Wumeiyin·Mingfei’s original text:
The stunning beauty left the Han Palace, and the beauty’s fate was the same in ancient and modern times. Even if the king is light on color, why should he give up power to the painter? Notes on Wumeiyin·Ming Fei
(1) Ming Fei: That is Wang Zhaojun. People in the Jin Dynasty avoided the taboo of Sima Zhao and changed their names to Ming Fei or Ming Jun. (2) Leaving the Han Palace: Refers to Emperor Yuan of Han Dynasty sending Wang Zhaojun to arrange marriage. "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" says that because there were many women in the harem, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty asked painters to draw portraits and summoned them to see the pictures. The palace officials bribed the painter, but the only king Zhaojun refused, so her portrait was painted in the worst possible way and she was not allowed to see Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty. Later, the Huns came to propose marriage, and Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty chose Wang Zhaojun according to her image. Before leaving, he found that she was the most beautiful. He regretted it and killed Mao Yanshou and many other painters. This story is not consistent with historical facts (Wang Zhaojun made the marriage voluntarily), but it is widely circulated. (3) "Yu seize" sentence: It means: "Why leave the decision-making power to the painter?" Give, bestow, favor. Seize, deprive, discard. Give, give. Five Beauties: Appreciation of Ming Fei
This poem is a tribute to Lin Daiyu in "A Dream of Red Mansions" about "the talented and beautiful women in ancient history". Lin Daiyu said to herself: "I have seen many talented women in ancient history whose life experiences were gratifying, enviable, sad, and deplorable. ... I randomly put together a few poems to express my feelings." It happened to be Jia's daughter. Baoyu read it and titled this group of poems "Yin of Five Beauties". "Five Beauties·Ming Fei" is one of them.
In fact, not all the people and events written in the poems are based on historical facts. For example, "Dong Shi Xiao Yan" comes from "Zhuangzi" and has an allegorical nature; the plot of Wang Zhaojun's refusal to bribe the painters in "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" was not known to Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty and was ordered to leave the fortress. It is just a legend; as for the story from "The Biography of the Qiu Bearded Guest" The image of Hong Fu has been artistically processed by the legendary author.
The discussion in this poem was originally based on the past to satirize the present and was based on real feelings. Lin Daiyu ridiculed Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty for neglecting his power and taking orders from the painter, which showed her independent character and unwillingness to be manipulated by others.
There is a certain correspondence relationship between the chanting in the poem and the plot of the novel. This is an issue that can be studied. "Five Beauties" is all about death or separation, and some of it also involves failure or being convicted and arrested. This is no accident. With so few extant materials, it is not easy to clarify the author's intentions exactly. There is an early comment in the Qi Preface and Jiachen editions of "Dream of Red Mansions": "The "Five Beauties" is compared with the later "Ten Du Yin". "The "Ten Du Yin" is not found in the last forty chapters and is believed to have been lost. The poems written by Xue Baochai or Shi Xiangyun in the second half of the original manuscript. Judging from the title of the poem, it is probably based on the sorrows of ten lonely women in ancient history, such as widows, abandoned wives, nuns and women who separated from their husbands, etc., to write about the realistic feelings of the characters in the book. The so-called "contrast" should not only refer to the title of the poem.
Poetry works: Wumeiyin·Mingfei Poetry author: Cao Xueqin, Qing Dynasty Poetry classification: Writer