Dream of Red Mansions, as a classic, not only the character portrayal is very vivid, but even the title in it is very particular.
Jia Fu is a famous nobleman, and his ascension to the throne is very strict, even the son Jia Baoyu is very cautious on weekdays, and he does not dare to make mistakes, otherwise he will inevitably be scolded by his father.
In the face of her biological mother, Jia Baoyu didn't even call her mother affectionately, but called her wife, which made people feel alienated.
But a closer look at the Dream of Red Mansions shows that Mrs. Wang's identity is extraordinary, and she cannot be called at will, even her own son Jia Baoyu cannot be called "Mom".
1. The identity of Mrs. Wang
Mrs. Wang is the wife of Jia Zheng, born in the Wang family, one of the four major families of Jia Shi and Wang Xue, and Wang Xifeng, a famous figure in Dream of Red Mansions, is her niece.
Madame Wang did come from a prominent background, but it was not enough to match a hereditary family like Jia Fu, and her status rose straight after marrying Jia Zheng, although Jia Zheng was not the eldest son, but he was the real ruler of Rongguo Mansion.
She gave birth to three children, Jia Zhu, Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu, for Jia Zheng, she has a generous temperament, and she is more loved in Jiafu, and even Jia's mother has a high evaluation of her.
Because of Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang naturally became the housewife in the backyard of Jiafu, but she retreated and handed over the power of the housekeeper to her maiden nephew, Queen Xifeng.
Wang Xifeng is indeed very methodical, she governs Jiafu in an orderly manner, and she is also very good at restraining people, but she still often asks Mrs. Wang's opinion, first, respect, and second, Mrs. Wang also has power in her hands, but it is no longer on the surface.
Later, Mrs. Wang's daughter Jia Yuanchun was favored by the emperor in the palace and became a concubine, and Mrs. Wang's identity became even more noble, unlike Mrs. Xing's glamorous appearance and no real power, Mrs. Wang's status in Jiafu was very noble.
Husband and daughter, one is an official of the court and a family member in the house, and the other is the emperor's concubine.
Under the ancient feudal system, according to Mrs. Wang's background, she climbed to the highest position she could climb.
Although Jia Zheng also has other concubines, the status of the concubine is far inferior to that of the main mother, and even the children born in the concubine can't call themselves mothers, they can only be called aunts, just like Jia Tanchun.
Although Tanchun was born to her aunt, she is very polite, atmospheric and intelligent, and later helped the housekeeper, and Wang Xifeng, a housekeeper, has a high evaluation of her.
Mrs. Wang also likes her very much, and treats her as her own child, although she can't express too much on the surface, but she recognizes her very much in her heart, but it's a pity that she was born to her aunt.
Tanchun naturally knew that Mrs. Wang felt sorry for her, but after all, she was not her own child, so she could only call Mrs. respectfully.
Jia Tanchun's title is reasonable, but Jia Baoyu also calls his own mother "Mrs.", so it doesn't seem to be angry.
From the many details of Dream of Red Mansions, we can know that although Mrs. Wang always says that Jia Baoyu is naughty and naughty on the surface, she loves her son very much in her heart.
2. The title of Mrs. Wang
Jia Baoyu is a very special son in the Grand View Garden, as if he grew up in the pile of fat powder and has no ambition, but he is the most understanding person, he was born in a high-ranking family but has no frame at all, but he tries his best to treat and respect everyone according to the environment in which he grew up.
His father was an official of the imperial court, his grandmother and mother were both Mrs. Decree, and his friends were either rich or noble, he was arbitrary and casual, but he was also very polite, his father scolded him a lot, he was just afraid and not resentful, his mother was very spoiled, he would not bully others, but was respectful to his mother, and often asked for reasons with an attitude of asking for instructions.
Like everyone else in the house, he called his own mother his wife, which seemed unfamiliar, but it was reasonable, after all, with Mrs. Wang's noble status, she was very particular about her title.
In the ancient society where the imperial power was as great as the sky, Mrs. Wang's status as a lady of the decree was extraordinary, and even her husband Jia Zheng often called Mrs. Wang "Mrs" in front of people, showing his respect for his wife's identity.
The Jia family is high-powered and hierarchical, although Jia Baoyu is Mrs. Wang's favored youngest son, she can't call her mother at will, and she must maintain a respectful attitude, because it is not an ordinary family, and Mrs. Wang is not only his mother Jia Baoyu, but also the head of the Jia Mansion and the emperor's wife.
Therefore, from top to bottom in Jiafu, whether it is the old man or the young lady, they all call Mrs. Wang Mrs., but this word is different from now, in ancient times, married women in ordinary families could not be called so.
There are several interpretations of the word "wife", first of all, it refers to the wife of the official called wife, and not all officials can be called so, in the Ming Dynasty, the wife of an official above the Cheng can be called like this, and then this name gradually spread, and the wives of scholars and doctors can be called like this.
In addition, in the past, the servants and slaves in the feudal era called the mistress of the family their wives to show respect.
Therefore, everyone in Jiafu calls Mrs. Wang Mrs., and even Mother Jia, who has the highest rank and the most power, also calls Mrs. Wang Mrs. Mrs. in front of everyone, not to mention Jia Baoyu, a junior.
Jia Baoyu called Mrs. Wang when she was not present, which was the same as everyone else, and it was polite, but it did not highlight the mother-son relationship between herself and Mrs. Wang, and she could get along with other young ladies and maids.
And in front of Mrs. Wang, Jia Baoyu also called her Mrs., with no less respect, but more cordial.
If the title of "Mrs." is to set off the identity of Mrs. Wang, and she has to be called like this, then whether Jia Baoyu will affectionately call Mrs. Wang "Mom" in private, in fact, it will not, because in ancient times, the word "Mom" was also very particular.
3. Jia Baoyu can't call Mrs. Wang "Mom"
In ancient times, most of the words that expressed mother were "mother", and later the title of "mother" slowly began to appear, and the earliest may have been from the Ming and Qing dynasties to have the interpretation of the word "mother", and it has not been fully popularized.
In Dream of Red Mansions, Xue Pan and Xue Baochai called their mother Aunt Xue "Mom", and Aunt Xue and Mrs. Wang were sisters, but Jia Baoyu never called her mother "Mom", which has a lot to do with Mrs. Wang's identity.
Although the Xue family is very rich in business, its political status is not as good as that of the Jia family, so after the two sisters got married, they were called Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue respectively, and their identities were also very different.
And the word "mother" is mostly used in colloquial expressions, often appearing in the conversations of maids and servants in private, although Xue Baochai is also called so, but it is related to Aunt Xue's identity, several people live in Jiafu and are guests, it is not good to make the appearance of the master, and the Xue family is not as strict as the rules of the Jia family, and calling "mother" in private shows that Xue Baochai's mother-daughter relationship is intimate.
The word "mother" does not only refer to the mother, but also refers to the old maid, or the older generation of women.
Many elderly maids in the Grand View Garden are called mothers by others, and most of them are called by their names first, and their mothers are called later, such as "Zhou Ma", "Lin Ma" and so on.
Such a big Rongguo Mansion, how many maids and servants do you have, the old maid is called mother, how can you care about Mrs. Wang is also called mother, of course, it is called wife.
Even Jia Baoyu can't be called like this casually, it seems that there are no rules in the huge Rongguo Mansion, and it also seems to disrespect Mrs. Wang.
Jia Baoyu does not call his mother, it is not Jia Baoyu's own Xi and will, it is in line with the social environment at that time, as a hereditary title bureaucratic family, Jia Mansion has many rules, not only Jia Baoyu restricts his own title, even his father Jia Zheng also has to pay attention.
Seeing Jia's mother coming, Jia Zheng did not directly call her mother, but called her "old lady", like other juniors, and it was the same for Jia Baoyu, both father and son called their mother "Mrs.", which showed respect and reflected the characteristics of the bureaucratic family at that time.
Even at home, officials and their families call each other first, rather than calling each other affectionately like ordinary people in their homes.
Although the Xue family is a yellow merchant and is very rich, the social status of the merchant at that time was not high, the Xue family was famous and rich but did not have much power, and the bureaucratic family of the Jia family was different, naturally there were not so many bureaucrats, and Xue Baoqi was also Xi to call his mother "Mom".
Jia Shi Wang Xue, the order of the four major families also indicates their status, the Jia family is powerful, there are many rules in the house, Jia Baoyu, as the heart of many elders, cannot break any rules.
Although he has aura and is incompatible with feudal etiquette, it is difficult to compete with the feudal environment at that time, and he can't even protect who he marries, or even the maids around him.
Just like Jia Zheng saw Yuan Chun, he had to bow down to be a minister, because he didn't worship his own daughter, he worshiped the imperial power.
Fourth, summary
Jia Baoyu does not call Mrs. Wang "Mom" is not because the mother and son are not close, there are many rules, and the social environment at that time is very different from now, according to the situation of the Jia family, Jia Baoyu must be called Mrs. Wang "Mrs".
This is related to Mrs. Wang's commanding identity, and also related to the bureaucratic Xi of the bureaucratic habitual title at that time, although the word "mother" seems more cordial in the eyes of modern people, but it does not conform to the social environment at that time.
From this point of view, Dream of Red Mansions deserves to be the pinnacle of literary history, and even a title has so much attention, which shows the author's painstaking efforts.
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