1. Storyline
The whole poem can be divided into five parts according to the development of the storyline. The first part (from the beginning to "I will not go from the promise") is about Lanzhi confiding in Zhongqing, revealing the sharp conflict between her and her mother-in-law, and saying that she can't bear it any longer and is willing to be sent back to her mother's home. When Zhongqing pleaded with her mother, she was firmly rejected by her mother, and Lanzhi's departure from the Jiao family was finalized.
The second part (from "the silence of the government officials" to "the love of two") is about Lanzhi's farewell to the Jiao family, and Zhongqing sends her back to the family, and the two of them make a vow when they part.
The third part (from the "entrance to the family hall" to "Yuyu Deng County Gate") is about Lanzhi's return to her mother's home, the magistrate, the governor has sent a proposal of marriage, in the brother's intervention, Lanzhi was forced to accept the marriage of the governor's family, the governor's big event to do the wedding The great thing the Taishou did was to make preparations to welcome him.
The fourth part (from "A mother said a daughter" to "hanging himself from the southeast branch") writes that on the day of the marriage, in the evening, Zhongqing came, Lanzhi, Zhongqing farewell, the two agreed to fight to the death. At night, Lanzhi threw herself into the water and died, and Zhongqing hanged himself.
The fifth part (the last paragraph) writes that the Jiao and Liu families buried Lanzhi and Zhongqing together, and the two of them became lovebirds.
2. Characters
Liu Lanzhi, the heroine, is beautiful, intelligent, hardworking and well-read. At the beginning of the poem, the arrangement of "Thirteen can weave veil, Fourteen learns to tailor clothes, Fifteen plays Konghou, Sixteen recites poems and books ......" immediately makes the reader have this impression of her. As the story unfolds, this impression is constantly enriched and strengthened. For example, "Her fingers are like peeling onion roots, and her mouth is like containing vermilion. Her delicate steps are unparalleled in the world." Her outstanding beauty is demonstrated, and in the following, the magistrate and the governor have sent people to her house to ask for her hand in marriage, which also shows that her beauty is known far and wide. Another example is "the cock crows into the weaving machine, night and day without rest", "three days to break five horses", "morning into an embroidered skirt, evening into a single robe", etc., which shows that she is hardworking and capable. When she said goodbye to Jiao's mother, although she did not complain to her, but finally said, "I'm going home today, and I'm thinking of my mother's labor." When she said goodbye to her sister-in-law, she said, "I'm diligent in raising my grandma, and I'm good at helping each other." Her gentle words showed that she was kind and courteous.
Lanzhi was loyal to her love, and was not moved by glory. Zhongqing sent her home, when they said goodbye, she compared herself to "sewing as silk" of the "bushes and reeds", will be compared to Zhongqing "no transfer" of the rock, as a way to express her loyalty to the heart of love, and later she She did. After returning to her mother's home, the magistrate and the governor's family came to ask for marriage, but they could not move her heart. Finally, in the case of refusing to marry, she defended her love with Zhongqing with her death.
At the same time, Lanzhi also has a very valuable point, that is, she is not lowly, not overbearing, sober-minded, and resolute in action. In the preface of the poem, it is said that she was "sent by Zhongqing's mother", and at the beginning of the poem, it is written that she took the initiative to leave the Jiao family. Of course, she would not let Jiao's mother "send" her back to her mother's house for no reason. It is likely that Jiao's long-standing criticisms made her realize that Jiao did not like her at all, and that no matter how hard she tried, she would not be able to win her heart, or that Jiao's mother's temper has become more and more bad-tempered, and she has already hinted or explicitly said that she would not want to make her her daughter-in-law anymore. However, from the words of Lanzhi's request to Jiao Zhongqing at the beginning of the poem, it seems that it is entirely in the tone of her request to return to her mother's house because she could not bear the unreasonable accusations of Jiao's mother. This is an outburst after a long period of forbearance and obedience, and her words are aggrieved and dissatisfied, yet resolute and strong, without any disguise. Later on, Jiao's mother also said to Zhongqing, "This woman has no manners, and she acts in her own way." Although Jiao's evaluation of Lanzhi is biased, it reveals that Lanzhi is indeed not a lowly and submissive daughter-in-law who is at the mercy of others. When Lanzhi said goodbye to Jiao's mother, she said, "In the past, when I was a daughter, I was born in the wild. I had no lessons to learn, and I am ashamed to be a member of a noble family", which also makes the reader realize that Lanzhi is not a standard daughter-in-law in the feudal era. Later, facing her elder brother's forced marriage, Lanzhi further demonstrates her sober, resolute and unobtrusive character traits. From this point of view, in the gallery of female characters in ancient Chinese literature, the image of Liu Lanzhi is a unique "this one".
Compared with Lanzhi, the character of the hero Jiao Zhongqing is not so richly displayed, and his loyalty to love and his courage to sacrifice himself for love are the most prominent aspects of his character. To his mother's coercion and enticement, he responded firmly, "If I send this woman now, I will not take her again in my old age!" He was pressured by Jiao's mother to send Lanzhi back to her mother's house, something he had no choice but to do according to the social mores of the time. Today's readers can hardly blame him for being weak. Before he hanged himself, his behavior of "wandering under the tree in the courtroom" was in line with his special situation - he was the only son in the family, and there was no one else to whom he could entrust the responsibility of supporting his mother. Therefore, it is not possible to assume that he was weak and indecisive.
Jiao's mother is a prominent antagonist. She is an extremely brutal and unreasonable woman who has no knowledge of or sympathy for the virtues of Lanzhi and the love of Mr. and Mrs. Zhongqing. To Zhongqing, she threatened with evil words for a while: "I mean to harbor wrath for a long time, how can you be free!" "The boy is fearless, how dare he help the woman's words!" A moment is also good words to coax: "East has a virtuous daughter, the name of Qin Luoshi, poor body incomparable, mother for you to seek." The purpose of both soft and hard, is to make Zhongqing dismissed Lanzhi, in addition to the thorn in the side.
The other negative image of Liu brother is rough, tend to inflame the situation. He said to Lanzhi, "Why don't you measure up! First married to a government official, and then married to the groom, or not as heaven and earth, enough to honor your body. If you don't marry a righteous man, what do you want to do with your life?" "Why don't you measure up!" Roughly rebuked, the tone of voice overpowering. "First marry the government official ...... enough to honor your body." Shen Deqian commented on these lines of poetry, "small people but adore the rich and powerful, regardless of propriety and righteousness, really have this tone."
3. The meaning of the story. A young couple who loved each other y were torn apart alive under the obstruction and high pressure of feudal parents, and eventually both gave their lives in defense of their love. This story is easily reminiscent of the four great folk love myths and legends of ancient China: the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden, the Seven Fairies and Dong Yong, the White Snake and Xu Xian, and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The heroes and heroines in these stories are in love with each other and expect to live a happy life together, but they are not easily spared by powerful destructive forces from the outside, which have the so-called "law" and "reason" in their eyes, but not the "love". But these destructive forces have the so-called "law" and "reason" in their eyes, but not "love". The mother of Jiao in "Southeast Flight of the Peacock" is even more incomprehensible, as she is determined to drive her daughter-in-law away because she is not happy with her, and her son's pleas do not move her in the least. In her case, the feudal parent's violation of human nature is exposed. Reading this poem today, the words and deeds of Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing, who were loyal to love and bravely defended pure love, are still shocking.
4. The flavor of folk songs.
Firstly, the poem starts with the peacock losing its spouse and ends with the flight of mandarin ducks, which is a commonly used technique in folk songs to compare couples with beautiful birds.
Secondly, the poem utilizes the technique of setting forth in many places. At the beginning of the poem, Lanzhi said, "Thirteen can weave pigments, fourteen learns to cut clothes. Fifteen played konghou, sixteen recited poems and books, seventeen for the king's wife ......" This is a kind of longitudinal presentation, concise and layered, intended to emphasize that Lanzhi grew up smart, capable, versatile and well-bred, implying that Jiao's mother's irrationality in expelling her daughter-in-law. When Lanzhi leaves Jiao's house, there is also a detailed description: "I embroidered a dress, and I know four or five things. I am wearing an embroidered dress with four or five things on it. I have silk shoes on my feet and a tortoiseshell shell on my head. ...... The delicate steps are unparalleled in the world." Here, Lanzhi's clothes, shoes, jewelry, and posture are written about, which is a kind of horizontal presentation, not only helping to show Lanzhi's rich inner activities of being strong and calm but also being reluctant to give up, but also revealing the creator's heartfelt sympathy for and praise of Lanzhi. Later on, it is written about the procession of welcoming the bride of the governor's family: "The green sparrow and white swan boat, the four-cornered dragon's son streamer, turns gracefully with the wind. ...... From the people of four to five hundred, Yuyudeng county gate." The description of the procession shows the prosperous wealth of the governor's family, and it also implies that Lanzhi is not greedy for glory and wealth, and is loyal to the noble character of her love.
Third, the use of metaphor. "The king as a rock, the concubine as a cattail, the cattail is threaded like silk, the rock does not shift." These words are consistent and coherent with the "vow of heavenly love" above and the "love of two together" below, and can be said to be the parting vow. These words come from Lanzhi's mouth, indicating that her feelings are deep and she will never change her heart. However, when things took a turn for the worse, due to a misunderstanding, Zhongqing reintroduced Lanzhi's vow, but changed it to: "The rock is square and thick, and can be died for a thousand years; the bushel of reeds is threaded for a moment, and then it is made to be used at any time." The two metaphors original **** common points into divergent points, which for the development of the plot and the characterization of the characters, has a great role.
Two Questions
1. Why did Lanzhi dress up carefully when she left Jiao's house? Why didn't she shed tears in front of Jiao's mother, but only in front of her sister-in-law?
Lanzhi got up early in the morning and began to dress up, and the reason for this is that on the one hand, she wanted to show her best image to Zhongqing, so that he would remember her as a reminder of their married life, and on the other hand, she did not want to show her weakness to Jiao's mother, and dressing up elaborately seemed to show her mother that she did not think that she had done anything wrong. The poem says that when she dresses up, she is "all things to all people", which reveals more or less her mixed emotions.
Lanzhi did not shed tears when she said goodbye to Jiao's mother, but said something factual and slightly dissatisfied without being overbearing, and only burst into tears in the face of her sister-in-law, which showed her strength and reason.
2. In many places in the poem, care has been taken to emphasize the sequence of events, which makes the development of the story seem real and natural, and the structure of the poem seem very compact. What are some of the places that are back-and-forth?
The story begins with Lanzhi presenting herself to Zhongqing, saying, "Thirteen can weave vegetation, fourteen learn to tailor, ...... seventeen for the gentleman's wife ......", she was sent back to her mother's home, Liu's mother was greatly shocked, said: "...... thirteen teach you to weave, fourteen can tailor clothes ...... seventeen repatriated you married ......" so do not avoid the Repeatedly again with a string of layered sentences, both with the previous echo, indicating that previously Lanzhi said is not false, but also re-emphasize the innocence of Lanzhi and aggrieved. Later on, when Lanzhi was writing about her wedding clothes, she wrote: "With my left hand, I hold a knife and a ruler, and with my right hand, I hold a damask. It became an embroidered skirt in the morning and a single robe in the evening." These lines emphasize her dexterity, echoing the phrase "Learning to tailor clothes at fourteen".
At the beginning of the story, when Zhongqing begged Jiao's mother for mercy, she said, "...... Dongjia has a virtuous woman, who calls herself Qin Luoshi, and her poor body is incomparable, so I'm going to beg for you." At the end when Zhongqing bade farewell to Jiao mother before he killed himself, Jiao mother said, "...... Dongjia has a virtuous woman, fair and colorful city, A mother for you to seek, will be restored in the morning."
When Lanzhi left Jiao's house, the poem took great pains and used a tone full of admiration to depict her dress, face and physique, which paved the way for the following after Lanzhi's return to her mother's house, where officials and eunuchs came to ask for her hand in marriage.
Zhongqing sent Lanzhi home, and when the two of them said goodbye, Lanzhi said, "Jun as a rock,...... rock without transfer." Later, Zhongqing mistakenly thought that Lanzhi was repeating her vow when she climbed to a higher branch and said, "The rock is square and thick,...... then it will be used as a rock."
On Exercises
I Read the whole poem carefully and discuss the following questions.
1. The poem recounts a tragic story of love. How did this tragedy come about?
2. What is so moving about the image of Liu Lanzhi?
3. Some people think that Jiao Zhongqing has a weak character, do you agree?
The purpose of the question is to understand the storyline of the poem and its ideological significance, and to grasp the character of the main characters.
Reference Answer:
1. Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi were a loving couple, but Jiao's mother could not help but tear them apart; Liu's brother was greedy for riches and forced his sister, Lanzhi, to marry someone else. It was Jiao's mother and Liu's brother who combined their efforts to drive Zhongqing and Lanzhi to the brink of extinction. This story shows the coldness and ruthlessness of the feudal patriarchal system, which has great power.
2. Liu Lanzhi is beautiful, intelligent, hard-working, well-read and well-mannered, clear-headed, resolute, loyal to love, and unmoved by glory. Specific analysis of the "text study".
3. From the text of the narrative, it is difficult to conclude that Jiao Zhongqing character is weak. Specific analysis of the "text study". The evidence that students can find in the poem is limited, and they have only a general understanding of the social customs of the time, so they don't need to spend too much time on the discussion, and the teacher has to pay attention to the guidance and corrections at the right time.
This poem is very good at portraying the different performance of the characters in different situations, such as the government officials, "raised his voice to say that the new wife" and "bowed his head *** whispering" lines, the meaning is largely the same, but can not be interchanged; and in the face of the mother, elder brother's persuasion to marry, Lanzhi to her mother is "the same", "the same", "the same". Lanzhi's mother was "answering with tears" and her brother was "answering with his head tilted up". Try to analyze this. Can you find some other examples from the poem?
The purpose of the question is to pay attention to the nuances of words and to improve the ability to appreciate literature.
Reference Answer:
Jiao Zhongqing (焦仲卿), after pleading with his mother for leniency and being rejected, returned to his room and spoke to Lanzhi (兰芝). Lanzhi still had a glimmer of hope for his plea, so Zhongqing, in order not to irritate her too much, tried to explain the original story as slowly as possible, and made a promise in time. "With this in mind, be careful not to disobey my words" is an earnest exhortation, warm and tender. And "bowed head *** whisper" a few sentences, is Jiao, Liu two people at the intersection of the parting of words. Farewell at the intersection, inevitably can not say more, so Zhongqing picked the most important meaning to speak. In addition, the separation is imminent, the future situation of both sides is unpredictable, therefore, these sentences and the previous sentences, compared to the main meaning to express, but the tone is much more urgent, and there are two "oath". The last line, "I swear that I will not let you down," is a parting vow, which leads to Lanzhi's vow below.
Lanzhi replied to her mother with tears in her eyes, because her mother was able to understand her daughter's heart and agreed with her choice, and she could let her mother know about her inner pain; she replied to her brother with her head tilted up because she knew that her brother would not change his mind so easily. Since she knew that her brother would not change his mind easily, and since she could not fight against him, she had no choice but to listen to him under false pretenses. The woman's mind was made up, and her heart could not wait to ache, but only wanted to get everything over with.
Three Explain the following punctuated words.
1. Then I can go to Bai Gongfu, and send them back in time.
2. I have long cherished the wrath of my will, and will you not be free?
3. Though the government officials want it, it will never be possible to get it back.
4. The poor body is incomparable, and my mother begs for thee.
5. I said goodbye to my sister-in-law, and my tears fell like pearls.
6. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do what I want, but I'm sure I'll be able to do what I need to do.
7. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get out of this world, I'm not going to be able to get out of it.
The purpose of the question is to understand the meaning of the words accurately and to accumulate the commonly used Chinese words.
Reference Answer:
1. Gongmu: father-in-law and mother-in-law, here specifically refers to mother-in-law.
2. free: to make up one's own mind.
3. to: agreement. Drain: he, referring to Jiao Zhongqing.
4. poor: lovely.
5. but: withdraw.
6. disposition: arrangement, treatment.
7. ten million: no matter what.
4 The poem recounts a tragic story, yet brings a bit of brightness to the story by suggesting at the end that the two men, Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi, were transformed into lovebirds. Give some more similar examples from Chinese and foreign literature to illustrate your point of view on this kind of ending.
The intention of the question is to broaden the horizons and deepen the thinking.
Reference Answer:
Similar examples in China include the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden (the two were transformed into constellations in the sky and were able to meet once a year), the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (the two were buried together and transformed into butterflies), and in foreign countries there is the story of Romeo and Juliet (the two were buried together, and the two families they belonged to eliminated their old grudges), and so on. Another example is the ancient Chinese opera works, "Dou E Grievance" of the end of the ghost of Dou E to redress the grievances and revenge, and finally bring one bad guy to justice, "Wutong Rain" of the end of the Tang Minghuang and Yang Guifei reunion in the sky, etc., is also considered to be the end of this type of endings.
The story is tragic from a general point of view, and there are some bright colors at the end. This kind of ending shows people that good emotions or things have a strong power, and although they are suppressed for a while, the victory will be theirs in the end. At the same time, this ending also reflects the hearts of the people, reflecting the good wishes of the people.