Structural characters refer to the characters needed for the development of the structure and plot of the work, which seem insignificant, but their role cannot be underestimated, often at the fulcrum and turning point of the structure and plot, and the fate of the main characters. It has a crucial impact, even on the main theme of the entire work.
For example, Wang Jin, the leader of the 800,000 Forbidden Army in Tokyo, is almost the first positive character written in "Water Margin". Because of Gao Qi's blackmail and revenge, he had to take his mother away to go to Gao Fei, and after passing through Shijia Village, he disappeared again, just like the dragon saw the beginning and did not see the end, even his apprentice Shi Jin, who deliberately went to Yan'an Province to find him, did not find him.
What is the point of such a character, almost just appearing, making him disappear, and not appearing again in the future? In fact, the reader can see two points: First, it shows that "chaos is self-made". Gao Li was a gangster and a villain, with no morality and no talent, and because he kicked a good kick, he encountered the Duan King, and was actually promoted to a major minister of the imperial court.
However, Wang Jin had both moral integrity and ability, filial piety to his mother, and no offense, but he was threatened by Gao Qi to retaliate and wanted to kill him and then quickly, so Wang Jin had to take his mother away from home.
Second, because Wang Jin introduced such a good man as Shi Jin, he wrote a large story of Shi Jin. And Shi went in to find a teacher, and then got to know Lu Zhishen, which led to another big story of Lu Zhishen. If Wang Jin did not pass through the historians, Shi Jin's story would have to be rewritten.
Such a figure as Wang Jin set a spiritual tone for the hero of the whole book, especially for Song Jiang's Zhao'an thought. The Yan'an Province where Wang Jin was going was then the northern frontier of the Song Dynasty, facing a strong enemy of the Jurchen Jin Dynasty. Wang Jin knew, "That's where people go, enough to settle down." This spiritual tone is "guarding the border court, resisting foreign insults, and serving the country." ”
At the beginning of the whole work, Wang Jin's spirit and thoughts are written, which is what Jin Shengsi called the "grass snake gray line" method. The "grass snake" is not a snake, the "gray line" is not a line, at first glance, there is nothing; under careful discernment, the trace can be found, grasp a point, and move all over the body.
Wang Jin himself is not the volt line, and Wang Jin's idea of guarding the border court and serving the country is the volt line. The first echo of this volt line was a remark made by Song Jiang when he sent Wu Song to the Erlong Mountain before going to Qingfeng Village: "In the future, I will go to the side, shoot and slash, win a wife and a shadow, and leave a good name in the history of Qingqing for a long time, and I will not waste my life as a person." ”
The second echo is that Song Jiang received three volumes of the Book of Heaven in The Village of Hoan Dao, and the Nine Heavenly Daughters had four Heavenly Sayings to him, the last two of which were "From the North to the South, and two places to see Qigong." The "Northern You" here refers to the powerful enemy of the Great Liao State at the northeast border of the Song Dynasty at that time, and here it is implied that Song Jiang will lead the team to break the Liao and win.
The third echo is that at the chrysanthemum meeting on Shuipo Liangshan, Song Jiang composed the word "Manjiang Hong", the lower half of which has: "Tong Jackal Tiger, Royal Edge Banner." Order Ming, military prestige. The heart wishes to be peaceful and to protect the people and the country. ”
Such many echoes show that the main significance of the author's writing of Wang Jin, such a hurried character, lies in the long-term ambush, showing the spiritual outlook of the good hans, which shows the importance of such a structural character.
The writing method of the grass snake gray line in "Water Margin" is extremely vivid, and the characters have their own wonderful personalities. Most of these structural figures are hairy, and most of them are for short-term ambushes. Because these structural characters are very important, although the text is small and the length is not long, the background is reasonable.