Xiangling is the earliest unlucky woman in the novel. Kidnapped from childhood, she was forced to be a concubine by a bully like Xue Pan in her teens. Later, when his wife Xia Jingui came, her fate was even worse, and she was soon tortured to death. The last forty chapters wrote that she died in childbirth, which did not conform to Cao Xueqin's original design. Xiangling ranks first in the love list, which shows that she is a very important person. The author wrote that she studied poetry in order to improve her status and increase readers' goodwill towards her. In this way, when she was tortured to death by ruthless fate, the tragedy was even stronger.
Xiangling can learn poetry in three steps. First of all, I worshipped Daiyu as a teacher and tasted Wang Wei's poems under the guidance of Daiyu. Secondly, he tried to write poems while reading Du Fu's poems. The third is that it has experienced two failures and finally succeeded. Xiangling's first poem is naive and straightforward, piling up the words used by predecessors to chant the moon and putting them together. The biggest problem is that the whole poem does not express true feelings, so there is nothing new. The words "laurel", "jade mirror" and "ice plate" used in the poem are all cliches. Therefore, Daiyu said that she was "bound by him", but she couldn't jump out of her predecessor's condom. Xiangling's first poem goes like this:
The moon is hanging in the sky, the night is cold, the light is clear and the shadow is round.
Poets often want to play when they are entertaining, but strangers can't bear to watch it.
A jade mirror is hung next to the jade building, and an ice tray is hung outside the bead curtain.
There is no need to light a silver candle on a bright night, and the bright colors set off the painting.
Her second poem has improved. You can use metaphors such as "floral fragrance" and "light frost" to set off scenes such as "people" and "curtains" and gradually let go of your hands and feet. However, the words such as "jade plate" and "jade fence" still have old flavor, and the whole poem is about moonlight instead of the moon itself, which is somewhat beside the point. So Daiyu said, "This song is too penetrating". Xiangling's second poem goes like this:
Unlike the silver moon, the moonlight reflects cold light, and looking up at the clear sky in the night sky supports a jade plate.
The faint plum blossom country wants to dye, and the silk willow belt is first exposed.
I only suspect that the residual powder is painted with gold, as if it were a frost-clearing jade fence.
Wake up in the west wing is silent, only the waning moon in the sky can look into the distance through the curtain.
Xiangling's third poem (that is, "Talking in a Dream") is written like this:
No one can hide the brilliance of the moon. Her beautiful figure is beautiful and her texture is much worse.
The sound of the vast Ye Yuanyin coming to Yi Dao, the rooster crowing at night will be able to stop the waning moon still hanging on the horizon.
Wanderers in Qiu Jiang are more melancholy when they listen to the flute, and the young woman upstairs leans against the railing at the end of the night.
If you want to win Chang 'e, you have to ask yourself, why not be together forever?
This poem is a success. Except for the first couplet, it seems that every sentence is not written about the month, but every sentence is related to the month. The dictionary is elegant and implicit, with novel and unique meanings. Especially the couplets, which are steady in workmanship, profound in meaning and exquisite. Its greatest advantage is that it conforms to Xiangling's own life experience, cherishes the moon and shows her true feelings. In this way, poetry is not empty but has content. Xiangling's success, on the one hand, shows her own intelligence and elegant quality, on the other hand, it also shows a truth, that is, after writing forty-nine novels, everyone read her third poem, "Where there is a will, there is a way." It makes more sense for Xiangling to live in the Grand View Garden, and it is logical that she is the first person in the supplement.
There are many poems in A Dream of Red Mansions, which is one of the reading difficulties for readers today. Many people inadvertently read it and think that the author has no intention, which is a pity. Poems in books are often integrated with stories, and everyone's poems have their own characteristics, showing different thoughts and personalities of different characters. Some poems also point out the situation and fate of the characters. As mentioned above, the "hard to hide the essence" in Xiangling's third poem is actually talking about Xiangling's current situation. Therefore, savoring the poems in the book is also one of the pleasures of appreciating A Dream of Red Mansions.
Cao Xueqin also expressed his views on the art of poetry by writing Xiangling's poems. He particularly emphasized that poetry should be innovative, emotional and entertaining, and words should not be harmful. This is an understanding. From the text, readers can also know that the poets in the Tang Dynasty that the author appreciates, such as Wang Wei, Du Fu and Li Bai, are all excellent poets favored by Cao Xueqin.
It is also a reasonable stroke in the novel that Xiangling wants to learn poetry instead of worshipping Baochai around her as a teacher and looking for Daiyu. Baochai is knowledgeable and writes well, but she doesn't value this point and thinks that "a woman without talent is virtue." Moreover, Baochai is calm by nature and doesn't like trivial things that are too troublesome, so Xiangling is not convenient to learn poetry from her. Although Daiyu is withdrawn by nature, she likes to part but not get together, but she also has a warm and generous side. She took pains to guide Xiangling, making her words meaningful and concise, so Xiangling could quickly understand the way to get started and succeed. This performance of Daiyu is a reflection of the other side of her personality. To some extent, Daiyu is actually easier to get along with and more sympathetic to the weak than Baochai.
Other characters written in this article, such as Tan Chun, Xiangyun and Baoyu, are all foil characters with little ink. However, the author's light dyeing is quite spiritual. Writing about Xiangyun is talkative and alert in spring, which is consistent with their consistent performance.