Then as for the outside of the book, it is even more so. Since the publication of A Dream of Red Mansions, there have been many comments on Xifeng in the history of redology. For example, if you think that you are a "minister capable of managing the world, a traitor in troubled times", and call Xifeng a "female Cao Cao" and "rouge tiger", you are a tigress. So in all these comments, like Mr. Wang Kunlun, the predecessor of A Dream of Red Mansions, there is a famous saying in the article "On Feng Jie" in his "On Characters in A Dream of Red Mansions", which is called "Hate and scold Feng Jie, but don't miss Feng Jie". This is probably the feeling that every ordinary reader of A Dream of Red Mansions will have. This sentence actually comes from Cao Cao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is called "Hate Cao Cao, scold Cao Cao, and miss Cao Cao when you die". Cao Cao is dead, and the romance of the Three Kingdoms is not good-looking. So, why is this happening? It should be said that it is not only a true feeling that we all have, but also a topic that inspires every dream lover and researcher to think hard.
Therefore, in the history of A Dream of Red Mansions, there are some insightful comments besides the "female Cao Cao" and "rouge tiger" I just mentioned. Let me give you an example. There is a critic named Ye He. He has such a few words. He said, "I like to see a dream of red mansions first. People are afraid of its risks, I admire its spicy, people are afraid of its swing, I admire its coquettish. Reading has opened up an infinite mind and increased countless experiences. " Well, I think comments like Wild Crane's are not only a criticism of Xifeng as a social person, but also an aesthetic criticism.
If the character Wang Xifeng is separated from A Dream of Red Mansions, the artistic structure of A Dream of Red Mansions will collapse, and she will play a "pillar" role. This "pillar" is not in the architectural sense, but in my opinion, it is an artistic structure and a "collapse" in the artistic sense. So the "pillar" may not be accurate, but it can also be said to be a "focus" function or a "radiation" function. Because A Dream of Red Mansions is not only about the love and marriage of Bao, Chai and Dai, but also about such a big family with more than 400 words. What do you think this book would look like without Wang Xifeng? So here, we can say that if the Jia family's various relationships are intertwined, such as seniority, seniority, personal relationship, official position, master and servant, then the character Wang Xifeng is in a relatively central position, and she has to deal with all kinds of characters. In-laws have three levels, including countless sisters-in-law, uncles and sisters-in-law. Then the relationship between Xifeng and any one of them, either contact or contradiction, or contact and contradiction, is a reflection of certain social relations.
Supposedly, among Jia Fu, Feng's qualifications are very small. She is the daughter-in-law of her grandson. Why can a man like Feng become a master? This is the result of many reasons or the development of various contradictions. She has the support of the family "King Jinling", Jia's love, the contradiction between Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang, and of course the subjective conditions of her own talents and desires. It is these forces that push Feng to an important position in charge of Jia family affairs. At the same time, it also pushed Xifeng to the crater and became the target of public criticism, so many old contradictions will lead to countless new contradictions. Let's say that all kinds of contradictions are summed up in Xifeng, which can't be considered as a short trivial matter in parents. The so-called uncle and sister-in-law fight, but mother-in-law and Bo Xi are not like this. Because in China's feudal patriarchal society, home and country are isomorphic, and home is a simplified form of country. As for the various contradictions I just mentioned, we say that this faction, this struggle, its embryonic form and its embryo in feudal countries can be seen in the family. Therefore, all kinds of contradictions concentrated on Wang Xifeng, or radiated by her, can be regarded as family contradictions, that is, she gives people a sense of depth and is not practical.
Judging from the breadth of social life that the artistic image of Xifeng can contain, it is also difficult for other images to reach. Here, we only give an example. For example, in the details of usury and earning interest, Xifeng took out her monthly money to usury, so she wrote it more than once in the novel. So if she let it out, Pinger said that at least one thousand pieces of silver can be dug up every year, and even the figures are very specific. Then such economic details are impossible for others. For example, the owner and wife won't do such a thing, and they are too lazy to do such a thing. Girls can't manage money at all, and they can't even slap. In other words, they will not do it at all. It also includes tanchun. Although Tanchun is very clever, Tanchun follows the rules and won't do such a thing. Only an artistic image like Rainbow Xifeng can generalize this economic detail into our works. Therefore, the social tentacles of the image of Xifeng are the longest, which can go beyond the walls of the Jia family and extend to the government, Buddhism, the court and so on. In other words, Wang Xifeng's artistic image is irreplaceable and indispensable in reflecting the depth and breadth of life. Without Wang Xifeng, A Dream of Red Mansions would be greatly discounted in reflecting the depth and breadth of life, and it would not even be called A Dream of Red Mansions.
The character of Xifeng can broaden people's horizons and increase countless experiences in this way, which is to broaden people's minds. Then a literary work can be completed not by stacking stories, but by stacking some knowledge. The key lies in writing people. If Xifeng is alive, then it is something like what I just said, that is to say, her art summarizes the depth and breadth of life, and she is a living thing. We say that in terms of the vividness and vividness of the characters, Wang Xifeng is the first in A Dream of Red Mansions. Here, I didn't mean that, because the hero of A Dream of Red Mansions is Jia Baoyu, and the first heroine of A Dream of Red Mansions is Lin Daiyu, so there is no doubt that Bao, Dai and Chai are naturally in the main position in A Dream of Red Mansions. But I think it is rather ethereal to say that figures like Bao and Dai are more focused on the author's ideals; Then the character of Xifeng is more from life. Of course, literary works are a kind of spiritual product, which creates spiritual value, is the crystallization of the writer's mind and should also be a reflection of objective life. When we watched A Dream of Red Mansions, it seemed that Xifeng was going to jump out of the paper. Without Wang Xifeng, A Dream of Red Mansions would not be as beautiful as it is now.
Then, Wang Xifeng's writing style is so vivid, vivid and full. How can we grasp this character and appreciate its elegance? This is really not an easy thing. In the early 1980s, I once wrote an article about Xue Baochai, entitled "Full Image and Poor Criticism", which was more than 20 years ago. In fact, this is also fully applicable to Wang Xifeng. Because her image is too full, we sometimes worry that the poverty we comment on will damage this image and simplify it. Even so, we should try our best to grasp this character and all her richness and complexity.
So how to summarize Xifeng's character? I think we can use six words from three aspects, the first is "machine heart", the second is "difficult hand" and the third is "just mouth". In "Port", we borrow a female storyteller's praise for Xifeng to talk about her language ability. Then let's try to talk about Xifeng from these aspects. Of course, these three aspects are interrelated. For the convenience of analysis, we can talk about them separately.
Then, let's talk about the "machine heart". Although the "machine heart" is deeply hidden inside, it is also traceable. Then people often say that Xifeng said, "She has 10,000 minds", which is to describe her scheming and the speed of machine change. We can first look at some of Xifeng's daily performances. Some of Xifeng's daily performances often have calculations to weigh the gains and losses. Let's give an example:
Once, for the expense of the Grand View Garden Poetry Club, Xifeng and Sister Li Wan were joking there. Because your poetry club needed some funds, Xifeng laughed at Li Wan: "You are still a sister-in-law!" ! She even said, "You have twelve taels of silver a month, twice as much as us. ..... There was a boy, who added twelve taels. ..... At the end of the year, you also scored points, and you * * * have four or five hundred taels of silver at most a year. Now you are afraid of spending money and making them bother me. " I said a lot, and then Li Wan replied to her. "Listen," said Li Wan, "I told you, and she said that two carts of hooligans were only good at calculating, and they allocated two catties." Li Wan said, "Everyone in the world has been framed by you!" Although this sentence of Li Wan is also a joke, it is actually a positive evaluation of Feng, called "The whole world has been calculated by you". Xifeng, as we all know, her calculation, deducting monthly money and lending interest, is not only deducting the monthly money of servants, but also dare to misappropriate the old lady and wife, first deducting them, even if they are twelve taels or eighty taels, she will save them together and let them out. Therefore, Li Wan said that "she is good at calculating and calculating" and did not wronged her at all.
Then Mrs. Wang's house was thrown into the well, and then the maid was empty, that is, one place was missing. Then, as a housekeeper, Wang Xifeng delayed filling this quota. Why? Because many people took a fancy to this vacancy, because they thought it was a "smart son", and then everyone came to look for this vacancy, and Wang Xifeng put it off until everyone gave enough gifts.
There are many such things. When we were making trouble in Ningguo Mansion, we didn't forget to ask you for five hundred and twenty pieces of silver. In fact, she only spent 320 yuan, so if she wants 520 yuan, she will earn 220 yuan again. Therefore, in these places, Feng is famous for her shrewdness and calmness. Even she knows. She told Pinger, "I have a bad reputation, and I will be eaten raw in another year." This shows that Feng's borrowing and accumulation are well-known. This is our talk about her calculations and the "machine heart" she uses in this respect. In fact, Xifeng's "machine heart" is of course used to collect money, but it is more reflected in dealing with interpersonal relationships.
Xifeng gave a wonderful performance with her profound mind and meticulous strategy. In this way of dealing with things, we think that Xifeng is often like a brilliant psychologist. She is good at reading, judging wind direction and direction. Often the other party hasn't said it, and she has guessed it; The other party just said that she had already done it. There are many such examples.
You see, as soon as she appeared, as soon as Lin Daiyu entered the mansion, Mrs. Wang said, do you want to take out a piece of material to make clothes for your sister? What did Wang Xifeng say? "I'm ready." In fact, for this place, Zhi Yanzhai has an evaluation. He said, "In fact, there is no Feng." Making clothes for Lin Daiyu didn't happen-"She changed her mind." But Mrs. Wang nodded and believed it. The fat group said, "It means that Xifeng succeeded in deceiving people." Then there are many such examples. For example, when the Grand View Garden Poetry Club got up, Tanchun just left and said, "Xifeng, we want you to be a supervisor." Tanchun had just been exported here, and Xifeng immediately guessed that you lacked a "profitable copper merchant". You must be a sponsor, right? Then she said, I will take office immediately tomorrow. When I take office, I will put down fifty taels of silver and take charge of your club slowly. In other words, you just said here that she had guessed there, so everyone laughed. Therefore, Li Wan said, "You are really a crystal heart, a glass man", and called Xi Feng "translucent". Therefore, like those people we just mentioned, it is common for Feng to be good at reading each other's minds. Then sometimes, she can make a 180 degree turn. The same thing is said this way and then that way, but she is reasonable and beautiful.
This example can be used as an example. If Mrs. Xing wants to please Yuanyang, she must consult with Xi 'an first. Mrs. Xing said that the master wanted Yuanyang to be a concubine, so she told Feng in advance. Hearing this, Xifeng quickly replied, "Don't touch this nail!" She blurted out, she said, "The old lady can't eat without Yuanyang, and the master can't take care of himself, and the official can't make a living." She advised Lady Xing, "Don't be upset, Madam, I dare not go. It is useless to show it clearly, but it is very attractive. " She said this first, thinking it was impossible, and Mrs. Xing didn't listen. Instead of listening, she sneered, "Everyone has three rooms and four concubines, so a son with a gray beard can come …", which means there is nothing wrong with having a concubine! She said: "The old lady may not refuse." On the contrary, she blamed Feng and said, "I haven't said anything yet. Please send me a' no' first." After listening to Mrs. Xing, Xifeng knew that Mrs. Xing wouldn't listen and that Mrs. Xing was "left-handed". As we all know, Mrs. Xing is also a confused person. Feng knew that what she had just said was all wrong, so she immediately turned around and changed her temper. She quickly apologized and said something. What did she say? She said, "My wife is absolutely right. How old can you live? What do I know? I want to come to my parents, not to mention a girl, who is such a big baby? " And she gave an example, because Jia Lian is the son of Jia She and Mrs Xing. She said: "When Mr. Lian is at fault, the host and wife are so annoying that they even meet and give him something they love." In other words, the master and wife treat Jia Lian, and parents treat their sons like this. Now the old lady naturally treats her master like this. Look, how well prepared she is to speak! How convincing! So, when Mrs. Xing heard this, she immediately turned anger into joy and immediately became happy. Therefore, the same thing, the same thing, Jia She wants to win Yuanyang, one is positive and the other is negative. In fact, both statements can be reasonable, and there is no trace. So conforming to each other's psychology like this can take a sharp turn. Only Xifeng in A Dream of Red Mansions can do this. Therefore, we say that Xifeng's "machine heart" and the speed at which her machine changes are really amazing.
So when it comes to "machine heart", we will talk about Feng's most famous "machine heart" strategy in A Dream of Red Mansions. That is to say, if you just talk about some ordinary interpersonal relationships and some ordinary contact with your family, if you encounter that incident, you will have a stake. If this harms Feng's dignity and endangers her position, then Feng will use her.
So here, we have to talk about those two famous events: one is called "setting up a lovesickness bureau to fight poison with poison" and the other is called "making a second sister", which is also called "killing people with a small sword". Therefore, I will focus on Xifeng's "machine heart" here, because her advantages over people are not limited to money and power; Mentally, she often maintains the superior position of the strong, which is also an important advantage. So, of course, Gary and Second Sister are two completely different people. These are also two completely different stories. Their deaths are also different in nature, but one thing is similar. That is to say, in the beginning, as far as Feng is concerned, they all had some advantages at first, then they all turned to disadvantages under Feng's direction and finally reached a dead end.
Let's start with Gary. Gary is a male, and he has a crazy desire to flirt with Xi- feng. He started it. He came to provoke it. So this conceit, although an illusion, is also an advantage. Of course, we say that "toads want to eat swan meat", and this advantage is very illusory. Therefore, for Jia Rui, Feng only needs one or two tricks, and with a little deployment, he will put Jia Rui in a cold, hungry, dirty and smelly situation, unable to get in and unwilling to stop. Of course, Gary's death really belongs to a trap; However, this trap was set by Zhang Xifeng. Xifeng's insincere teasing and false promises again and again are completely in line with such a style of play. So, Gary, he took the fake as the real thing, stuck to his own opinions, and was trapped repeatedly, even claiming that "I will come even if I die." Therefore, when Jia Rui died, he once came to Jiafu to ask for ginseng, and Mrs. Wang asked for Feng, who used those whiskers and scraps to prevaricate him so as not to lose everything. So watching Gary die really fulfilled that sentence, because Xifeng said, "When did he die at my hands?" Then she fulfilled this sentence. It should be said that Xifeng was quite conscious of Jia Rui's death. This is the inevitable result of her full grasp of Gary's personality weakness. This round, Xifeng can be said to be a piece of cake, using what she called "extremely beautiful appearance and extremely deep and meticulous planning", which is Leng Zixing's original words, using her advantages to trap Jia Rui in a very vicious acacia bureau.
Then, let's talk about Second Sister You, and let's talk about this "machine heart" of Xifeng in the "Second Sister You Incident". Then compared with Jia Rui, the advantage of You Erjie at that time was not illusory, but it should be said that it was real. Because Jia Lian has married Second Sister You as his second wife, it has become a fait accompli. Besides, I told Second Sister You about Jia Fu and Feng. The young couple live a very rich and beautiful life. So at this time, we have to say that Second Sister You has a comparative advantage over Xifeng, not only in appearance and temper, but also in beauty. Of course, her temper is much more easygoing than that of Xifeng, and she is also very kind to people. Then it's not just that. More importantly, Jia Lian loves it, and Second Sister You has the possibility of giving birth, which Feng can't compare with and Feng can't compare with. Second Sister You may have a son, which is well known to Feng and deeply taboo to her. Therefore, she estimates that "turning defeat into victory" is not an easy task, so she will take pains to retreat and create all kinds of illusions.
In A Dream of Red Mansions, we read that Feng went out in person, undercover Su Gai. This is very particular, because it is filial piety, so she went to Xiaohuazhi Lane as a plainclothes beggar. Look at her words, which are long and full of remorse: "I just want my sister to go in and live with me, with the same rules, to serve my in-laws and to persuade my husband." Joy is joy, sorrow is sorrow, affection is like sisters, and harmony is like flesh and blood. ..... Let my elder sister give me a break in front of Mr. Zhong, and let me sit down ... "Don't say that you treat her like a good person, and she welcomes you in. Even in the Grand View Garden, except for a few clever people, she felt that Feng had indeed reformed, which made her feel very "virtuous". Then this is one aspect, that is, she "earns a second sister."
At the same time, Xifeng had the courage to initiate a lawsuit and instructed Zhang Hua to sue Jia Lian. She said, you can sue our family for rebellion, that is, accuse him of taking advantage of his position to rely on money, force him to break off his marriage, prevent his wife from remarrying, and so on. And pulled Jia Rong out, but also took advantage of this life to make a scene in Ningguo House. He made a scene in Ningguo Mansion, which startled Jia Zhen, the "General Wei Lie", who was not "fierce" but "fierce", and immediately slipped away. Then at this time, You Shi and Jia Rong were kneaded into dough to make amends. Then, in Xifeng's place, yamen is just a puppet in her hand, and the thread is in her hand. Then from the government of Duchayuan, both sides took bribes. Why not? Accepting bribes from Jia Zhen and You Shi, and accepting bribes from Feng, it is not a pleasant thing to "eat the plaintiff and eat the defendant"! Therefore, we say that Xifeng firmly grasped the weakness of Second Sister You, which is called "coquettish running"-a waitress and two husbands. Then firmly grasp Zhang Hua's trump card, unrestrained, unrestrained, relying on the laws of the yamen, relying on family rituals, creating enough public opinion, full of rumors, making the second sister fall into a soft and dark trap, unable to extricate herself, and finally heading for a dead end.
So, it's like fighting. Xifeng knows herself and herself. She is in the light and the other is in the dark. Even if she is temporarily passive, she can make full use of each other's weaknesses, maximize her own advantages, and let things develop along the track she designed.
Then in this process, Xifeng not only has to overcome various external obstacles, but also her own contradictions. For example, she and Jia Lian are legally married, but there is no real love to maintain; For example, she wants to consolidate her position in the family, but she has no children and Xifeng has no sons. For example, she wants to win the reputation of "virtuous", but she can't tolerate Jia Lian marrying a mistress; For example, she wanted to instigate Zhang Hua to complain, instead of letting him sue Jia Fu. What's more, she tried to kill second sister You, but she couldn't show any trace. The so-called "do not show any bad behavior." Think about it, how to overcome external obstacles and self-contradiction, what kind of profound "machine heart" and careful strategy are needed! So this event has shown the world far more than the event itself. Therefore, it is said that "the mechanism is too clever"-this "machine heart" is the highlight of Xifeng, and it is also an internal cause of her final ruin and disaster.
Wang Xifeng is calm, observant and pragmatic. No matter what difficult people or things are, as long as they are handled by her, it will be over soon. This can be seen everywhere in A Dream of Red Mansions. And Wang Xifeng's "difficult hand" is manifested in more cases and more occasions as showing off power and abusing punishment. For herself, she did not hesitate to force her own life, even to kill her.
Wang Xifeng's "cruel hand" does not exist in other people in Jiafu. Similarly, her eloquence is beyond others' appreciation. In the same way, Wang Xifeng can say "three advantages", which shows her superb language skills. As the general manager of Guo Rongfu, Wang Xifeng can deal with all kinds of people inside and outside the house, whether right or wrong, she can handle it with ease, discretion and superciliousness. The humor of her language is unparalleled. The beauty of her humorous things is that her beauty is the so-called "opposite view." She is random, she appears randomly, naturally and often. In her language, there are only a few common sayings, slang and two-part allegorical sayings, which are the essence of spoken English. In Wang Xifeng's character language, Cao Xueqin refined a lot of the essence of this common people's language. This is the only thing in her language. Her personification, narration and romanticization are vivid, which fully shows her intelligence and affinity. Wang Xifeng's language has infinite charm, which not only broadens our horizons, but also broadens our minds.
For Wang Xifeng, the author Cao Xueqin has a very profound and sharp criticism, but he also has an irresistible appreciation, admiring her talent and lamenting her fate. As far as Wang Xifeng is concerned, her talent, her desire and her destiny are like a mirror. This mirror is not only a "romantic treasure" in A Dream of Red Mansions, but also a "life treasure". Its positive side is so radiant, and its negative side is destroyed; If we can look at this "treasure of life" from the character of Rainbow Xifeng, it will play a warning role.