A Dream of Red Mansions records four plum blossom poems. Xing Xiuyan, Li Wen, and Xue Baoqin each wrote one. Jia Baoyu composed the poem "Visiting Miaoyu and Begging for Red Plums". These four poems all have high artistic value, and they contain puns, hinting at the plot of the story eighty chapters later.
1. Xing Xiuyan (rhymed with the word "红")
The peaches are not yet fragrant and the apricots are not yet red, and the east wind smiles before the cold.
It is difficult to distinguish the spring when the soul flies to Yuling Mountain, and the clouds are separated by the clouds and the dream is not clear.
The green calyx adds makeup and melts into the treasure torch, and the immortal helps the drunk to cross the remaining rainbow.
It seems that it is not an ordinary color, the shades are determined by the ice and snow.
At this time, the opening sentence points out the characteristics of plum blossoms that are not afraid of severe cold. When the peaches and apricots are still hiding in the ice and snow, the red plum blossoms bloom in the cold; when the east wind blows, the branches are fluttering and the smiling faces welcome people. It is indeed different. Extraordinary flowers. The author of the rhyme poems used a lot of effort to solve the topic in the couplets. One of the techniques is the use of allusions. If readers understand the origin of the allusions, they will be able to appreciate the finesse and refinement of the couplets. "It's hard to tell when a soul flies to Yuling Mountain" uses a geographical dictionary. Dayu Mountain is located between Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces and is one of the Five Ridges. Red plum blossoms are planted all over the mountain. While North China is still frozen for thousands of miles and snow is falling for thousands of miles, Dayu Mountain in southern China has already begun to warm up with spring, and the red plum blossoms are in full bloom, so Dayu Mountain is commonly known as "Meiling". When the poet chanted plum blossoms, his soul unexpectedly flew to Dayu Mountain. The splendid red plum blossoms in front of me mistakenly believe that spring has arrived, but if I think about it carefully, Beijing is still shrouded in the bitter cold of midwinter, so the poet is confused. The three words "Spring is difficult to distinguish" describe the plum blossoms blooming early in the cold and entering the wood three-thirds. Unless you are skilled in rhythmic poetry, you cannot have this skill. "Xia Ge Luo Fu Meng Wei Tong" uses a mythological classic. During the Sui Dynasty, Zhao Shixiong sleepwalked in Luofu Mountain (in the suburbs of Zengcheng, Boluo County, Guangdong). At night, he met a beautiful woman while drinking and talking. Xia refers to the red clouds at dusk, which is used to describe the lush plum blossoms. This plum blossom is as bright as the sunset, hiding the female fairy. Although it is difficult to understand in dreams, the characteristics of the plum blossom are revealed in the first sentence of the couplet, and the momentum of the plum blossom is captured in the second sentence. Follow the neck couplet with two sentences to write the image of plum blossoms. The words and pictures of "The green calyx adds makeup and melts the treasure torch" are the best choice. The green calyx is the leaf support immediately under the flower. The torch is a precious candle. The meaning of the whole sentence is that the red plum blossoms blooming on the leaf base are like burning candles on the green calyx. So beautiful! Compared with Xue Baoqin's "The fragrance of wandering immortals spreads across Jianghe River", it creates a new realm and is no less generous. The poet created this poetic and picturesque feeling for the plum blossoms, but it seems that he did not use his talents to the fullest. Then he wrote "The immortal is drunk and crosses the remaining rainbow". Silk is white silk. The poet uses Zixian (that is, a fairy dressed in white) to represent the sparse snow on the plum branches. Because the snow is attached to the branches randomly and disorderly, it can be said that it is careless and hazy. The rainbow has seven colors, and the plum branches are mainly red, so it is called a "broken rainbow". "The immortal helps drunkenness and crosses the broken rainbow" completes the picture of plum blossom. The two lines of the neck couplet create a beautiful plum blossom image, which captures the essence of rhythmic poetry. The final two sentences give a general evaluation of Plum Blossom, which is an understatement. The poet understands the two couplets of the chin and neck, which are innovative and extremely beautiful. If the last sentence is too cumbersome, it will be superfluous.
The author Xing Xiuyan is the niece of Jia Baoyu's aunt, Mrs. Although she is poor, she has been proficient in poetry and calligraphy since childhood. She is indifferent and content with her status. She is a model of Yipengmen Jasper. Sure enough, he lived up to his expectations and married Xue Baoqin's eldest brother Xue Biao, which improved his family's economic environment. According to Cao Xueqin's case, Xing Xiuyan's plum blossom poem also hints at her life. Xing Xiuyan stands out from the crowd of poor people in the first two sentences of the poem. She smiles at the east wind in the cold weather, and her joy is obvious. Of course, the Taoxings of her peers cannot catch up with her red and purple colors. After she married into the Xue family, she enjoyed a short life of wealth, but the Xue family suffered great changes (see the article Xue Baoqin's Plum Blossom Poetry). Yuling and Luofu Mountains were places where people from the Central Plains were deported to the south. After the Xue family members and Lang Yu were imprisoned, they were all exiled to the barren land of Lingnan. It seems that at this time Xue Baoqin married a native of Nanhai to earn some money to support her mother's family. Xiuyan also went south with her husband and saw the scenery of Yuling. It was difficult to distinguish between winter and spring. It can also be said that when she married into the Xue family, she thought that spring was coming, but she didn't expect that the Xue family committed a crime, had their property confiscated, and was still thrown back into the cold winter. When they arrived at the Luofu Mountain area in Zengcheng, Xue scorpion fell ill and screamed for his life. The sweet dream of Zhao Shixiong and Mei Xian meeting will never happen again. Therefore, "the clouds are separated by the sky and the dream is not clear". "Green calyx adds makeup" means poor girls add clothes. "Rong Bao Ju" is extremely ominous! Although the burning candle emits some light, it will eventually run out of oil and light. This glory is just a flash in the pan. The Immortal is a person who wears filial piety all over his body, so there must be a funeral in his family. "Helping drunk and crossing the broken rainbow" is to deal with the remaining belongings in the collapse of the soul. Xing Xiuyan has experienced many hardships since he was a child, but he is a strong man after all and will not follow the example of Jia Baoyu. Jia Xichun's brother and sister fled to Zen to escape the world. Although attacked by ice and snow, he still stood firm and worked hard to become stronger.
2. Li Wen (rhymes with the word "plum")
The white plum blossoms are lazily compared to the red plum blossoms.
A frozen face is covered with traces of blood, and a sad heart without hatred is turned into ashes.
Accidentally swallowed the elixir to remove the real bone, and stole the Yaotai to remove the old fetus.
The spring in the north and south of the Yangtze River is brilliant, and the bees and butterflies are full of doubts.
The author looks at red plum blossoms from another angle. She first told people that between white plums and red plums, she chose the latter. The word "showing off one's beauty" represents the first appearance of red plum blossoms, and "zuiyan" represents eyes that are about to open and close, which is a metaphor for the beautiful appearance of plum blossoms when they are slightly open. It is a process between budding and full bloom, which is the most endearing of plum blossoms. stage.
The two lines of the couplet on the chin are a masterpiece of the author's painstaking efforts, giving plum branches a new image, which is very different from the works of two talented women, Xue and Xing. "The frozen face is covered with blood even if it has marks" refers to the blood stains on the frozen red face, but the blood is there. It has condensed in the cold weather, like branches carrying numerous flowers. The images of poetry are inexhaustible, and talented poets can easily pick them up and combine them with seven characters to make readers close their eyes and meditate, intoxicated in this extremely beautiful realm. Next, the poet wants to go deeper, and these numerous flowers will eventually turn into numerous fruits. Plums are the main ingredient of sour plum soup. At that time, the bright red plum blossoms were replaced by the dull plum blossoms. This was the cycle that nature should have, and there was no regret, so "a sad heart turns to ashes without hatred." The writing of plum blossoms has reached its peak at this point; with a change of style, the two mythical classics are used in the neck couplet, and then the plum blossoms are described in depth. The plum blossoms were originally white, but they turned red due to the wrong medicine. The white plums and the red plums are actually the same kind. Apart from the color, the petal structure is the same. The next sentence talks about Bitao, who originally lived by the Queen Mother Yao Pond in the West. Unwilling to be lonely, she secretly descended to the mortal world, "reborn" and transformed into a red plum. Write that plum blossoms have the bright red color and fragrance of peach blossoms. The author simply makes a botanical comparison in the neck couplet. Lin Daiyu, the crown jewel of talented women, is also proficient in this meaning. In her poem Bai Haitang, there are two lines: "I stole three parts of the pistil to be white, and borrowed a wisp of the soul of the plum blossom." Rhythm poetry is endlessly varied, and it is not just a matter of haphazardly putting together seven characters. Indeed, these two allusions describe the shape of plum blossoms in depth. At this point, the author is still not finished. The concluding sentence is that the plum blossoms on the earth are all red and stained, and those wild bees and butterflies think that spring has arrived, and they are out in droves. This goes back to Xing Xiuyan's poetic meaning of "Spring is Hard to Distinguish". This poem about plum blossoms can be considered a joyful experience.
The author Li Wen is the cousin of Jia Baoyu's sister-in-law Li Wan, and one of the twelve beauties of the Red Mansion. She followed her widowed mother to join Li Wan and lived in Daoxiang Village in the Grand View Garden. In the first eighty chapters of A Dream of Red Mansions, I did not have the opportunity to write more about this talented woman. In addition to this poem, she added the sentence "Yang Hui Dou Zhuan Dio" in the Lu Xueting scene couplet, which reflects her proficiency in astronomy and shows that she is very knowledgeable. Of course, this poem also hints at her ending. Because there is not enough information in the original book, I cannot speculate. I would like to point out two sentences: "A frozen face will turn to ashes even if there are marks on it, and a sad heart will turn to ashes if there is no hatred." It seems that she had been whipped before, leaving blood marks on her face. Although she was sad and shed tears, she did not dare to resent her, but she was optimistic about the future. Zhan Zhan is already disheartened. Her fate was also very miserable, so she entered the Bad Ming Division.
3. Xue Baoqin's Plum Blossom Poems
The branches are sparse and the flowers are bright, and the children are extravagant in spring makeup.
There is no remaining snow on the curved sill of the leisurely courtyard, and there are sunsets on the empty mountains with running water.
Youmeng Leng follows the red sleeve flute, and the fragrance of immortals spreads across the Jiang River.
The predecessor must be of Yaotai species, so there is no doubt about the difference in appearance.
Xue Baoqin, who is only fifteen years old, is the youngest among the many talented women in the Grand View Garden written by Cao Xueqin. She has a quick mind, elegant poetry, and radiant beauty. She is like "the white snow and red plum blossoms in the world of glazed glass". This plum blossom poem, which rhymes with "花", begins with the title. It describes the sparse shadows and slanting plum blossoms, which greet the spring and bloom early, like children at the beginning of the year, wearing new clothes and competing for their beauty. The most important test of skill in rhythmic poetry is the jaw and neck couplets, which are not only smooth and oblique, have good rhyme and neat contrasts, but also have deep poetic and artistic meaning, allowing readers to slowly savor and have endless aftertaste. "There is no snow remaining on the winding threshold of the leisurely garden" has been written to indicate that the snow has disappeared in the warm spring, and the flowers are about to wither when they are in full bloom, and the sunset glows red in the sky, implying that the flowers are about to end. Playing a song of flowing water and empty mountains is the tune of a master. The first sentence of the couplet also conceals the author's surname, and the second sentence also includes the author's name. The neck couplet uses "Red Sleeve Flute" and "Jianghe Cha" as the image of plum branches. It's so beautiful! The sentence "Youmeng Leng follows the red sleeve flute" not only echoes "flowing water and empty mountain", but also expresses the loneliness and melancholy of waking up from a dream in the West Tower, with both people and instruments missing. Lin Bu's splendid song of plum blossoms in the Northern Song Dynasty, "The secret fragrance floats on the moon at dusk," is also broken by the second line of the neck couplet. The raft is a raft on which wandering fairies go along the red Milky Way; a wisp of fragrance is left in the world. As a result, readers feel infinite attachment and nostalgia. The detail of the carvings on the chin and neck, as well as the high artistic conception, amaze me! The last two sentences describe the fallen flowers in spring, but still remind readers that this flower is a Yaotai variety and should not be underestimated because of its current withering. Eight sentences and fifty-six words describe the whole story of Plum Blossoms, and the power of the writing goes straight through the back of the paper. It is indeed a striking and resonant work by a talented woman.
Four. Jia Baoyu (visited Cui'an and begged for red plums from Miaoyu)
The wine was not opened and the bottles were not cut, so he arrived in Penglai in search of spring and greetings with friends.
Instead of begging for the dew from the master's bottle, I beg for the plum blossoms outside Chang'e's threshold.
When you enter the world, you pick up the red snow, and when you leave the dust, you cut the purple clouds.
Chaya, who regrets that poetry has thin shoulders, and the moss of the Buddhist courtyard is still stained on his clothes.
All the talented women are writing scene couplets in Luxue Pavilion. Jia Baoyu ranked at the bottom of the list, and the president Li Wan sent him to the Cuicui Temple to break a branch of red plum and offer it indoors. Another talented woman Miaoyu lived in the nunnery. She was a Taoist nun who practiced in the area. She had refined appearance and outstanding literary talent, which Baoyu valued extremely. Miaoyu's romantic relationship was not over yet, so she suddenly fell in love with this noble master. Their relationship can be said to be very delicate. Although Baoyu received this punishment, he did not feel any pain because he was always eager to find opportunities to get close to Miaoyu. This poem directly expresses Baoyu's mentality. Start the sentence by talking about his surprise when he accepted the order. Before I even opened a bottle to drink a glass of wine to ward off the cold wind and carefully pondered my poems, I hurried towards Feng Lai Wonderland. Where is the "spring" of looking for spring? Isn't it the Miaoyu who has "a temperament as beautiful as an orchid and a talent as fragrant as an immortal"? The jaw couplet uses Buddhist allusions. The great master is Guanyin Bodhisattva. Her bottle contains nectar, which can save all living beings. Baoyu came here not to ask for the nectar to avoid disaster, but to beg Chang'e (Miaoyu) for a branch of red plum outside the railing. Comparing Miaoyu to Chang'e, my admiration is beyond words.
The two sentences in the neck couplet use "red snow" and "purple clouds" to describe plum blossoms, which is quite innovative. The plum blossoms were moved from the middle of the moon (Cai Cui'an) to the world (Lu Xueting), but the second sentence repeats the meaning of the previous sentence, and the writing power is weaker. Compared with the plum blossom poems of the three talented women Xing, Li, and Xue, it is more powerful. Feeling inferior, I opened the book "A Dream of Red Mansions" and confessed:
I was busy in the world and accomplished nothing. Suddenly I thought of all the women of that day. After carefully examining them one by one, I felt that their behavior, behavior and knowledge were all superior to mine. I'm a handsome man, but I'm not as honest as that girl. I'm ashamed of myself, but it's useless to regret. It's a day when I have nothing to do... I know that I have a lot of guilt, but there are people in the Run Pavilion, and they must not be blamed for my unkindness. Protect your own shortcomings and destroy them all at the same time... Although I have no knowledge and no literature, why not use false words to perfunctory them? It can also spread the news in the boudoir, and it can break the temporary dullness and wake up the eyes of my colleagues. Yihu?
The protagonist Jia Baoyu in the book is the author Cao Xueqin. Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Shi Xiangyun, Jia Tanchun, Miaoyu and others among the Twelve Beauties are inferior in poetic talent. Compared to Xing Xiuyan, Li Wen, and Xue Baoqin in The Twelve Hairpins, they are still far behind. This plum blossom poem is a good example. The last two sentences describe the hard work of breaking plum blossoms backwards. "Chaya" means rugged bones. At that time, Baoyu's shoulders were so cold that he hunched up. When picking flowers, my body was covered with moss from the garden. "The clothes are still stained with moss from the Buddhist courtyard" is very poetic and has lingering meaning. The whole poem focuses on folding plum blossoms. The images of plum blossoms only use "red snow" and "purple clouds", which cannot be compared with Xue Shi's "Red Sleeve Flute", "Jianghe Cha" or Xing Shi's "Green Calyx Melting Treasure Torch". Compared with vivid images such as "The immortal crosses the broken rainbow", or Li Shi's "frozen face with blood stains", "sorrow turns to ashes", Jia Baoyu failed again in the plum blossom poem competition.
This poem implies Baoyu's ending. His beloved Lin Daiyu suffered from terminal lung disease, died young, and returned to her fairyland early. Family pressure forced him to marry Xue Baochai, who had different interests. "Looking at the crystal clear snow in the mountains in the sky; I will never forget the lonely forest in the fairyland outside the world." Daiyu has become a person in Penglai Wonderland. Although Baochai has both talent and virtue, in Baoyu's eyes he is just a respectable but unapproachable scholar. He gave up the dew in the bottle of this noble man, and hoped to go to Penglai in search of spring and beg for a branch of plum outside the threshold of this fairy tree. My mood is so lonely, my feelings are so desolate. The two lines of the neck couplet can be interpreted from the positive side to show the faults of the poem; from the dark side, they can highlight the neatness of the structure. "Hongxue" refers to Hongxue. "When you join the WTO, you will pick up the red snow." From a secular perspective, the wife chosen by the Jia family for him is the king of flowers, the red peony Xue Baochai, who is "lovely and charming". Due to the basic conflict of life philosophies, the couple was aloof when they were alive. Baochai died of illness in poverty. Baoyu continued to marry Xiangyun (see the article "Chrysanthemum Poems"). The result is "the incense leaves the dust and cuts the purple clouds." Shi Xiangyun knew more about Baoyu than Xue Baochai! He is the only confidant of Daiyu and Baoyu. Baoyu abandoned Xiangyun to become a monk, which was a great betrayal. Baoyu was impoverished before leaving the world. After a long period of "unfurnished rafters, rope beds and tile stoves", "stomaching sour rakes in the cold winter, and broken blankets on snowy nights", he was so hungry that he was as thin as firewood. "Thin", who among the vast crowd of people can sympathize with this genius in trouble? "The moss from the Buddhist courtyard is still on his clothes" points out his ending as a monk. This poem describes the relationship between Baoyu and Sanchai, which is touching and touching.