To explore the reasons for the spread and development of "Liang Zhu" story, the first question that must be involved is: What is the aesthetic expectation of the receiver for the content of the story?
In the study of the story of Liang Zhu, one view has always been acquiesced by everyone, that is, the story of Liang Zhu has been handed down because it has a strong color of anti-feudal struggle.
It is reasonable to analyze the after-the-fact story of "Liang Zhu" from today's acceptance consciousness and think that this story has anti-feudal cognitive function. But it would be too simple to say that there was a strong anti-feudal struggle from the beginning of the story and that this was the reason for its continuous spread and development. In my opinion, to analyze and evaluate the ideological content of folk literature works and explore the reasons for their spread and development, we must consider their "changing" characteristics. We should start with the analysis of the specific forms of the works in different periods and the aesthetic expectations of the recipients caused by the specific contents of the works.
The spread and development of "Liang Zhu" story can be roughly divided into three stages.
The first stage is from the emergence of this story to the record of Zhang Du in the late Tang Dynasty. The full text of Xuanshizhi is as follows: Yingtai, the daughter of Zhu in Shangyu, pretended to be a male tour scholar and studied under Huiji. Shan Bo has a kind character. Wish you come back first. Two years later, when Shan Bo visited him, he realized that he was a woman and he felt very lost. Tell his parents to apply for a job. I wish I had the word horse. After Shan Bo, Yin Ling died of illness and was buried in the west of the city. I wish Sima, the ship passed the ancient tomb, and the wind and waves could not get in. When I asked about the existence of Sambo's tomb, I climbed the tomb as I wished, and the ground suddenly cracked. Zhu's family was buried together. Xie An, the prime minister of Jin Dynasty, said "the tomb of adopted daughter".
According to it, this story was accepted by feudal rulers, and it was also a model of "righteous wife", so the theme of the story was not anti-feudalism, but to promote "righteousness" in feudal ethics.
The second stage of the spread and development of "Liang Zhu" story is after the Song and Yuan Dynasties and before the Qing Dynasty. Before the Song Dynasty, the story of "Liang Zhu" was mainly spread in the southern areas around Zhejiang, and the main form of spread was narrative stories. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it spread all over the country, as far away as Japan, Korea and other countries, with legends, folk songs, drums, wooden fish books, tanci and various local operas. The content of the story, compared with Xuan Shi's records, has increased a lot, which can be roughly divided into three categories. The first category is consistent with the original plot, such as Jieyi, Send to Zhu Yingtai and Become a Butterfly. The second category is the enrichment of the original plot, such as the details of "women disguised as men". The third category has nothing to do with the original plot, such as Ma Wencai's evil deeds and Liang Shanbo's heroic deeds of saving Yingtai; Ma Wencai Yin Fu complained that Liang Zhu was reunited; With the help of the gods, Liang Zhu rebuilt his career after returning to the sun and became rich and glorious. After many twists and turns, the husband and wife finally came together. The development of the plot reflects the changes in the content of historical life and people's thoughts. The concept here includes both morality and aesthetics. The richness of the plot enhances the artistic charm of the story, and also makes the ideological content of the story more rich and complicated. For example, increase the concept of good and evil and highlight the contrast between good and evil. But on the whole, the ethical thoughts expressed in the story are still nothing more than the "loyalty and filial piety" embodied in the protagonist. It is a festival that Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo share the same bed for three years without losing their virginity; It is righteous for Shanbo to send Yingtai; It is also a festival when Yingtai sincerely makes a promise but does not make any noise, asking Shanbo to "legally get married"; The Ma family applied for the job, and Yingtai also thought it was filial not to disobey their parents' orders. On the way to get married, Yingtai gave her life, not only for filial piety (as soon as the sedan chair went out, she was married according to her parents' orders), but also for filial piety-because it seems that she had promised first and had been in bed for three years. Although there was no reality of husband and wife, according to the women's morality at that time, she was already a wife (Yan was later sentenced to her ex-husband). Judging from the actual plot, the idea of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness expressed in the story content of this period is more obvious and concrete than that in the first stage. This is undoubtedly related to the emergence and development of Neo-Confucianism after the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
The third stage of the spread and development of "Liang Zhu" story is from the Qing Dynasty to the present. From the content point of view, it is mainly through the comprehensive screening of the original plot to re-form a relatively stable plot structure. Its main elements are: (1) British and Taiwan Province women disguised as men to study; (2) Liang Zhu met on the road and became sworn; (3) Studying in Hang Cheng-Liang Zhuri studies in the same class and sleeps in a bed at night; (4) Eighteen gifts: (5) Ma's proposal; (6) Shanbo visited Zhujiazhuang-Shanbo died of illness; (7) Marriage between Yingtai and Taiwan-Sacrifice to become a butterfly. Compared with the second stage, the plot of complaining to Ma's Yin House and resurrection was abandoned, and going to Shanbo grave was changed from unprepared to prepared. The change of story content at this stage reflects the influence of democratic thought in the new era, but it is undeniable that the ethical concept expressed in the story has not changed the tone of "loyalty and filial piety". This is because the development of the main content of Liang Zhu's story has been basically completed in the second stage. So the basic idea of the story must also keep the imprint of that era. Of course, with the changes of the times, the people will have a new understanding of the ideological content of the story while accepting it. Especially after the May 4th Movement, some levels of recipients began to regard Liang Zhu's behavior as "a resolute struggle against feudalism" and Liang Zhu as an anti-feudal hero. This understanding of the receiver is of course understandable, but it is different from the ideological significance of the objective content of the work.
The third stage of the spread and development of "Liang Zhu" story is from the Qing Dynasty to the present. From the content point of view, it is mainly through the comprehensive screening of the original plot to re-form a relatively stable plot structure. Its main elements are: (1) British and Taiwan Province women disguised as men to study; (2) Liang Zhu met on the road and became sworn; (3) Studying in Hang Cheng-Liang Zhuri studies in the same class and sleeps in a bed at night; (4) Eighteen gifts: (5) Ma's proposal; (6) Shanbo visited Zhujiazhuang-Shanbo died of illness; (7) Marriage between Yingtai and Taiwan-Sacrifice to become a butterfly. Compared with the second stage, the plot of complaining to Ma's Yin House and resurrection was abandoned, and going to Shanbo grave was changed from unprepared to prepared. The change of story content at this stage reflects the influence of democratic thought in the new era, but it is undeniable that the ethical concept expressed in the story has not changed the tone of "loyalty and filial piety". This is because the development of the main content of Liang Zhu's story has been basically completed in the second stage. So the basic idea of the story must also keep the imprint of that era. Of course, with the changes of the times, the people will have a new understanding of the ideological content of the story while accepting it. Especially after the May 4th Movement, some recipients began to regard Liang Zhu's behavior as a "resolute struggle against feudalism" and Liang Zhu as an anti-feudal hero. This understanding of the receiver is of course understandable, but it is different from the ideological significance of the objective content of the work.
The above generally reviews the development and changes of the story content of Liang Zhu. It can be seen that the content of the story causes aesthetic expectation, that is, the direct reason for the spread and development of the story is not because the ideological significance of the story is "strong anti-feudalism", but because of the strange plot in the story and the unfortunate fate of the protagonist-that is, the formal beauty shown by the specific artistic image in the story content. Here, we do not completely deny the influence of ideological significance on communication and development, because ideological significance also belongs to the category of aesthetic objects. But we must admit two points: first, the ideological meaning of the story is restricted by the specific content of the story, which changes with the development of the story content. If we consider the mutual influence of "two cultures", it will be more complicated, so we can't say that some ideological significance is the reason for the long-term spread and development of a folk story; Secondly, judging from the process of aesthetic activities, when a story is put in front of the receiver, he first produces aesthetic curiosity, that is, aesthetic expectation, and first exerts the function of discovery. The receiver is always attracted by the specific image depicted in the story before understanding it, and this understanding is different among different receivers. Therefore, the role of ideological significance in aesthetic activities has a potential and indirect effect on the spread and development of stories.
Does this analysis belittle the social value of the story of Liang Zhu? I don't think there is a question of belittling or not. In a class society, the thoughts of the ruling class are the dominant thoughts, and the ethics as its spiritual pillar also dominate the thoughts of the whole society. Therefore, when people accept and create folk stories, although they always have their own understanding and always want to express their feelings and ideals, their moral thoughts can't be too far away from the norms at that time (we haven't considered the complexity of China's traditional morality here). In Dana's words, we have to be restricted by the "spiritual climate" of the society at that time. This is a historical reality. However, the social value of "Liang Zhu" story will not be devalued. Because a pair of young men and women who were morally affirmed by the ruling class at that time suffered such an unfortunate fate, it itself reflected the profound contradiction between feudalism and the people's demand for justice. Although this kind of reflection is emotional, it only shows a historical confusion at that time, but under certain conditions, it can arouse people's doubts about the rationality of feudal morality; Today, it provides a vivid and vivid material for us to understand the feudal society. With these two points, the story has its due social value. If we put aside the relationship between history and the specific content of the story and aesthetic activities, it is impossible to find the real reason for the spread and development of this story and make an objective evaluation of the work.
Secondly, we should pay attention to the aesthetic characteristics and value of the specific content of the story.
The specific content of a story refers to the people, things, events and details that make up the plot. The specific content is the "material undertaker" of the story's ideological significance, and it is also the "material undertaker" of the story as an aesthetic object. What are the aesthetic features of the specific content of "Liang Zhu" story, whether it can arouse aesthetic expectation, whether it has aesthetic value, or the size of aesthetic value will directly affect its fate. For more than 1000 years, the story of "butterfly lovers" has been circulated. The main reason is that the specific content of the story has high aesthetic value-its specific forms at various stages of development can reflect the aesthetic taste and ideals of the broad masses of the people. Therefore, for individuals or some recipients, the aesthetic vision provided by the story can not only meet the original aesthetic expectations of the recipients, but also provide them with a new aesthetic vision. The aesthetic value of the story of Liang Zhu is reflected by the aesthetic features of the specific content. Taking the basic plot elements in the mature stage of the story as the object, its aesthetic characteristics are mainly manifested in the following two points:
First, the beauty of the object. The beauty of objects is not only reflected in the beauty of characters, but also in the beauty of natural scenery.
Liang Shanbo is a young scholar, knowledgeable, studious, handsome, honest and simple. For three years, he and Zhu Yingtai studied in the same class every day and slept in the same bed at night, but he didn't know Yingtai was a woman. Its simplicity is so simple that it is undoubtedly a beautiful image for those noble, upright, gentle, respectful and thrifty people in China. Zhu Yingtai is a beautiful girl. She is smart and lively, but she has no deviant behavior. She is eager for knowledge, affectionate and chaste; She is filial and upright, gentle and strong. Zhu Yingtai is an ideal model of young women in ancient people's minds. The beauty and brilliance of this character is undoubtedly an important factor in the aesthetic expectation of the story content and the most important part of the aesthetic value of the story.
As a concrete aesthetic object, the natural scenery in the story of Liang Zhu is also very beautiful. Jiangnan scenery, Hang Cheng scenic spots, Shili Friendship, Jianggu Temple, White Goose and Yuanyang ... all these are beautiful displays, giving people beautiful enjoyment. "The wind and waves can't get in, the ground sinks and the grave cracks" is "ugly" in a sense, but "butterfly Qi Fei"-in an instant, a stroke of genius turned "ugly" into beauty. The beauty of natural scenery sets off the beauty of characters, improves the aesthetic value of the story, and also improves the aesthetic vision of the story.
It is worth noting that as a tragedy, the story of butterfly lovers presents a beautiful form, which is not based on "fear" or "tragedy", but on beauty. It doesn't have the desert wilderness and the bones of the Great Wall in Meng Jiangnv, the flowing water and sword shadow in White Snake, and the naked violence of the Queen Mother in Cowherd and Weaver Girl. It has a large number of spring breeze willows, scholars and girls, lingering and gentle. This beautiful form; It not only reflects the geographical environment characteristics of the Liang Zhu story, but also reflects the aesthetic psychological characteristics of the people in the south of the Yangtze River. This is also an important reason why the story of "Liang Zhu" is more easily accepted, spread and developed in the south of the Yangtze River.
Second, the object of kit kat. Another aesthetic feature of the specific content of the story of Butterfly Lovers is its originality. It is strange for Zhu Yingtai to dress up as a woman, and it is even more strange to get along with Shanbo for three years without being seen through; Liang Zhu met on the road. Coincidentally, Jin Lan fell in love at first sight and got married. At the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Yingtai was "holding things to show ambition" and promised each other with heart, while Liang Shanbo was "stupid", which was also very strange. It's unfortunate that Shanbo's trip to Zhujiazhuang was delayed, but it happened that during this delayed time, China, Britain and Taiwan were allowed to be martyred-unfortunately and coincidentally; Finally, when Yingtai arrived at Liang Fen's place on the way to get married, it was even more bizarre and ingenious that "the wind and waves could not enter" and "the ground broke into the grave", leading to the departure of "Liang Zhu become a butterfly". Modern psychology has proved that strange things can give people fresh stimulation, especially attract people's attention. In aesthetic activities, the ingenuity of aesthetic objects is often the direct cause of aesthetic curiosity, that is, aesthetic expectation. As the saying goes, "there is no wonder, there is no wonder" and "there is no wonder", which is about the important role of ingenuity in artistic creation and aesthetic activities. For folk stories, if Kiki's content itself has high aesthetic value, then it will become the main reason for the spread and development of stories-because the more bizarre and ingenious the beautiful things are, the more they can spread; The more popular, the stranger, the more skillful and the more beautiful.
The story of "Liang Zhu" has been accepted by many art forms (such as drum words, legends, wooden fish books, folk songs, various local operas, movies, etc.). ) in the process of its spread and development. The influence of these art forms on the story is also a reason for the spread and development of the story. If the aesthetic characteristics and value of the content are the internal reasons for the development of story communication, then the influence of various art forms on the story is the "external reasons" for the development of story communication. The influence of various art forms on the story is mainly manifested in the following three aspects:
First, enrich the content of the story. Although the story of "Liang Zhu" has constituted the core plot of Historical Records of Xuan Shi, it is only the skeleton of a narrative story, which is relatively rough. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the story of "butterfly lovers" was widely spread throughout the country and was accepted by many art forms, which greatly changed the content of the story. Because all kinds of art forms accept the story of Liang Zhu, it is not a simple transformation of art forms, but is inevitably accompanied by the re-creation of content. It only accepts the basic content of the story. In order to adapt to the performance characteristics of this art form, it must adjust and process the story content and add many details and plots. Among them, the feelings, ideals, aesthetics and social environment of the re-creator must be added. As many art forms accept this story, it will be processed and recreated many times. The development and change of story content has its profound social reasons, but we can't ignore the influence of the change of artistic form on the content. It should be said that the great change of story content in the transformation of art form is incomparable to the gradual change of a single art form in circulation. This can be proved by a comparative study of the content differences of "Liang Zhu" stories with different artistic forms in the same period and the same region. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, various artistic forms of "Liang Zhu" stories have their own unique plot structure, and many new things have been added to the content, thus forming a large number of "different essays" with different forms and different contents. And these "different languages" further influence and complement each other in the cycle. In this way, the story of butterfly lovers has become richer and more vivid, which is more suitable for the aesthetic needs of people from all walks of life and regions, and will inevitably promote the further spread and development of the story.
Second, it increases the aesthetic value of the story. The aesthetic value of Liang Zhu's story mainly depends on the content of the story. However, all kinds of art forms have their own unique formal beauty, such as the language and rhythm of folk songs, the singing and acting skills of Yue Opera, and the comprehensive artistic means of movies, all of which have their own aesthetic value. The story of Liang Zhu is a combination of various art forms, which complement each other, because people appreciate the beauty of art forms and content. The formal beauty strengthens people's aesthetic concern for the content and actually increases the aesthetic value of the story. For example, the story of "Liang Zhu" continues to spread in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and Liang Zhu's beautiful image in the eyes of the people is undoubtedly related to the successful adaptation and performance of the story of "Liang Zhu" by Yue Opera.
Third, the circulation scope has been expanded and the circulation speed has been accelerated. Various art forms, especially those that are influential and popular, such as storytelling and local operas, often coincide with the aesthetic psychology, aesthetic taste, personality characteristics and language habits of local people. Therefore, they are always popular art forms in a certain area. Once the story of butterfly lovers is accepted by an art form, it will change the slow situation when it is circulated as a narrative story, from a "natural" circulation form handed down by an individual to an "artificial" circulation form that the performer actively spreads to a group of people, which quickly expands the circulation scope and will inevitably further affect the continued circulation and development of the story.
The influence of the above art forms on the story itself is also the result of the spread and development of Liang Zhu's story, but from the relationship between form and content, they are also the reasons that affect the spread and development of the story. Although it is an "external cause", it is also a cause that cannot be ignored.