What is the biggest feature of this book? I hope I can give you a minimalist cognitive framework, so that you can quickly grasp the core idea of A Dream of Red Mansions.
In this framework, you only need to remember two key words: "empty evidence" and "emotional evidence". "Zheng" is the proof of verification, which means "enlightenment" and "enlightenment" here. "Emptiness" is often said in Buddhism, and emotion is our common emotional feeling.
Next, I will tell you in detail why only by understanding the "empty evidence" and "emotional evidence" can we really understand A Dream of Red Mansions.
1. What is an "empty certificate"?
Let's look at the "empty certificate" first.
To say "empty certificate", I want to ask you a question first. Why is A Dream of Red Mansions called A Dream of Red Mansions?
The word "Dream of Red Mansions" is easier to be remembered as "Red Mansion", but in fact the literal meaning of this word is "dream".
In China culture, "dream" is an ancient image. Tracing back to the source, there are Zhou Gongmeng and Zhuang Zhoumeng Butterfly, one from Confucianism and the other from Taoism. But the word "dream" in A Dream of Red Mansions comes from Buddhism.
As a Buddhist symbol, "dream" represents the core concept of "emptiness" in Mahayana Buddhism. But the concept of "emptiness" is too abstract for everyone and ordinary people. Therefore, Sakyamuni specially set up ten metaphors to illustrate what "emptiness" is. These ten metaphors are as follows: fantasy, flame, dream, shadow, moon in water, image in mirror, vanity, sound, melting, woman's city. Together, it is called "Prajna Ten Metaphors".
Whether it's dreams, hallucinations, flames, sounds, shadows, etc. , are short-lived natural phenomena, fleeting. The Buddha said that this is emptiness, and nothing in the world can jump out of this law.
Do you know that?/You know what? Do you know that?/You know what? These ten metaphors are all adopted by the author of A Dream of Red Mansions, and most of them appear as metaphors of the fate of twelve women in Jinling. For example, Jia Yuanchun is a "firecracker"-like a ring; Xiangling is a kind of "fireworks" like a flame. The core "like a dream" was directly used by the author in the title of the book. This is a dream of red mansions, which can be said to be the beginning of the story.
In fact, in the text of A Dream of Red Mansions, the theme of "proving emptiness" and the metaphor of "emptiness" are everywhere.
For example. Have you noticed that the plant "banana" appears very frequently in A Dream of Red Mansions, especially in the Grand View Garden?
Jia Baoyu's Hongyi Academy has plantains, Daiyu's Xiaoxiang Pavilion, and Tanchun's Autumn Frost Studio also has plantains.
Why is this?
What does a banana look like? Its plants are tall and lush, but if you peel it off piece by piece, what will be left in the end? In fact, nothing is left because its center is empty.
The most typical expression of banana taro hole is the theory of great wisdom in Buddhist poems:
All methods are like bananas, and everything comes from the heart.
Knowing the law without reality is empty.
You see, in A Dream of Red Mansions, the high-frequency appearance of banana, like the aforementioned "Prajna Ten Metaphors", is to show that everything can't escape the ending of "returning to the air".
But the author didn't deal with it in a rough and conceptual way, just planting bananas in the yard of the core figure. In order to strengthen the theme of "proving emptiness", he set up the symbol of "emptiness" around the core role.
Such as Lin Daiyu. Daiyu's personal servant girl from childhood was called Xueyan. What does snow goose mean? The geese flew in, accidentally stayed in the thick snow, leaving paw prints, and then the geese flew away and the snow melted. What is left in the end? No trace, nothing. That's what the idiom "snow with claws" means.
In short, the Jia family rose and fell for a hundred years, from flowers and brocade, cooking oil with fire, to hibiscus like a building; In fact, the theme of Twelve Women in Jinling has not been revealed from its youth and beauty to its decline.
Therefore, I often say that it is impossible to understand A Dream of Red Mansions without reading the layer of "empty evidence".
2. What is "evidence"?
But if you only look at the "empty certificate", you can only look at 40% of A Dream of Red Mansions.
Because it also has a core theme: evidence.
To say "evidence", let's start with a question that "red fans" pay the highest attention to. Who is the heroine of A Dream of Red Mansions? Is it Lin Daiyu or Xue Baochai?
Just talking about the charm of the role, in fact, Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu are equally divided. In the reader's mind, it is also different.
However, if we trace back to the spirit of A Dream of Red Mansions and the author's creative intention, there was only one heroine, Lin Daiyu, from the beginning.
Why do you say that?
Because the core of the story of a dream of red mansions is love, and the core of love is the marriage of Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu.
In order to let you know what kind of love Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu had, the author gave them a symbolic antecedent, that is, a crimson pearl fairy was cultivated by a waiter in Shen Ying. This is the so-called "grace of education". Without Shen Ying Walter, there would be no crimson pearl fairy. Therefore, she will go to the world of mortals with the waiter in Shen Ying to repay her tears for life. Only in this way can the theme of "evidence of love" be established, because this is a life-and-death love, and this is the true feelings that the author of The Red Chamber wants to explore.
So, do you understand now? The two protagonists in the "testimony" must be the crimson pearl fairy and Shen Ying's attendant, namely Baoyu and Daiyu. Even if Xue Baochai's role is perfectly shaped, the golden marriage is only an auxiliary line in the evidence proposition.
Then push the theme of "evidence" one step further. Perhaps to your surprise, the core theme of A Dream of Red Mansions is much broader than the love between men and women. In fact, the author of The Red Chamber should use the topic of "love" to return to the ontology of "love" in China culture. Is to have feelings for others, for everything, for the world.
To understand this, let me first show you the relationship between Jia Baoyu and Confucianism.
What can Jia Baoyu have to do with Confucianism? You may find it a little strange that Jia Baoyu is probably the most eccentric figure in the whole Dream of Red Mansions, and it is also the least likely to be associated with Confucianism.
For example, many people know a famous plot in A Dream of Red Mansions: Baoyu hates being advised to study, take the imperial examination and be an official. Baochai and Xiangyun touched the bottom line of this value, which led Baoyu to say with resentment and regret: "A clean and white daughter has also learned to seek fame and gain fame, and has entered the stream of thieves and ghosts ... what a virtue of Zhong Ling!" In a rage, he even burned all the books except four.
But is Baoyu really incompatible with Confucianism?
Don't worry, I'll show you an interesting detail in the story.
A maid named Ouguan secretly burned paper in the Grand View Garden to pay homage to her dead friend. This violates the regulations of the Grand View Garden, and lotus root officials will be punished.
Baoyu happened to see what happened and saved her. Later Baoyu asked Fang Guan to tell her not to burn paper money again. These forms are the crooked ways of later generations, not the teachings of Confucius. If she really wants to pay homage to her friends, she doesn't have to stick to the form. A bowl of water and a cup of fragrant tea is enough. The key is sincerity.
That would be fun. Obviously, Baoyu has the status of Confucius in his heart. In the eyes of others, Baoyu is eccentric. But in fact, he belongs to the kind of person who regards the true spirit of Confucianism as a treasure from the heart. Did you notice him burning books? The only thing he didn't burn was the Four Books, which are the fundamental classics of Confucianism.
What are the characteristics of Confucianism? It is "deep affection"!
The core of Confucianism is "benevolence", and the benevolent loves others. Without true feelings and affection, what can you love? ! A true Confucian is a person who has sincere feelings for others, everything and the world.
Liang Qichao, a modern scholar, said that true Confucian scholars are "lovers", which is really amazing. Liang Qichao's so-called "lover" does not refer to the current love expert with ironic context, but refers to the "lover of society" and "the person in charge of life". So the deep affection of Confucianism is not a little affection and love, but the love of the whole world and the whole nation.
3. Everything is empty and there is no love.
Let's separate "empty evidence" from "emotional evidence" and then look at it together. A Dream of Red Mansions is neither empty nor lonely. Only by combining the two can the theme of The Red Chamber be complete.
I have refined this sentence for you: "Everything is empty, don't give up my feelings."
I think what the author of The Red Chamber wants to say is that "emptiness" is the fundamental law of the universe, and everything in the world is just a bad emptiness. Therefore, love is the fulcrum of life, it will inject meaning into life, and "awareness" is the fundamental belief of life. No matter when, where and what circumstances, the meaning of life lies in "not changing deep feelings"
The author of The Red Chamber witnessed the end of the dream, and everything was empty, but he still remembered the beauty of life with tears and smiles. Most importantly, he still believes in the beauty of life.
Having said that, I just want to talk about my initial intention of studying A Dream of Red Mansions.
I hope I can take you to understand this book from the perspective of cosmic life. Let A Dream of Red Mansions become the book of our life and the pillow book of every China person's life, and let it tell us how to face the ups and downs of the world and how to settle down.
Welcome to open the book Dong Mei's Lecture Notes on a Dream of Red Mansions. Through the framework extracted from this book, you can open the door of the "red building" and enter the grand view garden of the text. There, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that more fascinating doors of China culture will open for you.