Xiang Lin is the heroine of Lu Xun's short story "Blessings", and her portrait is: holding a bamboo basket in one hand. Inside was a broken bowl, empty; with a bamboo pole longer than her in one hand, the lower end was cracked: she was clearly a beggar.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="62" >01 In the five years, Xianglin sister-in-law has changed a lot</h1>
"Beggar" is xianglin's current appearance. Five years ago she was only pale hair, now all white, not at all like a person in her forties; her face was thin, yellow and black, and she had lost her previous sad look, as if it were a woodcut; only the eyeballs or rounds could indicate that she was a living creature. She is "I" in the old calendar years back to my hometown Luzhen, met an old acquaintance "beggar", she is Xianglin sister-in-law. Xiang Lin's sister-in-law is "Among the people I saw in Luzhen this time, the change is great, it can be said that there is no more than hers." ”
In the old calendar years, Lu Zhen's family was killing chickens, slaughtering geese, buying pork, washing and boiling carefully. After cooking, some chopsticks inserted horizontally and vertically on this kind of thing are called "blessings". This "blessing" is displayed on the fifth day, incense candles are lit, and the gods of blessing are invited to enjoy it, every year, and so is the family. In Luzhen, as long as you can afford to buy blessings and firecrackers, this year is naturally the same. And, doing things like this, it's all men. Preparing for the "blessing ceremony" is a sacred task, and Xiang Lin is not qualified to touch it. That is, he took his own salary for a year, took a leave of absence to donate the threshold to the land temple, thought that he had atonement for his sins, and happily returned to Luzhen, however, the people of Luzhen still regarded her as a sinner, and the fourth aunt still did not let her move the things called "blessings". Xiang Lin's sister-in-law's spirit finally collapsed, she became a puppeteer, forgot to taomi, forgot to do things, silly, just standing. Fourth Master Lu's family finally dismissed her, and she eventually became a beggar.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="63" >02 "I" became the last straw that crushed Xianglin's sister-in-law</h1>
The old calendar year has arrived, and everyone is busy preparing the "blessing". "I" met her by the river, she was completely a beggar, ... I stood still and prepared her to come and ask for money. However, when she took two steps closer, she lowered her voice and asked very secretly, "After a person dies, does he have a soul?" ”
"Maybe there is,—— I think." I said slurredly.
"Then there's hell?"
"Ah! Hell?" I was so surprised that I had to say, "Hell ?—— theory, it should be there." - However, it may not be ,...... Who cares about such things...? ”
"So, everyone in the dead family can meet?"
"Alas, if you don't meet?......", I hesitated and said stupidly, "that's ,...... Really, I can't tell.... In fact, whether there is a soul or not, I can't say. ”
The conversation with Xiang Lin's sister-in-law was that "I" was a little worried, so when she no longer asked immediately, she took a step and left, and hurriedly fled back to the fourth uncle's house, feeling very uneasy in her heart. I spent a night in uneasiness, and I also remembered the conversation with Xiang Lin's sister-in-law, as if there was an ominous premonition. Sure enough, in the evening, a discussion was heard. When the voices of others stopped, only the fourth uncle said loudly as he walked: "Not sooner or later, but at this time - this can be seen as a fallacy!"
"I" was first surprised, then very uneasy, uneasy, vaguely as if this word was related to me. But looking outside the door, there was no one. It was easy to stay until their short-term laborers came to make tea before dinner. I asked:
"Just now, who was angry with the Fourth Master?"
"Not sister-in-law Hexiang Lin yet?"
"Sister-in-law Xianglin?" What's wrong?"
"I'm getting old."
"Dead?" My heart suddenly tightened and almost jumped. However, "I" calmed myself down and asked, "When did I die?" ”
"When?—— last night, or just today." - I can't tell. ”
"How did he die?"
"How did he die?—— not poor?" He replied calmly, still without looking up at me, and went out.
In the eyes of Xianglin's sister-in-law, "I" is a literate (intellectual), and a layman, who is well-informed. Therefore, she pinned her hopes on "me" here. She asked me again and again—"the soul," "hell," and "after death." In the face of Xiang Lin's sister-in-law's three questions, "I" sympathized with her from the bottom of my heart and wanted to help her. However, "I"'s passivity, hesitation and hesitation turned The last glimmer of hope of Xiang Lin into the last straw that crushed her.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="61" >03 "I" have contempt for the conservative, backward, hypocritical and hypocritical nature of the fourth uncle</h1>
After the death of Xiang Lin's sister-in-law, "I" finally felt responsible, but I always wanted to escape. I was afraid that I would be as cold and cruel as those feudal people. He simply stretched out in the sound of blessings, turned around, and walked away.
The sound of fireworks, firecrackers is so loud, what whispered wailing can be heard? On the one hand, "I" have contempt for the conservative, backward, and hypocritical nature of the fourth uncle; on the other hand, I cowardly dare not have any dissatisfaction and expression for the fourth uncle. Therefore, sympathy for Xiang Lin's sister-in-law is also in the midst of hesitation and contradiction, stupidity and cowardice, and ambiguity. Although Xiang Lin sister-in-law has resistance and hope, is her struggle useful? Where is her hope? Even if she donated the threshold according to Lu Zhen's rules, Lu Zhen still could not tolerate her.
In fact, Xiang Lin was a typical figure in that era who fought against fate. She died her husband and dared to escape from her in-laws' house and work in Luzhen. But she was unable to completely erase her past, and eventually let her mother-in-law find her and sell her. It was the beginning of winter, "the fourth uncle's family wanted to change female workers, and the old wife of the guard who was a middle man brought her in." She wore a white head rope on her head, a black skirt, a blue jacket, a white vest, about twenty-six or seven years old, her face was blue and yellow, but her cheeks were still red. Wei's wife called her Xianglin Sister-in-law, saying that she was a neighbor of her mother's family, and when she died, she became a family member, so she came out to work. The fourth uncle frowned, hating that she was a widow.
Xiang Lin's sister-in-law "looked like Zhou Zheng, her hands and feet were strong, and she just followed her eyes and didn't open a word, much like a person who was safe and hardworking, so she ignored the frown of the fourth uncle and left her behind." During the trial period, she did it all day, it seemed that idle was boring, and powerful, almost worth a man, so the third day was fixed, and the monthly salary was five hundred yuan. ”
Fourth Master Lu also seemed to have forgotten Xiang lin's widow status, and somewhat recognized Xiang Lin's labor.
From the fourth uncle's dislike of her widowhood to the recognition of her ability to work, it was through such a process: Xianglin sister-in-law did not care about food in the fourth uncle's house, and her strength was not spared, and there was no slack in her work. People said that There were female workers employed in The Fourth Master Lu's family, which was better than the diligent men. By the end of the year, sweeping the dust, washing the floor, killing chickens, slaughtering geese, and cooking blessings all night long, all of them were responsible for one person, and there was no short-term work. However, she was satisfied, and there was a smile on the corner of her mouth, and her face was white and fat.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="60" >04 Xianglin sister-in-law donated the threshold to atone for her sins according to the rules of Luzhen</h1>
It was only after the New Year, about ten days later, Wei's wife suddenly brought a woman in her thirties in, saying that she was the mother-in-law of Sister-in-law Xianglin. The fourth uncle finally learned that Xiang Lin's sister-in-law had escaped, "Since her mother-in-law wants her to go back, what can she say?" So he calculated Xiang Lin's sister-in-law's salary, a total of seventeen hundred and fifty yuan, all of which were handed over to her mother-in-law. The woman took her clothes again, thanked her, and went out. It was already noon.
"Ah, what about rice?" Didn't Xiang Lin go to the rice ?......?"
The fourth aunt suddenly said in surprise. When Xiang Lin was going to the river to collect rice, she was forcibly stuffed into the boat by someone from her in-laws' family and transported away. It wasn't until after noon that the fourth aunt remembered that Xiang Lin's sister-in-law had gone to collect rice and had not returned.
Xiang Lin's sister-in-law was forcibly brought back to her in-laws' house by her in-laws, and she was forcibly stuffed into a palanquin by her in-laws and carried away. Along the way, Xiang Lin cried and cursed, and made up her mind to die. It was the mother-in-law who sold her to He Laoliu, and when she arrived at He Laoliu's house, the two men could not worship heaven and earth by pressing hard. In the end, she got a chance and crashed into the incense case, breaking her head and bleeding, but her struggle to force her to remarry did not take effect. A year later, she gave birth to a son named Ah Mao. When the people of Luzhen heard about it, they all thought that she had done good luck. Since then, there have been good days. However, within a few years, He Laoliu died of typhoid fever. Soon, Ah Mao was also taken away and eaten by wolves. Sister-in-law Xianglin became a widow again and lost a lovely son. The pain of losing her father and son, Xianglin Sister-in-law's face also lost blood, she was so pale, so helpless, and some of the middle-aged women (widows) of Muna.
Xianglin sister-in-law returned to Luzhen again, she is still "tied with a white head rope, black skirt, blue jacket, moon white vest,......" At this time, Xianglin sister-in-law has not been accepted by Luzhen. In the eyes of Lu Siye, she was already an unclean woman, and Lu Si discriminated against her, even Liu Mama also said that she had died two men, and she was a guilty person. Over and over again, she tirelessly told the story of Ah Mao's being taken away by the wolf, with a wooden look and a sluggish look.
The increasingly indifferent spectators laughed at her with Ah Mao's story, and even the scar on her forehead representing the struggle became a mark that could mock her. Mother Liu said that she had two men, and that in the future she would die, and when she arrived at the Yin Cao Mansion, the two men would inevitably fight for her. At this time, she would be sawn in half by the little devil of the underground government and divided into two men. In order not to suffer in the mansion in the future, she must go to the land temple to donate the threshold,—— so she will make a stand-in and let thousands of people cross to atone for her sins. It was Lu Zhen's rule, a rule she had never heard before. She used the salary she had saved for a whole year to take a leave of absence to go to the land temple to donate the threshold. The donation threshold is a very simple thing, probably after paying the money, there is no Xianglin sister-in-law thing left. In less than a meal, she came back in good spirits, and her eyes were very energetic. She happily told the fourth aunt that she had already donated the threshold to the Land Temple.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="41" >05 Xianglin's doom escalated again</h1>
Xiang Lin used the rules of Luzhen to donate the threshold to atone for her sins, hoping to be recognized by the people of Luzhen and reintegrate into the society of Luzhen. According to Liu Ma's words, she went to the Land Temple to donate the threshold, satisfied that she was the same as everyone else. Therefore, during the "ancestor worship of the winter solstice, she did more hard, and when she saw the four aunts pack the sacrifices, and Ah Niu carried the table to the center of the hall, she calmly went to get the wine glass and chopsticks."
The fourth aunt hurriedly said, "You let it go, Sister-in-law Xianglin!"
She shrank her hands as if she had been burned by a cannon, her face turned gray and black at the same time, and she no longer took the candlestick, but just stood unconsciously. It wasn't until the fourth uncle put on the incense and taught her to walk away that she walked away. This time she changed very much, and the next day, not only did her eyes sink, but even her spirit was even worse. And very timid, not only afraid of the night, afraid of the dark shadow, even if you see people, although they are their own masters, they are always worried, like mice that parade out of the cave during the day, otherwise they sit still and are a puppeteer. In less than half a year, his hair also became gray, and his memory was particularly bad, and he often forgot to dig rice. ”
"How did Sister-in-law Xianglin do this?" It would be better not to keep her then. The fourth aunt sometimes said this to her face, as if to warn her.
Yet she was always like this, and there was no hope of being clever. So they sent her away and told her to go back to The Old Lady Wei. Did she go out of the fourth uncle's house and become a beggar? Or do you go to the house of the old woman and then become a beggar? In short, Xiang Lin first became a beggar, and then buried her life by "I" answering the whereabouts of "soul", "hell", and "after death". The escalation of her tragic fate and doom, "I", a literate person and outsider in Xianglin's sister-in-law's mind, became the last driver of Xianglin's sister-in-law's misfortune. She lost the last glimmer of hope, and died when doom escalated to the point where her pale and weak body could no longer bear it. Again and again, her struggles finally became snowflakes at the arrival of the old calendar year, or fireworks after the crisp sound, and finally disappeared.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="64" >06 Summary: What is the significance of the tragedy of Xianglin's fate, and why her struggle always fails</h1>
Xiang Lin's struggle finally went to the brink of a desperate situation in life under the contempt and oppression of Lu Zhen's principal, Lu Si, a pseudo-"Taoist" of feudal society, and then by the false sympathy, real hesitation and ambiguous stupidity of "I", the so-called "intellectual" and "outsider", finally died in the firecrackers of the "Blessings" of the old calendar year. The sound of firecrackers was so crisp that it seemed to challenge Xiang Lin's death. Although the death is the tragedy of Xiang Lin's sister-in-law, she lives in people's hearts as a character image written by Lu Xun.
In the long course of nearly a hundred years of history, Xianglin Sister-in-law, as a typical image of rural working women in old China who were despised, oppressed, and even died by feudal pseudo-"Taoists", will still live in people's hearts. She was industrious, kind, simple, and tenacious, and she used means of escape, suicide, etc. to fight, and finally did not escape the shackles of fate; she went to the countryside to donate the threshold, hoping to atone for her sins, eager to be accepted, she used the income of a year's labor to "donate the threshold", only in exchange for an extremely short period of spiritual relief; her smile turned into a fatal dagger stabbed at her with the "winter solstice sacrifice", and she lost her rice bowl in Lu Si's house and became a mentally depressed beggar.
Sister-in-law Xianglin repeatedly fought against her unfortunate fate, but instead of fighting for the minimum right to be a normal person, she became a laughingstock that was trampled, persecuted, and despised (she repeatedly told her misfortune and the only hope in her life, Ah Mao), but was just a puppet who was teased by others. Reading Mr. Lu Xun's "Blessings", the tragic fate of Xianglin Sister-in-law, gives us a revelation that cannot be underestimated: Xianglin Sister-in-law is a typical textbook test figure worth remembering for our latecomers, a person's efforts and struggles, struggles and achievements, must be supported by the social environment, the party is the foundation of survival and growth.
The image of Xiang Lin's sister-in-law created by Lu Xun exists in the world of literature, and there is still real life. The shackles of a person's fate, bumps, may be like the waves of the sea, wave after wave, people are caught off guard. But to live is always what people want! As Yu Hua said in "Alive": "Man lives for the sake of being alive itself, not for anything other than being alive." The riches in the book are an example of "living"! Despite his ill-fated fate and lamentable sorrow, he always lived with such relish.
Trail 9/2/2021
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