abstract
The long narrative poem Peacock Flying Southeast (formerly known as "Ancient Poems for Wife") represents the highest artistic achievement of folk songs in Han Yuefu, and is a peak in the development of realistic poetry in the history of China literature. The family tragedy of double suicide of Liu and Jiao is very typical, and their deaths have always been sympathized and praised by people. The author tries to explore several crucial plots in the story, such as "repatriation", "marriage proposal" and "burial together", to further think about the root of the tragedy of Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing, and to reveal a common social problem in feudal society: under the feudal patriarchal clan system, the absolute tyranny of autocratic parents made it impossible for young men and women to decide their own marriages, and young men and women fell into deep pain, especially women suffered the most serious persecution, thus reappearing Liu Lanzhi's tenacity.
Key words: the root of tragedy, the rational struggle of feudal ethics.
Every time I read Peacock Flying Southeast, I often read and think: Liu Lanzhi is so knowledgeable, smart, beautiful, hardworking, kind and virtuous, and she is simply a pure and perfect "lady" image. Her husband and she are deep in the ocean, but why doesn't her mother-in-law like this daughter-in-law? Why do you have to divorce her? Since Liu Lanzhi is incompetent as the wife of a small official, why did the county magistrate and magistrate send a matchmaker to propose to Liu Lanzhi for their son? At the same time, after Lan Zhi and Zhong Qing strongly resisted feudal ethics by committing suicide and double suicide, will the two families seek to be buried together? This series of puzzles made me more persistent in thinking about the root of the tragedy of marriage and love between Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing.
For these problems, some people think that the marriage with Jiao family is childless, which makes Jiao family face the danger of losing their children. Because in the feudal society with strict patriarchal clan system, the most important thing is that "unfilial has three sons, and no offspring is the biggest." Women who can't have children after marriage will naturally be disgusted and rejected by their husbands, so it is inevitable that Liu Lanzhi will eventually be abandoned. However, when I think about it, I always feel that this reason is difficult to convince the public. First, I married Jiao's family at the age of seventeen ("seventeen is your wife") and only lived for two or three years ("two or three years"). At this time, her age is at most twenty years old, so it is unreasonable to arbitrarily think that she will not have children in the future, because it is common to have children for many years after marriage, which should be the common sense of life in both ancient and modern times. Moreover, new scientific and technological research proves that fertility also has a lot to do with men. Secondly, after Liu Lanzhi was abandoned, county magistrates and satrap families sent people to propose marriage. If it was really decided that Liu Lanzhi could no longer have children, ordinary collectors like Jiao Zhongqing would still consider the serious consequences of "having three unfilial sons and daughters" and flatly abandon them. Will the well-known Tangtang county magistrate and the family members of the prefect seriously hire them without considering the serious consequences of "having three unfilial sons and daughters"? This is obviously more unreasonable.
Some critics also believe that Liu Lanzhi was abandoned because Jiao Mu said in his poem that "this woman has no manners and makes her own decisions". However, throughout the performance in Jiao Jia, there is no basis for "rudeness" and "self-reliance". On the contrary, there are many examples of "courtesy" and "impartiality" in Liu Lanzhi. For example, Liu Lanzhi saw that "it is too late for adults", knowing that "there is nothing to do", obeying his mother's wishes and offering to "repatriate" Jiao Zhongqing in time; Before leaving, chickens crow, put on strict makeup, go to class to worship grandma and say goodbye to my sister-in-law. Be polite in everything you say and do. In addition, on the eve of Liu Lanzhi's deportation, he and Jiao Zhongqing made a heartfelt confession: "In the past, Chu Yang was old and Xie Jia came to the door. Do you dare to teach yourself specially after serving the public? I work hard day and night, and I am lonely and bitter. It is said that it is innocent and has great support; Still fired, what's the point of coming back? " Judging from the description of Liu Lanzhi in the whole poem, Liu Lanzhi's deviant behavior of "no manners" and "self-assertion" has never appeared. Through the confession between the lines in the poem, we can only see Liu Lanzhi's good character of humility, meekness and virtue, which makes people feel that Liu Lanzhi's confession before he left is true. It can be seen that Jiao Mu's "this woman has no manners, and her behavior is self-directed" is just an outrageous excuse for Jiao Mu to cover up the true meaning of her divorce from her daughter-in-law, and it is not the real reason for Liu Lanzhi's divorce at all. The reason why Jiao's mother divorced her daughter-in-law is that "this woman has no manners and acts independently", which is untenable.
So, what is the reason why Liu Lanzhi was abandoned? Marxist historical materialism tells us that no social problem can be viewed from a certain historical background. The story of peacocks flying southeast took place at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty ("Jian 'an" at the end of the Han Dynasty), so we can only look for the real reason why Liu Lanzhi was innocently divorced from the society of the Han Dynasty. At the suggestion of Dong Zhongshu, a Confucian scholar, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty implemented the general plan of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone". Due to the actual needs of social reality and the strong advocacy of the ruling class, Confucianism has been respected to an unprecedented exclusive position. At that time, Confucianism became the only criterion and basis for regulating people's thoughts and behaviors and dealing with daily things, which naturally affected all aspects of family and marriage relations. At that time, the most authoritative "legal basis" was the Confucian law of "seven fruits" in the matter of "divorcing a wife" As long as a woman commits any of the "seven outcomes", she can be divorced by her husband's family according to law. In the Han Dynasty, Jiao Mu, as a representative figure of feudal ethics and feudal parents, what was the basis for driving Liu Lanzhi back to her family? Now let's discuss the reasons why Liu Lanzhi was abandoned at that time, and we can only find the basis from the "Seven Outcomes" that was regarded as the standard at that time.
In Confucianism, "seven fruits" are also called "seven separation" and "seven abandonment", which are seven excuses for a husband to abandon his wife in a patriarchal society where women have no status and dignity, and also seven cangue requirements imposed on women in order to safeguard their rights. Consult the "Funeral" and record the contents of "Seven Outings" as follows; One, childless, two, dissolute, three, indifferent to menstruation, four, tongue, five, theft, six, jealousy, seven, bad illness. At that time, women in society could be thrown out openly as long as they committed any of these crimes.
Compared with Liu Lanzhi's performance in Jiao Jia, which of the Seven Outcomes did Liu Lanzhi commit? As mentioned earlier, the first "childless" obviously cannot be established. From the description of "chastity" and "women's behavior without deviation" in the poem, we can see that Liu Lanzhi's character is chaste, virtuous and well-behaved. I am afraid that the second "debauchery" and the fifth "theft" cannot be established. Liu Lanzhi "knows how to weave 13 times, learn how to tailor 14 times, play the piano 15 times and recite poems 16 times". After he married Jiao Jia at the age of 17, he "basked in it to serve the public, dare to study by himself? I work hard day and night, and I am lonely and bitter. Even when I lost my love for my mother-in-law, I was wronged, resentful and sent away for no reason. When I left, I repeatedly reminded my sister-in-law that I should be diligent and support my husband, so that I can help myself. "This shows that she is a kind-hearted woman, very knowledgeable and diligent. I'm afraid the fourth "mouth" and the sixth "taboo" cannot be established. As for the seventh "evil disease", reading the complete poem, I can't see any clues about her "evil disease", which is even more untenable. Among the "seven endings", "six endings" have been ruled out, so Liu Lanzhi may have made a bigger mistake of "not serving his aunt" (Article 3).
Maybe someone will say, how can the pure and filial Liu Can Lan Zhi "not serve his aunt"? We believe that when discussing any social problems, we should analyze them within a certain historical scope. Different times have different standards of right and wrong. In Liu Lanzhi's patriarchal society, the standard to measure whether a woman conforms to "womanhood" is quite different from today's. At that time, the standard of judging women's virtue was based on the feudal ethics of Confucianism. In the Book of Rites, it is said that a woman should "marry and obey", and that "a man who follows a woman must follow his aunt and uncle, and then his husband". In other words, as a woman, the intimacy with her husband can't exceed that with menstruation (that is, "in-laws"), otherwise it is "not waiting on menstruation". The Book of Rites makes it even clearer: "A son is very suitable to be a wife, and his parents are unhappy." In other words, if a son likes his wife so much that his parents are unhappy, he can give up.
In the whole poem, we can easily see that Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi are a very loving and happy couple. They have been "* * * for two or three years", but they still feel that "it hasn't been long since the beginning". One said, "Since you are a government official, you won't change your feelings." One said, "Let's get married and sleep on a pillow. Let's be friends." . That is to say, when they were persecuted by scorched wood for no reason and were about to break up, they were still so sincere and vowed-"Jun is a rock, my concubine is Pu Wei, Pu Wei is as tough as silk, and the rock does not turn." Visible, how deep their love, how pure, how obsessed, how loyal! Even in the end, for the sake of faithful love, he "hanged himself to clear the pool" and "hanged himself from the southeast branch". Whether rich Liu Lanzhi or beautiful Jiao Zhongqing, their emotional balance is obviously tilted towards their beloved lover, not their mother. None of them can give up their special infatuation with their lover and empathize with their mother. As an overbearing mother-in-law full of ethical thoughts in feudal society, since her daughter-in-law Lan Zhi, she has been trying to make her a tame tool at the mercy of others. Daughter-in-law's every move is subject to her parents' control. When she saw her only son, who lived alone with her, but gave his wife more love after marriage, it was certainly not a taste in her heart. Of course, she will feel a sense of loss. Of course, she will blame all this on her daughter-in-law's diligent attempt and flattery to her son, and even think that her daughter-in-law took her son away from her. Therefore, I naturally hate my daughter-in-law, I naturally feel "ungrateful" and I naturally feel "greatly unhappy". And because the son is "very suitable for being a wife" and his parents are unhappy, the feudal ethical code clearly stipulates that he can become a monk, so Jiao Mu, who has been "bitter for a long time", will naturally drive Lan Zhi home with this article. This is the real reason why the unyielding Liu Lanzhi fell out of favor with her mother-in-law. After careful consideration, Liu Lanzhi felt that the fate of being sent was inevitable. Although she is "serving the public" and "working day and night", she can't escape the bad luck of being sent. You can only "send yourself".
In the feudal era when ethics were more important than "human feelings", excessive love between young couples led to unhappy marriage tragedies for their parents, more than in Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing. Lu You, a great poet in the Song Dynasty, was also one of the victims. According to Qi Dong Ye Yan, "The military attache Lu married the Tang family first, and Hong's daughter was also the nephew of her aunt. The couple got along very well, and Fu got it from her aunt. If you go out, but you can't bear it, you are a different museum, keep going. Take care of it and hide it. Although he knows it, he can't hide it, but it is absolutely impossible and it is also a change in human relations. " How similar are the love tragedies of Lu You and his cousin Tang Wan to those of Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing? The son is "very suitable to be a wife", and the husband and wife "get along" has become a great sin for young men and women immersed in love and happiness, so that they are persecuted, and the old and the strict are separated, and you will be divided and even pay the price of your life. How ridiculous and incredible this is now, and how common and polite it was at that time!
After Liu Lanzhi was sent back to her parents' home, suitors followed, which shows that Lan Zhi looks unusual. But as mentioned above, Liu Lanzhi doesn't deserve to be the wife of a small official. Why did the county magistrate and magistrate send a matchmaker to propose to Liu Lanzhi for their son? During the life of Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing, family status, appearance, ability, age, marriage history, etc. It has always been attached great importance to mate selection and mating. Saburo of the county magistrate's family and Goro of the satrap's family all have such good conditions. Why don't they propose to Qin Luofu, a virtuous woman in the "graceful and gorgeous city", and why do they secretly love divorced Liu Lanzhi? If the county magistrate and magistrate admire Liu Lanzhi's intelligence, beauty, versatility and education, they have no idea that Liu Lanzhi married a government official and was sent after "* * * 2003"! If we explain the abnormal behavior from the abnormal psychology, everything seems very reasonable: it is false for the county magistrate to propose marriage to his son and it is true for them to take concubines! In feudal times, for a girl who married Liu, waiting for her would be a road full of traps and blood and tears.
Will Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing resist the oppression of the feudal patriarchal clan system and "ask the two families to be buried together" after double suicide? The answer should be no, first, Jiao Mu and Ashong are representatives of feudal parents and feudal ethics. In their view, Liu Lanzhi despised feudal ethics and rebelled against his elder brother's life. On their wedding night, he "bootstrapped the pool" and made the Taishou family spend countless dollars in vain, which was an apostasy and unforgivable crime. Jiao Zhongqing, who had read a lot of poems and worked in Taige, learned that Liu Lanzhi committed suicide, even abandoned his official position and mother, and hanged himself in the Southeast Branch. It was really disloyal and unfilial and should be punished. From the ideological standpoint of Jiao Mu and Ashong, it is impossible for the two families to be buried together. Second, Brother A is violent, selfish, heartless, overbearing and stubborn. The satrap sent a matchmaker to propose marriage. Liu Lanzhi did not forget that "every official sees Ding Ning", he only hoped that second time around, while Ashong had no understanding and respect for his sister's affairs, and rudely reprimanded Lan Zhi for "marrying a husband after marriage", "unworthy of your honor" and "not planning"! However, Jiao Mu ruined her son's happiness. In the face of her son's double suicide farewell, she still has a heart of stone and refuses to change her mind. Judging from the personality characteristics of Jiao Mu and Ashong, it is impossible for the two families to be buried together. Third, Liu Lanzhi, who is rich and not obscene, not only ruined his dream of climbing high, but also lost his face; A "hanging" that the whole city does not change not only makes Jiao's mother helpless in the future, but also breaks the incense of Jiao's family. A huge blow will undoubtedly stir up waves in Jiao Mu and A's ambition. However, apart from despair, pain, anger and resentment, what else will there be? There is no hate for no reason, and naturally there is no love for no reason. Judging from the inner feelings of Jiao Mu and Ashong, it is even more impossible for the two families to be buried together. The author thinks that the situation after the death of Liu Lanzhi and his wife is entirely out of the poet's imagination and fantasy. Both "Two Families Buried Together" and "Two Birds in Soul" are romanticism, and the poet used this to express people's sympathy for Liu Lanzhi and his wife's misfortune, their yearning for a happy life, and their protest and mockery of feudal ethics. Mechanically understanding "two families seeking joint burial" as a realistic way of looking at "joint burial" not only runs counter to Jiao Mu and Ashong, but also greatly weakens the theme of the whole poem "Exposing feudal patriarchal clan system and feudal ethics destroying the happy life of young men and women".
Man is not a stone. Practice makes perfect. Although the persistent and pure love between Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing was not allowed by feudal ethics, it was appreciated by secular human feelings. For thousands of years, people have sympathized with and praised the young lovers' unswerving love, and even appreciated their unyielding rational resistance spirit of pursuing love and freedom. Although it is a tragedy, it is full of justice. This love tragedy is a reflection and portrayal of the society at that time, and it is an accusation of feudal ethics eating people. Learning to appreciate this beautiful love poem, we realize the evil of ancient society and see the rational resistance spirit of women in China for freedom and happiness. Liu Jiao's suicide was both a failure and a victory. Although this struggle is negative, it is a ray of light in the darkness, which gives positive inspiration to future generations and should think about how to really improve women's rights and status.
References:
1. Selected Notes of Yu Guanying 1953 Poems of Yuefu People's Literature Publishing House
2. Li Yindu, Chen Ruoming, etc. 1987.6 "Peacock flies southeast, a historical literature material of Han Dynasty"
3. Sun 200 1.7 Peacock Flying Southeast Three Questions Friends of Chinese Teaching in Hebei
4. You Guoen et al. 1989.5 China Literature History People's Education Press.
5. Jin Weiyuan 1989.5 Life and death and common ground-"Ancient Poetry as Jiao Zhongqing's Wife" and "Selected Works of China Ancient Literature" East China Normal University Press.