Cao Xueqin's close friend, Zhi Yanzhai, once analyzed the plot of "Xiangling studies poetry": "If you think carefully about Xiangling's personality, you won't be welcome (spring) to explore (spring), your appearance won't let Feng (Wang Xifeng) Qin (Ke Qing), your elegance won't let Li Wan (Bao) hairpin, and your romantic life won't let Yun Dai (Xiang). Those who cherish it are in trouble when they are young, and their fate is awkward, resulting in a side room. And I have studied, so I can't go hand in hand with Lin Xiangbei. However, this person can not enter the park. Therefore, if you want to enter the park, there is no gap in the end, and you have to plan four more times. If you want to enter the park, you must stay behind. " This comment gives us an incisive hint for understanding the text.
Xiangling, whose original name is Zhen Yinglian, was born in a scholarly family. She was abducted by a kidnapper at the age of 5, and was bought as a concubine by Xue Pan at the age of 13, and then temporarily stayed in Jia's house. When she studied poetry, she was just the same age as the students in Grade Two and Grade Three. She studied poetry and worshipped Daiyu. Daiyu was 15 years old at that time, which is equivalent to the age of junior three students now. From the age point of view, Xiangling can be said to be "shameless."
in combination with the comments made by Zhi Yanzhai above, let's take a look at Cao Xueqin's ingenuity in the layout of the essay.
Before "Xiangling studied poetry", the daughters of Daguan Garden had already formed a Haitang Poetry Society and successfully engaged in several poetry creation activities, and the atmosphere of poetry in the novel was very rich. Secondly, Xue Pan, the arrogant idiot, was obsessed with homosexuality because of evil thoughts. In modern terms, he was beaten up by a decent gentleman, Liu Xianglian, and was ashamed to meet people. He decided to go out to do business with the old man Zhang Dehui, the general manager of Xue's pawnshop. When Xue Pan left, Xiangling was the only one in the room, and she moved into Hengwu Garden of Grand View Garden to live with her sister-in-law Xue Baochai, which provided convenience for her to learn poetry from Daiyu in Xiaoxiang Pavilion. This is the actual situation that Zhi Yanzhai said, "If you want to enter the park, you must stay for a long trip before you can travel".
why does Xiangling learn poetry? Why does Cao Xueqin talk about Xiangling's poems? How does Xiangling learn poetry? What are the lessons? Such questions are intriguing.
1. Why did Xiangling learn poetry?
on the surface, it is because Xiangling is unwilling to be lonely. But from Xiangling's subconscious, she wants to return her scholarly daughter's true colors. This kind of subconscious mind is consistent with her essential needs: it is natural for her to live a spiritual life of the upper class, that is, the aristocratic class, and to pursue physical and mental happiness after material satisfaction. After learning to write poetry, she can participate in the activities of Haitang Poetry Society in a justified way, on an equal footing with Baochai, Daiyu and Sanchun sisters. This should also be the relevant comments of the above-mentioned red inkstone.
second, why should the novel describe Xiangling's poems with relish?
First of all, it is to perfect Xiangling's ideological character. Xiangling was born in a family of "rural officials" and was born with beauty. After being abducted, she was also deprived of the right to education. In the feudal society that lasted for thousands of years, literature belonged to the ruling class. Poetry is the jewel in the crown of literature, and only those who love poetry can enter the elite. There is an old saying in China that "if you don't learn poetry, you have nothing to say". Poetry is an important tool and means to make people gentle. Learning poetry itself is a gentle process. Therefore, Xiang Ling, who is full of heart and mouth, should not be unable to write poetry. Even though she could not write poetry before, she had to learn to write poetry. Poetry makes people more true, kind and beautiful. With a character like Xiangling and Cao Xueqin's sympathetic attitude towards her, she can't be prevented from writing poems.
Secondly, it enriches the characters of Daiyu. Daiyu is a sentimental poet by nature. Judging from many poems written by Cao Xueqin for her, she is worthy of being a first-class poet in the Grand View Garden. However, in Lin Daiyu's contacts with Baoyu and Baochai, she gives people a deep impression of being suspicious and crying. The novel should show her considerate, caring, sympathetic and helpful side. So let Xiangling just moved to Baochai's house and offered to learn poetry from Baochai. Baochai, who thinks that "a woman without talent is virtue" and "it is not her duty to learn poetry", does not quite agree. Xiangling had to consult Daiyu. Besides, at this time, Baoyu's story of "complaining to the heart" has happened. Daiyu is no longer suspicious of Baoyu's love and her mood is relatively stable, so she has the interest and patience to tell Xiangling about her experience in writing poems. Through the plot of Daiyu teaching Xiangling to learn poetry, the author makes readers truly feel that Daiyu is not only aloof and arrogant, but also enthusiastic, cheerful and tireless in teaching others.
From the above two points, we can also see Cao Xueqin's aesthetic concept: literature, especially poetry, is the exclusive product of the best of the best. Although Xiangling is the concubine of Xue Pan, her original pedigree is noble, which, in the words of Zhi Yanzhai, has a "foundation". In the novel, no matter how lovely the characters are, such as Qing Wen, Baoyu's maid, Yuanyang, Jia Lian's maid Pinger, they will not and dare not learn poetry. "The authorities are too clever", and Wang Xifeng, who is cunning and duplicitous, was born without poetry.
third, how does Xiangling learn poetry?
the first step is to like yourself. Before moving into the Grand View Garden, I secretly read two songs when I have time.
step two, ask the teacher. Read the famous works carefully. Wang Wei, Du Fu and Li Taibai are familiar with 3 Tang poems.
the third step is to combine reading and writing. Under the guidance of the teacher, I am brave in writing and not afraid of failure. "My clothes are getting wider and wider, and I don't regret it." Hard work pays off, and I firmly believe that dream pens can produce flowers.
4. What lessons did Xiang Ling learn from poetry?
Let's first read the first poem "Seven Rhythms of Chanting the Moon" written by Xiangling at the behest of Lin's teacher Daiyu:
The moon hangs in the middle of the sky, the night is cold, the light is clear and the shadows are bright.
poets often think about fun, but strangers add sorrow and can't bear to look at it.
Jade mirrors are hung on the edge of the Jade Building, and ice trays are hung on the pearl curtain.
Why burn a silver candle on a bright night? The bright colors are reflected in the painting column.
Daiyu's comment on this poem is: "It has meaning, but its wording is indecent." Teacher Lin's criticism is very limited in order to protect the enthusiasm of students. These eight poems are really naive and narrow-minded, and they are written only by piling up words. In addition to the couplet "poets entertain and often think about playing, and wild visitors add sorrow and can't bear to look at it", the other three couplets talk about Na Yue, with stiff writing, thin content and lack of thoughts and feelings, which is far from "conception". The greatest function of poetry is "lyricism". Poetry, like general literary works, should first pay attention to conception. These eight poems have no "intention", but they are written like a beaten student crying and barely. How can this be successful? The key to the success of chanting poems is good intention. Like Yu Qian's "Lime Ode": "Thousands of hammers cut out the deep mountains, and the fire is only idle. I am not afraid of being smashed, and I want to stay innocent in the world. " What strong thoughts and feelings are conveyed by lofty ideals, and what firm and upright personality is expressed!
Let's take a look at the second song written by Xiangling after listening to Daiyu's instructions:
Non-silver and non-water reflect the cold in the window, and try to see the jade plate in the clear sky.
the faint plum blossom fragrance is about to dye, and the filar willows are beginning to dry.
I only suspect that the residual powder is painted with gold, which seems like a light frost and a jade fence.
When I wake up from my dream, the West Building is deserted, and I can still see through the curtain.
This poem about the moon, which Xiangling thinks is "wonderful", is still not satisfactory despite the progress. Baochai pointed out that it was a bit "off-topic" and only wrote "moonlight" from beginning to end. "Off-topic" is indeed a common distress for practitioners. In fact, apart from the digression, the fundamental problem is still the lack of "intention". Without "conception", there is no way to talk about true feelings. Xiangling blindly carved words and phrases, only paying attention to such images as "reflecting the cold in the window", "protecting the jade plate", "plum blossom", "willow ribbon", "residual powder", "light cream" and "West Building", and overemphasizing "skill", which violates Daiyu's teaching that words and phrases are the last thing, and the first intention is important, and only describes a few things.
"Xiangling works hard to learn poetry, but the essence and blood gather together sincerely", but she is not discouraged after defeat. After two setbacks, she finally wrote the third successful song:
It is difficult for the essence to hide the material, and the shadow is self-conscious and self-chilling.
an anvil knocks a thousand miles, and half a chicken sings five more.
The flute is heard on the Lvkun River in autumn, and the tea house leans on the railing all night.
If you win Chang 'e, you should ask, why not reunite forever!
Daiyu and others said this song was "novel and interesting". The success of this song is, first of all, to change the defect of "no intention" in the first two songs, so I poured my true feelings into chanting the moon. The whole poem makes good use of the technique of expressing feelings by borrowing things, and expresses his feelings of being unwilling to be lonely and wanting to make a difference through chanting the moon. Poetry is about conception. With meticulous conception and artistic means, you can't write a good poem? Xiangling's successful work provides a good experience. The first couplet "The essence should be difficult to hide, and the shadow should be cold from Juanjuan's soul" embodies Xiangling's own life experience. Her origin is the condensation of the essence of heaven and earth. "It should be difficult to hide" includes that she was abducted and trafficked by a kidnapper, and finally "cast" into a rich and prosperous family, which is a "good fortune" in the great misfortune. At the same time, it also implicitly points out the self-confidence that one's talent will be hard to bury and that one can write a good poem after all. "The shadow is from Juanjuan's soul to the cold", suggesting that it fell into the hands of Xue Pan, a foolish overlord, which is another misfortune in "one fortune". The couplet "an anvil knocks a thousand miles, and a half-round chicken sings five more remnants", which is a link between the preceding and the following. On the surface, it writes that the moonlight is bleak, but in fact it writes its own situation "bleak and cold" and expresses a faint bitterness. "Anvil knocking" is a common artistic conception in ancient poetry, which describes thinking of a woman beating clothes under the moon, suggesting that Xiangling misses her husband. "Chickens sing five more cripples" is also a common scene to describe a husband who misses a long trip. This couplet is written very aptly. Necklace couplets "Green Gun River smells the flute in autumn, and the red-sleeve building leans on the railing all night", "Green Gun" implies that the husband who is outside, "Green Gun River smells the flute in autumn", who can't afford to be homesick! The "tea" symmetrical with "Green Gun" can be regarded as Xiangling's self-pointing. "Loutou night leaning on the bar" expresses concern and yearning for her husband who is out. This couplet contains profound ideological content, and the realm of poetry is very open. Tail couplet "won the Chang 'e should ask, why not reunite forever", skillfully used the allusion of "lonely Chang 'e", combined with her husband's widowed life after going to business, and wrote a heartfelt sigh. Although her husband is a big fool, as a weak woman, she can't escape the fate of "marry a chicken and follow a dog". Xiangling regards Xue Pan as a lifelong dependence, and she still loves her husband very much. Writing the moon on the surface of the whole poem, in fact, deeply embodies the poet's life experience and feelings, and the combination of moon and people and the blending of things and feelings has become a masterpiece of chanting things.
This wonderful passage, which is excerpted from the novel, is essentially a story of the author Cao Xueqin's poetry creation theory and experience. With the help of Lin Daiyu's teaching of Xiangling and Xiangling's step-by-step process of learning poetry, it is beautifully expressed and fascinating. Reading the text carefully can not only help us to "sing without poetry", but also help us learn Chinese well. For example, the scope of life is equal to the scope of Chinese learning. We should be conscientious in learning Chinese, enhance our interest in learning, learn from competent people, be diligent and inquisitive, ask for advice with an open mind, be brave in practice and not be afraid of failure, and so on.