Chapter 4 window

It's spring again, and the windows can be kept open.Spring comes in through the window, and people can't sit still in the house, so they go out through the door.But the spring outside the house is too cheap!Sunshine is everywhere, not as bright as piercing through the darkness in the house; everywhere is wind lazily basked by the sun, not as lively as stirring the dullness in the house.Even the birdsong seems trivial and flimsy, and needs the silence in the room as a foil.Therefore, we understand that spring should be viewed in a window, just like a painting with a frame. At the same time, we realize that doors and windows have different meanings.Of course, doors are made for people to go in and out.However, windows can sometimes be used as entrances and exits. For example, thieves or secret lovers in novels like to climb windows.Therefore, the fundamental difference between a window and a door is not merely whether people come in or go out.From the perspective of appreciating spring, we might as well say this: With a door, we can go out; with a window, we don't have to go out.The window breaks the gap between man and nature, attracts the wind and the sun, and closes a part of the spring in the house, allowing us to sit and enjoy it without having to go outside to find it.Ancient poets like Tao Yuanming were quite aware of the spirit of windows. There are two sentences in "Return to the Home": "Lean on the south window to express your pride, and it is easy to rest on your knees." Doesn't it mean that as long as there is a window to look out, even a small house can live in it?He also said: "Xiayue is empty, lying high under the north window, with the cool breeze blowing, and he calls himself the Lord Xihuang." It means that as long as the window is ventilated, the small house can become a paradise; There is no need to go up to Lushan to escape the heat.Therefore, the door allows us to pursue and express desire, and the window allows us to occupy and express enjoyment.This distinction applies not only to those who live in the house, but also sometimes to those who come outside the house.An outsider who knocks at the door and invites in, asks and inquires, is at most a guest, and everything has to be decided by the host.On the other hand, a person who comes in through the window, whether it is stealing or having an affair, has long been determined to be your temporary host, and has no regard for your welcome or rejection.In Musset's poetic play "A Quoir vent les jeunes filles" (A Quoir vent les jeunes filles), there is a quip that briefly says that the father opens the door and invites in the material husband (mat riel poux), but the ideal lover (id al), always comes in and out of the window.In other words, the son-in-law who comes in through the front door is only a formal son-in-law, although he is favored by the father-in-law, he is still waiting to win the lady's own favor; if he comes in through the back window, he is always the real lover who the girls entrust their soul and body to.When you enter the front door, you have to be notified by the porter first, and then you have to wait for the owner to come out, and you have to exchange some greetings before explaining the purpose of your visit. It takes a lot of effort and time, but it's as straightforward and enjoyable as entering through the back window?It seems that the shortcut to learning depends on the quotation at the back of the book, but if you look at it from the front text, it will be farther away.Of course, this is only a difference under the normal state of society. In abnormal times such as wars, the house itself cannot be kept, so what are the doors and windows!

All the houses in the world have doors, but we can still see houses without windows.This indicates that windows represent a higher stage of human evolution than doors.A door is a necessity for the dweller, but a window is more or less a luxury.The original intention of the house is just like a bird's nest and an animal den. When people are going to come back to spend the night, the door is closed, which is regarded as protection.However, windows are opened on the wall to bring in light and air, so that we don't have to go outdoors during the day, and we can live with the doors closed.Therefore, the house has added meaning in life. It is not only a place to shelter from the wind and rain and spend the night, but also has furnishings, hanging paintings and calligraphy. It is a place for us to think, work, entertain, and perform life tragedies and comedies from morning to night.The door is the entrance and exit of people, and the window can be said to be the entrance and exit of heaven.The house was originally built by man to avoid the threat of nature, and the windows lure a corner of the sky into the four walls and one roof, tame it, and be used by others, just like we tame wild horses and turn them into domestic animals.From then on, we can be in touch with nature in the house, and we don't have to look for the light or change the air. The light and the air will find us.Therefore, the window is also a victory of man over nature.However, this kind of victory, like a woman's victory over a man, seems to be a concession on the surface-man opens the window to let the wind and sunlight come in and occupy it, and whoever comes to occupy this place will occupy this place!We just said that the door is need, and need cannot be decided by man.For example, I eat when I am hungry and drink when I am thirsty.So when someone knocks on the door, you have to open it. Maybe it's the young people who Ibsen said are younger than you want to rush in, maybe it's like De Quincey's "On the knocking at the Gate in the Gate" (On the knocking at the Gate in the Macheth said, the broad daylight world wants to attack the dark and sinful world, maybe it is the return of the prodigal son, maybe someone is borrowing money (or even debt collection), the less you know, the more you are afraid to open it, the more you want to know the truth, the more you want to go open.Even the sound of the postman knocking on the door every day arouses suspicious hope in you, because you don't know but want to know what news he brings.The door switch is not up to you.But what about windows?When you get up early in the morning, you only need to pull the curtain aside, and you will know that there is something greeting you outside the window, whether it is snow, fog, rain, or good sun, and you can decide whether to open the window or not.As mentioned above, windows are considered as luxury goods, and luxury goods are originally added or subtracted according to the situation.

I often think that windows can be regarded as the eyes of a house.Liu Xi's "Explanation of Names" said: "The window is smart; if you look inside and outside, you are smart." Just like Kai Luo (Gottfriend Keller) "Evening Song" (Abendlied) said: "Double pupils are like small windows ( Fensterlein), Jiajing received the calendar." The same is only half said.Eyes are the windows of the soul, we see the outside world, and at the same time let others see our heart; the eyes often follow the heart, so Mencius believed that "the eyes are better than the eyes", and the lovers in Maeterlinck's plays are not allowed to kiss. Close your eyes, you can see how many kisses the other party wants to rise from the heart to the mouth.When we talk to a person with black glasses, we always feel that we can't figure out his intentions, as if he is facing each other with a mask, that's why.According to Eckermann's account of Goethe's conversation on April 5, 1830, Goethe hated all people who wore glasses, saying that they could see the wrinkles on his face clearly, but the glass he gave them dazzled , Can't see their state of mind.Windows allow people inside to see out, while people outside can see in, so people who live in busy places use curtains to protect their private life.When visiting people at night, just look for the light in the window, and you can roughly guess whether the host is at home. You don’t need to open the door to ask again. It’s like reading his mind from his eyes before waiting for someone to open his mouth.Closing the window is equivalent to closing the eyes.There are many scenes between heaven and earth that can only be seen with closed eyes, such as dreams.If the human voice and physical state outside the window are too noisy, close the window so that the soul can freely explore and meditate quietly.Sometimes, closing the window and closing your eyes are also related. You feel that the world outside the window is mediocre and cannot give you any satisfaction. You want to go back to your hometown and see the relatives and friends who have separated from you. You can only sleep and close your eyes. You searched for it in your dream, so you got up and closed the window first.Because it's only spring and it's still cold, the windows can't be kept open all day and all night.