First, The Scholars is good at expressing satire on characters by describing their appearance, words and deeds.
For example, in the second time, Xia Zongjia, a small township official of Xue Jiaji, was portrayed by the author as a local tyrant in the countryside. Look at him: "two red eyes, an iron face, several yellow beards, wearing a corrugated hat askew, and blue cloth clothes are like oil baskets;" Holding a donkey whip in his hand, he entered the door, bowed to everyone and sat down in his seat.
What a "bow with one hand and a butt sitting on the seat", a movement vividly depicts Xia Zongjia's arrogance in front of the villagers. Why can he be so arrogant? Why is his clothes "like an oil basket"? The author went on to describe his words and skillfully solved the mystery.
"I'm not as happy as you are farming now. I think this is the Spring Festival, in the master's yamen, class three, room six, and that one doesn't post. How can you not go to the festival? Riding this donkey every day, going to the county, going to the countryside, running dizzy. Have you ever had any leisure time from the seventh day to the eighth day of the Lunar New Year? I can't wait to grow two mouths, but I can't eat it back. "
How boring this local tyrant's melodramatic display is! The reader's understanding is between the lines, not what the author explicitly tells him.
Wu Jingzi hates superstitious geomantic omen very much. Du Fu, the character of Borrowing Books in Forty-four Chapters, said that it is best to ask the imperial court to make laws to cut off the head of the deceitful Mr. Feng Shui and execute those who moved their ancestral graves because of their superstition in Feng Shui. In Chapter 45, the author describes two Feng Shui masters, Yu Yin and Yu Fu, who express the author's strong hatred. Action description is mainly used to write these two characters.
The Yu brothers looked at Feng Shui for a ancestral grave, and the owner brought a few pieces of soil in a red cloth pocket. Aftersound "Take out a piece of soil and put it in front of you, tilt your head to the right for a while, tilt your head to the left for a while, then pick up a piece of soil with your fingers, put it in your mouth and chew it with your mouth tilted." "Jade operator took the soil in his hand, held it under the lamp, turned it over and looked at the front for a while, turned it over and looked at the back for a while, and put a piece of soil in his mouth, with his mouth closed and eyes closed, chewing slowly. Chew for a long time, open your eyes, hold the soil in front of your nose and smell it. "In order to let the host see clearly, the lingering sound dipped his hand in the wine and doodled on the table. I also picked two faces, wrapped a long line around the table, and opened my eyes wide and said, "I'm going to be the number one scholar here, but I won the second place when I was buried, so I gouged out my eyes!" " In this passage, the author vividly and slightly exaggerates the absurd and despicable behavior of Yu Jia and his two brothers, and the language is extremely ironic. Feng shui is nonsense, but the Yu brothers make it mysterious. Even if there is feng shui, you can see it from a piece of soil, chew it out and smell it. And swear to tell such a lie.
Second, he is good at expressing irony by describing the contradiction between characters' words and deeds.
In the fourth cycle, after Jin Fan was promoted, his mother died of "joy", and during the period of respecting Ding You, she went to Tang Zhi County again. There are bird's nest, chickens and ducks, soft fish and bitter gourd on the table, and the tableware is silver-inlaid cup chopsticks. Fan shied away from the room and refused to use silvered cups and chopsticks. The Tang magistrate was busy changing the magnetic cup like chopsticks, but refused to use it. He changed a pair of white bamboo chopsticks and only used them. The magistrate of a county in Tang Dynasty was worried that Fan Jin had lost so much, but if he didn't use meat and wine, he wouldn't be prepared. I was relieved to see him pick a prawn Zi Yuan in the bird's nest bowl and put it in his mouth. " In this story, the author objectively and calmly describes Jin Fan's inconsistent behavior and implicitly and profoundly satirizes Jin Fan's hypocrisy. Lu Xun praised this passage as "no derogatory words, but false feelings, sincere words and wonderful choices, and it is difficult to attack."
Another example is that at the same time, Yan was a braggart: "My brother is just an outspoken person, and he never knows how to use people in the village ..." Just then, a servant of his family came in and said, "The pig that was shut up this morning, that man came to beg. It's noisy at home. " The author skillfully organized the contradiction between Yan's words and deeds, and achieved the effect of criticism and satire. Another example is that butcher Hu often scolds his son-in-law like a dog, saying that he is "quick-tongued", "worldly treasure is poor" and "like eating swan fart", which is extremely humiliating; After the senior high school entrance examination, the butcher said that he was a "star in the sky", "talented and good-looking", said "a good husband" and kept silent about "sir". This vividly depicts the ugly face of this philistine villain.
Thirdly, irony is expressed by comparing the stories before and after.
The shaping of some characters and the expression of irony are accomplished by comparing the stories before and after, which requires readers to look forward and backward when reading novels, and fully appreciate them.
The second time, Zhou Jin was over 60 years old, and he was still teaching private school in old boys, Kannonji. He has only twelve taels of silver a year, living in poverty and having a low status. Mei Jiu, a young scholar in the village, also laughed at him. Others entertain guests. Although Mei Xianghong is old, there are dates in the teacup. He just drinks tea. The seventh time, after Zhou Jin became a scholar and became an official, Mei Jiu shamelessly pretended to be a student of Zhou Jin, and also enshrined the memorial tablet of Zhou Jin's birthday boy in Xue Jiaji Kannonji. Mei Jiu saw a couplet written by Zhou Jin in his early years and posted it on the wall. When the red paper turned white, he ordered the monk to spray it with water, peel it off and frame it for collection. This contrast not only shows the completely different situation of Zhou Jin before and after he became an official, but also shows the vulgar snobbery of Mei Jiu's literati and the snobbery of ordinary people in society.
Therefore, the satire in The Scholars is not only the satire on the characters, but also the exposure, accusation and criticism of various social phenomena at that time. In the novel, the image of Kuang Superman is portrayed mainly by comparing before and after, and the corrosive harm of the imperial examination system and bad social atmosphere to scholars is exposed.
Kuang was originally a child of a poor family. He is a little clever. Because of livelihood problems, he lives in Hangzhou, and his father is too ill to go home. Mr. Ma Er saw that he was young, studious and filial, so he gave him money for travelling and gave him money to do business when he got home. When Kuang Superman came home, he waited on his father who was paralyzed in bed, while doing a small business of killing pigs in grinding bean curd with Mr. Ma Er's money, and reading articles under the lamp at night. At this time, Kuang was diligent, filial and sincere, and the pen and ink in the novel were full of praise. Later, Kuang Superman was admitted to a scholar, made friends with a group of celebrities and grandfathers in the city, and began to approve eight-part essays in order to climb wealth and prevent his wife from remarrying. In order to improve himself, he ungrateful belittled Mr. Marr's anthology. Boast about the book you choose, a book is published, guests compete for it, and it is even circulated abroad. "Those who study in five provinces, the younger brother is the biggest of all families, all on the case, offering incense to the throne of the former Confucian Kuang Zi". Who reads stereotyped writing abroad? The ancients called dead Confucianism "the first Confucianism", but Kuang Superman was so ignorant and boastful! The stereotyped examination, which takes being an official as bait, leads scholars to be keen on fame and fortune and despise academic conduct. In such a social atmosphere, Kuang Superman has changed from a simple teenager to a shameless person. By comparing the behavior of this character before and after, his works profoundly criticized the imperial examination system.
Fourth, the ironic tone conveys different feelings to different characters.
Wu has different feelings for different characters. In the tone of irony, some are merciless lashing, while others contain sympathy and pity.
The well-known story of Yan Jian sticking out two fingers when he died shows that it is too expensive to light two lamps in his house, which reflects the author's ruthless ridicule of the squire's extreme meanness.
For example, the third time, "Zhou Xuedao School teachers pull out real talents and learn". After Zhou Jin entered the Jinshi, he was appointed to study Taoism in Guangdong and presided over the Tongsheng examination. At the beginning, he got the paper of Jin Fan, a 54-year-old boy, and took it for more than 20 times. He thought it was not well written. After sitting for a while, no one handed in the paper, so I took Jin Fan's paper and read it again, which was a bit interesting. After a while, I watched it for the third time, but I still couldn't help sighing. This is "the most profound writing between heaven and earth, which is really a word and a bead", and immediately named Jin Fan the first. The description of this scene, on the surface, is objective and calm, but in fact, it makes a bitter ridicule and thorough criticism of the imperial examination system. Then Fan Jinguo has real talent and learning. Why didn't he go to school more than 20 times? Zhou Jinguo has a good eye. Why did he read this paper three times? If no one hands in the papers for a long time, will Zhou Jin watch them for the second and third time? None of the other candidates handed in their papers completely. How can they be the first? If Jin Fan doesn't have real talent and learning, wouldn't it be nonsense for Zhou Jin to praise "the best writing between heaven and earth" and "one word and one bead"? The lack of evidence in the imperial examination is evident!
However, when we read the stories of some characters, we feel that these people are ridiculous, contemptible and even disgusting, but at the same time we also feel that they are very miserable and pitiful; We will laugh, but we will also bow our heads and feel sad.
Jin Fan went crazy after his promotion, and Jin Fan's mother died of joy. Zhou Jin is over 60 years old. He has never been to the examination room of Hiram Hospital. After visiting Hiram's hospital with the help of a friend, he was moved by this scene and felt sad. He hit his head on the signboard and cried so badly that his eyes were bleeding. These people who were teased by the imperial examination system made people feel ridiculous and sad. Miss Lu, the daughter edited by Lu, has a beautiful appearance and is a "talented woman" who has read eight-part essay since childhood. Under the guidance of her father, "Xiao makeup platform, embroidered bed; Filled with one article after another; Every day, Huang Dan is rotten, and flies are fine. " However, Fu Cha Gongsun Zan showed no interest in promoting her career, which made her very miserable. Finally, she had to pin her hopes on the next generation, holding her four-year-old son every day, talking about "four books" and reading "stereotyped writing", day and night. These deformed characters entrusted the author with complex thoughts and feelings.
The husband of the third daughter of Wang Yuhui, an old scholar, died of illness, and she vowed to go on a hunger strike as a martyr. His in-laws and mother advised her to be a worm and covet life. Wang Yuhui, on the other hand, advised her daughter: "This will go down in history" and read and write calmly. My daughter died after eight days of hunger strike, and his wife cried her eyes out, but Wang Yuhui scolded, "You idiot, he died well here, but I'm afraid he won't die like him in the future." Because he laughed at the sky, "What a death! It' s so dead! " Reading makes people so crazy and inhuman, which is really creepy. In order to reveal the contradiction between feudal cannibalism and human kindness, the author went on to write that when his daughter entered the Martyrs Cemetery, Wang Yuhui was very sad and refused to come. Later, when I was traveling in Suzhou Canal, I met a young woman in white on the boat. I "thought of my daughter again, and my heart choked and tears rolled out." The author's description of Wang Yuhui has both severe criticism and deep sympathy.
The life experiences of such characters as,, Lu, and Kuang are not only the embodiment of their respective personalities, but also the reflection of the social environment at that time-the imperial examination system, feudal ethics and bad social atmosphere fooled them, destroyed them and influenced them.
Fifth, some subtle satire in The Scholars.
As mentioned above, the satire in The Scholars mainly uses simple, implicit and ironic expressions, or the contradiction between the characters' words and deeds, or the comparison of the plots before and after, or the book was discovered by another person-the mistake of Kuang Superman's "Confucianism first" was discovered by Niu Buyi. In short, most of them are implicit and not obscure, but there are also some ironic stories, which are difficult for ordinary readers to see because they involve some historical anecdotes and ancient poems.
The fourth time, Taigong Zhang Jingzhai told Liu Ji's story to Tang Zhi and Jin Fan. "He (Liu Ji) is a scholar of Hongwu for three years, and he is the fifth in the sentence" There is a way in the world "." Later, when he joined the Hanlin Academy, Hong Wu went to his house privately, just like "visiting Pu on a snowy night". It happened that Zhang Wang from Jiangnan gave him an altar of side dishes. He opened it himself, and it was all melon seeds and gold. Master Wu Hong said angrily, "He thinks everything in the world depends on you scholars!" The next day, Mr. Liu was demoted to the magistrate of Qingtian and executed with drugs. "
In this passage, Liu Ji, a famous founding hero in the early Ming Dynasty, was actually a scholar in the late Yuan Dynasty. His hometown is in qingtian county, and he has never been a magistrate of Qingtian County. Visiting Pu on a Snowy Night is a matter for Zhao Kuangyin and Minister Zhao Pu in the Song Dynasty, and it is also a matter for these two people, while Zhang Jingzhai is a matter for Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Ji and Zhang Shicheng. Ironically, both the audience and Xian believed it. A wise man and two juren were born in the imperial examination. I don't even know this dynasty! This is the cultural person trained by the imperial examination system. The story is whispered and vague, but after knowing the details, I have to admire the author's irony.
On the ninth visit, the sons of Lou San and Lou Si visited the so-called famous Yang Zhizhong twice, but they didn't meet. They found a piece of paper under the cabin. "The two sons opened it and saw a piece of plain paper with a poem written on it:' I dare not do anything just because I have read the running script. First frost and the scorching sun have passed, and the next spring breeze comes to the thatched cottage. "In the back line, it says' Fenglin is clumsy, Yang Caoyun'. After reading it, the two sons could not help sighing and saying,' This gentleman is thoughtful, but actually respectable! "How can it be so difficult for me and you alone?" "
These poems that the two sons saw were the last four sentences of a metrical poem written by Lv Sicheng in the Yuan Dynasty, not seven-character quatrains. Yang Zhizhong (Ming Yun) plagiarized and cheated the world and stole his name. Although the sons of Lou San and Lou Si are full of beautiful fantasies about celebrities, they are not ignorant but cheated. They admire Yang Zhizhong more and more. Celebrities are pseudonyms, and the son of a corporal who wants to learn from the ancients is also a ridiculous person who is blind and narcissistic. This irony is also obscure.
The satirical art of The Scholars has achieved great success. Mr. Lu Xun believes that there was no satirical book in China's novels before The Scholars came into being, and after that, "there are few people who satirize the world with public interests like The Scholars" (A Brief History of Chinese Novels). The Scholars laid the foundation of China's ancient satirical novels and opened up a broad road for the development of satirical novels in the future. In the late Qing Dynasty, The Appearance of Officialdom and Wu's Seeing the Present Situation of Strange Twenty were obviously influenced by the satirical art of literati. Famous passages, such as "Making Taiwan Meet Foreigners" (fifty times) and "Strange Land Seen in Twenty Years" in "Officialdom Appears", forced my widowed daughter-in-law to be the concubine of making Taiwan (eighty-nine times). Mr. Lu Xun highly praised the satirical art of The Scholars and used it for reference in his own creative practice. The theme of his novel "Kong Yiji" is also a criticism of the imperial examination system, which cleverly chooses the simple and ignorant narrative angle of the hotel waiter to make the narrative text appear objective, plain and calm. Then Kong Yiji's tragic experience reminds us of the four ways of writing fennel beans by Zhou Jin, Jin Fan and Kong Yiji, and also reminds us of Mr. Ma's stupidity and sincerity. From the creation of contemporary writer Acheng, we can also see the traces of literati influence. His novel Chess King is well used in line drawing, and his prose Father contains deep feelings, which is subtle and profound and refreshing.
The Scholars is a great literary work in ancient China. It enriched the treasure house of China ancient literature with high ideological and artistic quality, and left a valuable legacy for future generations.