Why is The West Chamber called Beauty among Flowers?

Zhu Quan, a drama theorist in Ming Dynasty, called it "the beauty among flowers". The so-called "the beauty among flowers" mainly praised the twists and turns of the plot and the beauty of the words in The West Chamber.

The charm of beauty in this flower is mainly reflected in the following three aspects:

The first is the beauty of amorous feelings in The West Chamber, which shows the emotional recognition of the tension of life. The affirmation and promotion of vitality in The West Chamber is specifically the affirmation and eulogy of young men and women's free love and their combination. This affirmation and eulogy cannot but be said to be the nourishment and nurturing of grassland civilization. Since the Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism in Zhu Cheng has gradually occupied the dominant position of culture, and advocated "hunger is small, shame is big" on the issue of marriage and love. Compared with Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism, the grassland spirit embodied by Mongolian aristocrats at that time was full of fresh vitality, that is, they dared to face survival and desire sincerely, with less hypocrisy and less affectation. Genghis Khan once instructed his generals: "The greatest pleasure of man is to subdue the rabble, defeat the enemy, seize everything, ride his fine horse and take his beautiful wife and concubine" (Historical Records).

Although Wang Shifu was deeply influenced and edified by the culture of the Central Plains, he deeply realized that the grassland culture, as a human being, was full of vitality and vigor, which was awakened in the literature of the Han nationality, became the main theme of "a generation of literature" Yuan Qu, and was a gorgeous flower after two cultures and two civilizations blended with each other. Wang Shifu, with his brilliant pen of flowers, enthusiastically eulogized and praised the free love between young men and women in The West Chamber. Songs such as "the blue sky and yellow flowers are tight in the west, the wild geese fly south in the north, and whoever gets drunk in the frost forest in the morning always makes people cry". These are popular for a long time. Moreover, Wang Shifu described young men and women from a literary perspective. Zheng Zhenduo's "Literature Outline" pointed out that the previous novels and operas "have such a tortuous love story, except the West Chamber, there is no second one in China". This shows the greatness and innovation of The West Chamber.

Second, the wind and frost beauty of The West Chamber shows the rational respect for family ethics. Paying attention to human relations is one of the important connotations of Chinese civilization. The Romance of the West Chamber does not avoid contradictions or struggles, but how to deal with contradictions, how to struggle, and how to transform the advanced and backward is an important symbol of harmony.

Grassland culture has its own unique vitality, but its barbarity and backwardness can be seen from time to time. The "mother reported her sister-in-law" (and her incest trip) in China's literature is primitive and vulgar. Master Wang is very liberal about sex; Wang Shifu attached great importance to interpersonal etiquette, which was his advocacy and promotion of Central Plains civilization. As the saying goes, "If you are poor, you will change your mind." How can there be parents in the world who don't love their children? It is the so-called gratitude. Therefore, there are right and wrong concepts; Regardless of progress or backwardness, children must first have an understanding and love for their parents. Love is beautiful, so is the love of parents. There were some discordant notes in the previous story of The West Chamber. Dong Xixiang, for example, said that Yingying's father died less than a year ago and was buried with her mother's coffin. The road was blocked by Pujiu Temple. Later, he felt that Zhang Sheng fell in love with him and married him privately. In this case, love is always not harmonious. Wang Shifu changed the plot to a sacrifice on the 27th (a sacrifice before the end of the mourning period), which was his carefulness and made the love between Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng more human. The harmonious beauty of The West Chamber stems from a deep understanding of the characters' personalities. Many family problems and internal contradictions are not solved in a white-hot way, which is conducive to enhancing understanding and friendship between people. Later, after winning a loving marriage, Zhang Sheng listened to the arrangement of the old lady, gave up his tenderness, and immediately went to Beijing to prepare for the exam and pursue his dream. This is not a question of compromise, but a question of respecting and understanding the mother. This respect and understanding reflected a harmonious beauty of human nature at that time. Doesn't the old lady's final recognition of Zhang Sheng mean that backward-thinking mothers can also be changed? This is the crux of the problem. The ultimate goal of struggle and revolution is not to destroy someone, but to transform someone and make him have the concept of progress and civilization.

Thirdly, the stylistic beauty of The Romance of the West Chamber is manifested in the language pursuit of appealing to both refined and popular tastes. In ancient times, the policy of ignorance of the people was implemented, and the people's cultural quality was low, but they also needed and understood art. The vulgarity of The West Chamber shows that it is the people's art. Vulgarity is the essential feature of Yuan Qu and The West Chamber. Vulgarity is natural and true. Wang Guowei said: "Where is the beauty of Yuanqu? In short, it's natural. The great literature of ancient and modern times is better than nature, not Yuanqu. " Generally speaking, Yuan Zaju is popular and natural. Compared with the customs of the Yuan Dynasty, The Story of the West Chamber shows her elegance and is unique in the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, Wu Mei said that The Romance of the West Chamber is a school of Yan Lian Ye Yan.

The Romance of the West Chamber shows the author's affirmation and respect for the artistic needs and understanding of ordinary people. Master Wang is not kitsch, and in the enjoyment of art, he meets the needs of improving the taste of popular culture. The Zaju of Yuan Dynasty pinned the author's ideals and feelings on the common customs, and shared the same fate with the people. However, in terms of popularity, it caters to both refined and popular tastes and pays attention to improving the taste of popular culture, which at that time did not pay much attention to Mongolian culture and needed more insight and insight.

In the Ming dynasty, the world changed, and the imperial examination was vigorously restored, the culture was revived, and cultural autocracy was implemented. Many later generations affirmed Wang Shifu's elegance, but it was only the elegance of a scholar, which was qualitatively different from that of Wang Shifu. But in any case, culture and civilization should be promoted in any era and any dynasty. Paying attention to the improvement of human cultural taste is the requirement of the objective law of human social development. The positive acceptance of Yuan Qu and Central Plains civilization by the nobles in Yuan Dynasty proved that "barbaric conquerors are always conquered by their conquered nation Gao Wenming, which is an eternal historical law."