Female images in literary works from the perspective of Liu Lanzhi.

Liu Lanzhi, the heroine of Peacock Flying Southeast, is a woman with traditional virtues. She not only has incomparable external beauty, but also impeccable internal beauty. In addition to the traditional virtues that women in feudal society must possess, modern female consciousness shines on her: self-esteem, self-improvement, sobriety and perseverance ... which have not brought her benefits. Instead, it accelerated her tragic fate. Her personality charm touched Jiao Mu and Jiao Zhongqing's patriarchal ideology, so she was sent home without her mother-in-law's permission, on the pretext of "acting on her own initiative". Finally, Liu Lanzhi defended her dignity as a human being with her death.

Keywords: Liu Lanzhi; Traditional heritage; Modern consciousness; woman

Peacock Flying to the Southeast was first seen in New Poems on Yutai, entitled "Ancient Poems Written by Lady Jiao Zhongqing". The preface said, "Liu, the wife of a petty official in Lujiang House, was sent by Zhong Qing's mother and vowed not to marry. His family forced him to die without water. When Zhong Qing heard about it, he hanged himself in the courtyard tree. When people get hurt, it's because.

Peacock Flying Southeast is the earliest preserved long narrative poem in ancient China, and it is also one of the representative works of ancient Yuefu folk songs. It is also called "double-walled Yuefu" with Mulan Ci of the Northern Dynasty.

In the long feudal society of China, the misfortune of women's fate is self-evident. Both China people and China culture have shown their versatility in treating women, and women have not received a clear and consistent evaluation. In the orthodox feudal culture, women are a vulnerable group that is strictly restricted. As far as time is concerned, women "listen to their fathers at home, marry their husbands, and obey their husbands", which makes them dominated by men all their lives. As far as space is concerned, "don't look back, don't show your teeth, don't move your knees, don't shake your skirt, don't laugh ... don't peek at the outer wall, don't appear in court, peeking will hide your face, and you will hide your face" [1], which makes women almost isolated from the outside world. Of course, the more important constraint is the confinement of women's thoughts and behaviors. Therefore, feudal ethics is imprisoned.

According to traditional research, Peacock Flying Southeast "exposes and castigates the evils of feudal system and feudal ethics through the love tragedy of Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi" [2]. Although this statement is not unreasonable, it always feels that it is not comprehensive and profound. When we enter Peacock Flying Southeast, the image of Liu Lanzhi always comes to our eyes, lingering and ready to come. From the aesthetic point of view, the peacock flying southeast is a world full of beautiful things. Among them, the image of Liu Lanzhi is a bright pearl in the image gallery of China classical literature. Her tragic ending enhances the infinite charm of her image beauty and makes it have unparalleled aesthetic value.

First of all, Liu Lanzhi is rich in traditional beauty.

(1) The image beauty of natural beauty. When it comes to the beauty of human image, people often think that only the west attaches importance to and appreciates it. For example, the Trojan War in Homer's epic was triggered by the struggle for the peerless beauty Helen. Similarly, in the history of China, people attached great importance to their own aesthetic value. Liu Lanzhi in Peacock Flying Southeast is an example. First, Liu Lanzhi will be abandoned by her mother-in-law, and she will return to her mother's house in the morning. The front description reads: "I stand on tiptoe, my tortoise shell is shining on my head, my waist is full of flowers, and the moon is full in my ears. Fingers are like cutting the roots of onions, and mouth is like holding Dani. The delicate pace is unparalleled in the world. " In the complex mood of farewell, Lan Zhi is still radiant, which can be said to be beautiful, comparable to Helen.

At the same time, the author also used the common brushwork of China's classical poetry-side lining, which shows that it is wonderful and unparalleled. Just after returning to China for more than ten days, the county magistrate sent a matchmaker, rejected the third son of the county magistrate, who was "chinese odyssey", "eloquent and brilliant", and sent a satrap to "sworn", which shows that Lan Zhi's beauty has spread throughout the village.

(2) The virtue of diligence and kindness is beautiful. Diligence and kindness are the traditional virtues of working women in ancient China, and Liu Lanzhi is no exception. In some people's view, "husbands do housework, women can't make money" [3], so women must engage in labor, such as "painting a phoenix and stabbing a phoenix", "embroidering pillows" and weaving. In Peacock Flying Southeast, the author wrote that Lan Zhi "a crow makes a cloth." Diligence. She wrote that she could weave five horses in three days. Besides, Lan Zhi's description of packing things in the room before leaving can prove her steadiness and carefulness in daily life. These all highlight her hard-working kindness, and the sentences of "five horses in three days" and "working day and night" can better show her hard-working and capable side.

(3) The spiritual beauty of being sensible and polite. In feudal society, Liu Lanzhi portrayed by the author is a perfect image of women's morality. She is versatile and well-bred. Zhong Qing's "no deviation in women's behavior" further shows that Lan Zhi's dismissal was entirely due to her mother-in-law. I am polite and well behaved. When I said goodbye to my sister-in-law, I told her that she was "diligent in housekeeping and helpful to others", which showed that she was actually very filial to her mother-in-law, even though her mother-in-law was so ungrateful to her. Then say "don't forget to play" to her sister-in-law, which shows that she and her sister-in-law have a very harmonious relationship. We know that her relationship is difficult, but Lan Zhi is very affectionate to her sister-in-law. Tears shed touching reminders such as "get up and help the bed" and "as long as I am", "be diligent and love the people, be good at helping the generals" and "the seventh day and the next day will not be forgotten". All these show that she understands etiquette, is easy to get along with, and her inner beauty goes without saying.

(4) Deep feminine beauty. A woman is persistent in love. "A woman values love more than her life" (Madame Curie). As Hegel said: "Love is especially beautiful for women, because women focus all their spiritual life and real life on love and carry it forward. Only in love can she find the support of life; If she encounters misfortune in love, she will be blown out by the wind like a flame. " [4] Volume II Isn't Liu Lanzhi like this? Liu Jiao's love affairs and vows are written in poems with affectionate words. Lan Zhi's loyalty to love is fully demonstrated through his "love alliance", "official sees Ding Ning refusing to take the wedding vows" and "meeting in the grave is not against today's words".

Second, a smart woman with modern brilliance.

(1) Intelligent and unyielding personality beauty. Mr. Lu Xun once said: "Although the courage and determination of China women have been suppressed by intrigues for thousands of years, they have not died in the end." [6] is the unique resilience of women in China. Peacock Flying Southeast describes Lan Zhi's beauty, intelligence, diligence and knowledge with exaggerated brushstrokes.

First of all, the scene of "It's hard to complain" not only tells us the virtue of Lan Zhi, but also shows us Lan Zhi's sober attitude in understanding the problem: "If you don't knit late, it's hard for your family and your wife. If you can't drive me, you can stay and do nothing. " Zhong Qing's conversation with her mother proved that Lan Zhi's judgment was accurate. As Lan Zhi expected, this is by no means a "weaving" problem. It was Lan Zhi's "justifiable defense" that stung Jiao Mu, the feudal overlord of the family, and it was inevitable to be driven away. Clever Lan Zhi, through the temptation of Zhong Qing, confirmed his analysis and judgment. When Zhong Qing failed to find her mother, she still had illusions: "Qing has returned to China for the time being, and I will report to the official today. When it was returned soon, it got married. " Lan Zhi told Zhong Qing calmly: "Don't be different, people are different."

Secondly, from the description of "heavy makeup", we can not only get a glimpse of Lan Zhi's amazing appearance, but also let readers feel Lan Zhi's suffocating stubbornness and self-esteem. Please read Embroider a skirt with me, and everything is four or five ways: feet crawling, head shining, waist flowing, ears full of bright moon. It means cutting the roots of onions. My mouth is like Dani. "This scene is not wonderful. At this time, I am full of resentment towards my mother, deep affection for her, and full of worries about the future. Really full of thoughts. Lan Zhi should have paid less attention to her clothes than her appearance, but she was all dressed up from head to toe. She married Jiao's family beautifully and wanted to leave Jiao's family beautifully to show her innocence. She wants to go. Don't cry in front of your mother-in-law. She dressed like this for the dignity of being a human being, as if a hero was going to the execution ground, and she had to dress neatly and hold her head high. Her heart was bleeding, but there were no tears in her eyes. Her chest was on fire and her face was expressionless. What a stubborn and loyal character and integrity.

(B) a strong sense of women's freedom. In feudal society, women's marriage was based entirely on men's thoughts and interests, without considering their love and freedom. Patriarchal marriage system is a pre-existing contract for women, which stipulates that women unconditionally obey men. This is a custom and law formed in advance when women are unmarried. In the patriarchal marriage contract, women are forced to sign it as soon as they get married.

When she was taken home, Liu's frightened and questioning words in Peacock Flying Southeast were quite telling: "My mother clapped her hands and said,' Thirteen taught you to knit sweaters, fourteen taught you to cut clothes, fifteen taught you manners, and seventeen sent you to get married, which means you kept your word. "What crime did you commit today, and suddenly you went home?" "The horror of Liu's mother is that she shaped her daughter according to the norms of feudal ethics, and the purpose of doing so is to meet the requirements of men. Because of her husband's divorce, her daughter can't meet the requirements of men; The horror of Liu's mother is that it is not in line with social norms and a kind of disobedience for her daughter to fail to meet the requirements of men, so it is also a shame. It can be seen that the purpose of Liu Rang's learning "weaving", "tailoring", "playing the piano" and "reciting poetry books" is not to make a woman with richer thoughts, spirit and personality, but to shape her.

However, Liu Lanzhi has a unique understanding that is different from male norms. She thinks that she "has thirteen skills in weaving, fourteen skills in tailoring, fifteen skills in playing the piano, sixteen skills in reciting poems and seventeen skills in being a gentleman's wife". She is such a woman who knows art, is proficient in poetry, is talented and has feelings. She should have her own ideal love and be loved by her husband. She has women's sense of freedom and the pursuit of love. She thinks that what she signed is a love contract with women's freedom, which has almost the same status as men. Therefore, she wants to get rid of the shackles of feudal ethics and get the freedom of human nature, the freedom of love from women as vassals of men, and the freedom of life from women as labor tools of her husband's family. That's why she has the dissatisfaction that "seventeen-year-old is a husband and wife, and her heart is often bitter and sad". Only then will there be the complaint that "my concubine is out of the room, and we often don't see each other much", the lament that "husband and wife can't be together" and the indignation that "my concubine can't be driven away, leaving her with nothing to do, so I can send it back in time for nothing". Of course, Liu Lanzhi didn't really want to leave Jiao Zhongqing, not to break the marriage contract, but to maintain her love contract as a woman in this special way. And her pursuit stems from the contract she signed as a woman with her love ideal when she was in Seeds of Love. This love contract, which precedes the marriage contract, inevitably has a fierce conflict with the patriarchal marriage contract: the new female freedom consciousness makes her resent the bondage, restriction and control of Jiao's patriarchal thought and yearn for a free love life.

(3) The tragic beauty of death. Lan Zhi was taken home. Although she made various efforts for the "special alliance" with Jiao Zhongqing, she refused the employment of county magistrate and magistrate. However, in the end, she was forced to break the contract. But that was the result of compulsion, and Liu Lanzhi was unable to confront this ubiquitous paternalism. Therefore, the responsibility for breach of contract lies in patriarchal ideology, and he didn't take positive actions to practice this contract. Only after learning that Liu Lanzhi had breached the contract, did he "temporarily return to his post for vacation" and meet Liu Lanzhi in a hurry. He clearly knows that he has never made any efforts to keep the contract, but he still has to ridicule, mock and humiliate Liu Lanzhi: "He Qing has to move higher and the rock is thick, and he can die for a thousand years; Puwei sewed for a while and it happened overnight. " And further sarcastically said: "Green wins the sky."

On the surface, Liu Lanzhi broke his promise, but in fact, Jiao Zhongqing was the actual breach of the contract. It was Jiao Zhongqing's failure to keep his promise and marry Lan Zhi that forced Lan Zhi to remarry. Instead of reviewing and reflecting on his failure to keep his promise, Jiao Zhongqing mocked Lan Zhi and shifted the responsibility for breaking the contract to Lan Zhi. When Langer remarried, Jiao Zhongqing got angry in front of Langer and proposed "I am alone in the grave", but in fact he didn't. This is the condemnation and pressure on Lan Zhi, the angry words of Lan Zhi after being humiliated, the unchangeable threatening words of Lan Zhi's remarriage, and the expression of his extreme disappointment and sadness. Therefore, although Jiao Zhongqing is the contractor of the yellow contract, Jiao Zhongqing's performance is passive, slow and reluctant. Knowing that Lan Zhi kept his promise, he "walked away knowing his heart" and "lingered under the court tree". Then "the southeast branch hangs itself." After he kept his promise in Lan Zhi, he kept his promise. That's because he can't change the contract, so he must practice. This yellow contract brought him a symbol of fear of "today's cold, the cold wind destroyed trees, and first frost broke the court", but he couldn't break the contract, so he sighed "empty house" and "changed houses".

In fact, Liu Lanzhi is the undertaker of the yellow contract. Because although she has been sent home, there is still a glimmer of hope in despair: she is eager for her husband to fulfill his oath and contract-to really marry her again. Jiao Zhongqing is the last ray of hope in her despair. But now, the only person in the world who can help and understand her is worse when she is physically and mentally exhausted, not only for her. What she got was severe satire, ridicule and humiliation. This patriarchal society has not left any living space for a woman with female consciousness like Lan Zhi, so she confessed indignantly and sadly: "What do you mean by saying this! It is also persecution, and so is your concubine. Then he resolutely signed this yellow contract and death pact: "It is not against today's words to meet the dead." Lan Zhi's signing was so decisive, and so was her performance. "Today my life is over, my soul is dead! Take off your skirt and silk shoes and lift yourself to the pool. "

Liu Lanzhi's covenant and performance is to prove her personality, but it also profoundly contains the woman's disappointment with Jiao Zhongqing, the man, the love and the patriarchal society. Therefore, Liu Lanzhi's death was not for double suicide. If it is for the sake of double suicide, she should choose this road after being expelled. If it was for double suicide, she should have thought of death after being forced to remarry. After being humiliated and laughed at by her husband, Liu Lanzhi died of anger on the wedding night of remarriage. Liu Lanzhi should use death to prove her innocence, her value, her dignity and her personality: she is not the kind of woman who is greedy for money and fickle, not the kind of woman who breaks her word, so she is so determined to die.

Liu Lanzhi is a great woman, who shows her desire for pure love, freedom and dignity and a better life in a patriarchal society. Her destruction contains profound cultural connotation, and the core of this cultural connotation is women and marriage under the patriarchal system. Liu Lanzhi is a tragedy, but it is not the only one.