Some Questions about Du Shiniang's The Box of Wrath

A Multi-image Interpretation of Du Shiniang's The Box of Wrath

Du Shiniang's Angry Chest (hereinafter referred to as "Du Shiniang") is a famous work among Feng Menglong's "Three Words" in Ming Dynasty (1574- 1646), and its ideological content and artistic achievements occupy the peak of China's ancient short stories. Perhaps it is for this reason that this novel has been compiled into the China Ancient Novel Unit in the fourth volume of New Chinese Textbook for Senior High School (Trial Revision). According to textual research, Du Shiniang was adapted by Feng Menglong according to the biography of ungrateful peasants written by Song Dynasty (1565- 16 16). (1) the Ming dynasty "parody". The story tells that Du Shiniang, a famous prostitute in the capital of Ming Dynasty, entrusted her life to Li Jia, a former student, in order to redeem herself and pursue true love. But angel lee is weak and selfish by nature. Although he really loved Du Shiniang, he succumbed to social and family ethics. Coupled with Sun Fu's instigation, he finally betrayed Du Shiniang, which led to the tragedy that Du Shiniang threw himself into the river. This story has been adapted into operas and movies for many times, and it has also been translated into foreign languages and spread to Japan, Europe and other places, which has had a great influence at home and abroad. Besides the touching image of Du Shiniang, the multi-functional and polysemous image of the "treasure chest" in the novel is also one of the important reasons. The author's handling of this image can be described as ingenious and of high artistic value.

First of all, the "treasure chest" is a clue to connect stories. In the novel, the "treasure chest" appeared four times, which constituted four stages of story development:

The first time: When Li borrowed money from his wife to redeem Du Shiniang's 320 pieces of silver, but there was no money, Du Shiniang took out 152 pieces of "private money" (borrowed from his sister, but actually taken out of the "treasure chest") to "let go" (in addition, there were 22 pieces as "bank capital"), and finally moved Liu Yuchun to borrow from them. This is the first stage of the plot development.

The second time: Du Shiniang and Li Jia bid farewell to Liu Yuchun and other sisters. When they were ready to go on the road, Xie "ordered someone to take a gold stationery to the front, and the blockade was very solid. I don't know what's in it. Ten Niangs didn't open it or refuse it, but thanked him politely. " This "golden stationery" is a "treasure chest". With this "treasure chest", the couple don't have to worry about the cost of drifting between the mountains and rivers. This is the second stage of the plot development.

The third time: after Li's twenty-two taels of silver were used up, he was "just depressed" because of insufficient funds in the bank. Du Shiniang took out the key from the box and took out five hundred taels of silver as bank funds. This time, although the "treasure chest" was opened face to face, angel lee was "too shy to peep at the truth in the chest", which made the "treasure chest" fall into the fog again. This is the third stage of the plot development.

The fourth time: When Li Jia was instigated by Sun Fu to betray Du Shiniang, Du Shiniang was filled with grief and indignation. He took the key to unlock the lock and threw the treasures in the box into the river one by one. Finally, she "jumped into the river with her treasure box in her arms" and ended her young life. This time, Li Jia, Sun Fu and onlookers can take in everything in a glance, making Li Jia "ashamed and bitter, regretting and crying", but it is too late to regret. This is the fourth stage of the plot development, and it is also the climax and ending of the story.

During the development of the whole story, the "treasure chest" as the clue of the story is like a hairspring. Like a dragonfly, if you are at arm's length; Like a Youlong, flickering. The image of "treasure chest" appeared four times in the novel, which hinted and promoted the development of the plot. The reader didn't know what was in the box for the first three times (the first time was a hint), and it was not until the fourth time that he began to pay attention to it. This is the ingenious idea of the author.

Secondly, "treasure chest" is a wonderful pen for narrative editors. The "treasure chest" in the novel is closed first and then opened, which prolongs the secret of the story, sets suspense for readers and enhances the readability of the work. Specifically, there are two points:

1。 Control narrative distance and form narrative rhythm. The four appearances of the "treasure chest" are the preparations for new events completed immediately after the previous event, and the arrival of new tensions when the old tensions are released. Just like the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves before, one wave is not flat, and another wave rises again, making the story full of ups and downs and twists and turns.

2。 Adjust narrative perspective and create narrative tension. In China's traditional novels, narrative stories mostly adopt omniscient perspective, so it is necessary to explain the ins and outs of events, clues and characters' life actions to readers clearly, otherwise it is suspected that the narrative is incomplete. However, Du Shiniang is different. It uses a limited perspective, so that readers don't know what the treasure chest is at first, and don't know the specific situation and mentality of Du Shiniang's secret treasure chest every day. It was not until Du Shiniang was betrayed by Li Jia, opened the box, took the treasure and threw it into the river that she realized that she still had a treasure chest. In this way, readers will think: Why did Du Shiniang accumulate the treasure chest, but refused to tell Li Jia the secret of the treasure chest, and why didn't he let the treasure chest play its role at a critical time? However, readers' discussions and answers to these questions are futile, which reflects the author's good intentions, which is also the key for readers to understand the connotation of the novel.

Thirdly, the "treasure chest" is a symbol of Du Shiniang's tragic implication. What are the causes of Du Shiniang's tragedy and the social and historical significance of Du Shiniang's tragedy? For a long time, people have made various speculations and interpretations on these issues, but they are always unsatisfactory. For example, some people think that Li Jia is the direct murderer of Du Shiniang, and his "negative emotions" pushed Du Shiniang down the river; Some people think that Sun Fu is the direct cause of Du Shiniang's tragedy. Without Sun Fu's encouragement, perhaps the Li family would not abandon Du Shiniang. Others think that it is simplistic and superficial to attribute Du Shiniang's tragedy to Li Jia's negative feelings and Sun Fu's instigation, and the cause of Du Shiniang's tragedy should be feudal ethics. It is through Du Shiniang's tragedy that the novel reveals the cannibalism of feudal ethics. The author thinks that the first and second views are too superficial, and the third view seems profound, but it is also formulaic and conceptual, and it fails to do its best. It may be a new way to interpret the tragic implication of Du Shiniang's image from the image of "treasure chest".

1. "Treasure chest" is a symbol of money and a representative of interests. The Ming Dynasty in China witnessed the rise and prosperity of commodity economy, and handicraft workshops dedicated to commodity production and exchange had begun to take shape. With the rapid development of commodity economy, the status of money and interests in social life is increasing, and traditional values are seriously challenged. The deep-rooted feudal family finally began to shake in the face of money and interests, and the relationship between people also changed from patriarchal ethics to interest-driven. This background is explained in the novel Du Shiniang: "As the ancients said,' those who complement each other will be exhausted'", "As the saying goes,' talking about money will lead to loss', and" there is a word' care for urgency' in this world ". In this social relationship, you and angel lee and angel lee have three relatives and four friends. This is also the reason why Du Shiniang has accumulated a "treasure chest". She fantasized about exchanging "treasure chest" for angel lee's love.

The "treasure chest" is a symbol of Du Shiniang's value and hope. Du Shiniang in the novel is a smart, beautiful and enthusiastic woman, but due to "unfortunate fate", she finally fell into a "dusty trap", suffered physical torture and mental abuse, and lived a life like hell on earth. She is eager to get rid of this inhuman situation and become a truly valuable person, so she has a "long-standing ambition to be good." However, it is not easy for a woman, especially a prostitute at the bottom of society, to change her fate. What's more, what Du Shiniang pursues is not a temporary affair, but an ordinary marriage. What she wants to pursue is a kind of human truth. Therefore, Du Shiniang painstakingly accumulated "treasure chest", hoping to prove his value with "treasure chest" and exchange it for true love. Du Shiniang refused to tell the secret of Li Jia's "treasure chest" when he chose Li Jia to entrust him for life, which is precisely for this reason. However, Du Shiniang was naive. In a greedy society, the relationship between people who stink of copper is not true! Her hopes are doomed to be dashed, and her tragedy is doomed to happen.

3. The "treasure chest" is a symbol of the fierce conflict between society and human nature and the real cause of Du Shiniang's tragedy. Du Shiniang's living environment is a society in which feudal ethics are dominant and interests are intertwined. In such a society, there is no soil for growing true feelings; In such a society, true feelings are like buds, without nourishment and moisture, only wither and die. Du Shiniang is so dignified that she believes in the power of human nature. She even mistakenly thought that money could buy true feelings. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Originally even if angel lee ungrateful, Du Shiniang don't have to throw himself in the water. She is young, beautiful and rich, and she can find another lover. Even if she is alone, she can survive. However, Du Shiniang was completely disappointed with the feudal ethics and selfish interpersonal relationships that ate people. A person who once felt grateful for himself, a person who really loved him, betrays himself at the expense of "1,200 yuan" and personal interests, and also has a Zhang Guangming face and a clear heart. Where else in the world can accommodate such a weak woman and her pursuit of a happy life? What medicine can cure her broken heart and the trauma of her soul? Du Shiniang, she can only use scolding to express her great indignation, and she can only use death to resist this dark society and save her dignity and innocence! . What Du Shiniang sank into the river was not a "treasure chest", but humanity, morality, conscience and people's hearts. Because there was no room for these things in the society at that time, Du Shiniang never escaped the trap of ethics and became a victim of money and interests. Du Shiniang's fault is not Li Jia, but the poison and destruction of feudal ethics to human nature, and the trampling and stealing of people's true feelings by money interests. And Sun Fu of Li Jia's generation has just become an indirect murderer!

Sad Du Shiniang, a sad song of society and humanity.

Why did Du Shiniang sink the treasure chest?

Sanyan Erpai is a very interesting book. It's interesting to write a story about a prostitute who didn't want to be sold and chose to throw herself into the river. More interestingly, the prostitute threw herself into the river with a priceless treasure chest, and the man who sold her couldn't help losing money and color. This story is called Du Shiniang's Wrath Box. I saw it in the second grade of primary school, and I was very impressed. This makes me feel that men are terrible. He can sell the woman he once loved (because he spent a lot of money on his passionate confession, it is natural for men to be willing to pay for it). So, did he have fear and guilt at that time? The answer is "no". Another Tang legend, Biography of Li Wa, has the opposite ending. It tells the story that Li Wa, a prostitute, cheated Zheng Yuan and all his money and ran away. Zheng Gongzi ended up singing a funeral song and finally lying in the snow. Li Wa felt sorry for him when he was in trouble (Miss Li Yaxian, 16 years old, still had a conscience, and there was no worldly accident, so I guess she was rude. It can be seen here that the usual "bitch is ruthless" paradigm has been broken, and the bitch is still affectionate and righteous. What is really heartless should be a man who feels that he is not worth trying to repent and take the "right path" after whoring.

Beauty and money are men's favorite, but they have to be destroyed together because of disappointment. There was a negative and sad atmosphere in their autumn together.

What I am interested in is that there is obviously a value judgment behind this. A prostitute is a creature, but she is not humble in personality. She is smart and consciously chooses her own path, and living by the door is quite scary. In Zhang Dai's Dream of Tao 'an, she wrote that "crooked prostitutes" (ordinary prostitutes) with old age and declining color are just a few words: "more than 500 to more than 600." Her object angel lee is gentle and honest, and his admiration for a generation of famous prostitutes is only a superficial phenomenon. As a result, a night's pleasure is expensive, and many men "get nothing in return", which greatly satisfies their mentality of monopolizing flowers. Unfortunately, due to profligacy, he also went downhill. (If a prostitute is as smart as Li Wa and cheats Zheng Yuanhe's son into running away immediately, at least he has money on him, so he won't. She didn't try to encourage the young woman to make a name for herself, but ordered her wife to improve her social status. She is simple, and this simple ideal of life unfortunately conflicts with traditional values.

It is not a sin for literati to go whoring, because prostitutes, especially famous prostitutes (geisha), occupy an important position in the legendary stories from Tang Dynasty to the end of Ming Dynasty and in the lives of poets such as Hong Fu, Liu and Li. They are inseparable from topics such as literature, elegance and vulgarity, national luck, and integrity. They also acted as moral persuaders, demanding that the literati take the orthodox road: either seeking a name or naming it. Generally speaking, they will die well, because their good death depends on men's value recognition, "it is more expensive to take it." Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that Zheng Yuanhe is playing with his own shares, which leads him to become a beggar who sings funeral songs. Finally, Miss Li Yaxian was lying in the snow. Once her conscience found out that Mr. Zheng was like a potential stock, which could be invested in exchange for corresponding social value, she immediately funded him to seek fame. Miss Li, a prostitute with an eye for pearls, actually made a speech, saying that the founding wife was Dangdang, and the ruthlessness in front was written off.

However, if we get rid of this road that is contrary to orthodoxy and only emphasizes love, as Mr. Engels said, "Equality and mutual love is the principle", then her ending will be tragic, which is unacceptable to traditional values. Just like the novel in San Yan Er Pai, the talented scholar Wang Xianlong is sad for the prostitute Yu Tangchun, and a friend advised: "You must know that fame is more important than a bitch", although a bitch's official career fame cannot be delayed. The appearance of the shrew is only to create a desperate situation for a literati to be obsessed with fireworks, and to make a contrast for later fame efforts. Once fame is in hand, it is a symbol of loss. However, if the bitch can persuade the scholar to seek the right path like a good woman, then the bitch's personality will be improved. On the contrary, if she only asks for one love, she will only be abandoned or die. The scholar's attitude towards it is "giving up is cheap", which is not based on its moral value.

Du Shiniang's humble position is beyond the tolerance of Li Jia's family. Angel lee was timid when she spent all her money (whether she was afraid of her father's life or the world), and finally sold her to a salt merchant at 1200 yuan. Judging from the final outcome of this transaction, angel lee must have made a loss-making transaction, and Du Shiniang paid more than 1200 yuan for prostitution. She can only lament: "I have jade in my belly, but I hate Lang as blind as a pearl." She couldn't accept her fate and had to throw herself into the river. Fierce Du Shiniang will not only destroy her body, but also idealized love in her mind, which she can handle by herself. As walter benjamin said, "Let's talk about spiritual sexualization, that is, the morality of prostitutes. She uses sex to embody culture, and sex is the most violent individualism. " In addition to spiritual sex, she also wants to destroy the money she earned in her life. The treasure in the "treasure chest" represents the great value she got through physical transactions. With this value, she can choose her own object and seek a new life to some extent. Money actually encourages women's sense of independence to some extent. If she just pinned all her hopes on marrying a "lover" without any financial strength as the backing, her situation would be even worse. This priceless "treasure chest" actually represents a new moral concept opposite to the literati class-it represents the rise of the values of economic independence of the citizen class, which is not taken into account by the so-called high class. Maybe angel lee knew that Du Shiniang was rich, so she wouldn't change hands easily. Money will expand the derivative space of feelings to a certain extent.

However, Shi Niang finally revealed this truth, or in her heart, her past experience told her that the trust in men is extremely limited, and this limit needs to be examined after a certain period of time and related conditions. But her investigation proved that what she entrusted was inhuman. It's a pity that deep despair eventually led to her death.

This new moral concept cast a shadow over angel lee's heart. He lost his beauty and money, which made him depressed.

The double destruction at the end of the article is shocking, but it also implies a desolate taste. All classical love stories (except a few works) are closely related to the traditional male-centered values. Once divorced from this metaphorical premise, they cannot exist independently.

The predecessors attributed Du Shiniang's tragedy to the personal qualities of Sun Fu and Li Jia, which went deep into the social essence. We can see that the erosion of human nature by money and power and the neglect and teasing of women's dignity by traditional ideas are the causes of Du Shiniang's tragedy in this play.

Du Shiniang sank his chest in a rage and jumped into the boat himself. Westerners want to ask, why did she do this? In the eyes of westerners, Du Shiniang died for the betrayal of the Li family, but why did she sink her treasure? So I don't understand. In fact, this is because China's literary works do not really depict the revenge psychology of women in China, so westerners don't understand it.

Women in China have a unique revenge complex since ancient times, that is, after their death, they use public opinion to oppress the government to treat the enemy's crimes-preferably capital crimes-in order to demand revenge from the enemy.

In fact, Du Shiniang committed suicide in public after losing her treasure chest, which is the best way for her to choose revenge. She has seen through that angel lee is a hypocrite, so she not only wants to make angel lee, who only recognizes money, feel distressed, but also uses her own death to arouse people around her, especially using public opinion to oppress the government to investigate angel lee and investigate his crime of forcing death. Please read this passage in the Romance of the Ming Dynasty: "All the people on board and passers-by who heard the news on the shore denounced Li Jia's impetuousness and Sun Fu's cruelty. While everyone was talking about it, Du Shiniang picked up the treasure chest and jumped into the cold water, and disappeared in an instant. "

The ancient laws of China can be said to act according to idioms. The so-called "grievances are the first debt" does not pay much attention to the evidence that directly hurts people's death. A hundred people saw Du Shiniang jump off the boat and drown himself. However, the government in China wanted to punish Li Jia's crime of forcing death because one hundred people saw it-this crime may not exist in the West. Du Shiniang committed suicide, but angel lee didn't push her. Angel lee had nothing to do with Du Shiniang's death. A hundred people saw it, didn't it just prove his innocence?

China people's thinking is more about the universal connection between development and dialectics, while China people pay more attention to and value the public opinion environment. Du Shiniang knows very well that if Li Jia is to be punished, there is a "forced death" clause in the government's laws. How to let the government decide? Is to use the characteristics of China People's Association and the power of China people's public opinion. China people's thinking of evidence and its rationality are different from those in the west. In the case of Du Shiniang's death, the suicide unrelated to Li Jia turned into a case in which Li Jia forced him to death. The ancient laws in China were based on the patriarchal clan system, and this kind of law can radically cure Li Jia's crime under certain circumstances. Before angel lee's crimes were dealt with, angel lee's reputation had gone bad. In today's words, it is "sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment 10 years plus deprivation of political rights for life".

But to achieve all this, Du Shiniang is very clear, the price is to take his own life. She did so without hesitation, and she is also the representative of countless women who have done so in China. This shows the social status of women in China in history. If they want to get the help of the law, they must use their lives to gain the greatest evidence strength in sympathetic public opinion, gain the advantage of judgment, and let the enemy perish in one fell swoop. This way of revenge is a shocking force.

From Du Shiniang's scolding of Sun Fu, Li Jia and throwing himself into the river, we can see that Du Shiniang has the character of self-respect, self-love, firmness and trustworthiness. Li Jia is a cowardly, selfish, opinionated and treacherous rich boy. This difference in personality foreshadows Du Shiniang's tragedy.

Even if Li Jia knew that Du Shiniang's box was filled with a million-dollar treasure jade, and his parents were strict, he would be able to have food and clothing in the future. Li Jia can't be loyal to his teacher's mother all his life, because Li Jia is a rich boy and a dude, and his feelings for Du Shiniang are true, but once he conflicts with his lifelong interests and family status, he will be shaken. He can't be beyond his time, and he can't be divorced from his living environment. So Li Jia can't be loyal to Du Shiniang all his life.

So, is Du Shiniang's tragedy accidental or inevitable? From the analysis of the development process of the plot, there are many contingencies in Du Shiniang's tragedy, but these contingencies are the inevitability bred by the social environment at that time. In the traditional moral concept, the dependent status of women and the humble social status of prostitutes, as well as the relationship between people with interests, are incompatible with the pure feelings pursued by Du Shiniang, resulting in the inevitability of Du Shiniang's tragedy.

Maybe you will say that Du Shiniang has an unknown treasure chest. She can redeem herself, or find another confidant, or go boating in the rivers and lakes, but she chooses to sink into the bottom of the river. Why? We can understand this problem in this way: what Du Shiniang pursues is not a short-term joyous love, nor a formal marriage, but a real feeling of cherishing and respecting each other. During her long career as a prostitute, she was bullied. When she finally got better after hard work, she was cheated, bought and sold, and abandoned. In this social environment where personality, dignity, conscience and emotion are traded as commodities, her ideal of pursuing true love was shattered, so she chose to fight with death.