Xue Baochai, one of the twelve beauties in Jinling, is the daughter of Aunt Xue. Her family has a millionaire. She has beautiful appearance, smooth muscles and bones, and elegant manners. She is keen on "official career economy", adheres to feudal women's ethics, and has a deep palace. She can win over people's hearts and is praised by everyone in the Jia family. She hung a gold lock with the words "Never give up, and will continue forever". Aunt Xue had long said: "You must choose a gold lock with jade to match it." With the help of Jia Mu, Mrs. Wang, etc. Under the arrangement, Jia Baoyu was forced to marry Xue Baochai as his wife. Since the two parties did not have the same ideals and interests, Jia Baoyu could not forget his close friend Lin Daiyu, so he became a monk soon after the marriage. Xue Baochai had no choice but to stay alone in her empty boudoir, harboring resentment for the rest of her life.
Xue Baochai is an important character in the famous Chinese classical novel "A Dream of Red Mansions". Her importance lies not only in the fact that she is one of the protagonists of the love tragedy of Bao, Dai and Chai, but also in the rich content contained in this artistic image and the innovative nature of this image. There have always been different views on the character of Xue Baochai. Some people think that Baochai is dignified, steady, gentle, honest, and open-minded; others think that Baochai is cold and ruthless, hypocritical and sinister, and is a "female Cao Cao". The same character image has completely opposite views. This is of course a matter of different opinions and wisdom. It also illustrates the complexity, richness and objectivity of the description of this image. So, how do you view this character? First of all, we must abandon personal prejudices and likes and dislikes, and conduct a specific analysis from the description of the work
From the description of Xue Baochai in "A Dream of Red Mansions", we can see that the image of Xue Baochai created by Cao Xueqin is a feudal A typical standard lady in society. The basic characteristics of this image are that she is a loyal believer in feudal ethics, a conscious executor and a tragic martyr. However, this image of a feudal lady is complex and colorful. When Xue Baochai appeared on the scene, she was beautiful in appearance and elegant in behavior. She seemed to be a model of orthodox ladies at that time, but she had a rather cynical character in her heart. She had a strong critical spirit towards the society at that time. The 38th chapter, "Crab Rime", is a sharp satire on the domineering officialdom figures at that time, such as Jia Yucun and others. And her favorite song and song is actually the song "Shanmen Parasitic Grass" that is full of loneliness, anger and rebelliousness! Due to being misled by Cheng Gaoben, the understanding of Xue Baochai's thought and character in the red academic community has long deviated from the actual situation. The traditional view is that Xue Baochai "has a deep city, can win over people's hearts, and is praised by Jia's subordinates." In fact, in Cao Xueqin's writing, she offended her parents precisely because of her personality!
In the 22nd chapter of the novel, Baochai once sang "The Mystery of More Fragrance", which displeased Jia Zheng: "It is even more ominous for young people to write such words and sentences, and they are not people who will live forever." Chapter 40, when Jia Mu took Grandma Liu to visit the Grand View Garden, the simple "snow cave"-like indoor layout of Baochai Hengwu Garden aroused great dissatisfaction with Jia Mu, thinking that she was being disrespected in front of her relatives. face. Regarding Baochai, Jia Mu said one thing: "You can't use it", the second thing is "not like it", the third thing is "taboo", the fourth thing is "don't be so out of touch", and the fifth thing is "we old women, the more we should do it" Living in Maquan
At the time of the "Rongguo Mansion Lantern Festival Night Banquet", Jia Mu ordered her beloved Baoqin, Xiangyun, Daiyu and Baoyu to sit at the main table with her. However, Baochai was excluded from the main table and sat with Li Wen and Li Qi. This was an important sign that Baochai had changed from being "favored" to "falling out of favor" in front of Jia Mu, as if she was really a "city manor". "It's quite profound and can win over people's hearts." How did she end up in such a result? It can be seen that in Cao Xueqin's original work, Baochai is the one who is the most disdainful of playing with "city government" to please her parents! It just so happens that Zhi Yanzhai is very important to Zhi Yanzhai. Chai and Dai also commented on the poem they wrote: "In Baoqing's life, he would not despise this, but in Daiqing's life, it is not enough." This is Baochai's sincere sympathy for the weak, but his "disdain" for the powerful. The tone of his actions.
Xue Baochai (Picture 4_Painted by Feng Qiyong)
Another outstanding characteristic of Xue Baochai is that he is very sophisticated, that is, he is very good at conducting himself and the world in this clique. , in a large family full of contradictions, on the one hand, she adopts the philosophy of "don't speak up if it doesn't concern you, shake your head when asked, don't know"; on the other hand, she is good at handling interpersonal relationships and maintains a good relationship with people from all walks of life. A kind, natural, appropriate and decent relationship; just as Zhi Ping said: "When dealing with people, neither close nor distant, neither far nor close, the disgusting people will not show any coldness or appearance, and the pleasant people will not show the sweetness. Feelings are expressed in sounds and colors. "In this seemingly impartial attitude towards life, she paid special attention to trying to figure out and cater to the wishes of the rulers of the Jia family in order to win their favor, and she did not show indifference and kindness to Aunt Zhao and others who were looked down upon. With a look of contempt, she was praised by everyone in the Jia family. Mother Jia praised her for being "steady and peaceful"; Aunt Zhao, who never praised others, also said that she was "generous". Many people think that Baochai is hypocritical and likes to please and flatter people. Jia Mu wants to celebrate her birthday and asks her what plays she likes to listen to and what she likes to eat. She knows that the elderly like lively plays. She likes to eat sweet and rotten food, so she responded according to Jia Mu's usual preferences. She even flattered Jia Mu in front of her. She said: "I have been here for so many years. It seems that Feng girl is so clever. But the old lady goes.
As a result, Jia Mu praised her greatly: "When it comes to sisters," "Counting the four girls in our family, they are not as good as Bao Yatou." We cannot simply accuse Xue Baochai of being hypocritical and say she is a flatterer. Baochai makes the old man happy, which is also a manifestation of the traditional virtue of respecting and loving the elderly. Baochai pays close attention to this, which is essential. Baochai is full of enthusiasm for helping others, such as Xiangyun, Xingxiuyan, Daiyu and even Xiangling. Even Jia Huan, who is not very good, does not forget his share when giving out gifts. Her approach is in line with her usual attitude towards the world, which is round and comprehensive, not missing a single point, not favoring one thing over another, and winning over people's hearts. It is also admirable that she was able to gain popularity and receive rave reviews in the Jia Mansion, which was extremely jealous and said, "I wish you could eat me and I could eat you." And we should also note that when Jia Mu took Grandma Liu to visit the Grand View Garden, she saw that his house was "like a snow cave" and she became furious and said, "We old women should live in a horse pen more and more." From Jia Mu's point of view, the rooms of several sisters are not that different, so why should they have the habits of old ladies like us. Generally, a young lady's embroidery room should be decorated exquisitely and energetically, so as to reflect the youthful life of a young girl in her prime. Baochai has never liked these "flowers and pinks". Although she likes to cater to others in her behavior, she has her own opinions in her heart and does not change her preferences based on other people's opinions. She also returned the things Sister Feng sent her, which shows that she insists on herself in her own private territory. Personality and opinions, even if it makes Jia Mu feel embarrassed. This cannot all be explained by the poison of feudal thoughts. When holding high the banner of anti-feudalism, the most basic thing is to respect a person's individuality and freedom. Baochai has the right not to like "flowers and fans", and even more You have the right to decorate your own room as you like. Therefore, when using Baochai's room decoration as evidence that Baochai was poisoned by feudal ideas, you should first fully respect a person's personality and choices, rather than trying to prove your point of view. Give up the important principles of the theory you hold, and fall into the vicious circle of proving for the sake of proof or even double standards. Baochai's room reflects each other's heart, setting off her attitude of looking at the world with a cold eye, and echoing her lyrics "Thousands of threads will never change, and fate will gather with him". In this way, we It is not difficult to understand why Xue Baochai, who is always obedient and popular, would write a cynical poem like "The Crab Rime". Although she can tolerate all kinds of irrationality in the world, it does not mean that she agrees with it in her heart. She has her own persistence and principles. Of course, it is particularly worth pointing out that she consciously or unconsciously maintains the favor of the core people. This is also her sophistication strategy. The room she went to most often was Mrs. Wang's room. No matter whether her elders had done something wrong or felt sad, she would always talk to them and actively eliminate their worries. After Jin Chuan'er committed suicide by throwing herself into a well, Mrs. Wang felt uneasy. She comforted Mrs. Wang and said: Jin Chuan will not commit suicide; if he really commits suicide, he is just a confused person. It would not be a pity to die. Just give him a few more taels of silver. Mrs. Wang said that it was not good to use the clothes prepared for Lin Daiyu's birthday to wrap up the deceased, for fear of her taboo, Xue Baochai took the initiative to take out his newly made clothes and gave them to Mrs. Wang. This passage is an extremely controversial one. Many people criticized Baochai for being callous and callous, not caring about other people's lives and just wanting to spend money to get things done. But first of all, Jin Chuan committed suicide because he felt ashamed. Second, Jin Chuan's death had nothing to do with Baochai. As for the Jinchuan family, who were domestic slaves, they had no ability to sanction or even condemn the people responsible for causing this tragedy, Jia Baoyu and Mrs. Wang. After that, Yuchuan continued to be a slave obediently in front of Mrs. Wang. As Jin Chai's relatives all have this attitude, so what position do we have to accuse Baochai, who has nothing to do with him. Baochai is a person with a very cold personality. This is not directed at Jin Chuan, but toward everyone, including herself. For her, all she can do is try to resolve the contradictions and truly solve the problem. We should also note that Baochai did not know the real reason why Jin Chuan jumped into the well at that time, but Mrs. Wang told her that Jin Chuan broke something and she was angry and drove her away. She jumped into the well and died in anger. Although Baochai is suspected of being a supporter of Mrs. Wang, in ancient my country, "the skin of the body is accepted by the parents and dare not be damaged, which is the beginning of filial piety." However, Jinchai committed suicide because of a trivial matter and abandoned his parents. This is Baochai, a believer in feudal morality, cannot understand something. From her standpoint, this is extremely irresponsible behavior. Even in Western Christianity, suicide is a very serious sin, and suicide is not worth promoting in modern society. , so after Baochai learned Mrs. Wang's version of the truth, she rated her as "confused", which is actually a very objective description. But Baochai did not dislike Jin Chuan, a poor woman, and suggested to Mrs. Wang that she should give her parents more money and take out her own clothes. This was the best she could do for Jin Chuan's family who had lost their daughter. , what's more, feudal morality requires: "The son does not complain about the father's fault." It is impossible for Baochai to accuse Mrs. Wang as an elder. This was the best she could do within her ability. While blaming Baochai, you might as well think about it, if you were in her position, could you do better than her? Instead of shedding useless tears, lamenting, and feeling sentimental, it is better to let the people who are still alive truly receive compensation; instead of investing feelings in the dead, it is better to care more about the living. This is Baochai's consistent philosophy.
Baochai behaved the same way when it came to the disappearance of Liu Xianglian, because she knew very well that this was Liu Xianglian's personal choice, and only he could untie the knot in his heart. Even if he found it, where was the knot in his heart? He will not come back. If he figures it out on his own, he will come back on his own without persuading or searching. So why don't you pay more attention to those clerks who have worked hard for months? They are also human beings. They expect to receive the money to support their families after this business is settled. Aren't these people human beings? Are so many families inferior to one Liu Xianglian? Just because Liu Xianglian disappeared, did they deserve to be ignored and denied food? It can be seen that people who say Baochai is ruthless are themselves prejudiced. In the episode of "Shou Yi Hong Qun Fang's Night Banquet", the toothpick she picked up during the drinking ceremony was painted with peonies, and there was a poem on it: "No matter how ruthless it is, it is also moving." According to the standards of feudal society, Xue Baochai is called the crown of all beauties. This sentence means that although Baochai has a cold personality, her moral character still touches people's hearts. Maru said Leng Xiang, which may imply that she is not an enthusiastic person. But being "ruthless" and unenthusiastic does not mean being sinister. Didi Cuiting fluttered at the butterfly, and it was obvious that she had a scheming mind. But the purpose was to make Xiao Hong and Zhui'er think that she had not seen those intimate words and did not intend to frame Lin Daiyu. Borrowing clothes and gold necklaces was not intended to make Mrs. Wang dislike Lin Daiyu. She did this completely following the feudal philosophy of being wise and protecting oneself, which naturally showed her selfishness. But there are no people in Grand View Garden who are not selfish. Daiyu is selfish for love, Tanchun is selfish for birth, and Yingchun is selfish for self-protection. Selfish, Xichun is selfish for self-purification, Baochai is not a saint, she is selfish for the opinions of people around her. Baochai's mind is steeped in feudalism. She is a lady who faithfully believes in feudal morality and feudal ethics. She believed that acting in accordance with feudal ethics was a natural thing and the most moral thing; so she naturally achieved all the "four virtues". Some people say that Xue Baochai is "a big traitor but not a thief," which probably refers to her faithful belief and implementation of feudal morality; because this kind of morality itself is most in line with the form of feudal society, she has won the support of everyone in the Jia family. Huan Xin, and finally being chosen as Baoyu's wife, is mainly the natural result of her character adapting to the environment, and should not simply be regarded as the victory of her or Aunt Xue's machinations. The view that all Xue Baochai's activities were a conscious and planned fight for Baoyu is inconsistent with the description in the book and narrows the ideological significance of this character. In fact, her character is not sinister, nor is she always scheming, but she does things according to feudal orthodoxy, and she does it so unconsciously, so at home, she is sincere and sincerely follows the feudal orthodoxy. Do it according to moral standards. Therefore, when she persuaded Daiyu, she spoke earnestly because she sincerely believed that these morals were the most correct. Xue Baochai's scheming is completely different from Sister Feng's duplicity.
The complexity and richness of Xue Baochai's character are also reflected in some of her beautiful qualities. For example, she is thoughtful, fair, caring, considerate, and helpful. Once, Xiren wanted to beg Xiangyun to do some needlework for her. When Baochai found out, she immediately told her that Xiangyun "can't take charge at home" and "work until midnight" and "do it as soon as he comes." He complained that she was too tired to do anything, and blamed her for not being considerate for a moment, and took the initiative to take over the work Xiangyun was asked to do. Another time, when Xiangyun was about to open a cooperative as a proprietor, Baochai helped her organize a crab feast because her aunt complained about her expense. Therefore, this outspoken and generous young lady once sincerely praised Baochai: "Of these sisters, none is better than Sister Baochai. It's a pity that we are not the sons of the same mother - if I have such a biological sister, Even without her parents, there is no hindrance. For Lin Daiyu and Xing Xiuyan, who came from a poor family, she also provided various help. Even for the servants of Daguanyuan, she was considerate of their situation of getting up early and going to bed late, and working hard all year round. Plan some extra benefits for them. Before looking at the character Baochai, we should first look at feudal morality dialectically. In our country's five thousand years of culture, feudal morality certainly has backwardness and hinders social progress. At the same time, it is also beneficial to the country. It benefits the people and is positive. Although it oppresses the people and confines their thoughts, it also has the function of stabilizing society and inheriting culture.
In the nineteenth chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions", the attacker was killed by his mother and brother. When she was taken home to have New Year's tea, her mother and brother discussed with her how to redeem her, but Xi Ren was unwilling to go back, so she cried: "You didn't have anything to eat that day, and I was the only one left worth a few taels of silver. If I don't ask you to sell it, there is no reason to watch me starve to death. Now, fortunately, I have been sold to this place. I have the same food and clothing as my master, and I don’t scold him day and night. Besides, although dad is gone now, you have managed your family well and regained your strength. If it really is still difficult, just redeem me and pay for it with a few more dollars. In fact, it's not that difficult. What will I be redeemed for now? Just think of me as dead, and there is no need to think of redeeming me! "From this record, we know the hardships of Xi Ren's life experience. At a young age, he had to bear the burden of the family, contribute to the family, work as a slave in other people's homes and watch other people's eyes. He learned to be cautious in a complicated growing environment. She is gentle and courteous
Xinren is kind, steady and conscientious in her work. She is praised by everyone in the Grand View Garden, even her subordinates Xiaohong and Jiahui are famous for her admiration. wise man.
There is also some delusion in her heart. She only cares about whoever her master orders her to serve. She has a love affair with Baoyu and is the only woman who has sexual relations with Baoyu in "A Dream of Red Mansions". She often advised Baoyu to study and make progress. After Baoyu was beaten by her father because of her ambiguous relationship with the actor Jiang Yuhan, teasing and killing Jin Chuan, and was framed by Jia Huan and was beaten by her father, she suggested to Mrs. Wang that she should discipline him well and ask him to move out of the garden. Mrs. Wang believed that Xiren understood Dali principles well. , trusting her so much that he not only rewarded her with two bowls of food, but also increased her salary by half, and prepared to promote her to "quasi-aunt".