The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 30 A brief discussion on my views on Grandmother Jia

Suddenly I want to talk briefly about Grandmother Jia’s responsibility in the decline of the Jia family.

Of course, this is just the author’s personal opinion. If you have different opinions, you can leave a message to discuss.

Some people say that the grace of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations, but there are families that have been passed down for more than a hundred years.

Putting aside this argument of family destiny, I think that Grandmother Jia should bear the main responsibility for the decline of the Jia family.

Grandmother Jia is an old and wise woman. She has experienced a lot in the Jia family, so she has a much more thorough understanding of reality than ordinary people.

It's just that seeing through is one thing, and being willing to face it is another. Grandmother Jia is actually very clear about the hidden worries that exist in the Jia family, but she is only interested in happiness and has been avoiding it.

The most obvious scene is in Chapter 75, when Mrs. Wang told her "why the Zhen family was convicted, and now their property has been confiscated, and they are returning to the capital to be punished." Grandmother Jia felt very uncomfortable after hearing this, and later she said, "Let's not meddle in other people's business, and let's discuss the important matter of appreciating the moon on August 15th."

As Zhi Yanzhai said, Jia Mu had seen through it all, knowing that the death of the rabbit would make the fox mourn. She knew that the present of the Zhen family would be the future of the Jia family. But although she had seen through it all, she did not face it directly, but instead hoped to dilute the gloom and mist by appreciating the moon on August 15th. This is a kind of escapist mentality.

There are many similar plots in the original work.

It would be fine if it were said that Grandmother Jia was incapable of managing things, but she happened to be the most powerful person in the Jia family. Jia She and Jia Zheng had to listen to the old lady's words, and even Jia Zhen, the patriarch of the Jia clan, had to disobey her. The world of Red Mansions was actually still a patriarchal society, and the three most powerful men in the Jia family had to obey Grandmother Jia. It could be said that this old lady had the decision-making power over all matters in the Jia family.

However, such a person who holds great power is only interested in happiness and family life, and does not want to see things that are not to her liking. Therefore, she bears the main and unshirkable responsibility for the subsequent downfall of the Jia family.

As the eldest daughter of the Shi family, Jia's grandmother married into the Jia family as a political marriage. She must have been very outstanding, which can be seen everywhere in the book.

She is a typical wealthy old lady who knows how to enjoy life and understands refined life. Only true aristocrats know about things like soft silk gauze. She can decorate the house with ease and see through certain people's thoughts at a glance. She is probably several levels higher than Wang Xifeng in managing the household, but when it comes to educating her children, she doesn't seem to have a very broad vision.

Look at how she educated her son. When Jia Daishan was alive, she was not responsible for the children's education, but after she became a widow, the children had to be under her care.

She gave birth to two sons, Jia She and Jia Zheng, and a daughter, Jia Min. Although the married daughter Jia Min was extremely intelligent, she was also pampered. It was not wrong to raise a daughter in wealth. It was simply unjust for the daughter of a noble family not to be pampered.

What about Jia She and Jia Zheng? Both of them failed in their studies, which obviously did not meet Jia Daishan's wishes. Since Jia Daishan's generation wanted to transform but failed, he placed his hopes on Jia Zheng's generation, but what was the result?

Jia She was always lustful, and although Jia Zheng loved to study, he never passed the imperial examination. Although talent is needed for studying, acquired qualities are also important. It is said that Jia Zheng was also a dissolute person who loved poetry and wine when he was young, and Jia She was mostly absurd. These two children were probably spoiled by Grandmother Jia. Of course, most of the things in the past are speculations. But it is a fact that Jia She has a lot of concubines in his house.

Even at such an old age, she still wanted to marry Yuanyang. Grandmother Jia was very angry at the time and scolded her two sons and daughters-in-law for being careless and trying to plot against her.

What was she angry about? It wasn't that Jia She was old, shameless, and harmful to her health. She felt that Yuanyang was someone she couldn't live without, but Jia She came to snatch her away and prevented her from living a good life.

Even so, after a big tantrum, she still said, "Whatever person he wants, I have money here, just tell him to buy her for 18,000 yuan." Later, Jia She really bought a 17-year-old Yanhong.

Grandmother Jia disliked Jia Zheng's concubine Aunt Zhao very much. Aunt Zhao caused trouble and even asked someone to cast a spell to harm Baoyu and Fengjie, but Grandmother Jia never took any action.

Such things are common in large families, and it is understandable. For the sake of property, everyone fights like chickens.

However, this kind of thing needs someone to step in and deal with it, to prevent future troubles. It is hard to say whether others will learn bad things, but Jia Huan has learned it, and if we are to speculate based on Zhi Yanzhai's comments, Jia Huan will cause a big storm in the future - if there is no price to pay for being bad, then it is better to be bad to the end.

In Grandmother Jia's eyes, it is not a bad thing for a man to be greedy and cheat. When the incident between Jia Lian and Bao Erjia happened, Grandmother Jia said to Sister Feng: "What's the big deal? The children are young and greedy like cats. How can we protect them? Everyone has been punished like this since they were young." Because everyone does this, it is not unforgivable to bring dirty and smelly things into the house.

Indeed, in such a big family, lust is not a big deal, who doesn't keep a few people in the house? However, as young men of the Yu generation who shoulder the important task of revitalizing the family, neither Jia Zhen nor Jia Lian received positive advice from Grandmother Jia, and even when You Erjie's incident happened, Grandmother Jia did not say anything.

Even for Jia Baoyu, the lifeblood of Grandmother Jia, she had placed two maids around him early on. No matter what happened, Grandmother Jia didn't care much. She just wanted him to have good food and drink and to look respectable when he went out. As for studying hard, she didn't have strict requirements.

He was only happy when he learned that he was praised by Jia Zheng and praised by the teacher.

Jia Zheng was always very strict with his son, but Jia's mother would always come out to protect Jia Baoyu after giving him a severe lesson, telling her father not to restrict her son. Even after Baoyu was beaten, she did not ask the reason, but just protected him. After a break of more than 30 days, Baoyu started to behave himself again. She did not let Jia Zheng control him, and she did not control him herself either. Just like that, she let Baoyu do whatever he wanted.

In fact, Jia Huan is a good person. He is ruthless and decisive. Unfortunately, he is not favored by Jia Mu and others, and is often suppressed and has nowhere to live.

Jia Lan is also a good seedling. He has been raised by Li Wan since he was a child and has become a good boy. He studies hard and doesn't ask about other things. He even endures fighting in the school and doesn't get involved. But it is strange that Jia's mother doesn't care about such a good grandson. Not only does she not care, but even Lady Wang and others ignore this future savior of the Jia family.

Finally, I will give you an unpleasant analogy so that you can laugh.

Grandmother Jia is to the Jia family what Empress Dowager Cixi is to China.
(End of this chapter)