Article | Lying Cat

"Six Chapters of a Floating Life" was accidentally discovered by Yang Yinchuan of the Qing Dynasty at a cold stall in Suzhou. When it was discovered, there were only four volumes of incomplete manuscripts. Like "A Dream of Red Mansions", it is a missing work.

The author of "Six Chapters of a Floating Life" is Shen Fu, an insignificant aide in the Qing Dynasty. The work is used to record Shen Fu's life. It has been passed down for centuries because of the elegant style of the work, and because it is a rare work in the Qing Dynasty that records the daily life of a couple.

In 1936, Lin Yutang translated "Six Chapters of a Floating Life". He wrote in the preface to the Chinese-English version, "Yun, I think, is the loveliest woman in Chinese literature."

The "Yun" mentioned here is Shen Fu's wife Yun Niang. Shen Fu's life was full of liveliness and interest because of Yun Niang. They were once the couple envied by their friends, a pair of gods and goddesses with deep love. But Yun Niang was ill-fated and had a rough life. She died before Shen Fu, which was the biggest regret of Shen Fu's life.

Under the feudal ethics of the Qing Dynasty, Yun Niang had failed her parents-in-law one after another. In the eyes of her parents-in-law, she is a daughter-in-law who is unruly and frivolous. But in Shen Fu's eyes, she is a rare good friend.

Yun Niang is a woman who dares to break through ethics and behaves candidly. Because of this, Lin Yutang praised her as the cutest woman. But this lovely woman, even though her character is so praised, still cannot escape a rough fate. This is the harm caused to her by feudal ethics and the injustice caused to her by ignorance and stubbornness.

Shen Fu and Yun Niang are cousins. Shen Fu's mother was Yun Niang's aunt. The first time Shen Fu and Yun Niang met was when he accompanied his mother back to her parents' home. When the two met for the first time, they hit it off very well. Yun Niang showed Shen Fu the poems she had written. Shen Fu fell in love with Yun Niang's talents and told his mother that he wanted to marry Yun Niang - "If you want to choose a wife for your son, you will not marry someone who is not a lady."

In this way, Shen Fu and Yun Niang began their fate with each other. Even if their marriage is happy and happy, even if they are in love, we know that incest marriage has great hidden dangers for the birth of offspring. of.

In the Qing Dynasty, the phenomenon of consanguineous marriage was quite common. As the saying goes, the ruling class of the Qing Dynasty first pioneered this practice.

Since the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the Qing royal family was very concerned about their noble blood. The emperor could only choose his concubines from Manchus and Mongols. In order to unite the forces between the major families, marriage is also the most feasible method. The empress of Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Xiaohui, was the niece of Empress Xiaozhuangwen and the cousin of Emperor Shunzhi.

This is the case in the palace, and ordinary people will imitate it. In "A Dream of Red Mansions", Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu are aunts and cousins, and Xue Baochai is aunt and cousins. No matter who they marry, they are all consanguineous. Some people say that according to research, in the real ending, Jia Baoyu's wife is Shi Xiangyun, but Shi Xiangyun is also from Jia's mother's family, and they are also cousins ??with Jia Baoyu. It can be seen that under feudal rule, this kind of unreasonable marriage was the norm.

In "Six Chapters of a Floating Life", Shen Fu and Yun Niang had a son named Fengsen, who died before he was a minor. The book does not explain the cause of Fengsen's death. We don't know whether it is related to incest. However, the recent disadvantages of marriage in terms of fertility seem to be an indisputable fact today. This was the first place Yun Niang was hurt as a woman under feudal rule.

When Yun Niang married Shen Fu, she stayed in the boudoir and never left the house. Shen Fu often went out and would tell Yun Niang about interesting things outside when he returned home. Yun Niang hated herself because she was not a man and had no chance to see the excitement outside.

Fortunately, Yun Niang is a bold woman, and Shen Fu is not a conservative. Lady Yun disguised herself as a man, put on Shen Fu's clothes, put on Shen Fu's hat, learned a man's walking posture and bowed his hands, and then went out for a stroll with Shen Fu.

When Shen Fu went to Wujiang, Yun Niang lied and returned to her parents' home, so that she could travel to Taihu Lake with Shen Fu.

She sighed, "Now that I can see the breadth of heaven and earth, my life is worth it! I think there are people in my boudoir who will never be able to see this for the rest of their lives!"

Yun Niang is really lucky to have the courage to break through ethics and seek freedom. But the sentence "There are people in my boudoir who will never be able to see this for the rest of their lives!" is really dazzling to read. As a woman, her life's mission is to care for her husband and raise her children, "obey your father at home, obey your husband when you get married, and obey your son after your husband dies." These three obediences describe the humbleness of women, and also reveal the harm done to women under feudal ethics.

A small home can easily lock up a woman's life. The deformed aesthetic of the three-inch golden lotus deprives women of their freedom of movement, harms their health, and eliminates the possibility of equality with men.

When Shen Fu was away from home, he often drank and chatted with his friends. At the banquet, there is always a beautiful woman accompanying you. Shen Fu and his cousin-in-law went to Guangdong to do business together, and they had an affair with the prostitute Xi'er. "All the prostitutes in the gang know each other. Every time they get on the boat, they are constantly shouting." This man's romantic style is evident.

At that time, it was normal for men to have multiple concubines. As a wife, Yun Niang is required by the society to be faithful to her husband, educate her children, and be filial to her parents-in-law. As a husband, Shen Fu can be regarded as a qualified husband as long as he provides food and drink for his wife, no matter how he looks for flowers outside and whether he is considerate and loving to his wife.

In "A Dream of Red Mansions", Jia Lian and Bao Er's wife were caught by Sister Feng when they were having an affair, which caused a big fuss. In the end, the matter calmed down, and it was just a few words of understatement from Jia Mu. "You are like a greedy cat, how can you keep from doing this?" The implication is that it is normal for men to cheat, and women will just turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye. Sister Feng is Jia Mu's most beloved granddaughter-in-law, so she only got these words of comfort. If it were anyone else who had made the whole family uneasy because of her husband's affair, I am afraid that not only would they not make the decision for her, but they would blame her for not knowing how to be a wife. road.

In that era when men were superior to women, women had a low status and could only be regarded as accessories to men. But human nature dictates that love is accompanied by possessiveness. Love has its special exclusivity. It is simply difficult for a woman to fight against her nature.

Yun Niang’s deep affection for Shen Fu is not difficult to see in "Six Chapters of a Floating Life". Shen Fu's friend brought a beautiful concubine, and Yun Niang sincerely began to search for a satisfactory concubine for her husband. How deep is your love for Shen Fu to do this?

Love between two people for a lifetime is in line with human ethics and nature. Feudal ethics require women to fight against their nature. While being loyal to their husbands, they should accept the beautiful women around their husbands at the same time. This is really a great injustice to women.

When Yun Niang selected a concubine for Shen Fu, one of the important criteria was "beauty and charm". Therefore, she fell in love with Hanyuan, the daughter of the prostitute Lengxiang, and became sworn sisters with her. Yun Niang tested Han Yuan's feelings in private. Han Yuan was shy, but she also expressed her willingness to agree to the marriage.

However, Shen Fu's family was poor, and Hanyuan finally broke the agreement and chose to marry a man who could give him a rich betrothal gift. Yun Niang was heartbroken by Han Yuan's unkindness and unrighteousness, and she was also injured because of it.

But Yunniang's parents-in-law blamed her for sworn sworn relationship with the prostitute's daughter and ruining the family tradition. Later, Shen Fu and Yun Niang were kicked out of the house. This was a major crime against Yun Niang.

If selling one’s body is a violation of social morality, then Lengxiang’s fault lies with her. What does it have to do with Lengxiang’s daughter? Moreover, Hanyuan is an outstanding person and is not a frivolous person. Later, Hanyuan chose a wealthy family, most of which were related to his mother Lengxiang. Furthermore, it was reasonable for Shen Fu to marry Han Yuan, but Yun Niang's sworn sworn relationship with Han Yuan would corrupt the family tradition. This double standard is the greatest injustice to women.

The friendship between Yun Niang and Han Yuan, the daughter of a prostitute, is a progressive behavior that breaks through the constraints of ethics. But she alone could not change the views of the entire society. The fourth persecution of Yun Niang by feudal ethics was to restrict her friendships and even her progress.

Under feudal ethics, people agreed that "it is virtue for a woman to have no talent." But when Shen Fu got Yun Niang, who was proficient in poetry and calligraphy, how much elegance and interest did he add to his life?

Yun Niang has been wandering for half her life, but she was harmed by the feudal system.

She is smart, brave, studious, and straightforward. Such an outstanding woman cannot escape her tragic fate. The constraints of the times cannot be resisted by one person.

Lin Yutang praised Yun Niang as the most lovable woman in the history of Chinese literature. This was a high praise for Yun Niang, and it was also a pity for the tragic fate of countless women under the feudal ethics of the old society.

Lying Cat: Lying down is worse than standing or sitting. I am a lazy cat who likes reading and writing.