1, comparison between lofty and inferiority
Although Kong Yiji is not a scholar, he is somewhat lofty and likes narcissism. Although Kong Yiji turned pale with hunger, he still refused to take off his torn and dirty gown. He smugly met a few useless words, and even boasted that he was a scholar. When others make fun of him, he will say, "How can you pollute others' innocence out of thin air ..." When others ask him, "Do you really know how to read?" He showed disdain for the argument. At the same time, he still adheres to the moral concept of "a gentleman is poor". The above analysis can show that Kong Yiji thinks highly of himself.
Jin Fan, on the other hand, is weak and pitiful, willing to endure humiliation and inferiority. He was afraid of butcher Hu and was scolded for no reason, but he repeatedly said, "My father-in-law is knowledgeable." When borrowing money from Hu Butcher, Hu Butcher bit his face and scolded the dog. But I can only submit to humiliation and cringe. His sense of inferiority and inferiority gradually weakened during his promotion in the imperial examination, which was only aimed at all people with lower status than him, such as butcher Hu and neighbors. We can infer that Jin Fan will still be a timid slave before senior officials.
Kong Yiji's lofty mentality made him unable to understand himself correctly, regarded his shortcomings as treasures, and persisted in them, which eventually led to his tragic life. However, Jin Fan, who only remembered the eight-part essay, got into a dead end, struggled with inferiority and became the object of criticism and synonymous with corrupt Confucianism.
2, pedantic and sleek contrast
Kong Yiji is pedantic, mainly in words. Kong Yiji's language is very distinctive, and it is easy to "ignore others". When giving fennel beans to children, he has a classic saying: "Not much, not much! how much is it? Not much. " Bad language is the expression of pedantic character. Kong Yiji clung to outdated ideas and lived in a passionate but progressive society, which inevitably showed his pedantry and ridiculousness. Kong Yiji has become a typical image obsessed with remnants.
Jin Fan, on the other hand, showed a smooth personality, which was mainly manifested in his contacts with Xiangshen Zhang. After Jin Fan was promoted, Xiangshen Zhang climbed up and said, "I just saw the champion list. Your teacher, Tang Gong of Gaoyao County, is a protege of my ancestors. You and I are good brothers. " Jin Fan's answer is: "Being born late is a kind of luck. But I'm glad to leave the old man's house. " In fact, Xiangshen Zhang, a wise man of Jin Fan, insisted on nonsense, but he agreed with the sentence "Thanks to the old man's family". This is Jin Fan's sophisticated and smooth performance. This can still be seen everywhere in Jin Fan's later actions.
Kong Yiji's pedantry is a manifestation of decadent ideas and an act of self-promotion. From Jin Fan's smoothness, we can see that he is quite smart and familiar with the bad habits in officialdom.
3. The contrast between kindness and hypocrisy
Although Kong Yiji has many shortcomings, this person's character also has a good side. This can be seen from his distribution of fennel beans to children. For a poor man, he still divided a small portion of fennel beans from the bowl. If he was not a kind person, he would never have such behavior. Besides, he taught the boy to write out of sincerity.
Jin Fan's performance is different. When he was humbled by the fake silver at the butcher's place, he knew that he would never ask him for help again, but he still said, "Look, I still have these two pieces of silver here. If I run out, I'll ask my father again." This fully shows that Jin Fan is hypocritical and cunning. This character still runs through his life. After his mother's death, he once went to Gaoyao County with Xiangshen Zhang for an autumn wind. He refused to use silver-inlaid cups and chopsticks to prove his "filial piety" to his mother at the banquet, but picked out a prawn round kernel from the bird's nest bowl and sent it to his mouth. This just shows his hypocrisy.
Kong Yiji's kindness won him sympathy, while Jin Fan's hypocrisy attracted accusations.
4. Comparison between self-consolation and fragile nerves
Kong Yiji's life is pathetic. The reason is that he didn't know himself correctly. His poverty and misery are only manifestations of his lack of spiritual sustenance. In this state, he can only comfort himself in the deep heart, and laugh at himself in others' blind pretentiousness and ridicule to release the pressure in his heart. Of course, he will accomplish nothing and eventually die in poverty. This is self-denial from the depths of the soul and the result of the complete collapse of self-value.
Jin Fan has repeatedly failed in the imperial examination, and his mind has been under great pressure. Once he failed in the exam, the pressure doubled. The fact that he was lucky enough to succeed once strongly stimulated his nerves. Once the pain of his current consciousness is relieved, he completely loses all his spirit. There will be that crazy state. This shows that Jin Fan's nerves are fragile and his spirit is numb.
Kong Yiji and Jin Fan are two completely different personalities, which have a lot to do with their mental state.