"Painted Skin", also known as "Ghost Painting Skin" and "Painted Skin Ghost", is one of the passages in the collection of literary short stories "Liaozhai Zhiyi" created by the Qing Dynasty novelist Pu Songling. This novel is about a vicious-looking evil ghost, draped in human skin painted with colored pens, disguised as a beloved beauty, and playing with all kinds of deceptive means to achieve the purpose of splitting people's abdomen and digging people's hearts. Later, the evil ghost was recognized by a Taoist priest, and under the blow of the wooden sword, he was forced to finally take off his "painting skin" and reveal his true appearance, and was removed by a sword. The moral of this novel is deep and intriguing, and it should be a warning to men not to be seduced by beauty, so as not to be victimized by demons in human skin, and later this story has been remade into film and television drama works by modern people. - Encyclopedia
Jin Shengsi of the Qing Dynasty once said this about the problem of writing ghosts when commenting on the twenty-second time of the Fifth Book of Talents: "It is not easy to talk about ghosts in the world, but it is not difficult to talk about tigers." Without him, the ghosts are incoherent, and the tiger has a temperament. Saying that the ghost is said to be nowhere can mean making up for it; If you say that the tiger can't come, it is really a big section of strength. "Is it really so easy to write ghosts?" Are ghosts really incoherent and unseemly?
Feng Zhenluan once refuted this view in "Reading Liaozhai Miscellaneous Sayings", saying that "it is not true to give a word." To speak of a ghost must also have a rank, and to say that a ghost must also have a disposition. There is a proverb: 'To lie is to be round.' This is the second word of temperament. Try to look at the "Liaozhai" to say that the ghost fox is said to be based on the morality of personnel and the temperament of a hundred things. Extremely round, not unreasonable; It is very coincidental, just in the will of everyone. That's a very true statement. Writing demons and ghosts should also write about temperament, that is, to write reasonably and in line with the logic of life.
The aesthetic value and artistic charm of the fox demon ghost image lies not in the strange absurdity itself, but in the fact that they reflect people's temperament and human character in a special form. People find themselves in the image of demons, feeling familiar and strange, and the world of demons and foxes is actually a phantom reflection of human social life.
As Lu Xun said in the "History of Chinese Novels", "Liaozhai" is "using the legendary method, and using the zhiwei, changing the shape, such as in the present, or easy to adjust the string, do not tell the deformed people's strange deeds, out of the illusionary realm, suddenly into the human world.... At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the strange group of books, roughly abbreviated, the text is absurd, the birth is not merciful, the chat is different from the details, showing the ordinary, so that the flower demon fox charm, many human feelings, and easy to be amiable, forget to be different, and occasionally see the crane, know the non-human."
This shows that the reason why the Ming Dynasty Zhiwei has no artistic vitality is because it is "born without emotion"
"Liaozhai" wrote that the ghostly fox demon has the characteristics of human morality and "non-human", so it has high artistic value. Writing about ghosts is not only to write about ghosts, but also to write that it has "human feelings", 'it is indeed not easy. Pu Songling wrote in "Painted Skin" that a ghost who eats people with a beautiful woman in human skin is extremely temperamental. How did he write about the temperament of the devil? Through the language and actions of the humanized ghost image, its secret inner world is revealed.
As soon as the evil ghost appears, the purpose is to find prey and kill people. But it cannot reveal its true colors in front of people, so that there is no market for it. Therefore, she dressed herself as "Erba Shuli" and chose to "run alone with her arms and walk very hard" in the early morning when there were few people. Such an environment is an easy way to create an atmosphere of pity and sympathy. Just think, if a beautiful girl is not suffering misfortune, how can she be alone with a burden and rush to the road all night? She had obviously come a long way and was already faltering. How could a single girl appear on such a bright road, and how could she not attract the attention of Wang Sheng, who had left early?
When Wang Sheng hurried to catch up with her and asked her why she was "walking alone", it would naturally be aware that Wang Sheng had the evil idea of "loving and enjoying each other in his heart" as a ghost creature, so he replied: "Those who practice the path cannot relieve their sorrows, and they ask each other", which is a provocative and seductive answer, which is intended to induce Wang Sheng to further ask what sorrows he has, and can take the initiative to show the attitude of "can work" to lure Wang Sheng into the bait.
After Wang Sheng heard her tell the lie that she had been betrayed to Zhu Men, was humiliated miserably, and was about to flee, he believed it to be true and was indeed hooked. The evil ghost further confessed that "those who are dead have no fixed place", implying that Wang Sheng "I" is a fleeing person, and if there is any fixed residence, it is just wandering around. If you like me, I can go with you.
Wang Sheng did indeed take her back to the study, and she proposed, "If you live with pity for a concubine, you must keep it secret and do not leak it." These words not only conformed to the psychological state that a concubine of a large family must have after absconding, but also joined Wang Sheng's hidden intention of "loving each other in love", and the two of them slept together.
This dialogue meticulously portrays the evil ghost who is good at observing words and colors, pandering to Wang Sheng's evil thoughts, using deliberately provocative and deceitful language, and fabricating a set of stories that can make people cry and deceive pity and sympathy, achieving the purpose of seducing Wang Sheng. Its performance is realistic and moving, and it is difficult for anyone to distinguish whether it is a person or a ghost, showing its characteristics of being good at confusing people. Isn't this a projection of the temperament of the hypocrites in the world?
At the same time, the author also uses the method of writing about the actions of evil ghosts to reveal the essential characteristics of their ghost nature.
After the evil ghost deceived Wang Sheng's trust by virtue of its clever words and beauty, one day, it took advantage of the gap when Wang Sheng went out to re-paint the skin. The author uses extremely fine brush and ink to realistically imitate the process of its skin camouflage, showing its fickle and murderous nature.
The novel begins by writing about its true nature: "The face is emerald and the teeth are like saws." Emerald faces, eerie horrors, sharp teeth like a knife and saw, it was really scary. Here, its hideous appearance is first revealed, and later disguised as a charming beauty, forming a strong contrasting effect, the more it can highlight its fickle characteristics.
Then he wrote about the process of painting the skin: "Lay the skin on the bed, and paint it with a colored pen"; Then write how he disguises: "He has thrown a pen, lifted his skin like a vibrating garment, draped over his body, and transformed into a woman." It painted a good skin, threw off the paintbrush, lifted the paint skin, trembled, and then draped it on its body, and then became a charming woman. The evil ghost painting skin action is linked one by one, orderly, vivid and vivid, and vivid.
The section on the evil ghost killing is even more well written and has a beautiful voice. When Wang Sheng listened to the Taoist priest's hint, went home and peeked at the evil ghost's painting skin, he knew that he had been deceived, so he asked the Daoist priest to fly and hide in the inner chamber. That night, the evil ghost did not see Wang Sheng return to the room, nor did he know that Wang Sheng had seen his true face, so he walked into the inner chamber in the middle of the night without incident and walked into the inner chamber to find it. As soon as I entered the inner room, I looked up and saw that there were flies hanging on the door, so I "stood and cut my teeth" .
The fly whisk is a Taoist carry-on tool, and the evil ghost of course knows the intention of the Daoist who is good at lowering demons to let Wang Sheng hang the bedchamber door, which is the warning issued by the Daoist to it, admonishing it to restrain its horse from the precipice and stop. The evil spirit hated and feared the Taoist priest, so when he saw the whisker, he did not dare to enter the door. "Standing and cutting teeth" is a very vivid description of its mental activity in the here and now. But it did not dare to take risks, nor was it willing to throw away the prey in vain, so it lingered. "A long time is to go", writing about the fierceness of its inner struggle. "When it is young, it comes back" is the action it takes after repeated ideological struggles. "Coming back" shows that it does not want to leave empty-handed, and it is going to kill people with a fierce heart.
It then scolded "The Daoist priest frightened me", which was to embolden himself, and it was also the conclusion reached after repeated consideration, if it was not to intimidate himself, why did the Daoist priest only give Wang Sheng a fly whisk that could not kill him and not directly come forward to catch it? It is clearly miscalculated the situation. So he shouted that he would never spit out the "flesh to the mouth", saying that it had a human nature, and the original state of shyness and pity was swept away, revealing a vicious face.
Then it "takes the broken one, the bad bed door enters, the path is boarded, the abdomen is split, and the heart is gone", this series of rapid and decisive, continuous actions, in one go, it kills and digs out the evil deeds and interrogations of its murderous heart, from the broken whisk, the bad door into the bed, the path to the bed, to the split abdomen to dig out the heart, one action is closely connected to one action, step by step, layer by layer, do not allow you to breathe, live to draw its vicious and vicious nature of the evil ghost. In the end, it was written that it became an old woman hiding in the house of Wang Sheng's younger brother, in a vain attempt to continue to commit murder and evil.
However, evil cannot defeat righteousness in the end, although it is good at disguise, it still cannot hide from the "golden eye of fire" of the Taoist priest, and the evil ghost who has committed many evil deeds and is unwilling to repent is finally beheaded by the Daoist, and its beautiful painting skin is also "scratched off", the original form is exposed, and finally it turns into smoke, and it is put into the gourd, and it has been completely destroyed.
The reason why the evil ghost can deceive and eat people is because its painting skin sometimes turns into a beautiful woman, and sometimes turns into an old woman. This skin appears three times in the novel.
The first time is when the evil ghost spreads the skin on the bed to depict, and the vibrating skin is draped in a beautiful woman, writing how it disguises itself and appears in its original form. In the development of the plot, "Painting Skin" enables Wang Sheng to see the evil ghost's vicious face and wake up from the dream, but also indicates that the evil ghost will eat people, and the plot is about to change sharply.
The second time was after the evil ghost was knocked down by the Taoist priest, "the human skin was scratched and peeled off", the disguise was torn off, and the original form was revealed.
The third time was when people watched the "painted skin", "eyebrows, hands and siblings, all prepared". The Taoist priest rolled up and made a sound of "like a scroll scroll". This description is to enhance the realism of the "painting skin". The child's depiction of "painting skin" plays a role in the structure of the front and back response; In terms of ideological content, there is a deepening theme that gives people a world of endless associations.
The evil ghost image in "Painted Skin" and the white bone essence in "Journey to the West" "Three Dozen White Bone Essences" can be said to be twin sisters, both are fierce and vicious devils, are good at changing disguises, deceiving innocent and kind people, repeatedly warned and do not want to repent, and finally stripped off their disguises, the original form is exposed, and completely perished. However, the shaping of the image of the white bone essence is more romantic and magical, and can sometimes be beautiful, sometimes old, sometimes old, and endowed with the characteristics of a goblin.
The original text of "Liaozhai Painted Skin"
Taiyuan Wang Sheng went early, met a girl, hugged and ran alone, very difficult to walk, hurried to take advantage of it, is the second eight Shu Li. Loving each other, he asked, "Why do you walk alone at night?" The woman said, "Those who walk the path cannot relieve their sorrows, so why bother to ask each other?" Sheng Yue: "Why is Qing worried?" Or it may be effective without resignation. The woman said darkly: "Parents are greedy, and concubines zhu men." Jealousy is great, and the pilgrimage is insulted, and so the Buddha will be far away. Asked, "Why?" "Those who are dead have no place to do." Sheng said: "We are not far away, that is, we are worried about it." ”
The woman is pleased with it. The generation carries the object, and the guide and the same return. There was no one in the female gu room and asked, "Why doesn't Jun have a home?" Answering Yun: "Jai Er." The woman said, "This is a good place." If you live with pity for a concubine, you must keep it a secret. "Promises." It is in harmony with the bed. Make the secret room, after a few days without anyone knowing. Tell your wife. Wife Chen, suspected of being a concubine for everyone, advised her, and did not listen. Occasionally, when he met a soldier, he was stunned. Q: "What happened?" Answered, "None." The Taoist priest said, "The evil qi of the king's body is haunting, so why say nothing?" "Raw and white. The Taoist priest went and said, "Confused! "The one who is mortal in the world is coming and does not realize!" Born with his different words, quite suspicious of women. Turning to mingming liren, how to be a demon, Yi Daoist borrows a nightmare to hunt for predators. If there is no he, when it comes to the gate, the door is not allowed to enter, and what is suspected is beyond the heavens, then the door of the chamber is closed.
Tiptoeing through the window, I saw a ghost, with a green face and teeth like a saw, laying people's skin on the bed, and drawing it with a colored pen. He threw a pen, lifted his skin like a vibrating garment, draped it over his body, and transformed into a woman. Seeing this, the beast was terrified, and the beast came out. Rushing after the Daoist, I don't know where to go. When he is in the wilderness, he kneels down and asks for help, please remove it. The Taoist priest said, "This thing is also good and bitter, and those who can find a substitute will not bear to hurt their lives." "It is the fly that gives birth to the living, and makes the door of the bed hang." Parting date at the Qingdi Temple. When he was born, he did not dare to fast, but he slept in the inner chamber, and hung in the air. One more, he heard a sound outside the door, and did not dare to peep, so that his wife could spy on it. But when he saw the woman coming, he did not dare to enter, but stood and cut his teeth, and went for a long time. When he was young, he came back and scolded: "The Taoist priest scares me, but in the end, I would rather spit it out!" "Take it and break it, and the bad bed door will enter, and go straight to the bed, split the belly, and go away with the heart." Wife number. When he enters the candle, he is dead and dead, and his blood is in disarray. Chen Xiaoshu did not dare to make a sound.
Tomorrow, the younger brother Erlang rushed to the Taoist priest. The Daoist priest said angrily, "I have pity on me, but the devil is dare to do it!" "That is, from the birth brother." The woman is lost. Looking up, he said, "Fortunately, it is not far away." Asked, "Who's in the South Courtyard?" Erlang said, "What Xiaosheng gave up." The Taoist priest said, "Now the Junshou." Erlang was stunned, thinking that there was none. The Taoist priest asked, "Have there ever been any unknown people who have come?" Answered: "The servant went to the Qing Emperor Temple early, but he didn't know it, so he asked about it." "If there is a fruit, a concubine comes in the morning, and she wants to be a servant to operate for the servants, and the room people stop it, and they are still there." The Taoist priest said, "That is the object." "And so it went. The sword stood in his heart and exclaimed, "Evil ghost! Pay me a whisker! "The concubine is in the room, trembling and colorless, and wants to go out, and the Taoist priest strikes at her one by one." A servant, the skin of a human being is peeled off, turning into a fierce ghost, lying like a pig. The Taoist priest struck his head with a wooden sword. The body turns into smoke, and the ground is piled up. The Taoist priest took out a gourd, pulled it out, put it in the smoke, and the flutter was like inhaling in the mouth, and the smoke ran out in an instant. The Taoist priest stuffed his mouth into his pocket. Look at the human skin, eyebrows, hands and feet, all equipped. Taoist scrolls, like the sound of scrolls and scrolls, are also sacs, but do not want to go.
Chen Shi greeted him at the door and cried for the way back to life. Taoists can't. Chen Yi was sad and couldn't afford to fall to the ground. The Taoist priest mused, "I am shallow in my skills, and I really cannot rise to death." I mean one person or one. Asked, "Who?" "There are mad people in the city, lying in the dung, trying to prostrate themselves and mourning." If you insult madame, madame do not be angry. "Erlang is also accustomed to knowing that he is a Taoist priest and has gone with his sister-in-law. See the beggar singing on the road, the snot is three feet, and the filth is unapproachable. Chen knees forward. The beggar laughed and said, "Do you love me?" "Chen Sue. He laughed and said, "What is the purpose of living?" "Chen Gu mourned. Naruto: "Strange! Man dies and begs to live on me, I Yayal? Anger hit Chen with his staff, and Chen endured it in pain. The city's people are gradually congested. The beggar coughed and spit and held it up to Chen Kiss, "Eat! "Chen Hong rose on his face, and there was a difficult color; he thought of the Taoist priest's advice, so he forced him to speak." Feel it in the throat, hard as a clump, and go down the grid, stopping between the chests. The beggar laughed and said, "The lady loves me!" ”
Rise, the line has been disregarded. Tail, into the temple. Forced to ask for it, do not know where it is, search back and forth, for no reason, and return with shame. Mourning the tragic death of his husband, but also repenting of the shame of spitting, leaning down and crying, I hope to die. Fang wants to show his blood and collect corpses, and his family looks forward to it, and no one dares to come near. Chen hugged the corpse and collected his intestines, and he cried. The crying was hoarse, the vomit was sudden, and the knot in the mane suddenly came out, and before he could look back, he had already fallen into the cavity. Surprised, it was the human heart, suddenly jumping in the cavity, and the heat steamed like smoke. Very different. Hurry to close your hands and squeeze hard. If there is less slackness, the qi will come out of the seam, and the crack will be hurriedly bundled. Stroke the corpse with your hands, gradually warm it, and cover it with a robe. Mid-night enlightenment, there is a sniffle. Heaven lived. For the words: "Trance is like a dream, but the abdomen is painful." "See where it is broken, the scab is like money, and it is healed."
The Stranger: "Foolish world! Obviously, the demon also thinks it is beautiful. Confused fools! Ming Mingzhong also thought it was delusional. But the love of the lover and the fish, the wife will also eat the spit of the man and be willing. The way of heaven is good, but the foolish and the obsessive do not understand the ear. alack!
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