioned, but not the date of birth; in the sixty-third chapter, only the date of birth was mentioned, but not the date .Gai Xueqin believes that in the future generations, people with their own wisdom can see through the mystery, so why not appreciate the music and know the taste.In terms of Xueqin's "temper", it's okay even if he doesn't understand it for thousands of years; he never puts everything on the surface just to make people understand.Keeping this in mind is the pearl under Li Long's chin which is characteristic of his art.

In the first grand meeting, there is a special paragraph, which only writes about a pair of shoes that Baoyu wore that day, which caused him and Tanchun brothers and sisters to avoid the details of talking with everyone.These shoes came from Tanchun's super precision workmanship, and they were a special gift of precious jade, and their exquisiteness elicited two reactions: one was that the master (Jia Zheng) was displeased when he saw it, and said that such a waste of manpower and material resources was not a lesson; It was Aunt Zhao who saw her and became jealous again—because Miss Tan had never made such a pair of amazing and enviable shoes for her brother Huaner!What is the meaning of all this?Is it just another big piece of "boring" trivia?Later generations can no longer know that it was an ancient custom among families and close relatives at that time to give youngsters new shoes and socks on their birthdays.Xueqin's passage, in addition to other meanings and functions, is to imply Baoyu's birthday.

If there is only this paragraph of "shoe talk", it is still a single document and isolated evidence, which is not sufficient.Immediately afterwards, on the first day of May, Taoist Zhang issued another "miraculous statement" in Qingxu Temple: Just remember my brother, always in good health?The day before yesterday, April 26th, I was here as the King of the Shroud for Christmas. There were few people here, and the things were very clean. I asked my brother to come and have a look, why are you not at home? These words are wonderful, just on this "April 26th", there is a "little-known" "big king" Christmas!What kind of divine way is the "King of Shrouding the Sky"?Let the wise men figure it out for themselves!The mystery lies in this: when Baoyu's birthday was written in the 62nd chapter, there came out such a passage——

Now it's Baoyu's birthday. ...Only Taoist Zhang gave four gifts in exchange for a name talisman. Are you surprised or not?On Baoyu's birthday, the first person to give a gift is Taoist Zhang, who "does the Christmas of the King of Shrouding the Sky"!He should remember this important day well.Look again—— On Wang Ziteng's side, there is still a pair of shoes and socks, and a set of clothes... The rest of the family, Youshi still has a pair of shoes and socks. Weird!Those who repeatedly highlight this "still" are also following the rules every year; those who follow the rules every year are also "a pair of shoes and socks"!

Now you suddenly understand, right?I said that in the twenty-seventh chapter written earlier, the birthday is not mentioned, but it is actually "Christmas"; Looking at each other, the two "preserved flowers" were all on April 26, Baoyu's birthday, which is obvious! Why does Xueqin like to play tricks so much?Is it just a novelty and a "closer"?No, it would be too shallow and vulgar.There are other reasons for his reluctance to speak out and write clearly. This reason is: April twenty-sixth is his own birthday.These pens and inks of Xueqin are used to express her own life experience with twists and turns, infinite joys and sorrows, and the coldness of the world, just as he came to farewell for this group of unfortunate daughters (Jiahui famous flowers) in his life, since the day he was born, It marks a sad and sad situation of "after the three springs have passed": "The flowers fall into the water and the water is red! There are so many worries, and there is no word to complain about the east wind." This famous song by Wang Shifu made his eyes cry and his heart bleed, and he couldn't help it. To sacrifice everything and be determined to pass on the female Toshihiko who he has seen and heard and cannot bear to be obliterated——Qin Keqing said "the hero of the powder team"!

That is to say, Xueqin's artistic stunt characteristics are determined by his own life experience and the great characteristics of the selected topics. But at the same time, we can also see very clearly: If Xueqin is not a rare genius master, then even if he has a special life experience and a specific purpose for choosing a topic, he cannot write such a wonderful book. I roughly stated my own feelings about reading "Red Mansion" with regard to the huge symbolic theme of "Qinfang" and "Preserved Flowers".In fact, you can't just look at it that way.For example, as already quoted in the fifth chapter, when Baoyu arrived at the "illusion", the first thing he heard was a woman's singing.What words did she sing?

The dream of spring is scattered with the clouds, and the flying flowers are chasing the water. Message to all the sons and daughters: why bother to seek leisure and sorrow! All the sons and daughters refer to all the unfortunate women in the book (a total of 108 are listed in the "love list" at the end of the original book).The "sorrow of leisure" is what Wang Shifu asked Cui Yingying to sing "sorrows of all kinds, no words to complain about the east wind".This is the general outline that covers the whole, and the dream is scattered with the clouds, and the flowers are chased by the water, and it is on the "Qinfang" stream that "the fragrance is deep and the dream is intoxicating" (when Shouyi was red, the engraved title on the flower name tag that Xiangyun drew is also That is, the changing language style of "Drunk Sleeping Peony Grass", this grand event finally ended, so what the singing sang was the great theme of the joys and sorrows of the "dream" of "Red Mansion".On this point, Xueqin is also "accumulated ink" and "three dyes", and also overlaps and outlines, and the lines and colors of each level are not the same, there is no dull repetition, annoying nagging; It's so wonderful, it makes people feel dizzy and beautiful.If you realize this principle, if you revisit "The Song of Burying Flowers" and "The Poetry of Peach Blossoms", you will feel that your past experience is too incomplete, and your understanding of Xueqin's art is too simple.