Aunt Xue's daughter, Xue Baochai, is worth millions. She has a beautiful appearance, smooth muscles and graceful manners. She was keen on "career economy" and advised Baoyu to meet an official and talk about career economy. Baoyu secretly denounced him as an "asshole". She abides by feudal women's virtue, is quite shrewd, can win the hearts of the people and is praised by the Jia family. She hung a golden lock, which read "Never leave, never leave". Aunt Xue has long said, "This golden lock can only match jade." Jia Baoyu was forced to marry Xue Baochai under the single hand of Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang. Because the two sides had no common ideals and interests, Jia Baoyu could not forget his confidant Lin Daiyu and became a monk soon after marriage. Xue Baochai had to live alone in an empty boudoir and hold a grudge for life. Xue Baochai, the main character in China's classic novel A Dream of Red Mansions, is also known as Heng Wu Jun and Haitang Poetry Society. The author describes Xue Baochai as a literate, educated and beautiful woman. A dream of red mansions (the fifth time), but was named the first "ruthless" figure by Zhi Yanzhai. The author of the little red book once praised Baochai's beauty, saying that she was "gorgeous and heartless" and "sixty-three times". Xue Baochai is the apple of the eye of the Xue family, one of the four famous families in Jinling. She was brought up as a woman with both ability and political integrity. He has a golden lock engraved with the motto "Never leave, never leave", which coincides with the inscription "Never forget, never forget, Heng Chang, never die" on the jade that Jia Baoyu carries with him. Therefore, everyone in the Jia family thinks that there is a "fate" between Chai and Baoyu. On the night when Xue Baochai and Baoyu were born, Yuan's "Flower Night Banquet" drew a flower name and signed a wine list. Baochai painted a peony with the title "Flowers come with flowers", which is said to be "ruthless". This is a sentence from Peony Flower written by Luo Yin in the Tang Dynasty. The original poem said: It seems that the east wind has different reasons, and the crimson rose high and rolled. If you teach Jieyu to pour the country, it will be ruthless and moving. Peony and Jun are personal attendants. Where can hibiscus avoid fragrant dust? Poor Han Gong Ling failed Huanong after his success. Peony is known as the "national beauty and fragrance", and it is elegant when it blooms. It is also known as the "Flower King". According to the Biography of Yang Taizhen, during the Kaiyuan period, Tang and Yang Guifei enjoyed the peony in front of Chenxiang Temple, and the great poet Li Baijin was ordered to write three poems, among which Li sang peony and Yang Guifei together. Baochai was plump and her skin was white for some time. Baoyu once saw a crisp and tender arm, and he felt envious and wanted to "touch it." Her family background is the Xue family, which is one of the four great families in Jinling. As a well-known family, Jia's personality is "calm, cold outside and hot inside". In A Dream of Red Mansions, Cao Xueqin obviously compares Baochai to a peony flower, and in the 27th episode, the author reads that "Didi Cuiting, Yang Fei hits a butterfly, buries a fragrant house, and the swallow cries". "No wonder they compare their sister to Yang Fei, but they are also afraid of the heat." As a result, Baochai was furious and replied, "I look alike, but no good brother can be Yang!" " (See Chapter 30) All this shows that Baochai has the characteristics of Yang Guifei in appearance. Many poets in history confuse Yang Guifei with peony, and naturally compare Baochai with peony. Xue Baochai is an important figure in A Dream of Red Mansions. Her importance lies not only in the fact that she is one of the protagonists in the love tragedy of Bao, Dai and Chai, but also in the rich connotation and innovation of this artistic image. There have always been different views on the image of Xue Baochai. Some respect Xue and restrain Lin, while others respect Lin and restrain Xue. A typical example is the story that Xu and his friend "punched the old fist several times" because of the heated argument in "Three Borrows from Lutan". Even today, there are still different views. Some people think that Daiyu is mean and narrow-minded, and loves to tease her young children, while Baochai is dignified and steady, gentle and generous. Some people think that Baochai is ruthless, hypocritical and treacherous, and she is a "female Cao Cao". Have diametrically opposite views on the same character. One is that different people have different views, but it also shows the complexity, richness and objectivity of this image. So, what do you think of this character? First of all, we should abandon personal prejudice and love-hate relationship, and make a concrete analysis from the description of the works. Xue Baochai can be seen from the description of Xue Baochai in A Dream of Red Mansions that the image of Xue Baochai created by Cao Xueqin is a typical standard lady in feudal society. The basic feature of this image is that she is a loyal believer in feudal ethics, a conscious executor and a sad martyr. However, the image of this feudal lady is complex and colorful. As soon as Xue Baochai appeared, the author described her beauty and personality incisively and vividly. She wears "not luxury, but elegance", and she is "square in character and beautiful in appearance"; "Few words, people call it a fool; Follow the time and be self-sufficient. " This summarizes her personality characteristics of abiding by feudal ethics and adapting to the environment and outlines the outline of a feudal lady. A prominent feature of this character is that she faithfully believes in feudal ethics; Especially the slave morality imposed on women. She has repeatedly advised Jia Baoyu to take the road of "career economy" and "making a name for himself", and even aroused Jia Baoyu's great disgust, saying that what she said was "bullshit" and that "a good innocent woman also learned to seek fame and reputation and became a traitor and ghost"; She also preached to Daiyu and Xiangyun many times that "a woman without talent is virtue" and "chastity is always the main thing". All these are enough to show that among the aristocratic girls in the Grand View Garden, she was deeply poisoned by feudal orthodoxy and feudal morality. But it can't be equated with Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng and others, and they can all be regarded as feudal rulers. Although she belongs to the "master" camp, she not only has no ruling power, but also, as a girl in feudal society, she can't even master her own destiny; Everything was at the mercy of feudal parents. On the one hand, he is a "master" and lives a pampered life; On the other hand, under the oppression of feudal ethics, this is the particularity of Xue Baochai's social relations. Its special social status determines that its ideological character is essentially different from Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang and Feng. It is wrong to equate Xue Baochai with Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang and others. Another outstanding feature of Xue Baochai is that she is very sophisticated, that is, she is good at being a person and dealing with the world. In Jiafu, a big family with complicated factions and many contradictions, on the one hand, she adopted the philosophy of "keeping silent when something happens, shaking her head and not knowing" to protect herself; On the other hand, she is good at dealing with interpersonal relationships and maintains a cordial, natural and appropriate relationship with people in all aspects; As the fat comment said: "When people are indifferent, not far away, not close, disgusting people can't see the cold state at last, and will form various sounds;" The gratifying people have not seen intimate feelings and all kinds of voices. " In this seemingly impartial attitude towards life, she paid special attention to trying to figure out and cater to the wishes of the Jia rulers in order to win their favor, but she never showed indifference and contempt for Aunt Zhao and others, so she was praised by all kinds of people in the Jia family. Jia Mu praised her as "stable and peaceful"; Aunt Zhao, who never praises others, also calls herself "generous". Even the little girl is close to her. There is hypocrisy and affectation in Xue Baochai's character. She likes to please and flatter people. Jia Mu is going to celebrate her birthday and ask her what she likes to listen to and eat. Knowing that old people like lively operas and sweet and rotten food, she answered according to Jia Mu's usual hobbies. She also flatters Jia's face. She said: "I have been here for so many years, so I should pay attention. It seems that no matter how clever Miss Feng is, she can't beat the old lady. " As a result, Grandmother Jia praised her: "Speaking of sisters", "From the four girls in our family, they are not as good as Baoyu." After Jin Chuaner committed suicide by jumping into a well, Mrs. Wang felt uneasy. She comforted Mrs. Wang and said: Kim will not commit suicide; If it's suicide, it's just a fool It's not a pity to die. Just give me a few taels of silver. Mrs. Wang said that clothes for Lin Daiyu's birthday were not good for the dead. Xue Baochai was afraid of her taboo and automatically took out her new clothes for Mrs. Wang. This passage not only says that she courted Mrs. Wang, but also shows how heartless this feudal believer is. On the occasion of the "Shouyihong Night Banquet", she took off a toothpick for drinking, which was painted with peony and had an afternoon poem on it: "Being ruthless and moving". According to the standards of feudal society, Xue Baochai was called the crown of beauty, but she also said that she was "heartless". "Ruthless" means that she is a believer and practitioner of feudal morality; "Also touching", but only her beauty. Maru said Leng Xiang, probably implying that she is not enthusiastic. But "ruthlessness" and indifference do not mean adultery. The butterflies flying in Shuige naturally show that she has a plan. But its purpose is to make Xiaohong and Zhui Er think that she didn't see this relationship and didn't mean to frame Lin Daiyu. Jin Xun did not consciously make Mrs. Wang dislike Lin Daiyu. In doing so, she completely followed the feudal philosophy of preserving our sanity and naturally showed her hypocrisy and selfishness. The hypocrisy of her thoughts and words is mainly the hypocrisy of feudal morality itself. Her mind is saturated with feudal thoughts, and she is a lady who faithfully believes in feudal morality and feudal ethics. She believes that it is the most moral thing to do according to feudal ethics; So she naturally achieved the "four virtues". Some people say that Xue Baochai is a "villain and thief", and fear of "Bo" refers to her loyalty and implementation of feudal morality; Because this morality itself is hypocritical. She won the trust of Jia Fu and was finally chosen as Baoyu's wife, which is mainly the natural result of her personality and environment, and should not be simply regarded as the victory of her or Aunt Xue's intrigue. The view that all Xue Baochai's activities are consciously and planned to serve Baoyu is not consistent with the description in the book, and it also narrows the ideological significance of this character. In fact, her character is not treacherous, and she is not always scheming everywhere, but she acts according to feudal orthodoxy, and she is so ignorant. That's like a duck to water. The hypocrisy that people see from her is the embodiment of feudal moral hypocrisy. Xue Baochai's scheming and Xi Feng's duplicity are completely different. The author created the image of Xue Baochai, not only as a traitor, but also as a snob chasing fame and fortune. It is not to create a hypocritical and treacherous "female Cao Cao"; Even more than just shaping a standard feudal lady image; However, in the image of Xue Baochai, the author has entrusted complicated feelings and deep feelings: praising the intelligence of this beautiful girl and sympathizing with her unfortunate tragic fate; She also deplored her servile belief in feudal ethics and criticized her philosophy of "drifting with the flow". So what he wants to create is a girl with dignified character, beautiful appearance, outstanding talent and profound knowledge, but she is poisoned or even destroyed by feudal ethics. Because of this, the author's exploration of Xue Baochai's character did not stop there, but showed the seemingly contradictory but wonderful unity between the beautiful and healthy factors and the stale and suffocating components in her character in many ways with delicate brushstrokes. This is the fundamental feature of Xue Baochai's typical image. The more profound and full the author shows this fundamental feature, the more profoundly he exposes the poison and destruction of feudal ethics to the girl spirit, and the more sharply he criticizes the "cannibalism" essence of feudal ethics. In criticizing the profoundness of feudal society, this image is no different from Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, except that the destruction of the former is the tragedy of rebels and the destruction of the latter is the tragedy of martyrs. However, they are all victims of feudal ethics. Although Xue Baochai's tragedy is not worthy of sympathy, its critical significance is very profound. Cao Xueqin's outstanding understanding of a generation has been shown here, and the author's ingenuity in shaping the image of Xue Baochai has also been shown here. Only from this fundamental feature can we truly understand these two artistic images. A Dream of Red Mansions has a prominent feature in depicting characters, that is, it grasps the basic characteristics of the characters repeatedly to make them stand out, and also describes and depicts them in other aspects around the basic characteristics of the characters, making the characters more complex and rich. The image of Xue Baochai is also shaped in this way. Xue Baochai is a typical feudal lady. In addition to the basic point that she is a believer, executor and martyr of feudal ethics, her personality is also manifested in many other aspects. Xue Baochai is not only square and beautiful in appearance, but also intelligent and knowledgeable in nature. Her childhood upbringing, family environment and intelligent mind have created her profound artistic accomplishment and extensive knowledge. She has extensive knowledge of literature, art, history, medicine, hundred schools of thought and Buddhism, even Jia Baoyu, who is famous for his "miscellaneous studies", is far behind. Such as Yuan Fei's instructions on changing "sapphire" to "green wax" in Baoyu's poems about returning to the province, and Xiang Yun's explanation on "tree". She has a profound understanding of artistic creation and has published incisive opinions. For example, when talking about painting, she pointed out that artists must have hills and valleys in their hearts before creating, so as to accurately cut and treat materials and achieve the purpose of truly reproducing life; In poetry creation, she proposed to "express her own opinions", "be different" and "be deadly novel and open up a new look". Her view of opposing imitation and following others' footsteps is undoubtedly quite insightful. Obviously, in these places, the author endowed this talented girl with her unique views on art. Her own poetry creation is also quite distinctive. Among the poets in the Grand View Garden, only Lin Daiyu can compete with her. In many poetry competitions, she often wins the championship. Her poems are novel in conception, profound in artistic conception, elegant in style and profound in implication. In this way, the author endows the image of Xue Baochai with rich book spirit and beautiful poet temperament. In these places, the author appreciates her very much. The complexity and richness of Xue Baochai's character are also reflected in some beautiful characters she has. For example, she is considerate, fair, caring, considerate and helpful. Once, xiren wanted to ask Xiangyun to do some needlework for her. When Baochai knew this, she immediately explained to her the difficulties of Shi Xiangyun's "not being in charge at home", "working in the middle of the night" and "being tired when she came", and accused her of being "inconsiderate for a while" and took the initiative to undertake the work that Shi Xiangyun wanted to do. On another occasion, Xiangyun wanted to open a cooperative as the host, and Baochai gave her a crab feast, because her expenses caused complaints from menstruation. Therefore, this outspoken and generous young lady once sincerely praised Baochai: "None of these sisters can compare with Sister Bao. Unfortunately, we don't have maternal love-I don't care if I have such a sister, even if I don't have parents. " We also gave various kinds of help to the benefactor Lin Daiyu and Xing Xiuyan, whose family was poor. Even the servants in the Grand View Garden, she can understand their hard work by getting up early and staying up late all year round and plan some extra benefits for them. Xue Baochai's attitude and role in the love and marriage of Bao, Dai and Chai has always been an important content in analyzing Baochai's image. In the eyes of ordinary readers, Chai and Dai are rivals in love, and some even think that Baochai has tried her best to compete for the throne of "Bao Er Grandma"; It was she who "cheated Baoyu and killed Daiyu" and ascended the throne of Grandma Bao Er. She became the chief culprit of destroying Baodai's love and the executioner of Lin Daiyu. We cannot draw such a conclusion from the description of the work; What we see is the truth of life and art. At the beginning of their relationship; Their news is really quite tense; When Baodai was a childhood friend, suddenly came a "square personality and beautiful appearance" Xue Baochai, which was a threat to Lin Daiyu; Especially after the "good fortune" was said, Daiyu felt that Baochai was a powerful rival in love. Therefore, she took the opportunity to cast a hostile and sharp-edged irony on Baochai everywhere, and constantly watched Baoyu and Baochai warily. It has been written many times in the book that when Baochai was talking to Baoyu, Daiyu either came in in time or eavesdropped behind her back. For example, when "knowing the psychic" and "recognizing the golden lock"; When Baoyu looked at the incense string on Baochai's wrist; On another occasion, Grandmother Jia asked Baodai to have dinner, but Eryu was embarrassed, and Dai Yu left alone. Baochai's envoy advised Baoyu to accompany Daiyu to dinner; Baoyu said at that time: "Ignore him, it will be all right in a minute." Afterwards, Daiyu repeated this sentence many times in front of Baoyu and Baochai, showing that their conversation was eavesdropped behind Daiyu's back; There are many books about this situation. It can be said that the tension between Chai and Dai is not caused by Baochai and Daiyu fighting for Baoyu, but the result of Daiyu taking precautions to protect her love. On the contrary, Baochai's closeness to Bao and Dai, at least on the surface, is a wise way to avoid it. There are many clear descriptions about this in the book. To say that Baochai is vying for the throne of "Grandma Bao" is not in line with the actual situation described in the book and has no basis, so Baochai and Daiyu are monitored everywhere and framed. But this does not mean that Baochai is not troubled by Daiyu. It is not that Baochai has no feelings for Baoyu, but that she loves and hates Baoyu. Sometimes it shows up. However, due to the severe bondage of feudal moral concepts, she didn't even have the courage to express her hurt feelings in a painful and tortuous way like Dai Yu. In her opinion, marriage depends entirely on parents' life. If the matchmaker shows any positive intention and action, it is immoral and shameful. Xue Pan said that if she fell in love with Baoyu, it would hurt her sense of shame. She was very angry and cried all night. In fact, Baochai often shows an outsider's detached attitude towards Bao and Dai. When Baochai hears someone playing a joke on them, she often adds a few words of ridicule; Sometimes I play jokes on them myself, but I don't show jealousy. This is Chai Dai's attitude towards love before reconciliation. To some people's surprise, this pair of "friends in love" finally reconciled, and it was because Daiyu voluntarily admitted that "I was wrong in the past" that it led to reconciliation. Some people think that this is the victory of schemer Xue Baochai, and naive Lin Daiyu has been cheated. Is that really the case? Please look at the time when "autumn rain smothers autumn rain, gold painting language". Baochai did conquer Daiyu, but not with intrigue, but with her loyal feudal ethics and detached skills. From this incident, Daiyu saw that Baochai did not use her "misconduct" as an excuse and made a fuss everywhere, but persuaded, informed and enlightened her "sincerely", eliminated her "suspicion" and took the initiative to make a gesture of reconciliation. After that, he passed chapters such as "Aunt Xue loves to comfort her"; It further describes the development of their friendship. Their relationship is so close that even Baoyu feels strange and "secretly surprised". When writing about the establishment and development of their friendship, the author clearly ruled out the misunderstanding of Baochai's image, that is, the author's artistic conception. Baochai is not a clown who fanned the flames in it, nor is she the culprit who destroyed Baochai's love. She and Daiyu are both victims of feudal ethics. In this way, the criticism points to the real culprit-the feudal rulers killed the love between Bao and Dai. Finally, among Xue and others, the ruler of Jiafu chose Xue Baochai, so Daiyu "died in tears". So, can it be asserted that this is the victory of Xue Baochai's conspiracy and Lin Daiyu is the victim of it? The previous analysis has given a negative answer. In fact, Jia rulers chose Baochai because they like her "good character" and "stability and peace", which is by no means the result of her playing any tricks. If the marriage between Baoyu and Baochai is described as a "golden marriage" painstakingly managed by Baochai, it just denies the evil that feudal ethics and codes play in endangering the happiness and life of young people. The fact is, after marriage, Baoyu "pulled back from the cliff" and became a monk. The love between Baoyu, Baochai and Chai Hai is a tragedy in the end-the double tragedy of the rebels and followers of feudal ethics-although they have different meanings-but they are all tragedies, which can be described as "dry red tears" and "Wan Yan shares the same sorrow". This is the significance of the marriage tragedy in A Dream of Red Mansions and the depth of the evil feudal ethics it criticized. This tragedy; It is not only a tragedy of personality and love, but also a tragedy of society and the times. Like Bao and Dai, Xue Baochai's artistic image is a criticism of feudal ethics.