Environment makes people, and Kong Yiji lives in the transitional period between the old and the new, so his character has two sides. On the one hand, Kong Yiji is kind and simple, on the other hand, he is pedantic and stubborn, which really makes people sad and angry. Kong Yiji's character is undoubtedly a tragic image.
Pedantic: Kong Yiji was an intellectual in the late Qing Dynasty. He believes that everything is inferior, but he is educated. But he didn't even get in as a scholar, nor did he have fame and fortune, and he lived a very poor life. Under the influence of the feudal education system, Kong Yiji has the lofty nature of a scholar. He has no financial resources and is unwilling to work to earn money. He can only cross the poverty line with the scholar's shelf.
As for Kong Yiji's famous saying that "stealing books is not stealing", we can see his pedantic side as a poor scholar. When everyone laughed at him for stealing books, Kong Yiji could only feebly answer the fallacy that "stealing books is not stealing" and how ridiculous it is for scholars not to steal. At this time, Kong Yiji's poverty and pedantry can be seen.
Kindness: Kong Yiji's character is double-sided and complicated. Although he is poor and pedantic, he also has a bright spot in human nature. Kong Yiji's kindness is reflected in two details: teaching children to read and giving them fennel beans. When the children were around him, he "gave them fennel beans to eat".
Fennel bean is not a rare thing, but in such an era of lack of materials, in the era of "if you are willing to spend an extra penny, you can buy a dish of salted boiled bamboo shoots or fennel bean to make wine", in the era of alcohol drowning, it is really precious to a poor man, but he has one person until there are few left.
A word "edge" can show generosity, and it really does not hesitate to share. Compared with those shopkeepers and gown customers, which of them has more money than Kong Yiji and who owns more than Kong Yiji, but who gave the beans to the children? The most laughable thing is that when the children looked at the dishes again, he was not abusive or threatening, and even hummed a tune from the Analects of Confucius in a "panic". A kind-hearted and transparent old man jumped out of the paper.
The theme of Kong Yiji
Kong Yiji mainly revealed the tragic fate of the disadvantaged groups at the bottom of feudal society and the unrealizability of their personal values. Its theme can be summarized as follows:
1, class solidification and social injustice. By describing the living conditions of Kong Yiji and other low-level figures, the novel reveals the gap between the rich and the poor and the class solidification in China society at that time, and the oppression of this injustice on people's survival, development and personal value.
2. The contrast between appearance and heart. Although Kong Yiji is poor and pitiful in appearance, he is eager to be recognized and respected by others in his heart, hoping that he can become a valuable person. Through the image of Kong Yiji, the works deeply discuss the complexity and versatility of human nature.
3. The helplessness and cruelty of fate. Kong Yiji finally died of fighting with others. His fate also implied that in the feudal society at that time, the people at the bottom often could not get rid of their own destiny, and their life trajectory was limited early.
4. Kindness and warmth of human nature. Although there are no real decent people in the novel, there are also people who are not afraid of power and reason like restaurant owners, as well as the concern and touching warmth of onlookers, which all reflect the beautiful side of human nature.