I always thought that only the "knife" can kill people, but I didn't think that "thoughts" and "ideas" can also kill people, and it can kill people invisible. Just as the Trisolaran deliberately overwhelmed scientific thinking with "non-scientific ways of thinking" when they attacked the people of the earth, thus collapsing the entire scientific system of thought, once people became "slaves" to "irrational" thoughts or concepts, it was difficult to escape.
The young master Wu in "Yan Bed" is a poor person who is bound by the old traditional concept of "no filial piety and three nothings is great", and forces himself and others to a dead end. In 1995, shortly after the release of the film "Yan Bed", it was favored by Hollywood, becoming the first domestic film to be purchased by Hollywood since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The film is adapted from Li Pingyi's short story "Giant Yan", the story is based on the family of young master Wu living in Jiangnan Water Town, around an antique "brick bed", exploring the embarrassment and dilemma of "childless couples" under the traditional idea of "no filial piety and three queens are great".
Although it was a film more than 20 years ago, it still seems to have practical significance. Because in the belief of ordinary people, "having children" and "having sons" are still the key to judging whether children are filial piety and affecting whether husband and wife are harmonious. However, in the film, the contradictions and struggles between Young Master Wu and Grandma Wu Shao also put a big question mark on the belief of ordinary people such as "no filial piety has three queens and is greater".
1, an antique "brick bed", the road broke the embarrassment and dilemma of the "childless couple"
In the early 1990s, in a remote old-fashioned mansion in Jiangnan Water Township, Yulian, an old woman who had been paralyzed in her lower limbs for many years, guarded an antique brick bed handed down from her ancestors, and spent the rest of her years alone.
An old antique artist was attracted to the brick bed and wanted to buy it, but the old lady refused:
"Don't come here with a lot of ink, my antiques are enough for you to receive, there is nothing else to talk about?"
The old antique master laughed and said nothing, this was not the first time the old lady had rejected him. For the old lady, the heart of guarding the brick bed is as firm as the heart of the old antique master who wants to buy the brick bed. Because this brick bed not only carries all the joys and pains of the old lady, but also hides a big secret.
Following the old lady's thoughts, the film pulls back to decades ago, when Yulian and the young master of the Wu family looked at each other and smiled. Then, a melodious and graceful song sounded, and the picture turned to the scene of Yulian and the young master of the Wu family shaking ten fingers, laughing and dancing.
Because of the smile on the town's back, Yulian married young master Wu, the only son of the Wu family, a wealthy family in the village. Young Master Wu liked Yulian very much, and after marrying home, he cherished it like a treasure, and he did not have the shelf of the great young master at all. He taught Yulian to dance, drew eyebrows for Yulian, took pictures of Yulian, told stories for Yulian, and was busy with love every day, romantic and soft.
Yulian liked to listen to Young Master Wu tell her stories, especially the strange stories about the brick bed.
Yulian recalled: "I used to lie on the brick bed in this courtyard and listen to stories, and in the summer the yan was very cold, and lying on it was like falling into an ice cellar. At that time, he was young and fierce, and thought it was all right. ”
Yulian wanted to talk and stopped, she knew that this brick bed was full of "aura", everything was good, even the emperor and the lady had slept on it, but the only thing was bad, that is, it was too cool, so that the people lying on it were injured and could not give birth to children.
Yulian married into the Wu family for more than a year and did not come out, which caused her in-laws to be quite dissatisfied. Yulian had words of suffering, and she also wanted to give birth, but Young Master Wu was "unable to do it", and whenever he reached the halfway point, he would "fight and return home", and he did not have the conditions to have a child at all. But such a thing, as a daughter-in-law, it is difficult for Yulian to tell her in-laws, so she has to accept her in-laws' white eyes while secretly inviting Langzhong to adjust for her husband.
In the past, whether it was a large household like the Wu family or an ordinary family, "passing on the generations" was a big thing, and men and women who could not have children were called "filial piety".
In the film, Yulian pounds medicine and decocts medicine every day for her husband's body; the picture of Young Master Wu patiently drinking soup medicine in order to give birth to a child as soon as possible is in stark contrast to the beginning of the film, when Young Master Wu and Yulian laugh and fight, and through the matter of "not being able to give birth to a child", the misfortune of "childless couple" is broken.
But they could only endure misfortune, because if Young Master Wu could not give birth to children, he would not be able to get the Wu family's family property. This means that their carefree days are coming to an end, and they have to run for their livelihoods and worry about chickens and dogs.
Thinking of this, the old lady choked. Because of the traditional concept of "marrying a husband and following a husband", she has no choice in the next choice.
2. Behind the efforts to pass on the generations is the sadness of women's "aphasia"
Ever since Old Master Wu gave Young Master Wu an ultimatum: if he can't have another child, he won't be able to inherit the family business, Young Master Wu has panicked. He said to Yulian:
"I know, I don't look like a man myself. Let's not let Agan do us a favor. ”
Yulian listened, the hand that made the medicine stopped, and she asked incomprehensibly, "Agen, what can he do to us?" ”
Young Master Wu gritted his teeth and said, "Let him help us have a baby." ”
After Yulian listened, she stood up excitedly, and she said angrily and awkwardly:
"How can you think that? How do I become a human being in the future? ”
Yulian lost her voice and cried bitterly, her questions were deafening, but no one could answer her. Young Master Wu looked at the jade lotus with rain from the pear blossoms and said sadly:
"My heart is also very sad, but for more than a year, have we both received less white eyes inside and outside the house?" As long as you are pregnant with a child, who can doubt that I am not the father of the child? ”
Yulian hesitated, the education she received from childhood, there was no way for her to make love to a man other than her husband after marriage. However, "no filial piety has three queens is greater", and Yulian is also worried about carrying the reputation of "no filial piety". In the film, Yulian stands in front of the window, looking at the busy Agen and wiping the details of tears with a handkerchief, expressing her inner struggle. When Young Master Wu persuaded 4 times, Yulian's fidgeting implied the weakness and passivity of women in the patriarchal society.
The concept of "marrying a husband and following a husband" makes Yulian unable to decide anything on her own, and can only obey her husband's arrangement. At that moment, she even panicked, fearing that she would be infatuated with the pleasure of Agen.
It is worth mentioning that the change of Yulian.
In the film, after Yulian learned that her husband chose Agen, she was inexplicably angry at Agen, "In the future, you don't touch the young master's medicine jar, no wonder it doesn't work when you drink it, it must be that you wipe it clean." This detail, which seems abrupt, is actually Yulian warning Agen and herself, "Don't forget your identity." ”
Because this paragraph is to pave the way for Yulian after "a long drought and manna", suggesting that she will fall into the confusion of "love without sex" and "sex without love". In just a dozen seconds, Yulian had been smiling and moaning in front of the mirror to sort out her hair, until Young Master Wu walked to her side, and Yulian awkwardly closed the corners of her mouth.
At this time, Yulian no longer cares about whether she can have children, but whether the "cloud and rain thing" can continue? After some time, Young Master Wu asked Langzhong to take the pulse of Yulian, but unfortunately, Yulian was still not pregnant. At that moment, Yulian was very disappointed, but there was a shameful ecstasy.
But Young Master Wu had a gloomy face and was depressed. He had thought that he would not mind at all, but looking at Yulian and Agen's eyebrows, Young Master Wu still couldn't help but mind. Dragging his weak body, Young Master Wu pushed aside the medicine bowl in Yulian's hand and said sharply, "This medicine is not clean, re-fry a pair." ”
Yulian was startled, and only then did she wake up from the joy with Agen. She cried bitterly, feeling both aggrieved and "dirty".
Originally, Yulian only needed to worry about "having a child". Now, after being forced by her husband to experience the happiness of "cloud rain", Yulian has fallen into torment and struggle. She didn't know how to calm her desires, nor how to deal with her husband and in-laws.
In fact, even if Yulian knew what to do, she couldn't do it according to her own wishes. Because the concept of "marrying a husband and following a husband" has long been deeply rooted in the bone marrow of Yulian, she only has obedience, not the right to follow her heart.
3. Behind the guilt and self-blame is the interrogation of traditional concepts
Since Young Master Wu began to mind the relationship between Yulian and Agen, he had no intention of letting Agen go. Especially after seeing that Yulian secretly went to find Agen and had a picture of him on the bed, she was even more murderous to Agen. At that time, Yulian didn't know how to calm her desires, she just wanted to be impulsive again desperately, but she didn't expect that her impulse would kill Agen.
In her sleep, Yulian was woken up by a pulling sound. She hurriedly got up and pushed open the window and looked down. I saw that Under the cold gaze of Young Master Wu, Ah Gen was tied up and pressed under the stone bed. Young Master Wu did not kill Ah Gen, but wanted Ah Gen to fend for himself and not to die. Yulian shivered from afar, she knew that Agen was locked up under the bed, but she did not dare to speak up or save it. Not only because of the concept of "marrying a husband and following a husband", but also because Yulian betrayed her husband and did something unspeakable with Agen.
In this way, the concept of "marrying a husband and following a husband" acted on Yulian and became a heavy burden for her. At the beginning, it was the husband's bitter persuasion and persecution that allowed Yulian to break through her own bottom line and fight with Agen Yunyu. Now, her husband wants to kill Agan, but she does not dare to save it.
Thinking of this, the old lady was left in tears. For 40 years, she has been very guilty, thinking that she has harmed Agen, so she guarded this "sinful" brick bed for 40 years and refused to sell it, until the distant niece and daughter-in-law took advantage of Yulian's bedridden and found someone to sell the brick bed, only to find Agen's white bone.
After watching this film, many people feel that it is the sinking of Yulian that pushes Agen and Young Master Wu into the abyss of despair. After all, one died in the soup medicine because she was buried under the stone bed, and the other died for her. However, I feel that in the era of male power, it was the concept of "marrying a husband and following a husband" that bound Yulian, and it was also the concept of "no filial piety and three queens are greater" that harmed Yulian and Young Master Wu.
If Yulian didn't have to listen to her husband in everything and had the right to choose her own, she might not have been happy with Agen in order to have a child; if Young Master Wu didn't care about the white eyes inside and outside the house and the bad reputation of "filial piety", she would not have forced Yulian to go to Agen because she could not give birth to a child.
In fact, in the whole process, Agan was the most innocent. He is not only the "tool" for Young Master Wu and Yulian to satisfy their desires, but also the victim of "no filial piety and three queens are greater". The setting of this character is not a percussion of the traditional concept of "passing on the generations"?
From spring to autumn, Yulian changed from a young girl to a white-haired old woman. The young master of the Wu family was injured by the soup medicine and died at the age of 30. On a boring day, Yulian was alone in the empty house and the brick bed, and there was no one to talk to. It was not until the appearance of the old antique master, Yulian talked about the past, and finally understood: although it is necessary to face up to people's desires, but everything cannot be forced, nor can it be overly bound by others or old ideas, the child is just a kind of natural "crystallization", which has nothing to do with the happiness of the husband and wife.
For Yulian, the "brick bed" in the film represents her "love-hate desire". Because "childless marriage" is not as simple as not having children, it also means that there is no "sex". On the brick bed, she has experienced love and joy, and buried a human life.
For Young Master Wu, the "brick bed" represents the confrontation between "freedom and bondage". On the one hand, he loves the brick bed and wants to lie on it to sleep all the time; on the other hand, he has to stay away from the brick bed because his body can't bear the shade. It was like his marriage. Originally, he could have lived happily with Yulian, but he was burdened by the traditional concept of "passing on the lineage", and the white disciples added a lot of troubles, and even exhausted the romance and turned it into a pool of unfortunate stagnant water.
Some people say that although "children" are not the key to affecting the happiness of couples, "sex" must be.
On whether "sexless marriage" can last?
Li Yinhe once proposed that "both parties talk about everything, care and support each other, and have continuous sex and love" are the three criteria for maintaining a good marital relationship. Therefore, at the end of the film, Yulian's hand is holding the brick that was once given to Agen until the end.
It was both Young Master Wu's "Yan Zhang" and the "Yan Zhang" that Yulian had transferred to Ah Gen. It is not an ordinary "Yanzhang", nor does it only pin Yulian's confession and guilt, but symbolizes Yulian's desire for "fish and bear paws" and her obsession with "sex and love".