| During the course of seeking the emancipation of freedom and individualism, the Chinese people may have experienced all kinds of hardships. But we can still find some individuals and hear some weak voices, however insignificant such voices seem in the waves of the history.The characteristic style of the Wei and Jin Periods, whose spiritual connotation is paid great attention to by the Chinese scholars, is always appreciated by the people. Of so many works of the Chinese classical literature, none can arouse people's interest and attention than the novel A Dream of Red Mansions comparatively. So it is especially of great importance to make a thorough inquiry of the relations between the above two. So far no such kind of articles have been written or published in a detailed and systematic way; most of them dealing with this relations are fragmentary parts or rough analyses. In this article I intend to make a deep inquiry of the bequeathed relations and of the origin of literature between A Dream of Red Mansions and the characteristic style in Wei and Jin Periods in order to attempt to fill in such a gap.There are so many men of letters in the Wei and Jin Periods that it is difficult to mention them one by one. In this article I will take Ruan Ji and Ji Kang for example, who are among the Seven Scholars of the Bamboo Forest. Analyses of their attitudes towards life and of their personality will be made to seek the elements of their individual freedom in their spirit and characters, and furthermore much inquiry will be made of the inheritance of the spirit that is shown in A Dream of Red Mansions. On the other hand,plenty of characters appear in A Dream of Red Mansions and here I will only take Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu for example to inquire the inheritance of emancipation of individual freedom from the spirit and style of Wei and Jin Periods.Pursuit of individual freedom is their common prominent characteristics, which are first shown in their indifference to fame and wealth. We can find Ruan Ji's such attitude from his behaviors: He often shuts himself in his room and devotes himself to studying, sometimes he goes out for sightseeing, climbing mountains or crossing streams for fun, and forgets to return all day long. Or he drives a cow cart alone and lets it go aimlessly until to the desolate places before he has to come back home choked with tears. It is the same with Ji Kang who behaves in his own way. He hates official circles and despises game and wealth, which is shown in his breaking off relations with Shan Juyuan, just because the latter invites him to take up the post of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs. In fact it is a well-paid position, but it seems to Ji Kang, who cherishes a bitter hatred for it, that he is pushed to a hopeless situation. Instead of accepting Shan Tao's recommendation, he writes to him resentfully a letter of breaking off relations. So is Jia Baoyu, who dislikes reading the eight-part essays written by Confucius and Mencius, and hates official career. Whoever tries to persuade him to read books of sages and of men of virtue will arouse his aversion or will be scoffed at by him; even if he/she is his relative, his close friend, or anyone else respected by him.Secondly such a characteristics is shown in the questioning and negating of the orthodox ideas of the Confucian School. Both Ruan Ji and Ji Kang dislike the acts of complying in appearance but opposing in heart represented by Si Ma Shi Clique, or the acts of indiscriminately slaughtering the innocent people so as to gain power. Jia Baoyu also dislikes Jia Yucun's appearance - so-called "a man of moral integrity", or his absolute obedience. They would rather abandon the traditional ideas and negate the creeds of the Confucian school embraced by the Chinese for thousands of years. They would rather bear being criticized by others than change their minds in pursuit of individual freedom.Such a characteristics is displayed as well in their attitude towards the people below their positions. Ji Kang,... |
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