Liu Zhenyun: Philosophical Thought in Classical Literature Masterpieces

The philosophical ideological content in the four major Classical Chinese literary masterpieces is indeed higher than that of such market novels as three words and two beats, and those are telling a story, but there are indeed great philosophical discussions in the four masterpieces

"Wind and Snow Mountain Temple"

The cleverness of "Dream of the Red Chamber" is its philosophical content

Any good author, he should first be a philosopher, such as Cao Xueqin, the author of "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Dream of the Red Chamber" focuses on several philosophical issues, one of which is the big and small problems. Since the legend of the Tang and Song Dynasties, of course, earlier from the "History", including from the "Zizhi Tongjian", all who tell stories are basically about people with names and surnames, such as heroes, and "Dream of the Red Chamber" began to talk about daily life, ordinary people's lives.

Of course, this statement is also incorrect, because "Jin Ping Mei" is also about the lives of ordinary people, including Lin Daiyu's reading of "The Tale of the West Chamber" in her hand, which is also about the lives of ordinary people. I think when talking about the lives of ordinary people, the cleverness of "Dream of the Red Chamber" over those works is the content of its philosophical ideas. Because he is talking about daily life, but his starting pen is not written from daily life, it is talking about people's lives, not from people, I think Cao Xueqin's ideological pattern is greater than his contemporaries, including some writers before him. "Dream of the Red Chamber" is written about Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, but when he first started writing, he wrote about a stone and a grass, this grass dried up, this stone was watered a little from here, and the grass was alive again. Of course, who saved you, for the grace of life, the average person's statement is that so-and-so is particularly good to me, then I will repay you as a cow and a horse in the next life, which is the way ordinary people say and the general writer writes.

However, Cao Xueqin wrote lin daiyu this grass said, in the next life I will repay you with tears, it is this point to see the level of philosophy, but also the level of understanding of life, that is, the level of understanding of water, because the river is water, but tears are also water, that is, the difference in the understanding of water, it reflects Cao Xueqin's understanding of life is different from the general author.

There is also the understanding of cleanliness and dirtiness, which is a main line that runs through the beginning to the end of "Dream of the Red Chamber". Because Cao Xueqin's ideal characters are Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, Jia Baoyu is a stone, Lin Daiyu is a grass, this grass is because of watering to live, and then with tears to repay you, so he thinks that the cleanest thing in the world is stone and water. So he wrote that rongning and the second house were dirty, but the lion at the door was clean, and the lion was stone.

This stone is living in yihong courtyard, bathing every day, and the degree to which this bath is involved in this qingwen and musk moon is also a particularly worthy problem in the red academic community. Yihong Courtyard is very clean, but once Grandma Liu once slept in this particularly clean stone bed. After drinking too much, Liu Grandma lay down on Jia Baoyu's bed and slept, but after being attacked and Musk Yue found out, she blew Liu Grandma away, and told her never to say that you had been to this place. Grandma Liu escaped from Yihong Courtyard with a stream of urine.

But where does such a particularly clean stone end up going? Go to the dirtiest place in the world, because it was taken away by the dirtiest people in the world, one is a bald monk, the other is a lame Taoist, and one of their favorite things is to pick up this lice in front of the broken temple, the parasitic animal on its body. I think the understanding of the relationship between cleanliness and dirtiness is a particularly unique ideological system in "Dream of the Red Chamber".

"Journey to the West" points out that the most precious of the Chinese nation as an ethnic group are people with long-term vision

Before I was thirty-five years old, I thought that "Journey to the West" was particularly poorly written, because of its repetitiveness, that is, nine nine eighty-one difficulties, each difficulty is the same, the four masters and apprentices went to the mountain or the mountain forest, encountered a group of monsters, anyway, in the end Sun Wukong can always overcome. But when I re-read Journey to the West after I was thirty-five years old, I felt that it was good in repetition, and the ideological content in it, including Mr. Wu Cheng'en, first of all, I thought he had explored a particularly important issue. It is the relationship between the four masters and apprentices, this relationship is not found in other works, Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, Pig Eight Precepts and Sha Monk, who has the greatest ability? Sun Wukong, seventy-two changes, followed by the eight precepts of the pig thirty-six changes, the sand monk is that he sometimes dances with a flat shoulder and a Zen staff, and the most incompetent is the Tang monk. Not only did he have no ability, but he was also a troublemaker, and any time the monsters robbed the road, it was not because of Sun Wukong, the Eight Precepts of the Pig and the Sand Monk, but because of the Tang Monk. They all wanted to eat Tang Monk's meat for immortality.

Why did three people call him Master, a troublemaker who was the most incompetent? I think this philosophical question is no simpler to discuss than Hegel and Wittgenstein. When the author explores this question, he has given a simple answer, and I think it must be more than that, that is, in this daily road to the west, you can see the level of skill, that is, Sun Wukong, the Eight Precepts of pigs, the sand monk, and then the Tang monk. However, when encountering difficulties and encountering major junctures in history, the level of the realm is another matter, and when their cause of learning from the Western Heavens suffers a major setback, who is the first to jump out and make trouble? It was Sun Wukong, who had the greatest ability, he said no, I went back to Huaguo Mountain, and I didn't do it. Who followed the cajoling? It was the Eight Precepts of the Pig, and he said that if you don't do it, I will go back to Gao Laozhuang, and he still has a daughter-in-law waiting for him. The last to shake was the sand monk, and I also returned to the Quicksand River.

At this time, the novel is no longer writing a novel, he is exploring this profound philosophical relationship between people and people, but when the most difficult time is left with Tang Monk alone, he still says that I am going to the Western Heavens, and since he is gone alone, he still has to go to the Western Heavens, and all the monsters are coming at him, he does not have the ability to defeat any of the monsters, and he still has to go with the monsters. I think this is the most important reason why he can become the master of those three people, the most important reason why he can become their master is not because his ability is much higher than theirs, but how long and far his gaze can see, here arises a particularly important philosophical question, I especially agree with Mr. Wu Cheng'en put forward, what this nation lacks, he said when writing "Journey to the West" That what the Chinese nation lacks most is people with long-term vision, people with ability abound, people with eyes, People with eyes and no pearls also abound, and people with long-term vision are too rare.

Another is where did the difficulties on their way come from? This is another particularly important philosophical issue explored in Journey to the West. Originally, I thought that these people were all from the mountain forest, but if you examine carefully, they are definitely not from the mountain forest, and every time Goku takes a stick to beat this monster to death, there is always a voice from the sky: "Goku, stop." "Where did this man come from?" This demon and ghost came from the Bodhisattva, from the Jade Emperor, including from the Primordial Heavenly Being, including from Shakyamuni. The question is that you asked me to go to you to get the sutra, and the monster came from you, why should I take this sutra? What is the point of taking this sutra? This question is also very profound, don't you have a sutra for your own nation? Don't you have to go outside and get a sutra? At this time, Mr. Wu Cheng'en expected that this was not believed by the whole world, why are you still believing? So in the end, the four masters and apprentices finally reached the Western Heavens after all kinds of difficulties and dangers, and Shakyamuni said that it was not easy, so let's take the scriptures. Several people came to the front of the scripture library, and the two envoys who guarded the scripture library and the two protectors of the scripture library handed a gesture to the Tang monk, and everyone went back to look at the "Journey to the West", the Tang monk was a pure person, what did he mean by this? Pig Eight Precepts is clever, and has been mixed in Gao Lao Zhuang for a long time, Master, Money. He said that I wanted food, that the monk was a monk, and that how he saw the gesture of giving a person who wanted food was more than this, which showed how much benefit these two supreme beings had taken from the two supreme beings who looked at this sutra.

Why believe in this sutra? It is because this sutra has brought supreme vested benefits to many people. The Tang monk told the messenger this truth, saying that as soon as I wanted to eat, the two supreme beings looked at the bowl on the tang monk's body, and that bowl was a golden bowl, which the emperor of the Tang Dynasty gave him. He said I gave you all the guys who ate, so how do I eat next? The bible keepers are very powerful and take away the guys you eat with. Goku said that Master should give it to him, don't give it to him, don't run away in vain. He said yes, gave this bowl to the supreme, the supreme gesture again, two people, that is, the supreme is two people, the left one, the right one, what do you do if you give one? Tang Monk said that it was really gone, just this one bowl. The sutra that was taken in the end was incomplete, and this was Mr. Wu Cheng'en's prophetic foresight, saying that the sutra he took was incomplete, holding a broken sutra.

I think this, that is, the four masterpieces, this kind of philosophical and ideological content of the discussion, is indeed higher than this kind of market novel like three words and two beats, that is, to tell a story, there is indeed a great philosophical discussion here.

The best written character in "Water Margin" is Lin Chong

Then I would like to talk about a person in Pan Jinlian's era, that is, Lin Chong. I think "Water Margin" is an analysis of the humanity of the Song Dynasty society, this kind of philosophical society, meticulous, Shi Nai'an is a very thoughtful author, the best character written in "Water Margin" is not Pan Jinlian, nor Wu Song, nor Ximen Qing, it is just a triangular story, the best written is the first person to appear, Lin Chong.

Everyone knows the story of Lin Chong being forced to liangshan, in fact, there is a story behind it that forced Liangshan. When Lin Chong knew that this orthodox society could not tolerate his existence, he began to step from this society into another society, that is, the Jianghu society, the Jianghu society, he once talked with Lu Zhishen, talked about the language system, ideological system, world outlook, methodology of the Jianghu society, drinking in large bowls, eating large pieces of meat, and dividing gold and silver, so Lin Chong was full of hope, he was personally liberated, anyway, he killed people, I broke with this orthodox society, so he ran to Liangshan.

Unexpectedly, there was no difference between Liangshan's discourse system and the orthodox discourse system, especially human nature and human nature, and the relationship between people and people. Because the leader of Liangshan is a particularly narrow-minded person, who wants to meet a leader who is a particularly narrow-minded person, this is considered trouble, Wang Lun said Lin Jiaotou, this place does not allow you to. Lin Chong especially did not understand, don't you want to recruit good men? I am a good man, you are not going to abandon the ideological and moral language of orthodox society, I have abandoned it, I am here to run to you. The other party said that I can understand this, no problem, but we must have proof of action in this place. How do you prove it, he said? Wang Lun said that because the people gathered on our mountain were murderers and had killed people. Lin Chong said that I had killed people, and I had killed more than a dozen people in front of the Mountain Temple. I didn't see it. Hong Kong has made a movie called "Letter of Submission", I really don't know, he doesn't know what is called a letter of submission, it is a gathering of a group of murderers, the sign that comes in must be that you have killed people, Lin Chong said I have killed people, but I did not see. This is an important question that Wittgenstein discussed, I have killed people, I have come to kill people, the murderer said you have not killed people, I said I have killed people, I have not seen, I have not seen it is equivalent to not killing people. Then Lin Chong said how can I prove that I have killed people? Go down the mountain to kill another one, and Lin Chong said that I originally killed people who had a grudge against me, and if I went down the mountain to kill again, it had nothing to do with me. Okay, then you just haven't killed anyone. I don't know the intricate proof of this philosophy, Lin Chong said, what then? That's because you're not a murderer, so you have to get out of this place. Lin Chong said that I didn't go to the ground, then you prove that you have killed people. To what extent was Lin Chong finally helpless? Well, then I'll go kill someone. From the beginning to the present, Lin Chong's thinking is the split and transformation of the entire personality, and at the beginning it means that I fully acknowledge these absurd truths of your orthodox thinking, including the understanding of women as public resources, the understanding of ability, and also kill Lin Chong, so Lin Chong killed them. It is precisely another jianghu society that could have recognized this value system that has negated him. This absurdity, this Kafka and Camus is no more than that, not as well written by Shi Nai'an.

Na Lin Chong said I will kill people, this killing is not the same as the previous killing. On the first day, there was a small minion behind it, not a National Day, there were few people traveling to Liangshan Po, there were not many people on the road, suddenly a group of people came, in groups, the first day did not kill. Wang Lun's words have a time limit in advance from a philosophical point of view, three days, the deadline for you is three days, three days to kill people, kill people to join the company, you will kill people after three days and then it does not count, can you understand this philosophical truth? So within three days, you must finish killing a stranger who has no reason for himself, so some people say that there is no love for no reason in this world, and there is no hate for no reason, wrong, this is called no reason.

The next day, there was still no one, and the next day Wang Lun was standing on the cliff, and when he saw Lin Chong hanging his head in despair, he smiled and asked him, how is it today? In "Water Margin", it is said that Lin ChongWu bowed his head and did not speak. Cold violence, the source of this cold violence is no more relaxed than Gao Li and Gao Yan Nei.

At the end of the third day, the sun was about to set, either there was no one or a swarm. Lin Chong also has feelings for that little for three days, today I am so obscure, I don't want to go up the mountain, I don't have a face, I'll go. You see this written without my face going up. What no face? Killing a person who has nothing to do with him has face, and if you don't kill, you have no face, which is another level of philosophical truth. Xiao Yan said to wait a while, suddenly a person appeared, carrying a burden forward, Lin Chong suddenly jumped up and said a word What is it? Oh, God help me too. Killing a stranger is god help me, so that I can kill a stranger. When he went up to kill, another person jumped out, Yang Zhi, the two of them fought, they both had good martial arts, this time Wang Lun saw it on the mountain, said a word, don't fight, you both stay.

This is another truth to say that political balance, a person who has the ability can't do it, if the two have the ability, the two have the ability to fight, the leader said this line. But Yang Zhi said no, because he said that I was a descendant of Yang Linggong, and I would still go to Tokyo to do business. What to do? He took a load of gold and silver and went to Bieliang, to Tokyo to fight up and down, and to restore his official position. In the Song Dynasty, if you wanted to be an official to be an envoy, I don't know if I would make it clear. If Yang Zhi is a relative and Lin Chong fights is a concept, carrying a load of gold and silver to tokyo to fight, he still wants to enter that orthodox society, and then fight with Lin Chong and two people.

When Yang Zhi left the next day, it was Lin Chong's foot whether to get on this boat or not to get on this boat, very entangled and hesitant. "Water Margin" is written about a group of murderers, and this change in the world outlook and methodology and philosophical thinking of a group of murderers is like a silk, like a cry. Among these murderers written here, who is the person who is written most like a murderer, who is the one who most transcends the standards of the two orthodox societies and the jianghu society? It is the three brothers of the Nguyen family, that is, the fishing song he sang when he was fishing is that Lao Tzu was born to love to kill. He compared with Lin Chong, very, very very third world, so he is free, I was born to love to kill, I do not say that there is a vendetta with me, I do not say whether it is strange, his sense of freedom and happiness is a strong contrast in that society at that time.

Another happy person is also a murderer, that is, Sun Erniang, what is their biggest feature? No culture, no day of school, freedom, so Sun Erniang, buns are basically stuffed with human flesh, anyway, people passing by you to eat here if you don't leave, basically such a concept. The places where I watch American dramas and kill people are generally made particularly gloomy, but when I watch Shi Nai'an describe Sun Erniang's killing room, it seems to be full of warmth, and sometimes it is easy to kill mistakes, killing and killing friends, it is okay, I have already given him anesthetics, and then give him an antidote. At this level of warmth, a ray of sunlight hit the murder house, how dark can a society come out of the killing room? This is Water Margin.

I gave these few examples, just to illustrate how important knowledge, different understandings, different philosophical understandings, is to an author, and if he has a chemical reaction with literary literacy, what a great work will appear?

(China Writers Network 8.31 Liu Zhenyun)

Source: Digest