is the longest narrative poem in ancient China, which was first seen in "A New Ode to Yutai" edited by Chen Xuling (57-583) in the Southern Dynasties. The preface before the poem explains the time, place, characters and the process of writing the poem, which is generally considered to be reliable. This poem has made great achievements in thought and art and has always been praised by people. :
1. storyline
The whole poem can be divided into five parts according to the development of storyline. The first part (from the beginning to "meeting each other") writes that Lan Zhi confides in Zhongqing, uncovers the sharp contradiction between her and her mother-in-law, and expresses that she can't stand it and is willing to be sent back to her family. Zhong Qing pleaded with his mother, but was firmly rejected by her mother. It was a foregone conclusion that Lan Zhi left Jiaojia.
in the second part (from "the officials are silent" to "two feelings are the same"), Lan Zhi said goodbye to Jiao's family, and Zhong Qing sent her back. When they parted, they made a vow.
in the third part (from "getting started" to "Yu Yu Deng County Gate"), it is written that after Lan Zhi returned to her mother's house, the county magistrate and the Taishou successively sent people to propose marriage. With the intervention of her brother, Lan Zhi was forced to accept the marriage of the Taishou family, and the Taishou made preparations for the wedding.
the fourth part (from "my mother called A Nv" to "hanging the southeast branch") was written on the day of marriage. In the evening, Zhong Qing arrived, Lan Zhi and Zhong Qing said goodbye, and they met to fight to death. At night, Lan Zhi drowned and died, and Zhong Qing hanged himself.
The fifth part (the last paragraph) describes that Jiao and Liu buried Lan Zhi and Zhong Qing together, and they turned into mandarin ducks.
2. Characters
Liu Lanzhi, the heroine, is beautiful, intelligent, hardworking and courteous. At the beginning of the poem, the arrangement of "thirteen can weave, fourteen can learn to tailor, fifteen can play, sixteen can recite poetry books …" immediately made readers have this impression on her. As the story unfolds, this impression is constantly enriched and strengthened. Such as "refers to the root of onion, and the mouth contains Dani. Fine steps, exquisite and unparalleled. " It shows her outstanding beauty. In the following, the county magistrate and the prefect sent people to her house to ask for relatives and friends, which also showed her beauty from the side. Another example is "The cock crows into the machine, and it can't stop every night", "Five horses are broken in three days" and "Embroidered skirts in the morning, single shirts in the evening", which shows her diligence and ability. When she bid farewell to Jiao's mother, although she complained about Jiao's mother, she finally said, "Go home today, miss her mother and work at home." When she said goodbye to her sister-in-law, she said, "Be diligent in caring for her husband and helping her." In her gentle words, she showed her kindness and courtesy.
Lan Zhi is loyal to love and is not moved by splendor. Zhong Qing sent her home. When they said goodbye, she compared herself to Pu Wei, who was "thready as silk", and compared Zhong Qing to a "rock without transfer" to show her loyalty to love. Later, she did. After returning to her mother's house, the county magistrate and the satrap came to ask for relatives and friends one after another, and neither of them could make her tempted. Finally, in the case of refusing to get married, she defended her love with Zhong Qing with death.
At the same time, there is something very valuable about Lan Zhi, that is, he is neither supercilious nor supercilious, clear-headed and resolute in action. In the preface before the poem, it is said that she was "sent by Zhong Qing's mother", while at the beginning of the poem, it is written that she offered to leave Jiaojia. Of course, she won't let Jiao Mu "send" her back to her family for no reason. It is likely that Jiao Mu's long-term criticism has made her realize that Jiao Mu doesn't like herself at all, and no matter how hard she tries, she won't win her heart. Even Jiao Mu's temper has become worse recently, and she has hinted or stated to Lange that she doesn't want her to be a daughter-in-law any more. However, from the words of Lan Zhi's request to Jiao Zhongqing at the beginning of the poem, it seems that she can't bear Jiaomu's unreasonable accusations and actively asks to return to her family. This is an outbreak after a long period of tolerance and obedience. Her words are aggrieved and dissatisfied, firm and powerful, and there is no disguise. Later, Jiao Mu also said to Zhong Qing that "this woman has no manners, and her behavior is self-directed". Although Jiao Mu's evaluation of Lan Zhi is inevitably biased, it also reveals that Lan Zhi is really not a kannika nimtragol who is at the mercy of others. Lan Zhi said goodbye to Jiao Mu, "When I was a daughter, I was born in the wild. Since there is no lesson, I am ashamed of my family, which also makes readers vaguely realize that Lan Zhi is not a standard image of a daughter-in-law in feudal times. Later, in the face of his elder brother's forced marriage, Lan Zhi further showed sober, resolute and expressionless personality characteristics. From this perspective, the image of Liu Lanzhi is a unique "this one" in the corridor of female characters in China's ancient literary works.
Compared with Lan Zhi, the hero Jiao Zhongqing's personality is not so rich. Loyalty to love and the courage to sacrifice for love are the most prominent aspects of his personality. He resolutely responded to his mother's bullying and coaxing: "If you send this woman today, you will never take it again!" He was forced by Jiao's mother to send Lan Zhi back to her family, which was helpless. According to the social customs at that time, he could only do so. Today's readers can hardly blame him for his weakness. Before hanging himself, his "wandering under the tree" was in line with his special situation-he was the only son in the family, and no one could deliver the responsibility of supporting his mother. Therefore, it cannot be considered that he is weak and indecisive.
Jiao Mu is a prominent negative image. She is an extremely insolent and unreasonable woman who has no understanding or sympathy for Lan Zhi's virtue and Zhong Qing's love. For Zhong Qing, she threatened in a moment: "I have been angry for a long time, so how can you be free!" "The boy is fearless, how dare he help the woman!" After a while, it was coaxed by words: "The owner has a virtuous daughter, who calls herself Qin Luofu. She is extremely pitiful, and her mother asks for you." Carrot and stick, the purpose is to get Zhong Qing to send away Lan Zhi and get rid of the thorn in his side.
another negative image, Liu Xiong, has a rough temperament and is a snob. He said to Lan Zhi, "Don't measure your plan! Marry a government official first, and then marry a husband. If you are as good as heaven and earth, you will be honored. If you don't marry Yi Langti, do you want He Yun? " "Why not plan!" Rough reprimand, bullying tone. "Marrying a government official first ... is enough to be honored." Commenting on these poems, Shen Deqian said, "I am a villain who is obsessed with wealth and disregards etiquette and righteousness."
3. the meaning of the story. A young couple who loved each other deeply were separated alive under the obstruction and high pressure of feudal parents, and finally they both gave their lives to defend their love. This story is easily reminiscent of four ancient folk love myths and legends in China: Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Seven Fairys and Yong Dong, White Snake and Xu Xian, and butterfly lovers. The heroes and heroines in these stories are congenial to each other, hoping to live a happy life together, but the powerful external destructive forces will not let them go easily. These destructive forces have so-called "law" and "reason" in their eyes, but they can't see "emotion". The Jiaomu in Peacock Flying Southeast is even more unreasonable, because she doesn't like her daughter-in-law, so she is trying to drive her away, and her son's pleading can't impress her at all. In her, the feudal parents' violation of human nature was exposed completely. Reading this poem today, Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing's words and deeds of being loyal to love and bravely defending pure love are still shocking.
4. Folk song flavor.
First, this poem begins with the loss of a peacock's spouse and ends with the two birds flying together. This technique of comparing beautiful birds with couples is commonly used in folk songs.
second, the technique of laying out the facts is used in many places. At the beginning of the poem, Lan Zhi said to himself, "Thirteen can weave vegetables, and fourteen can learn to tailor clothes. Fifteen plays are graceful, sixteen poems are recited, and seventeen is a gentleman's wife ... "This is a kind of longitudinal exposition, concise and hierarchical, which is intended to emphasize that Lan Zhi was smart, versatile and well-educated since childhood, suggesting the irrationality of Jiao Mu's expulsion of his daughter-in-law. When Lan Zhi left Jiao's home, he also had a detailed exposition: "Embroider my skirt, and everything will be smooth.". My feet are tiptoeing and my head is shining. ..... fine steps, exquisite and unparalleled. " Lan Zhi's clothes, shoes and accessories, posture and appearance are deliberately written here. This is a horizontal exposition, which not only helps to show Lan Zhi's strong, calm and lingering rich inner activities, but also reveals the sincere sympathy and praise of the creator of this poem to Lan Zhi. At the back, the procession of the Taishou family was written: "Green finch and white stork boat, four-cornered dragon, graceful with the wind." ..... From four or five hundred people, Yu Yu went to the county gate. " The exposition here shows the wealth of the satrap, and also implies the noble character of Lan Zhi who is not greedy for wealth and loyalty to love.
third, make good use of metaphors. "The monarch is a rock, the concubine is a reed, and the reed is threaded like silk, and the rock has no transfer." This remark is consistent and coherent with the above "Swear to Heaven" and the following "Love and Love", which can be said to be a parting oath. This is from Lan Zhi's mouth, which means that he has deep feelings and will never change his mind. However, when things turned sharply, due to misunderstanding, Zhong Qing revisited Lan Zhi's oath, but changed it to: "The rock is square and thick, and it can die for a thousand years; When Pu Wei sewed it for a while, it would be overnight. " The original * * * common points of the two metaphors become divergent points, which plays a great role in the development of the plot and the characterization of the characters.
Second, exploring the problem
1. Why did Lan Zhi dress up when she left Jiao's house? Why didn't she shed tears in front of Jiao's mother, but only in front of her sister-in-law?
Lan Zhi got up early in the morning and began to dress up, trying to figure out the reasons. On the one hand, she wanted to show her best image to Zhong Qing, so that he could remember herself as a souvenir of their married life. On the other hand, she didn't want to show weakness to Jiao Mu and dressed herself carefully, as if to show Jiao Mu that she never thought she was at fault. The poem says that when she dresses up, "everything is four or five-way", which somewhat reveals her inner chaotic emotions.
When Lan Zhi said goodbye to Jiao Mu, she didn't shed tears. Instead, she said something that was in line with the facts and slightly dissatisfied. She shed tears when facing her sister-in-law, which showed her strength and reason.
2. Many places in this poem pay attention to the care before and after, which makes the development of the story appear real and natural, and the structure of the whole poem also appears very compact. What places are taken care of before and after?
At the beginning of the story, Lan Zhi said to Zhong Qing, "Thirteen can weave vegetarian dishes, fourteen can learn to tailor clothes, and seventeen is a gentleman's wife ..." When she was sent back to her mother's house, Liu was greatly shocked and said, "Thirteen can teach you to weave, fourteen can tailor clothes, seventeen can send you to marry ..." So she repeatedly used a series of arrangement sentences, which echoed the previous ones. Later, when writing about Lan Zhi's wedding dress, he wrote: "The left hand holds the knife ruler and the right hand holds the silk. Embroidered skirt in the morning, single sweater in the evening. " These words highlight her ingenuity and take care of the sentence "fourteen learning to tailor clothes".
At the beginning of the story, when Zhong Qing pleaded with Jiao Mu, Jiao Mu said, "... The owner has a virtuous daughter, who calls herself Qin Luofu. She is extremely pitiful. My mother asks for you." At the end, when Zhong Qing said goodbye to Jiao Mu before committing suicide, Jiao Mu said: "... The owner has a virtuous daughter, and the beautiful city is beautiful. My mother asks for you, and it will be in danger."
When Lan Zhi left Jiao's family, she took pains in her poems and described her dress, appearance and posture with admiration, which paved the way for the official families to come to ask for relatives after Lan Zhi returned to her mother's house.
Zhong Qing sent Lan Zhi home. When they said goodbye, Lan Zhi said, "Jun is a rock, ... the rock has no transfer." Later, Zhong Qing mistakenly thought that Lan Zhi renewed his oath when he climbed the high branch, saying, "The rock is square and thick, ... and it will be overnight."