Red Mansion, Second Master Lian is too despicable

Chapter 120 Miscellaneous Talk: Red sleeves add fragrance

Xi Peilan once wrote a sentence, "Green clothes hold inkstones to answer questions, red sleeves add fragrance to accompany reading", which evolved into "Red sleeves add fragrance to study at night", which is regarded as the most elegant and elegant thing for scholars.Yajuya is "adding fragrance to red sleeves". Ancient people with high living standards often used incense in their houses to repel mosquitoes, flies and turbid odors, so as to achieve the effects of removing moisture, refreshing the mind, and strengthening the body. "Red sleeves add fragrance" is an extremely elegant and beautiful thing done by a great beauty. It is so beautiful that it is so beautiful!

The ancient "adding fragrance" was very different from what we see now.Nowadays, the most common ones are spiral-shaped ones rolled out by big machines. They cost a few yuan a box. If you use this kind of incense on a daily basis, the "Red Sleeves" will ignore you!
Slightly better are the delicately packaged thin incense sticks called incense sticks.When the incense head is lit, smoke curls up from the incense stick.However, "red sleeves add incense" is not as simple as just sticking a stick of incense into the incense burner.If you look at the smokers in ancient paintings, you can hardly see a few incense sticks inserted in the smoker.People who use incense sticks are generally not worthy of "red sleeves".

The incense that "Hongxiu" adds to the incense burner is incense pills, balls, cakes, or powdered spices in hot weather.On some short video websites, some beauties use special tools to scrape sandalwood or agarwood into powder, and then use special tools to roll it into strips or spirals in the smoker.The utensils are exquisite and elegant, and the jade hands are delicate and lubricated. Then the scented powder is lightly lit. I want to learn how to "add fragrance to red sleeves", but I still can't do it.

When the spices are lit directly, the fragrance bursts out all of a sudden. It is inevitable that there will be smoke and smoke, and the strong fragrance is pungent. After the smoke is extinguished and the fire is extinguished, although the room is filled with fragrance, the fragrance becomes weaker and weaker and cannot be balanced and lasting.

"Red sleeves add fragrance" is not as simple as putting fragrant balls, fragrant cakes and fragrant powder into the incense burner.It is even more forbidden to ignite fragrant pills, fragrant cakes, and fragrant powder directly. "Hongxiu" pursues the state of burning incense, which is to minimize the smoke of smoke and make the fragrance balanced and light, with a long aftertaste.

Then you need to use good bamboo charcoal and charcoal, and the charcoal fire in the smoker should burn as slowly as possible, and the fire should be as small as possible without extinguishing it.Therefore, before "adding fragrance to red sleeves", you must first make preparations for the charcoal fire.

Burn the special small pieces of charcoal thoroughly, place them in the incense burner, and then bury the charcoal with fine incense ash.Then poke some ventilation holes in the incense ash so that the small pieces of charcoal buried under the incense ash can have limited contact with air. This is the first step.Then put a "fire barrier" on the incense ashes. There are many types of fire barriers, including ceramics, gold and silver, ore, etc., and they are all hard and high-temperature-resistant thin sheets.The last step is to place the fragrant pills, fragrant cakes and fragrant powder on the fire board and bake them with charcoal fire buried under the incense ashes to slowly bring out the fragrance.

However, this is not the end yet. Once the incense is put into the incense burner, "Hongxiu" will have to observe the fire intensity from time to time. If the fire is strong, he will add more incense ash to block some ventilation holes. If the fire intensity is weak, he will poke more on the incense ash. With several ventilation holes, the slowly roasted aroma has no smoky smell but spreads evenly and lasts for a long time.

The charcoal is buried in the ashes and cannot be seen, so you need to put your hand above the incense burner and judge the intensity of the fire by feel.Therefore, in addition to "adding fragrance", ancient poems also like to describe the scene of beautiful women testing incense with their delicate hands.As the saying goes, "Try the fragrance several times to keep your hands warm, and taste the wine to make your lips glow."

The "Red Sleeves" who stand in front of the incense burner are not only beautiful in appearance, they all like music, chess, calligraphy and painting, poetry, wine and tea. They have quick minds and elegant tastes. They never have to worry about their livelihood. All their thoughts are focused on waiting for a certain success. or a man who will be successful.Although there will be the pain of separation, the pain of disappointment, and the hurt of heartbreak, they are still the most beautiful "red sleeves".

The next line of Xiangling's poem "While listening to the flute on the Green River in Autumn" is "Red Sleeves Leaning on the Railing at Night", and I don't know how many red-sleeved beauties hover on the balcony, leaning tiredly on the railing in a daze.Xiangling's poems have the yearning of a wanderer and the sorrow of a maiden. The words are rigorous and the antithesis is neat, which is better than that written by Zhi Yanzhai.

"It is said that red sleeves have heavy marks from crying, and even more love, obsession and hatred."This is probably Zhi Yanzhai’s greatest understanding and affirmation of the man she was waiting for who ultimately failed to succeed in reality!It turns out that when Nuwa was refining stones to mend the sky, [Jiaxu side comments: Mending the sky will help the world, don't take it seriously, use common sayings. 】 "Mending the sky and benefiting the world" is the ideal of many scholars in ancient times. We will talk about it in detail later. 】Wujiya 【Jiaxu Side Comment: Wuji. 】Practice the high classics twelve feet, 【Jiaxu Side Comment: There should always be twelve hairpins. 】Fang Jing 24 Zhang 【Jiaxu side comment: Take care of the deputy twelve hairpins. 】Thirty-six thousand five hundred and one pieces of stubborn stone.The myth of Nuwa patching up the sky has been recorded in many ancient books. The author of "A Dream of Red Mansions" recreated the myth of Nuwa patching up the sky and added the size and number of stones. This is very meaningful.The stone is twelve feet high, which is equivalent to 40 meters. Why is the big stone so high?Because "twelve" is a very special and important number. The ancients discovered that twelve full moons are equivalent to one year, and "twelve" was regarded by the ancients as the "big number in heaven" that conveys God's will.A year is divided into twelve months, and these twelve months are divided into 24 solar terms. The reviewer said that "twelve" refers to the twelve beauties, which is the fifth chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions" when Jia Baoyu looks at the twelve beauties in Jinling. The twelve ladies in the book have a square length of 24 feet, and 24 is exactly twice the number of twelve. They correspond to the 24 women in the sub-book of Jinling's Twelve Hairpins and the second book. These 24 women are either in line with the Twelve Hairpins. The function of foil and exaggeration is either the image of the twelve hairpins and the insinuation of destiny.Many readers feel strongly that "Qing is Dai Ying, Xi is Chai Chai's deputy". Qingwen is Lin Daiyu's shadow, and Xi Ren is Xue Baochai's substitute.There is also Xiangling who looks like Qin Keqing, Shi Xiangyun looks like Jia Baoyu, Wang Xifeng has the shadow of Jia Mu, Lin Hongyu has the shadow of Wang Xifeng, etc. We will all talk about it later.

Regarding the myth of Nuwa patching up the sky, historical records such as "Historical Records", "Huainanzi", and "Lunheng" are not exactly the same. It is probably that a god named "Gonggong" fought with other gods, and Gonggong hit his head. Buzhou Mountain, the pillar between heaven and earth, caused a hole in the sky. Nuwa took remedial measures to save mankind from this catastrophe.There are even more records about Nuwa and other legends about Nuwa, which can be found in ancient books such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Liezi", "Chu Ci", "Book of Rites" and so on.

With the evolution of matrilineal clan society to patrilineal clan society, and the subsequent transition from slavery society to feudal society, Nuwa's deified status has changed.Many friends have heard the legend that Nuwa created humans. Theoretically, Nuwa should be the ancestor of the Chinese nation, but now people often say that the Chinese nation is the descendants of the Yanhuang people and the dragon. Emperor Yan and Huangdi are male, and the dragon also represents Men are no longer so closely related to Nuwa. Nuwa’s name is Fengli Xi. If we affirm Nuwa’s supreme status, it can be said that we are the descendants of Feng.The development and improvement of the feudal system led to the continuous strengthening of patriarchal power, husband power, and male power, which became the main reason for suppressing the development of the Nuwa myth and leading to the decline of Nuwa's status.The author uses the myth of Nuwa to mend the sky at the beginning. I think it has three purposes. 1. I just said that this book is absurd, and immediately used myths and legends to prove this "absurdity". 2. Nuwa repaired the sky because the sky collapsed, and the strengthening of patriarchal power, husband power, and male power led to the strengthening of monarchy.Between the monarch and his ministers, the monarch and the emperor are heaven.Between the officials and the people, the common people call the officials who govern their hometowns "parent officials" or "Qingtian Grand Master". Officials are the sky.In the family, the father is heaven, and between husband and wife, the husband is heaven. You see, the Chinese character "husband" is a bit taller than "tian". Between men and women, man is heaven.When the sky fell, Nuwa came to make up for it. When men failed, women showed their great strength. 3. When everything is running normally, Nuwa's role is not obvious, just like if Jia Daishan had not died early, Jia's mother would not have become the highest-status person in the Jia family.If Jia's mother had not been alive, Jia Min's daughter Lin Daiyu would not have been able to enter Jia's house, and Jia Baoyu might have followed another path under the direct management of Jia Zheng.In addition, Jia Yuanchun's status was very high. Her father Jia Zheng and her grandmother Jia Mu had to kneel down and salute her. The reason was that Jia Yuanchun married a man with the most special status in the country. The imperial power greatly enhanced Jia Yuanchun's status. Only in Yuanchun did he have the opportunity to send Jia Baoyu, who was quite young, into the Grand View Garden to live with those girls.However, we have to see that when everything is running normally, Jia Yuanchun's role in the Jia family is not obvious. Accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. After all, Jia Yuanchun did not survive until the emperor's death, so she left first, and the Jia family accelerated. decline.The author's use of "Nu Wa mending the sky" also shows that under the social system and real environment at that time, the role played by women was limited!

The Wahuang family only spent thirty-six thousand, five hundred yuan, [Jiaxu side comment: the number of Zhou Tian.The earth makes one revolution around the sun, which is what we often call a year. A year is 500 days, and 365 years is 100.People often say: "You can't get rich for three generations." One generation lasts for 36500 years, and three generations last for 30 years. Generally speaking, a family flourishes for 90 years. If there is a lack of faith, and there are no strict plans for cultivating future generations and measures to pursue progress and self-reform, then think about it. It's hard to keep thriving.This is true for a family, as well as for a country and a political party.It only takes about 90 years to start a business, develop and maintain a business until it can no longer be maintained. The other 100 years is also the limit of human lifespan.

Nuwa spent 500 yuan, which was the number of Zhou Tian, ​​just to show that in 100 years, there were exactly three generations of Jia Yuan, Jia Daishan and Jia Zheng in the Jia family.Jia Yuan of the Shui generation, through the drunken scolding at the end of the seventh chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions", we know that Jia Yuan was a military general, experienced life and death, and is an entrepreneurial generation. It is lucky to survive in the shadow of swords and swords. This generation is obsessed with extravagant life. Their material pursuits will not be too big, the country is in dire need, they are all poor, and it is not easy to be extravagant.

Jia Daishan, who is a generation later, was born in his father's entrepreneurial period and knew that his father had a hard time starting a business after almost death. He was deeply influenced by his father's generation and led the family to transform from starting a business to being successful. The development of the family followed the development of the country, so he was able to restrain his own desires.

As for Jia Zheng, who is from the literary generation, since he is from the "literary" generation, it shows that his father wanted his generation to build a family with "literary".It also shows that the country has completed its transformation. We cannot rule the world immediately by conquering the world immediately. All dynasties in the past have "produced political power from the barrel of a gun." After gaining political power, they have also implemented "civilian rule" to develop and consolidate this political power.After two generations of hard work, a family with military merit and title has grown its family business and population. However, the expenses for food and clothing, weddings and funerals, relatives and gifts, etc. are increasing. In peacetime, relying on It is impossible to increase income by fighting and performing meritorious service. The only way is to find a way through "civilian governance".However, in "A Dream of Red Mansions", the third generation of the Jia family with "literary" characters is basically useless. They can't restrain their desires and don't care about their family, country and the world. Jia Zheng's brother Jia She is dissolute and bullies men and women. .Jia Jing, who lives in Ningguo Mansion, spends all day practicing Taoism and refining elixirs without even entering his house.Only Jia Zheng was still struggling to support himself.

The Jia family has reached the fourth generation of the Yuzi generation, exactly 100 years ago. The generation of the Yuzi generation was born with a silver spoon in their mouths. The sufferings of their ancestors are far away from them, and they are a generation of enjoyment.Because Jia Jing mingled with Taoist priests every day and had long ago passed on his military honors and titles to Jia Zhen, Jia Zhen in the Ningguo Mansion had no one to discipline her and could do whatever she wanted.Jia Lian, the son of Jia She in the Rongguo Mansion, was uneducated, coveted women, and had no future.Jia Baoyu's brother Jia Zhu was the one on whom Jia Zheng had high hopes. Unfortunately, he died early. We will focus on Jia Zhu's death in the future.Jia Zhu couldn't build a family with "literary", so Jia Zheng took another path, which was political dependence and power clinging. He educated Jia Baoyu's sister Jia Yuanchun well, hoping to have a good relationship with the emperor and consolidate his own power. family.Later, Mrs. Wang gave birth to Jia Baoyu. Jia Zheng once again saw the hope of building a family with "literary" and wanted to educate Jia Baoyu well.There are noble concubines in the palace and talented people at home, which are double insurances for the revitalization of the family. Jia Baoyu, who had no choice but to be given high hopes, was just like what was written in the book.

The fifth generation of grass characters is represented by Jia Rong and Jia Lan. Now we use simplified Chinese characters. In traditional Chinese characters, the word orchid for orchid has the prefix grass.There are also people of the generation Jia Qiang, Jia Yun, and Jia Jun in the book, all of whom are grassy people with the prefix "草". There is a saying in "Mencius" that "the virtue of a gentleman will last for five generations", which means that the character and family tradition left by the ancestors when they started their business will no longer exist after five generations, and the family property and wealth accumulated by the ancestors will not exist after five generations. It was all lost.If Jia Rong and Jia Lan were born into a wealthy family, although they broke the saying that "wealth cannot last more than three generations", they could not escape the holy saying of "beheaded in five generations"!Nuwa used 500 yuan combined with the number of days to point out that 100 years is a process of starting a business, maintaining success, squandering, decline, and destruction. She is telling readers to learn the lesson of "getting rich after three or five lifetimes" , if you want to maintain prosperity, you must establish a correct view of the overall situation, constantly self-purify, self-innovate, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, work hard, and continue to work hard, otherwise you will eventually be eliminated. "Looking at Jiuzhou from the top of a hundred-foot pole, the former harvested the fields and the later generations harvested them. The descendants will not be happy when they harvest, and there are still others to harvest behind." Meng side commented: "I have been counted enough, but I am left alone." The sentence "unworthy of being selected" reveals his inner thoughts. 】

(End of this chapter)