Postscript of traditional values

In Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, women are often charming and infatuated with love, while men are mostly poor scholars who have been frustrated and depressed all their lives. Ye Sheng is a story about Ye Sheng, a gifted scholar in Huaiyang, a tragedy of the feudal imperial examination system and an autobiography of Pu Songling.

"Huaiyang leafy, lost its name. The diction of the article was the highest at that time, but it was not uniform and was trapped in the life field. "

The names of the characters in Liaozhai refer to each other, or refer to a man or a student, or have complete names and sizes. Ye Sheng's opening is a little different. He was called Ye Sheng and lost his name. The names of novelists, except the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, often have certain meanings. For example, most of the names of the characters in A Dream of Red Mansions contain homophones, and Jia Baoyu's homophonic "fake Baoyu" is really a "stubborn stone"; Jia Zheng's homophonic "false positive" is a sanctimonious prude.

There are hints of plot design and ending hidden in the names of characters, which can also highlight the character. This is a subtle writing method, and Pu Songling certainly won't miss such an opportunity.

Some researchers in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio believe that Ye Sheng's homonym is "karma", which means that this person has fallen into karma. Ye Sheng's articles and words were second to none at that time, but he was unlucky and always fell behind. He took the exam when he was alive, and he still took the exam after he died, with only one purpose: to take the exam.

From this point of view, the imperial examination system is really the retribution of Ye Sheng's life.

It is strange to take a crane from Guandong and make it a city, but it is strange to see its text.

Although his fate in the field of scientific research is very bad, he was lucky enough to meet his bosom friend, the local county magistrate Ding, who appreciated it very much. Every time he reads his article, he appreciates it very much. He was admitted to Ye Sheng with the first place, and took the provincial examination with ardent expectations, thinking that he would win, but after the list was published, he "still failed".

Ye Sheng regarded Ding Gong as a bosom friend, but he failed to live up to the ardent expectations of his bosom friend. Ashamed Ye Sheng easily gets sick, leaving only a handful of bones, like a puppet:

I lost my life when I was born, and I am ashamed to be a bosom friend. I'm so stupid, so stupid.

At that time, Ding Gong was dismissed for offending his boss and was ready to return to his hometown. He sent someone to invite Ye Sheng to join him. Ye Sheng said that my illness was too serious. Please go back first. Ding Gong was reluctant to leave, and still waited patiently for Ye Sheng's condition to improve. After a few days, Ye Sheng became ill and his condition improved. Ding Gong was overjoyed and took him back to his hometown to become the tutor of Ding Gong's son.

Ding's son is very clever, 16 years old. He can write an article after reading it for two or three times, but he can't make a fuss himself. So Ye Sheng taught students in accordance with their aptitude, and within a year Ding Gongzi could write an article in one go. Coupled with Ding Gong's relationship, Ding Gongzi was successfully admitted to the scholar.

Later, Ding Gongzi had to take an examination of juren again, and Ye Sheng gave Ding Gongzi all the eight-part essays he had written in his life to recite. When he took the exam, an amazing scene happened-all seven questions in the exam were given by Ye Sheng, and he won the exam with a good score of sixth place:

There are seven questions in the middle, and there are no omissions.

Ding was very excited. He said to him, You only gave a tiny part of your scholarship so that my son could be promoted, and you died here. What can you do?

Ye Sheng said, this is probably destiny takes a hand, but I can take this opportunity to prove to the world that I am not incompetent, so I am satisfied, and I can get myself like you. What do I have to regret?

Almost fatal. Breathe for Fukuzawa's article and let everyone know that this is not a war crime. Just make a wish.

Time flies and it's time to try again. Ding Gong suggested that Ye Sheng return to his hometown to take the exam. Ye Sheng behaved glumly, and Ding Gong couldn't bear to force himself. He secretly told his son who was about to take the exam to donate a imperial academy Prize for Ye Sheng in Beijing. Not surprisingly, Ding Gongzi is going to be the boss again this time, and he has also got the position of director of the Ministry.

Ding Gongzi certainly didn't forget his father's instructions. A year later, Ye Sheng took the provincial exam and won the lottery!

This is the goal that Ye Sheng struggled for most of his life, and everyone is happy for him. Ding Gongzi said to Ye Sheng: I'm going to Henan Road on business, which is not far from your hometown. After years of struggle, it's time to go back to my hometown!

So he chose an auspicious day and all the people went on their way. When they arrived in Huaiyang County, Ding Gongzi asked his servant to take Ye Sheng home with a horse.

This is the scenery of going home in splendor. When Ye Sheng got home, he found a depression in front of his house. He paced sadly in the yard and happened to come out with a dustpan. When he saw Ye Sheng, he was scared out of his mind.

Seeing life, throwing tools is scary.

Ye Sheng felt very strange and said to his wife, I am rich now. I haven't seen you for three or four years. Don't you know me?

The wife hid far away and cried, you have been dead for many years. What is wealth? I didn't bury you because my family was poor and my children were young. Now that the child has grown up, we are going to bury you. Don't go home to do things!

Ye Sheng was very depressed after hearing this. He went into the room and saw his coffin there. He disappeared as soon as he fell to the ground. When his wife came into the room, she saw Ye Sheng's clothes, shoes and hats on the ground, just like the skin of a cicada.

The wife is very sad. Although her husband is a ghost, it is a reunion after all. Before she could dispel her fears and talk to him, he left again. How can this woman who lives alone with her youngest son not be sad? She could only hold Ye Sheng's clothes and cry.

Why is the imperial examination system an obstacle to Ye Sheng's life?

It turned out that Ye Sheng met Ding Gong and died after failing after having obtained the provincial examination. He was already haggard, but suddenly he regained his spirits and went on the road with Ding Gong. He tried again and again, but he was able to help Ding Gongzi gamble on seven questions, all of which were the foreshadowing of Pu Songling's story.

Ye Sheng and Ding Gong are bosom friends, and Ding Gong is very grateful to himself. Besides, his dream of winning the lottery has not yet come true, so he believes that Ding Gong has a ghost to repay him. Ding Gong didn't act like a bosom friend. After his son became famous, he did not forget to help Ye Sheng realize his dream.

Ye Sheng finally put on the hat of Juren, but we didn't feel any joy. On the contrary, we feel fear and regret for Ye Sheng and the scholars of that era.

Life can't seek fame, but it is a double torture to the body and soul to continue to pursue it after death; It's a tragedy that Ye Sheng didn't pass the juror exam when he was alive, not because he was not talented enough, but because he didn't get social recognition. Ding Gongzi relied on his father's influence to some extent, exposing the dark side behind the imperial examination system. Ye Sheng's success depends on the reputation donated by Ding Gongzi. What's more frightening is that at the end of the story, Ding Gongzi heard that Ye Sheng was dead and wept bitterly, while Ye Sheng was buried in filial piety. Later, Ye Sheng's son won the reputation of a scholar with the help of Ding Gongzi.

Ye Sheng's tragedy didn't stop after his death, and his son will start a new road to fame.

It may be the traditional value of China people to let Ye Sheng's son continue to pursue fame, but looking back at the feudal imperial examination system with today's eyes, the previous generation has been poisoned, but it has not awakened, and on the contrary, it has kept the next generation on the wrong path. It is really the sorrow of the times.

Maybe Ye Sheng didn't understand until he died. It was the reputation he tried his best to win that ruined him!

Feng Zhenluan, a famous critic of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio in Qing Dynasty, once said: Ye Sheng's story is Pu Songling's autobiography, and it hurts every time I read it here.

To understand Ye Sheng, we must understand Pu Songling.

Pu Songling, like Ye Sheng, is a tragic figure who struggled for fame all his life. He took the imperial examination for the first time at the age of 65,438+09, and won the appreciation of the history at that time with good results in the three exams of county, state and road, much like the appreciation of the right.

PuSongling, who is full of ambition, should have successfully stepped down from the road of fame as a scholar, juror and scholar and become a winner in life. But who knows that since he took the provincial examination at the age of 2/kloc-0, he has never made a step forward, much like Ye Sheng's "still failed".

What is even more chilling is that at the age of 25, the brothers separated, and the elder brother and sister-in-law took away the house and land at home, leaving only a few shabby houses for Pu Songling, who had to lead a miserable life with his wife and children.

In order to survive, Pu Songling became a teacher and was a guest of friends intermittently. Only during the Spring Festival every year can he go home and reunite with his wife and children. This life lasted until Pu Songling died. In this article, when Ye Sheng came home, he saw that "the door was depressed and he was very sad". Why doesn't he go home every year to see the embarrassing scene of his wife and children?

It was not until he was 70 years old that Pu Songling gained a reputation as a "Gong Sheng", but this Gong Sheng was not the same as that obtained through the formal examination. In the Qing Dynasty, he would choose more outstanding talents from scholars to award Gong Sheng fame, and there were many kinds of Gong Sheng. Pu Songling is a "year-old tribute", that is, he specially selects talents who have served for a long time and contributes to the emperor. Pu Songling 19 took the imperial examination for the first time, and was awarded a tribute student at the age of 70. His qualifications are indispensable, but for a 70-year-old man, this is just a consolation prize.

After Ye Sheng's death, Ding Gongzi was buried with filial piety. Isn't it a comfort to comfort the dead?

Looking at Pu Songling's life, how similar it is to Ye Sheng? I think when Pu Songling wrote Ye Sheng, he also introduced his personal experience and feelings. Otherwise, how could he tell it in a huge space at the end of the story in Different Stone October?

October on a Different Stone accounts for almost one third of the whole story, which is very rare in the whole Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. In such a long space, Pu Songling mainly expressed two things. First of all, he thanked the teacher for his kindness:

The soul is separated from the bosom friend, but you can't forget death? People who smell it are suspicious, and I am convinced.

A man's soul will follow his bosom friend so much that it forgets that he is dead. Others don't believe it, I do. He also quoted a story that the ghost of a beautiful girl met her lover and bosom friend in a dream. What's more, as a scholar, if his painstaking articles can be appreciated, how can he not be grateful?

For Ye Sheng, the confidant is Ding Gong; For Pu Songling, his confidant is naturally a stone.

Second, express the feelings of talents:

If you often live in health, you will become ugly; Once it falls outside Sun Shan, this article is full of loopholes. People who cry in ancient and modern times, edge and vail; Turn right from wrong, Boleyi. Who is it?

A poor scholar who has tried every time is ugly even with a hair. Once he became famous in Sun Shan, even the best articles were full of mistakes. Bian He, who is famous for crying, was framed by Huai Bi. Who is Bole in the face of good and bad worlds?

Ye Sheng became famous for a while, and Pu Songling won the first place in the three exams, but he never gained a higher reputation. He was trapped in the fame field, and people with backgrounds went to high school again and again. Isn't that right and wrong reversed, black and white reversed?

Ye Sheng once said a crucial sentence: the crime of non-war.

When Xiang Yu was defeated in historical records, he said, "If I die today, it is not a crime of war." It's not that I'm not good enough to beat Liu Bang, but that the sky is going to kill me. Ye Sheng said this after experiencing the independence of Ding Gongzi and the strength of his father. Does it mean that my article is not good enough? It's all predestined.

Finally, Pu Songling said, close your eyes when you are alive and let God arrange it. There are many people like Ye Sheng, but how many people can meet Ding Gong and let him live and die together?

In this world, you just have to close your eyes and let go to listen to low-level creation. The world's Angzang has been reduced to a person like a leaf, and there are many more. Gu Ande brought Wei Fu back, and life and death also came from this. Hey!

According to "The Postscript of Seeking God", there was a man named Ding in Shandong who studied Taoism all his life, and finally died by Hexian. Here is the reference, but it happens to come from Kanto, and the name was taken by the crane, and Ding was also taken by the crane. Pu Songling compared his bosom friend to a virtuous fairy. On the one hand, he expressed his respect for his teacher (Shi), on the other hand, he may be saying.