Chapter 7 Grand View Garden location problem

The location of the Jia family mentioned in this book is about the northwest part of Beijing.In the forty-third chapter, Baoyu rode out of the north gate, but Mingyan said that the avenue outside the north gate was deserted and there was nothing to be stubborn about, which was very similar to Deshengmen.The "Hengshu Dian" mentioned by Xing Xiuyan in the fifty-seventh chapter is on Gulou West Street, which is also close to Deshengmen.The addresses are all the same, so there is probably no problem, but it is hard to say whether the Cao family has ever lived in this area. Speaking of the Grand View Garden, it seems that the location of Jia's house has been determined, and the problem of where the Grand View Garden is located has also been resolved.Unfortunately it's not that simple.There are three factors here: (1) memories, (2) ideals, and (3) reality.As far as memories are concerned, it could be in Beijing, or it might be in Nanjing.Although Cao lived in Beijing after his dismissal, the author recalled that his family had a big garden in Jinling in its heyday. This possibility is still very high.Whether Yuan Zicai's so-called "Grand View Garden is Yu Zhi Sui Garden" is a lie or not is not easy to say for sure.

Ideally speaking, castles in the air, that is, it does not matter north and south, are of course not completely empty. I just say that they contain a considerable amount of ideal elements. For example, in the eighteen chapters of Jia Yuanchun's poem, "there are all kinds of scenery in the sky and on earth, and the Fangyuan Yingxi Grand View "Name" clearly shows the realm of imagination; otherwise, even if the garden is good, how can it prepare the scenery of heaven and earth? Moreover, the gardens attached to the rich and powerful families in Beijing are often not big, but in fact it is very clear.

In reality, after the Cao family returned to Beijing, they had a fairly prosperous period, so it is possible for their house to have a small garden.This is the real Grand View Garden, and to explain it more clearly, it is the model of the Grand View Garden.The location is of course in the west city of Beijing along with the residence. What's more, Baochai's poem "Fangyuan is built to the west of the imperial city" is the clearest internal evidence. Which of these three components is dominant?Naturally it is difficult to say.In my opinion.Although there are elements of reality, there are also many memories and imaginations.For example, the forty-nine chapters of "The World of Glazed Snow and Red Plums" are obviously based on fiction, memory or imagination.As my neighbor Zhou Ruchang said, I don't think it's quite right.He said, "I didn't say that it was not planted in a pot" (page 506 of "A Dream of Red Mansions"). The red plums in Quicui Temple, seen from the Baoyu partition wall, are by no means bonsai; and in fifty chapters, he said, The broken branches are about two feet high, and the horizontal branches are five or six feet long. How can it be a potted plant?There's no point in pulling like this.Regardless of whether it is a forest or a patch, dozens of red plum trees bloom against the snow. Those who have lived in Beijing for a long time may have never seen such a state, which means that Beijing has never seen it in fact.As for the occasional one or two plum blossoms living on the ground for a short period of time, these rare cases are obviously irrelevant to the description of this book.If there are green moss and green bamboos, the scenery is definitely like Jiangnan, but Beijing may also have it, so it is not enough to discuss in depth.

Some people even think that the Grand View Garden is called Daguan, but it is actually not too big. This is a descriptive word in the book.This really makes some sense.But assuming that it is not large or small, there are difficulties in fact, let me look at it from a viscous point of view.According to the sixteenth chapter of this book: It measures three and a half miles from the east side, then from the East Mansion Garden to the northwest. It is said that the distance between the gates of the capital is three li, but I have not measured it.According to the book, the Grand View Garden is three and a half miles from east to west.The north and the south don't know, it may not be three and a half miles away.That's fine too.If it is to the northwest corner, it should go straight from Xizhimen to Deshengmen; if it is due north, it should go straight from Deshengmen to Andingmen.This is a miracle in Beijing, as if the Forbidden City has been relocated.And what's more strange, wouldn't the twelve hairpins be exhausted from walking to and fro day and night?So some words are really so-called "absurd words", and we are not allowed to test them thoroughly.And there is another saying that the garden of the Ning Mansion has repeatedly said in the sixteenth chapter that it was merged into the Grand View Garden, like this:

Shiling's craftsmen demolished the walls and pavilions of Huifang Garden in Ningfu and directly entered the East Courtyard of Rongfu. This example is the clearest.But in the seventy-fifth chapter, another Huifangyuan ran out! Jia Zhen...prepared a table of vegetables and fruits in the green hall of Huifang Garden...to enjoy the moon. How do you think this can be verified?It was said in the previous chapter that the Tianxiang Tower was in the Ningfu Garden, and it must have been demolished and merged when the Grand View Garden was built, but it was said in Chapter 75 that "Tianxiang Tower shoots swans", so this building is still there, which is also very strange.

Anyway, the Grand View Garden actually had a shadow at that time, we can say this.The author magnifies this little shadow trace many times, and renders it with pen and ink to create a mirage paradise in the sky and on earth.This is what literature should have.But it has never prepared future generations to do textual research. The author made absurd remarks, but we are too serious.If the ruins of the Grand View Garden can be found in a certain street or alley in Beijing, I personally feel very interested, but I am afraid that in fact we are not allowed to have such an optimistic idea, so my recent opinion is still similar to that of "A Study of a Dream of Red Mansions" Li said almost as little.