Translation of "Promoting Weaving"
During the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, cricket fighting was popular in the royal family and was collected from the people every year. This thing is not native to Shaanxi. There is a county magistrate in Huayin county who wants to please his boss and offer a cricket. The boss tried to make it fight, which showed his courage and fighting ability, so his superior ordered him to supply it regularly. The county magistrate also assigned the supply task to each township where Li Zheng was located. So those idle young people in the city, when they catch good crickets, feed them in bamboo cages and raise the price; Store it and wait for a high price as an exotic product. Village officials are cunning and treacherous, and take this opportunity to apportion expenses to the people. For every cricket shared, several families often go bankrupt.
There is a man named Cheng Ming in the county, who is a scholar and has not been admitted to the scholar for a long time. He was dull and inarticulate, and was reported to the county by cunning petty officials, demanding to take over Li Zheng's work. No matter how hard he tries, he can't get rid of (his post). In less than a year, the meager family property went up in smoke. I happened to meet a cricket, but I didn't dare to blackmail the people after I became famous, but I didn't have the money to pay for it. I am sad, depressed and want to die. His wife said, "What good is death? It is better to find it yourself. If you find it, there may be hope. " Fame thinks these words are right. I went out early and came back late, carrying a bamboo tube and a silk cage at the foot of a broken wall. In the weeds, digging stones and digging big holes, all kinds of methods have been tried, but they have not been found. Even if two or three are caught, they are weak and not up to standard. The county magistrate set a deadline, pursued it severely and became famous in one fell swoop. In ten days, he was beaten hundreds of times, his legs were dripping with blood, and he couldn't even catch crickets. He tossed and turned in bed, trying to kill himself.
At this time, a hunchback witch came to the village. She could predict bad luck through ghosts and gods. The famous wife prepared a gift to pray to God. I saw a beautiful girl and a white-haired old woman crowded at the door. The famous wife walked into the witch's house and saw only a dark room with curtains and an incense table outside. People who pray for God burn incense, worship and worship on incense burners. The witch looked at the air and told them about it. Her lips were closed and she didn't know what to say. Everyone is in awe. Listen. After a while, a piece of paper was thrown indoors, on which was written what the prayer man wanted to ask, without any mistakes. The famous lady put the money on the case and burned incense and bowed down like the people in front. About a meal, the curtain moved and a piece of paper fell. Pick it up and see, it's not a word, it's a picture, and a temple is painted in the picture, just like a temple; At the foot of the mountain behind the pavilion, there are some grotesque stones with clusters of thorns on them, and a green-headed cricket is lying there; There is a toad next to it, as if to jump. She looked at it for a while and didn't understand what it meant. But when I saw the cricket painted on it, it coincided with my own idea, so I folded the paper and put it away, and gave it to a famous artist after I went home.
Thinking about fame repeatedly, does it mean a place to catch crickets for me? Looking closely at the scenery on the map, you can imagine it with the Giant Buddha Pavilion in the east of the village. Reluctantly, he got up, held the staff and took the painting to the back of the house. There is a towering ancient tomb. Fame walked along the ancient tomb and saw pieces of stones arranged like fish scales, just like in the painting. So he listened carefully in the weeds and walked slowly, as if looking for a needle and a small mustard seed; However, my heart, eyesight and ears are exhausted, and there is still no trace of crickets. He was exploring hard when suddenly a toad jumped over. Fame is even more surprising. I hurried after him, and toad jumped into the grass. He followed the toad's trail, looked for it in the bushes separately, and saw a cricket tooting under the thorn root. He rushed to catch it and the cricket jumped into the hole. He poked it with a fine grass, but the cricket didn't come out; Then he poured water into the hole with a bamboo tube, and cricket came out, extremely handsome and strong. He chased it and caught it. On closer inspection, this cricket is very big, with a long tail, a blue neck and golden wings. I'm glad to be famous. I put it in a cage and took it home. The whole family celebrated. I regard it as more precious than priceless Baoyu, put it in a basin and feed it with crab meat and chestnut powder. I take good care of it. I just wait for the deadline and send it to the county to make up the difference.
Fame has a nine-year-old son who secretly opened a pot when he saw that his father was not at home. The cricket jumped out at once, too fast to catch. By the time he caught it, his leg had fallen off and his stomach was broken, and he died soon. The child was afraid and cried and told his mother. Hearing this, she turned pale and said in horror, "Curse, your time has come! Your father will get even with you when he comes back! " The child ran away crying.
Soon, fame came back, and after listening to his wife's words, his whole body seemed to be covered with snow and ice. I went to my son angrily and he disappeared without a trace. Later, his body was found in the well, and his anger immediately turned into grief, and he cried and was heartbroken. Husband and wife are crying in the corner, and there is no smoke in the hut. Sitting face to face without saying a word is no longer interesting. It was not until the evening that I took a straw mat and prepared to bury the child. When the husband and wife approached, there was still a weak breath. They happily put him on the bed, and the child woke up at midnight. The husband and wife were a little relieved, but the child was sluggish and just wanted to sleep. When he became famous, he looked back and saw that the cricket cage was empty. He was too anxious to spit out, unable to speak, and no longer cared about his son. He didn't even sleep a wink from night to morning. The sun in the east has risen, and he is still lying flat in bed worried. He suddenly heard the cry of a cricket outside the door. When he stood up in surprise and looked carefully, the cricket seemed to be still there. He was very happy and began to catch crickets. The crickets jumped away and jumped very fast. He covered it with his palm as if there was nothing inside; I just raised my hand and jumped away. Fame ran after it in a hurry, turned the corner and went nowhere. He looked around and saw crickets lying on the wall. When you look closely, the short and dark red color immediately doesn't feel like the previous one. Be famous for being too small to disdain. (Fame) Still keep looking back and forth, looking for the person you are chasing. The cricket on the wall suddenly jumped on his sleeve. Take a closer look. It looks like a dog, with plum blossom wings, square head and long legs. It seems not bad. He readily adopted it and prepared to hand it over to the government, but he was still not practical in his heart, fearing that it would not meet the wishes of the county officials. He wants to try to make it fight first and see how it goes.
A nosy teenager in the village keeps a cricket, which he calls "Crab Shell Green". Every day, he fights with other teenagers. He wanted to keep it as a rare commodity to make huge profits, so he raised the price, but no one bought it. (One day) teenagers go straight to the door to find fame. When he saw the cricket raised by fame, he just covered his mouth and smiled. Then he took out his cricket and put it in the cricket cage. After becoming famous, I became more and more ashamed to see each other's crickets long and big. I dare not compare my little cricket with the "crab shell green" of teenagers. Teenagers insist on fighting, and when they become famous, they want to raise such inferior things. After all, it is useless. We might as well let them play and laugh. So put two crickets in a bucket. The little cricket lay motionless, like a wooden chicken, and the boy smiled again. (Then) I tried to stir the tentacles of cricket with a bristle, but cricket still didn't move, and the boy smiled again. After teasing it several times, the little cricket suddenly became furious and rushed forward, so they fought each other, lifted their feet and sumo, flapping their wings to fly. After a while, I saw little cricket jump up, open its tail, erect its beard and bite each other's neck. The teenagers were frightened and hurried apart to stop them from fighting. Little cricket held his head high, flapped his wings and sang proudly, as if to give his master good news. Famous, overjoyed, (they are watching) suddenly a chicken flew over to peck at the cricket. Fame exclaimed (standing there) with fear. Luckily, I missed it. The cricket jumped more than a foot away. The chicken strode after it again, and the cricket was crushed under the chicken's feet. Fame frightened people, I don't know how to recover it, I stamped my feet in anxiety and my face changed greatly. Suddenly, I saw the chicken craning its neck and twisting its head. When I walked to the front, I took a close look. It turned out that the little cricket had squatted on the cock's comb and stung it hard. Fame is getting more and more amazing, being locked in a cage.
The next day, fame dedicated the cricket to the county magistrate, who was angry when he saw that the cricket was small. Fame tells the story of this cricket's strange skills, and the county magistrate doesn't believe it. Trying to fight other crickets was defeated. I tried to fight the chicken again, and it was as famous as I said. So he rewarded fame and presented the cricket to the governor. The governor liked it very much and presented it to the emperor in a golden cage. He played the book carefully and described its skills. After arriving at the palace, butterflies, mantis, oil tarts, moss forehead, and all kinds of exotic crickets contributed by the whole country fought against (small crickets), and none of them had the upper hand. Every time it hears the harp, it can dance with the beat, which is more and more surprising. The emperor liked it better and gave the governor a good horse and brocade. The governor never forgot where the benefits came from, and soon the county magistrate became famous for his outstanding talents. As soon as the magistrate was happy, he was relieved of his fame and asked the examiner to make him a scholar. After more than a year, the spirit of the famous son recovered. He said he became a cricket, light and fighting. I just woke up now. The governor also rewards fame. In less than a few years, there are 100 hectares of fields, many tall buildings and hundreds of cattle and sheep here. Every time I go out, I wear thin fur and ride a big horse, which is richer than official families.
Yi Shi said: "The emperor occasionally uses something, but after using it, he may not forget it;" However, the people who practice it below regard it as an unchangeable convention. Coupled with the greed and tyranny of officials, ordinary people have lost their wives and sold their children all the year round, and the list is endless. Therefore, the emperor's every move is related to the lives of ordinary people and cannot be ignored! Only famous people are poor because of official invasion and rich because of paying tribute to crickets. He put on an expensive leather coat and sat in a luxurious carriage, complacent. When he played Li Zheng and was defeated, I didn't expect him to have such a situation! God will reward those who are honest and honest, and even courtiers and county officials will benefit from crickets. I heard that "one person becomes immortal, and chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." It's true! "
Reference book comments: ① authenticity of the subject matter
Pu Songling's short story Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio is unique in that it vividly reflects all aspects of social life in the early Qing Dynasty. "Promoting weaving" is no exception. By describing the story of the protagonist's disgrace, family ruin and family ruin because he was forced to pay for promotion, he reflected the evil reality of the emperor's extravagance and official extortion, and pinned his sympathy on the bullied and persecuted lower class people. Due to the harshness of net writing in the early Qing Dynasty and Pu Songling's long-term concern, it seems obscure and tortuous to borrow stories from the previous dynasty. The reality reflected in the novel is of universal significance in feudal society. Talking about the twists and turns of the fox and ghost world has its own special function and artistic effect. The theme extracted from the reality between Ming and Qing dynasties in Promoting Weaving directly provides vivid teaching materials for today's readers to understand the evils of feudal exploitation system. As for the writing methods used in the novel, it is also worthy of our serious appreciation.
② the profundity of the theme
Promoting Weaving is the most typical work in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, which exposes the oppression of the people by the feudal ruling class. It is worth noting that his hero became famous not as a poor peasant living at the bottom of society, but as a "pedantic" poor scholar who "has been engaged in a boy's career for a long time and never sold out". These works vividly show the damage of reputation to economy, body and spirit. Even a poor scholar is still like this, and the experience of working people is even more imaginable. In this paper, the two famous episodes, Asking for God's Advice and Getting a Good Job, and the son's changing his mind and fighting for wisdom, are mythical fantasy plots, which contain the bitterness and tears of the people behind them. It shows readers that the dissolute greed of feudal rulers is the root of a noble family tragedy. The ending of the novel is famous for changing from poor to rich. This kind of "happiness" can't change the tone of the work, but adds to the tragic atmosphere of the novel and arouses people's eternal doubt and denial of the feudal system.
I think the criticism is a little too much. Anyway, Zhu Zhanji is not "dissolute and heartless"! His contribution far outweighs his fault. It's not all his fault. He just has a hobby that the emperor shouldn't have. A thousand words can be summed up in one sentence: the emperor is really not a person! In 1424, the 22nd year of Yongle, Judy died at the age of 65 on her way home from the Battle of Tatar. The temple was named Chengzu, so Judy was also called Ming Di by later generations. This name is very appropriate. Judy did accomplish many things in her life.
After Judy's death, Prince Zhu Gaochi succeeded to the throne. The next year, he changed his name-Hongxi. Zhu Gaochi is a big fat man, disabled, and needs help when walking. He is in poor health. Being emperor for less than a year, he died in the first year of Hongxi, with the temple name Renzong. Zhu Zhanji, his son, inherited the Great Unity and changed to Xuande in the second year. Although Judy has accomplished many things, he has exhausted the manpower, material resources and financial resources of the whole world. From 1425 to 1435, the reigning emperor took the policy of "governing by doing nothing and recuperating", which made the national social economy recover from the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and reappeared the prosperity of all walks of life in the Song Dynasty. This period is called "the rule of benevolence and propaganda" in history. We are glad to see that China people are smart and hardworking, born to make money. When the political situation is clear, China will be rich and strong.
Zhu Zhanji likes cricket fighting. Historically, he called this man "the cricket emperor". This situation was quite influential at that time. Even when Mr. Pu Songling compiled such a ghost story as Liaozhai, he did not forget to mention in his propaganda weaving that cricket fighting prevailed in the palace during Xuande's reign. We should not be too indignant about this. The emperor is also a human being and should have entertainment activities. After all, there was no karaoke in those days. Zhu Zhanji is busy playing cricket, but he doesn't waste anything.
Now that China's economy is booming, some people say they want to thank someone. I think such people may be aliens, and I don't quite understand why the 5,000-year civilization of the Chinese nation is still endless. Of course, it is gratifying for the rulers to exercise restraint, but I don't think it is necessary to thank them. I really want to thank them. It's good for all of us to catch some crickets and send them.
As I said before, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty had the work of emperor and prime minister on their shoulders, and most people were too tired to do it. Later, they divided this power into "canvassing votes" and "approving bonuses" and gave them to two groups respectively. This is just to Zhu Zhanji's taste, because someone works for him, and he has more time to find cricket under the imperial city of the Forbidden City. Cabinet college students like me, like quoting classics. The eunuch who wrote the pen didn't read many books, so he didn't understand. This is even more troublesome, because college students may turn around and scold the emperor under beautiful words. In order to prevent embarrassing situation, Zhu Zhanji organized eunuchs to study. Zhu Zhanji widely distributed heroic posts to recruit teachers for eunuchs, but not many people signed up. Why don't many people want to work with the emperor? Friends who like lower body poetry must know best.
There was a scholar named Wang Zhen in Shaanxi, who probably couldn't write poems about his lower body, and volunteered to teach eunuchs in the palace. Wang Zhen is one of the few intellectuals in the palace, so Zhu Zhanji asked him to accompany Prince Zhu Qizhen to study. Zhu Qizhen is still a child, very kind and weak, and very dependent on Wang Zhen. He called Wangzhen Mr. .. The good man Zhu Zhanji died in the tenth year of Xuande, namely 1435, the temple name Xuanzong. This year, Zhu Qizhen was only nine years old and succeeded to the throne as emperor. The next year, he was reformed into orthodoxy. In this way, Zhu Qizhen and her husband Wang Zhen stepped onto the big stage of history. Can a kind emperor and a literate teacher become good actors on such a grand and heartless stage?