Lu's couplet "Ode to Snow" is a scene specially arranged by Cao Xueqin, and it is also the climax of Cao Xueqin's poetry art exhibition. Other characters, including Daiyu and Xiangyun, are sparring for Baoqin.
First, Daiyu and Xiangyun sparring for Baoqin.
Xiangling had a brainwave in her dream. She had just finished writing the well-known poem "Why Don't We Say Goodbye", and Jia's relatives, Bao Qin,,, Xing Xiuyan, and so on, defected in succession. A few days later, it happened that there was a heavy snow.
A Dream of Red Mansions is a masterpiece of poetry. Therefore, it is difficult for Cao Xueqin not to chant snow. Xue Luan's couplet "Singing Snow on the Spot" involves Baoyu and ten talented women; There are twelve people, including Feng. They are: Feng, Wan, Baoyu, Tan, Chai, Xiang, Dai, Qin, Wen and Qi; And Xiangling and Xing Xiuyan.
Cao Xueqin's writing skills will never forget others when describing a person; But there will be priorities. Cao Xueqin's writing skills will not write stories that violate his character temperament at will.
Lu recited the snow couplet, and he asked Yingchun and Xichun to avoid it in advance: Xichun asked for leave to paint in the Grand View Garden, but Yingchun could not come because of illness.
Because their temperament is a kind of cowardice and indisputable, a kind of precocity and detachment; Their characters are incompatible with the ideological theme that Cao Xueqin wants to express in Lu Yong Xue Lian.
On her first day in Ann, Li Wan mentioned the significance of writing poems and setting up clubs. Baochai said something to Xiangyun and Xiangling: I only saw you talking about poetry in the morning. How can it be gloomy and Wei Suzhou elegant? How can it be secluded? But there are two ready-made poets who don't know how to deal with those dead people.
The two poets mentioned by Baochai mean that Xiangling's heart is bitter and Xiangyun's words are crazy.
Xiangling's poem is particularly bitter, in fact, because it comes from true feelings; Why not reunite forever is her inner cry. Xiang Yun is obviously just a sparring partner.
After that sentence, Daiyu also said to Xiangyun: I won't wait on you until you can finish the second rhyme; See what you have left to chew. Xiang Yun's poems, in Chai Dai's eyes, are all words and gossip.
But this is the advantage of Xiangyun; She has no intention of hiding traitors, and it is just right to practice for Baoqin. With Daiyu's temper, she usually doesn't practice sparring for others. Unexpectedly, when Baoqin came to Fu Rong, Daiyu was not jealous, but as Baoyu expected, she valued Baoqin more than her own sister.
Therefore, Daiyu really came to practice for Baoqin this time.
In the whole process of couplets, whether it is the first couplet or the second couplet, Baoqin's poems are always next to Daiyu and Xiangyun. Among them, only Baoyu received a sentence from Daiyu, "Cooking taro is a new reward", and left the first half of the couplet: "Sprinkling salt is an old proverb. Weeds are still being fished, "; Because Shi Xiangyun didn't have time to pick up Baoyu, Baoqin took Baoyu's sentence, "The axe doesn't smell wood."
The original classic of "Cooking Taro into a New Pay" recited by Daiyu refers to the story of Su Dongpo's youngest son, Su Guo, cooking corn porridge with sweet potatoes; Su Dongpo tasted sweet potato corn grits porridge and thought it was delicious. He also wrote a poem:
The smell is like dragon saliva, but it is still white and tastes clearer like milk.
Don't treat Beihai with gold, which is lighter than Dongpo jade.
Boiled jade nang soup mixed with sweet potato, delicious, white as snow; The reason why Daiyu said "new reward" means taking pleasure in suffering: cooking porridge and mixing sweet potatoes to survive the famine in winter snow and cold days.
Baoyu's book "Sprinkling salt is an old ballad" published "A New Story of the World": Xie An and his family commented on the poem "Appreciating Snow" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Xie An's nephew Xie Lang began to say: Sprinkling salt in the air can be imitated; He compared snowflakes to white salt. Xie Daowen, Xie An's niece, said: If catkins are not due to the wind; She compared snowflakes to catkins flying all over the sky, which seemed more vivid.
Praise Xie Daowen's chanting talent, that is, out of this code.
Daiyu's original classic is to eat delicious food skillfully, and Baoyu's old ballad is to enjoy snow, which has nothing to do with the suffering of war; So Xiangyun called them useless. Xiangyun means: If this continues, it will be beside the point.
Everyone in the Grand View Garden knows that Baoyu's temperament is * * * worrying and making much ado about nothing, but his couplets have the effect of calming the nerves. In the whole process of couplets, except for Baoyu's sudden insertion of a couplet, Baoqin, Daiyu and Xiangyun are all docked up and down.
Baochai's function and significance are enlightening, but there are not many associations. What I have said above is particularly important for understanding the theme and figurative significance of Lu's Snow Scene Couplet.
Second, the play of joint sentences
Here, let's briefly talk about arrangement and couplets. Couplets are poems written by many people, two of whom are called couplets and many are called couplets; More people will be more interesting. The form of conjunctions is like solitaire, but the requirements are higher and more complicated.
Couplets are usually arranged in rhythm, which is not much different from metrical poems: the requirements of the first couplet and the last couplet remain unchanged, such as the infinite continuation of parallel couplets and neck couplets; Until the rhyme is used up, or it can be reused occasionally.
First of all, conjunctions have titles and rhymes. The first sentence of the first couplet was written by one person, and then the first couplet was completed by another person. At the same time, this person has to leave the first half of the second couplet; The first league doesn't need confrontation.
Next, others will complete the second link; At the same time, this person leaves the first half of the third sentence to others to connect. Seek the second confrontation. This cycle, staggered. Until the rhyme is over.
The first sentence of the joint sentence needs to be broken. Unexpectedly, a night with a tight north wind started with an illiterate Xifeng, which met the requirements. It is very important to break the topic, which is related to the connotation and style of the joint sentence; Li Wan, as the eldest sister, opened the door, and the snow was still falling, and it was still getting better.
The artistic conception of the following conjunctions should follow the meaning of "the north wind blows straight all night, open the door and see the heavy snow" Everyone gave Xifeng a very high evaluation: although this sentence is rough, it is the way to write poetry; Not only is it good, but it also leaves countless points for future generations.
As a matter of fact, conjunctions originated from the upper social culture, and have a long history. Its essence is similar to stereotyped writing and regular poetry, and it is just a word game.
Strictly speaking, this word game is not a real literary creation, but a funny joke. But although it is a word game, it really needs some knowledge and efforts to play tricks and levels. Cao Xueqin betrothed this occasion and beautiful scenery to Xue Baoqin, which had its own painstaking efforts.
Third, the arrangement of wearing and cooperation
According to the above theory, only the conjunctions of Daiyu, Xiangyun and Baoqin are made into a set of arrangement rules-the three of them are also next to each other; By the way, put Baoyu's useless couplets in and see if there are any new discoveries.
Feng: The north wind blew all night. Wan: Open the door, and the snow is still floating. (Feng Wan's first couplet)
Item: musk coal smoked Baoding, Qin: sleeve cage gold mink.
Jean: the lamp steals the mirror, and Dai: incense sticks to the wall pepper.
Xiang: the wild shore is lonely, and Qin: the whip refers to the bridge.
Qin: Give Qiu pity and care. Item: Add some words to read.
Dai: Cooking taro is a new reward, Yu: Sprinkling salt is an old saying. (Deborah holds up)
Jade: reeds still fish, Qin: forest axes don't smell wood. (Qin Yu holds up)
Qin: Like a thousand peaks protruding, the snake is far away.
Xiang: Who asked when you were lying stiff? Qin: Walking around like a guest.
Qin: the cat broke the belt, and the item: Haicheng lost.
Qin: The ice cubes for making tea are boiling. Item: It is difficult to burn the leaves when shochu is made.
Dai: You don't need a broom, the monk sweeps the mountain, and the piano: the child who buries the piano chooses.
Qin: The moon cave turns over the silver wave, and the item: the red flag is hidden in the lower city.
Qin: It's still a wet mandarin duck belt. Item: When the jade becomes warped.
Dai: There is still a pulse without wind. Qin: It doesn't rain if it rains.
Wan: If you want to be happy today, Qi: I wish Shunyao with a poem. (Wan Qi William)
Let's first look at the cultural allusions related to the couplets of Daiyu, Xiangyun, Baoqin and Baoyu.
The poems adopted by several people are related to the poetic allusions of poets Xie An, Wei, Li Shangyin, Liu Zongyuan, Wang Anshi, Su Shi and Yang Wanli in Wei, Jin, Tang and Song Dynasties, and also related to the cultural allusions of people in relevant times.
Musk coal, a poem from Han Wo, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, and Yang Wanli, a poet at the turn of the Song Dynasty.
Han Wo, a famous poet in the late Tang Dynasty, was the nephew and son-in-law of Li Shangyin. After many coups in the late Tang Dynasty. Yang Wanli experienced the transformation of the Song Dynasty, and as an important figure in the cultural hub of the Southern Song Dynasty, he led the cultural innovation in the early Southern Song Dynasty. He opposed gold and surrender all his life.
Baoding, on the surface, is a big incense burner for sacrifice, representing the political power; It is also a title for Dongwu in the era of the split and confrontation between the North and the South of the Three Kingdoms.
The historical figure associated with Baoyu's phrase "A reed still catches fish" refers to Liu Zongyuan, a reformer in the late Tang Dynasty, whose poems are based on his five-character poem Jiang Xue.
Like a thousand peaks protruding, snakes are far away.
In a word, especially from the connotation and implication of Xiangyun Baoqin couplets, the tone of the whole law has set off an era of change that seems to be still in war.
After reading the arrangement of the couplets composed by Baoqin, Daiyu and Xiangyun, the first feeling is that all the poems have nothing to do with the snow scene except "crouching like a thousand peaks, winding a snake all the way"; But this is related to the metaphor of the night when the north wind is tight at the beginning of Xifeng, and also to the social events implied by Li Qi's last sentence.
However, Bao Qin and Xiangyun's description of the snow scene, "like a thousand peaks, meandering thousands of miles", is not a simple description of the scenery; How magnificent. Translated into vernacular is:
Looking forward to the snowy areas of China, thousands of peaks are like crawling elephants; River valleys and streams, like snakes and dragons, are connected with the white mountains and lead to the distance.
After reading these two sentences, I think that Li Wan and today want to have fun and wish Shunyao with poetry, which is very admirable. The women in the Red Chamber have extraordinary love sentiments and excellent humanistic feelings. But this set of arrangement rules was clearly written by Cao Xueqin, and this is Cao Xueqin's real mind.
Cao Xueqin, on the other hand, endowed Xue Baoqin, the goddess in her works, with such a mind of devouring rivers and mountains. So what is Baoqin's life experience that deserves his admiration and special love?
Fourthly, Dai arranged the vernacular translation.
In order to fully understand the connotation of this line, the theme of chanting snow is translated into vernacular as follows, and other special meanings will be broken down later.
The sudden north wind roared all night, and the heavy snow was still flying when the door was opened early. (Feng Wan's first couplet)
Your family has been warming up since the Sanding furnace was lit, and your hands are locked in mink sleeves to keep out the cold.
Snow is whiter than the mirror light in front of the window, and snowflakes inadvertently stained the pepper fragrance on the wall.
The barren stream is alone on the shore, and the poet beyond the Great Wall mourns the willow like snow.
Who pity the border guards for sending clothes and furs and adding anti-freezing cotton to their shirts?
It is fresh to cook porridge with sweet potatoes in cold winter, and it is also luxurious to sprinkle some white salt. (filling)
Fishermen in reeds fish alone, and woodcutters can't hear the sound of logging in the forest. (filling)
The mountains on the earth crawl like elephants, and rivers lead into the distance like snakes.
Who will sympathize with the poor people who are frozen and hungry in bed? Businessmen who go hiking like to treat people to drinks in restaurants.
Snowflakes cut ribbons in the sky like looms and throw white gauze like mermaids.
Snow water for making tea can only be boiled slowly, and wet firewood leaves for cooking wine are really difficult to burn.
Monks sweep snow thicker than brooms, and teenagers brush frozen flowers on strings.
Heavy snow pours down the earth like moonlight, and the beautiful city can't see the scarlet sign.
Snow beads are wet with golden honeymoons, and they are still condensed on the top of the Hosta.
It is still snowing when there is no wind, although it is still raining.
How to record today's interest in enjoying the snow and write poems wishing the world peace? (Wan Qi William)
Obviously, if the couplets of Baoqin, Daiyu and Xiangyun are read together, it is actually an excellent poem that expresses emotion with snow and cherishes the world.
Looking back at the information conveyed by the artistic conception of the poem, the author began to publicize and render the noble temperament of Baoqin, which shows that her thoughts and feelings have reached an unprecedented lofty position. So, why does Baoqin behave so shabby in the details of life?
Recalling the detailed descriptions of Bao Qin, Wen Li, Li Qi and Xing Xiuyan when they first entered Fu Rong, the author said that Xiuyan, Wen Li and Li Qi went north to visit relatives together. Even, Xing Xiuyan came to ask Mrs. Xing to help them manage the house and help them pay for the trip.
These descriptions imply that they are quite poor in escape.
The purpose of visiting Tourong Mansion is obviously to find a temporary shelter. And Baoqin hurried north, didn't he say that he married Mei Hanlin's son? Now, do you still believe it? Let's put aside the question about Baoqin's life and wait until we finish solving her ten homesick poems.
Tang Dou prodigal son's "The Prodigal Son Tells the Red Chamber": Qin Xue, on Baoqin.