A Dream of Red Mansions is a literary work that I never tire of reading, and it is also one of the greatest works in China literature.

I have written several articles about the philosophy of life and artistic conception of A Dream of Red Mansions. In fact, considering the skill of single-chapter writing, A Dream of Red Mansions is definitely worth reading and rereading. This is also the reason why I have pondered over A Dream of Red Mansions.

For example, the 19th chapter of A Dream of Red Mansions, entitled "A quiet day gives birth to fragrance", is my favorite chapter, because the love between Baoyu and Daiyu written by Cao Xueqin is subtle and graceful but vivid.

About the description of love, in fact, I am most afraid of reading line drawings, which will make love disgusting, but I can't bear to see it. The best way to write it is to describe the action or to describe a scene. From the action scenes, let the readers get the message and push the love story themselves.

Take this chapter as an example to see the feelings of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu.

It was a quiet afternoon and the maid happened to be away. The room was quiet, and Daiyu took a nap on the bed. Jia Baoyu went into Daiyu's room and saw Daiyu sleeping. He forced her to wake up and told her not to go to bed as soon as she was full. Daiyu refused, saying that she was too crazy to play with everyone the day before and was sore all over. Baoyu was afraid that Daiyu would fall ill because of sleep, so he had to chat with her to relieve boredom and let her get rid of the feeling of sleep, so he started a close conversation between lovers.

Having said that, we might as well think about it first. If it were you, how would you describe this scene to show their love and tacit understanding?

Cao Xueqin's layout is like this:

First, Jia Baoyu and Daiyu want to sleep on a pillow. First, Daiyu asked Baoyu to look out. Baoyu said the pillow outside was dirty and insisted on Daiyu's. Daiyu had to give him her own, saying that Baoyu was the "magic star" he hit.

Seeing this layout, we can easily think of "color", or better, "eroticism"!

But in fact, Cao Xueqin only had two innocent loves from beginning to end this time.

It is particularly important to note that before this scene appeared, Jia Baoyu had just caught his buddhist nun committing adultery with a servant girl in a study in Ningguo Mansion. After the servant girl fled in panic, Baoyu found that buddhist nun didn't even know the name of the servant girl, which made Baoyu cry foul for the servant girl and said that what happened to her was really inhuman. This scene is immediately before the scene of Baoyu and Daiyu's "fragrance", and it also shows that Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu have only "lust" but no "lust".

Then let's see how Cao Xueqin describes their irreplaceable relationship. They all lay down with their pillows facing each other. Daiyu saw a piece of blood the size of a button on Baoyu's face, so she took a close look and stroked it with her hand. She asked who cut her nails. I knew it was rouge. Baoyu has always had a bad habit of eating girls' rouge, even frivolous eating girls' face rouge. Daiyu is very worried. What she is worried about is not Baoyu's bad habits, but Baoyu's father Jia Zheng knows about it. Baoyu must be unlucky.

This reaction of Daiyu just reflects Daiyu's character: I never worry about Baoyu not studying hard, not taking the Jinshi exam, not making progress, etc. , and never advised Baoyu. In her eyes, there is only one thing worth caring about in the whole world. Of course, this makes the adult world deeply worried about seeking fame, but this is also the reason why Baoyu cherishes Daiyu most. He thought only Daiyu knew him. They live in a world where there is no "reality" at all but "love".

At the same time, there is an obvious contrast, that is, even Baoyu's maids beat people, looked down on Baoyu's unprofessional work, and no one dared to persuade her because of love. She once threatened to "atone" and advised Baoyu to study hard. Cao Xueqin used this passage as a topic to compare her indifference to the world.

A Dream of Red Mansions is a realistic novel describing the rise and fall of an official family. Therefore, Baoyu and Daiyu are bound to face realistic pressure and must be forced to separate. In addition to love, there is no room for others in their hearts, and they will be completely destroyed in the tragedy that their love dreams are difficult to realize!

In Cao Xueqin's description of the love between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, there has always been a tragic foreshadowing, so Daiyu's statement that Baoyu is his "magic star" is a tragic foreshadowing.

Baoyu didn't care about Jia Zheng's accusation against Baoyu, which Daiyu was worried about, and immediately changed the subject, saying that Daiyu had a delicate fragrance. Daiyu sneered: "There is no Luohan real person to give strange incense, and no brother to make frosted snowflakes for me. I only have vulgar fragrance ... ".

Daiyu said this for Xue Baochai. Because Xue Baochai has a strange disease, which is said to be the heat poison carried in the fetus. After the Luohan people set up the medicine list, they need to use Bai Mudan flower in spring, White Lotus flower in summer, Bai Furong flower in autumn and Bai Mei flower in winter. Grinding together at the spring equinox the following year, and then adding1rain in 2 yuan,1Millennium dew in 2 yuan,1first frost in 2 yuan,1light snow in 2 yuan. This medicine is called Lengxiang Pill. After taking it for many years, my whole body smells strange. This is the internal reason why Daiyu spoke.

Why did Daiyu drag her words here? Because Xue Baochai is the object of her jealousy, Daiyu has lost her parents, Xue Baochai's mother and a brother (although my brother is an asshole). What is even more enviable is that Xue Baochai has a gold lock on her body and a gold word on her name. Coincidentally, the words engraved on the gold lock piece are still opposite. On the jade card, it says "Never forget the eternal life of Heng Chang", and on the gold lock, it says "Never leave". People in China have always said "a golden marriage". Aren't the names of Baochai and Baoyu, the gold lock on Baochai and the psychic jade on Baoyu exactly the same? Lin Daiyu only measures everything by love. Of course, when the topic changes, she will definitely turn to her rival in love, which is sour in her words.

Jealousy is actually a common thing between couples. Cao Xueqin naturally painted Xue Baochai, the eternal pimple in Daiyu's heart, with fragrance, only describing the action dialogue scene, not directly painting the artistic conception.

Cao Xueqin described Jia Baoyu's reaction next:

Baoyu said, "I'm just telling you that it's also related to this. You won't know until I give you some interest. See if I will spare you today! " "Then I tickled Dai-yu, making her roll all over the bed, smiling and begging for mercy.

Then Baoyu smelled the fragrance of Daiyu.

But that's all. Once again, the emotion was indifferent, and the scene became two pure small conjectures. The two began to chat. Cao Xueqin said that two people were lying side by side, one was Gai Lou and the other was talking nonsense. Daiyu lazily covered her face with a handkerchief, unable to speak. Baoyu began to worry about Daiyu's sleeping sickness again and began to tell him stories.

This story was made up casually by Jia Baoyu in order to make Daiyu finally realize that she is a monkey, so the story says: Daiyu's hometown has a Daishan Mountain, and there is a forest cave in Daishan Mountain. In the cave, a group of monkeys clamored to become thieves. One of them tried to turn himself into a "taro", but turned out to be a beautiful woman. The monkeys were surprised. The monkey who became a lady said that Miss Lin was originally "Xiangyu".

This story made Baoyu and Daiyu's topic fragrant all afternoon! Jed! It's all pulled together. Lin Daiyu found Baoyu at the corner, scolded him, sat up and twisted him, and they quarreled again. At this moment, Baochai came. This is another foreshadowing. There will always be a Xue Baochai between Baoyu and Daiyu.

This time, the meaning of "quiet day and fragrant jade" ends here.

In the dull afternoon and lazy topic, Cao Xueqin implicitly and euphemistically revealed the emotional differences between Baoyu and Daiyu. Baoyu, Baochai and other girls, Cao Xueqin never used such a delicate, dull, lazy and almost boring scene to capture, so Cao Xueqin used this brushwork to set off their tacit understanding. This is an ordinary feeling of resting at home. Describing love in this way requires high skills and a strong observation of the relationship between lovers who have really loved each other for a long time.

Interestingly, Cao Xueqin always leaves a foreshadowing everywhere: every time Baoyu and Daiyu are happiest, Baochai will inadvertently break in. Baochai is innocent, just like she finally married Baoyu, but this is the key point of the tragic spirit of A Dream of Red Mansions: the tragedy is not caused by the deliberate destruction of the wicked, but an irresistible fate.