"There are endless lovesickness and blood and tears, and red beans are thrown away. There are endless spring willows and spring flowers filling the painting building."
In "A Dream of Red Mansions", Jia Baoyu, who grew up in a pile of makeup and powder, has a complex and rich emotional world. He seems to have sincere feelings for many female characters. emotions. Although this emotion is not exclusive love in the modern sense, it is more of a spiritual communication and resonance.
From today's perspective, these inexplicable emotional entanglements are also considered by some readers to be a manifestation of Baoyu's lack of single-mindedness. Is he considered a scumbag who "plays with women"? If he were born today, what kind of life would he have? The Paper invites cultural scholar and writer Zhang Yinan to talk about the “second generation rich” Jia Baoyu.
Click on the picture to ask a question
@Netizen Xiao Jie'er: Is a person like Mr. Bao considered a rich second generation who "plays with women" today?
Zhang Yinan: Let’s take stock of Baoyu’s emotional experience:
1. Baoyu has never had sexual relations with any young lady from aristocratic families of the same class, let alone a young mistress. This is a complete victory over Zhang Junrui. Also, worrying about "Who is Baoyu causing trouble with?" is more like the thoughts of people like the Wang family.
2. The relationship between Baoyu and Daiyu can be roughly regarded as what we call love today. Apart from this, he has never been in love with any lady from aristocratic families. There was no word "love" in ancient times. If you look carefully, the relationship between Bao and Dai may not be completely consistent with modern love.
In addition to falling in love, a person may have normal interactions with many members of the opposite sex throughout his life. He may also try to establish a romantic relationship with them, or he may wander off at a certain moment and fantasize about the possibility of some kind of love. These are not considered violations of morality. They are all necessary experiences in life.
Of course, Jia Baoyu did not fall in love with low-class maids or prostitutes. Because of the inequality of status, there was no possibility of being called "love".
3. There is no evidence that Baoyu had relations with prostitutes and actresses. Of course, there may be some, but this was also a normal phenomenon in the society at that time. Baoyu did not cause any scandal with them. There was no such thing as Jia Lian stopping his wife and marrying again, or Xue Pan beating someone to death for taking a concubine.
4. The relationship between Baoyu and Xiren is within the feudal order. The attacker is a female slave in Jia's house, not a "flower or grass" outside, and she was "secretly promised" to Baoyu by Jia's mother.
The relationship between Baoyu and the other maids is unknown, but they are not the "flowers" outside. In the consciousness of the time, maids were not considered human beings, and having a relationship with one's own maid did not violate feudal ethics.
This kind of consciousness is of course inhumane and has been abandoned by us today. I am just saying that in people's consciousness at that time, it was okay to have a relationship with their own maid.
5. Baoyu’s same-sex relationship was tacitly approved by the society at that time. As long as he doesn't want to marry a man. Jiang Yuhan's matter belongs to Prince Zhongshun and is unreasonable. After all, Jiang Yuhan is not the prince's private property. Jia Baoyu offended the majesty of the prince, not the feudal ethics.
I do not intend to say that Jia Baoyu is a model of abiding by feudal ethics (to be honest, it is indeed possible, but I do not intend to praise him), I just say that Cao Xueqin did not portray Baoyu as a "libertine".
If today's men have a relationship with a woman other than their legal wife, no matter how great the gap between the rich and the poor is, their status will be equal, because we no longer have the status of being a lowly member or a maid in feudal society today. Therefore, they This kind of behavior is not very moral. Jia Baoyu has never behaved quite like this.
@大爱无语520: What kind of person would a person like Jia Baoyu be in today’s society?
Zhang Yinan: When I was a child, I was a fool and didn't go to school well, but I had a wide range of knowledge. I was around tenth in the class. I suddenly passed the college entrance examination to Peking University. Then I was different from other Peking University students. When I refused some high-paying jobs, I would The kind of person who claims to have a house in Beijing at home. But from a distance, he is still a "other people's kid" who went to a prestigious school and has a decent job.What I mean is that people who pursue utilitarianism but cannot study well or do good things should not come here to try.
@AhXiaDaXia: Are male characters like Jia Baoyu still popular today? What do he have in common with the male characters in Jin Yong's works?
Zhang Yinan: must be very popular, but it is just difficult to achieve. I guess the Jia Baoyu I know may be very different from the Jia Baoyu you imagine, so I'll just say it as I say.
If we must find something in common, Cao Xueqin is an ancient man, and Jin Yong is an old-school man. The male protagonists in their works are the sustenance of their ideal personalities, so they are all the best traditional Chinese men, that is, the embodiment of gentleman personality.
Of course, he is the incarnation in "Broken Sorrow and Awakening of Dullness", and he is a gentleman who cannot stop himself from expressing himself in any situation of the game.
Whether it is Jia Baoyu or Linghu Chong, they both have absolutely good talents and have received the best care in traditional Chinese society. Therefore, they have a superior mentality and will not be as fussy as Jia Huan or like "Old Pao" Like the character in "My Son" who said "Why can't I hit a woman?" They will take care of the weak and are more likely to have an open-minded attitude. They will naturally respect women, retain a man's most natural admiration for women, and have not been distorted by social pressure. And because of their higher cultural accomplishment, they can do more interesting things. They are all people who value "love" the most.
