01
"Dream of the Red Chamber" because the writing lasted too long and has been deleted several times, so there are inevitable omissions, the identity and relationship of some of the characters, it seems to be incredible, the very inconspicuous little girl Lin Hongyu in the baoyu room, that is, Xiaohong who was later wanted to go by Fengjie, is actually the daughter of the housekeeper Lin Zhixiao and his wife.
Xiaohong's identity is highly questionable.
First of all, if she is really the daughter of the housekeeper, why is she just a little girl who does rough work? Because whether it is family lineage, posture, or ability to do things, she is not bad.
Secondly, Lin Zhixiao and his wife had many contacts with Jia Mu, Madame Wang, Jia Lian, Feng Jie, Bao Yu and others, why did Bao Yu not know their daughter?
Again, Qingwen Qiuwen and others have repeatedly insulted and excluded Xiaohong, if Xiaohong is really the daughter of the housekeeper, will they still treat her like this?
As readers, we cannot be convinced that Xiaohong's identity as the daughter of the housekeeper must be an omission in the author's book,corpus, and we also need to give a more reasonable explanation for the above problems. The following is based on the above questions to analyze one by one.
02
One of the problems that makes many readers suspicious is that when Li Feng told Feng Jie that Xiaohong was Lin Zhixiao's daughter, the reader's reaction was about the same surprise as Feng Jie: "Oh! It turned out to be his handmaiden! ”
The reader's surprise is different from Feng Jie's surprise, Feng Jie feels that Lin Zhixiao's two sons are deaf and dumb, "both awl can't make a sound", who knows that the daughter who has been raised is so smart and clever.
But what surprises the readers is: Since Xiaohong is the daughter of Lin Zhixiao and his wife, and Lin Zhixiao and his wife are the number ones in the slaves of Jia Fu, why is it still an obscure little girl in the Baoyu House? And Qingwen Qiuwen and others were so defensive and insulted to her? Aren't you afraid of the retaliation of the Lin Zhixiao family?
Here we have to look closely at the development of the storyline, the reason is that Lin Zhixiao's two sons did not have a head and a face from the beginning, these two sons have worked in Jia Fu for many years, and they have gradually obtained the approval of the masters of Jia Fu.
The sixteenth time, it is written that Jia Fu planned to build a grand view garden to welcome the provincial concubines, and there is such a sentence, "Jia Zheng is not accustomed to mundane affairs, and only relies on Jia Shu, Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Lai Da, Lai Sheng, Lin Zhixiao, Wu Xindeng, Zhan Guang, Cheng Rixing and several other people to install and manipulate." ”
Cao Gong was a very careful person, that is, these names were also written in the order of class and priority: the masters were divided into generations and ages, respectively, Jia Yu, Jia Zhen, and Jia Lian, who were responsible for commanding; among the slaves were Lai Da, Lai Sheng, Lin Zhixiao, and Wu Xindeng, who were several slaves, but they were all housekeepers or clerks with heads and faces, who were responsible for passing on errands and allocating silver, etc.; the remaining Zhan Guang and Cheng Rixing were Jia Zheng's cleaners, who were about responsible for drawing drawings, reading drawings, communicating with craftsmen and other technical work in the construction process.
This should be Lin Zhixiao's first appearance in the original book, and the name is passed by.
The eighteenth time, Lin Zhixiao's family spoke back to Lady Wang, mentioning that the little nuns they bought had arrived, and introducing the origin of Miaoyu. The daughter-in-law who wants to come to Lin Zhixiao's house is also a daughter-in-law who often does things.
Until the twenty-ninth time, Jia Fu went to Qingxuguan to fight, Jia Zhen wanted to find a butler to order things, and the little squatters all shouted, "Call the butler!" Dengshi Lin Zhixiao ran to Jia Zhen with his hat buttoned.
At this point, the original text can be regarded as clear lin zhixiao's identity, he may be the foreign housekeeper of Jia Fu by the twenty-ninth time, and before that, he may just be an errand. And Lin Zhixiao's family is the inner housekeeper in front of Lady Wang Fengjie. He and his wife, one followed Jia Lian outside the lord, and the other followed Feng Jie inside the lord.
03
However, as housekeepers, Lin Zhixiao and his wife have done a lot of things, and they may not be able to see the fact that the pockets of Jia Fu are hollow, and in view of this, they may not be staring at the big tree of Jia Fu.
From the later article Feng Jie mentioned that the couple sent their daughter to Yihong Courtyard, it can be seen that Lin Zhixiao's two sons also arranged a most promising place for their daughter within the scope of their abilities and responsibilities. In Baoyu's room, the errands are easy, and Baoyu is kind to the next person.
If there is a creation, it is good to be favored by Baoyu, and it is also good to be an aunt in the future, after all, the Lin family can still support their daughters, and they will not be as miserable and miserable as Aunt Zhao. If there is no such creation, it is also a good choice to ask the master in the future, to release it from the treasure jade room, and to go outside to find a family affair. This is called attacking and retreating.
Moreover, Lin Zhixiao's two sons are old slaves of the Jia family for generations, going in and out of the house, and the identity and situation of The aunt of the Jia family are the most clear. Therefore, although the raiders and other servants bought from outside regard being an aunt as their lifelong goal, Lin Zhixiao's two sons and Lin Hongyu may not think so.
What's more, with the Lin family's years of operation, even if the wealth is not as good as that of Grandma Lai's family, it is much stronger than the attackers who have just entered the well-off family. Compared with the Lai family's release of their grandson Lai Shangrong from slavery, the Lin family may also want Hongyu to marry in the future, just as the daughter of the Zhou Rui family married the antique merchant Leng Zixing, living a life of small wealth and peace in the life of a flat-headed couple.
After all, they were the housekeepers of Jia Fu, and they saw that nature was one level higher, and they might not be staring at the position of Aunt Bao Yu. Since the family has small savings and can marry out better, why should they let their children and grandchildren continue to be slaves?
In this way, Lin Zhixiao and his wife installed their daughter in Yihong Courtyard and became a little girl who did rough work, which can be understood.
They did not expect their daughter to be selected by Baoyu, after all, they probably knew that Jia Mu had already taken a fancy to Qingwen, and then there was another attacker who had long been famous, and it was difficult for Xiaohong to come out. They also didn't care if The Little Red Moon case could get a few more silver or two, because their family was not as difficult as the Chunyan family and would care about that point of entry.
Lin Zhixiao's plan is probably to go with the flow, as long as the daughter can spend her life in peace and security. When the time came, the right son-in-law candidate asked the master to release his daughter to marry.
And Xiaohong is like those children in adolescence or rebellion, not satisfied with the life arranged by her parents for herself, she is a girl who dares to think and dare to do it, she is also smart and clever, both assertive and talented, and there is no lack of courage. Fortunately, she broke through many obstacles by her own efforts, left the Yihong Courtyard that frustrated her, gained a firm foothold around Feng Jie, and found happiness in life.
04
Finally, the third question is discussed, that is, whether Qingwen Qiuwen and others know Xiaohong's identity.
Qiu Wen scolded Xiaohong as "a faceless vulgar thing", "you also take a mirror to look at, with tea and water is not worthy!" "It was in the twenty-fourth time, Qingwen scolded her for climbing the tall branch in the twenty-seventh time, do they know the identity of Hongyu?"
If they didn't know, then it wouldn't be strange for them to insult Hongyu like this, but if they knew, would they still insult and oppress Hongyu like this? The answer is that it is still possible.
Qiu Wen is a small person who likes to grasp the tip, and his own ability is mediocre and has no talent. Qingwen is indeed grumpy and has no one in sight, but in Yihong Courtyard and even the whole Jia Province, she has both the skills to rely on and lean on. And this leads to the reason that even if Qingwen knew that Hongyu was the daughter of Lin Zhixiao, she might not necessarily put her in her eyes.
Although Hongyu is the housekeeper's daughter, Qingwen was brought to Jia Mansion by Grandma Lai. Grandma Lai's family is probably the most decent and well-managed slave in RongGuo Province. At the same time, Qingwen was even more called by Jia Mu to Baoyu, which was more than Hongyu. Moreover, Qingwen is the big lady of Yihong Courtyard after all, and she has the favor of Baoyu, so it is not surprising that she does not put Hongyu in her eyes.
The sigh issued by the twenty-seventh time Li Yanzhai was "the daughter of the butler, and the Qingqing generation squeezed it, and the medium of the misfortune was also" in addition to confirming Xiaohong's identity, giving a preview and hint to the fate of Qingwen and the ending of QiuWen and others after eighty times. This is the complex human sophistication of Jia Fu.
References: "Dream of the Red Chamber Fat Collection", by Cao Xueqin, Comments on Fat Yan Zhai, Yuelu Book Club.