Charm of the Character Ying-chun—a calling for humanism

世界名著《红楼梦》，是近几十年来一部很受欢迎的作品。因为它不是全由原作者曹雪芹完成的，因此这本书变得神秘，吸引了大量的学者分析和探索。今天大量的研究著作已经出版，尤其是关于这本书的主角，如黛玉，宝玉，宝钗，熙凤，湘云等的研究。然而，读者和学者都忽视了其中的一个特点，迎春很难被人提及。其实，每个人物创建都有一定的目的。因此，在本文中，从人文主义的角度来看，对这个可怜的女孩将有一个详细的分析，这也许是作者的意图。

Abstract

The masterpiece A Dream of Red Mansions has been known around the world and it is popular to make researches of this marvelous novel in the past decades. Since it was not completed by the original author Cao Xueqin, this book became mysterious and attracted lots of scholars to analyze and explore it. Plenty of researching works have been published nowadays, especially the researches about the main characters of the book, such as Dai-yu, Bao-yu, Bao-chai, Xi-feng, Xiang-yun and so on. However, there is one character which is always ignored by both the readers and scholars. It can be found that Ying-chun is hardly mentioned by people. Actually, every character was created with a certain purpose by Cao. Therefore, in this paper, there will be a detailed analysis of this poor girl in the perspective of humanism which is maybe the intention of the author.

Key Words: A dream of Red Mansion, Ying-chun, humanism. 

1. Brief  Introduction 

A Dream of Red Mansions was a novel written in Qing dynasty by Cao Xueqin, a man who wrote only one novel during his life. It is said that the background of this novel was based on Cao’s own life experience and he was the archetype of Bao-yu. Therefore, the research of A Dream of Red Mansions can provide people with a huge number of resources about Qing dynasty. 

“Bao-yu’s view on death (he would not hesitate to die if the tears of his female cousins and maids floated him to ‘nowhere,’ never to be reborn again as a human being), as we have previously examines, has such a cynical tone that it could probably have come only from a disappointed adult, such as the author, who has experienced a tragedy.” (Huang, 101)

Translations about this novel have been made early and there are many versions in the world now. However, those which are popular among people are The Story of the Stone translated by David Hawkes, a professor of Oxford and A Dream of Red Mansions translated by Yang Hsien-yi and his wife Gladys Yang. In this paper, the version of A Dream of Red Mansions was chosen to be the reference. 

There is no doubt that China has paid great attention to the research of A Dream of Red Mansions because the research has become an ideology which is named as Redology. Redologists have made great efforts to research this novel and have made great achievements nowadays. In the western world, the trend of researching A Dream of Red Mansions is also spreading. In 1967, American scholar Walter G. Langlois published the paper “The Dream of the Red Chamber”, “The Good Earth and Man’s Fate”, and “Chronicles of Social Change in China in Literature East and West”. In 1985, Marsha L. Wagner published “Maids and Servants in Dream of the Red Chamber: Individuality and Social Order”. In 2005, Erin L. Brightwell wrote a paper named “Analyzing Gender: Wang Xi-Feng and the Shrew”. Among all these research works, the analyses specializing the character—Ying Chun are rare. In the several researches of Ying-Chun, the authors mostly focused on her birth, personality and tragic fate. For example, the paper published in the journal “A Dream of Red Mansions” is “Ying-chun is the daughter of whom?” In “Contemporary Novels”, Wang Shu published “Analysis of the Personality of Jia Ying-chun and the Reason.” Therefore, it is significant to discuss the humanism showed through this mediocre girl.

2. Description of Ying-chun   

In the novel, Ying-chun is an ordinary girl. She is very beautiful but there are too many beauties in the Prospect Garden to notice her. The description of her appearance is told through the perspective of Dai-yu. “The first girl was of medium height and slightly plumpish, with cheeks as white and firm as a fresh lychee and a nose as white and shiny as soap made from the whitest-goose-fat. She had a gentle, sweet, reserved manner. To look at her was to love her.” (Yang, 24) According to the impression of Ying-chun, it can be seen that she is a gentle girl. In China, there is a famous saying in the Confusion Classics “Wuchang”, Anityata^ -su^tra in Sanskrit which is a person’s face is shaped by its heart. It means that a person’s character can be seen from his or her appearance. “She had a gentle, sweet, reserved manner” shows that Yuan-chun is an affable person. However, compared with her sister Tan-chun, she is less attractable. The words commenting Tan-chun are that “To look at her was to forget all that was mean or vulgar.”     

       

The gentleness and fragility of Ying-chun can also be indicated through the verdicts seen by Bao-yu in the Land of Illusion: 

“Paired with a brute like the wolf in the old fable,  

who on his savior turned when he was able,

To cruelty not used, your gentle heart 

Shall, in a twelvemonth only, break apart” （Yang, 51）

In the twelve songs heard by Bao-yu, the lyrics of the song belonging to Ying-chun is: “…A delicate young wife of gentle stock…So that he delicate, sweet soul; In just a twelvemonth from its body stole”(Yang, 51)

Ying-chun has been thought to be a coward person generally. She is not as competitive as Tan-chun and as talent as other girls to compose poems and paintings. It seems that she has no advantages and is timid. When Lady Xing blamed her for her nurse making mistakes, she just “hung her head and fiddled with her sash. It was some time before she answered.” “Ying-chun continued to hang her head and say nothing.”(Yang, 447) Maybe she doesn’t defense herself because Lady Xing is her mother; however, she also takes the same attitudes towards her servants’ behaviors. Because she is very soft that some of them don’t obey her. Hence, one of her servant girls, Tangerine, spoke up for her: “Why are you so feeble? All this ‘saving trouble’! One of these days they’ll carry you off with the loot!” In addition, she also can’t protect her servant girl or even tried to protect her. When her servant Chess is discovered to fall in love with her cousin and will be drove out of Prospect Garden, Ying-chun refuses to intercede for her but says: “If I speak up for you or try to keep you, it will be all up with me too.” When Chess is out, she makes suicide with her cousin together. Maybe it is this event that makes the readers a bad impression of her. 

 Nevertheless, such a character is shaped with a reason. Ying-chun is the daughter of Jia She, the first son of Grandmother. Actually, according to the deduction of some Chinese scholars, Ying-chun is the daughter of a concubine of Jia She who becomes the second wife of Sir She later. Therefore, compared with Tan-chun, she has a higher status so that she doesn’t feel so ashamed of her birth like Tan-chun. However, she is lack of safety and feels lonely and helpless all the time because her mother has died early and her father never cares about her. The loss of parents makes Dai-yu sensitive and sentimental and the loss of “parents” makes Ying-chun fearful and gentle. She doesn’t want to be outstanding so that no one can notice her. She doesn’t want to be involved in any conflicts so that she refuses Chess. Since that no one will protect her, she has to protect herself by keeping troubles away. In a word, she is just a girl who is longing for staying peacefully. 

Additionally, the behavior of his father is embarrassing. He is alcoholic and lecherous, playing every day. Any good-looking female servants in his house are molested by him. He even wants a servant girl of Grandmother to be his concubine. When the girl refuses, he even comes to threaten the girl’s brother and says:

 “The moon ever loved a young man. He knows all about that saying. No doubt she thinks him too old for her and has set her heart on one of the younger ones Bao-yu, probably, or my son Lian. Tell her, if she has, the sooner she abandons hope in that direction the better, because if I can’t have her, she may be very sure that no one else in this family will dare to….whoever or wherever she marries, she needn’t think she will ever escape me.”(Yang, 494) 

Grandmother therefore favors the second son who is hard working. As a result, Sir She doesn’t get along with his mother and brother and their relationships make Ying-chun awkward. Thus, she can’t feel lonelier. She has to be cautious to make others love her or not dislike her. She avoids any conflicts with others at anytime. There is no necessary to criticize a girl who wants to live a peaceful life. 

Ying-chun successfully makes people, both the characters in Prospect Garden and the readers outside the book, ignore her. There are a few mentions about her and each time, the author only gives her a long shot. However, as discussed before, every character was created by Cao with a purpose. Therefore, what is his object to portray a soft lady? In fact, this is a calling for humanism made by Cao Xueqin who lived in 18th century in China. 

3. Reflection of Humanism 

“Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism).” In the Renaissance, humanism was introduced into literature and became fashionable for a time. Although it had been very common in the 18th century in Europe, it was very significant to appear in the east. 

It is clear that Ying-chun is inclined to live in a peace and doesn’t want to be bothered. Her thought looks like in accordance with the ideology of Taoism. Ying-chun, actually, is a very clever girl but is not competitive or aggressive. When the imperial concubine Yuan-chun comes back to visit her family, they plays a quiz game and everyone who guessed correctly gets an ivory-note case except for Ying-chun and Jia Huan. The response of Ying-chun is very calm. “Ying-chun treated the matter as a joke and rapidly dismissed it from her mind, but Jia Huan was very much put out.” (Yang, 223) This detail shows that Ying-chun is a person indifferent to fame and fortune. She doesn’t have a great ambition but pursues for a simple life. 

In the Chapter 37, Ying-chun is asked to choose the poem titles but she says: “If you ask me, I think that rather than always have the same two people to choose the titles and set the rhymes, it would be better to draw lots.”(Yang, 380) These words are very interesting because they can indicate that she doesn’t want to be restricted to certain rules but prefers to be natural. She accepts whatever life throws at her and this may also imply the tragic ending of her life. Anyway, she believes fate and doesn’t want to change anything. 

Liu Xinwu, a famous redologist in China once pointed in one session of CCTV Lecture Room that there was a beautiful scene of Ying-chun. It appeared in the chapter 38—River Queen triumphs in her treatment of chrysanthemum themes; And Lady Allspice is satirical on the subject of crabs. According to the title of the chapter, it is obvious that the concern of this chapter is Dai-yu which is River Queen and Bao-chai which is Allspice. However, in spite of the beautiful scenery of these main characters, there is also one scene of Ying-chun which is always ignored by the readers. “Ying-chun sat apart from the rest beneath a flowering tree, stringing jasmine blossoms into a flower-chain with a needle and thread.”(Yang, 396) This is a very beautiful picture. Imagine a gentle young girl sitting alone under a tree with blossom jasmines and you will be lost in the tranquil beauty. It is a unique beauty of the east and only a classic eastern woman can interpret it. For a long time, people have mostly paid attention to The Flowers’ Funeral, Perspiring Sports with Butterflies and Drunken- Beauty sleeps on a Peony-Petal Pillow and other beauty portraits but this scene of Ying-chun can also be an unforgettable picture. This picture is very harmonious with the nature and expresses the power of quiet. However, such a gentle and soft beauty is finally destroyed by the dark society. Ying-chun’s tragic fate puts a sense of sadness into this scene. 

As for the fate of Ying Chun, there are many implications in the beginning of the book. In chapter 5, when Bao-yu visits the Land of Illusion, the fairy shows him some pictures and one of them is “a striking picture of a savage wolf pursuing a beautiful girl. He had just seized her with his jaws and appeared to eat her.” (Yang, 50) According to the words written beneath it, it can be inferred that Ying-chun would have a terrible marriage. More information is given in the twelve songs sung by the fairies: 

Zhong-shan wolf,

 Inhuman sot,

 …

A delicate young wife of gentle stock

To you was no more than a lifeless block,

And bore, when you would rant and rave,

Treatment fat worse than any slave;

…

In the English version, the name of this song is very clear to show an unfortunate marriage, however, in the Chinese version, it is very obscure. Therefore, Bao-yu doesn’t understand what the meaning of this song and doesn’t foresee his sister’s tragic fate. The words in Chinese have extensive and profound cultures and sometimes it is difficult to translate a classic into other languages. The meaning and fascination of a masterpiece can only be understood when people know well about the history and culture of the country. As a result, lots of people in the world can’t enjoy the essence of this novel. In spite of the implication in the picture and song, there is another mention about Ying-chun’s fate.

In the chapter 51, the clever cousin, Bao-qin has composed ten quatrains and each of them is a riddle. In the novel, it is said there are clues in the poems and they refer to some well-known events or famous places. However, actually they are the predictions of nine girls’ fate. In one of the poems which is called Peach Leaf Ford, it says:

In the waters a scene of decay is reflected;

Long since from its bough did the last peach-leaf fall;

Your old Southern mansions has tumbled in ruins,

 And only your likeness looks down from the wall.

The answer to the fiddle is ink-stone and the person it refers to is Ying-chun. The scene of decay is what Bao-yu saw in the Amaryllis Eyot, the place where Ying-chun used to live. And in the second sentence, the bough and peach-leaf refer to Bao-yu and Ying-chun. Although they don’t want to be separated from each other, they have to accept the farewell at last. The third sentence is also the description of Ying-chun’s room and the last sentence is the situation when Bao-yu watches a picture hanging on the wall, signing that all have changed after the death of Ying-chun.      

          

All predictions have come true at last. Ying-chun is forced to get married to a man who is brutal and lecherous. In the novels, Ying-chun is said to be sold to Sun-Shaozu, the man she marries, because Sir She owes him a large sum of money. Once Sun yells at Ying-chun:“Don’t put on the lady wife act with me, my girl! You’re no better than a bought slave-payment in kind for the five thousand taels your old man owes me…” (Yang, 613)Ying-chun is beat and abused by her husband and finally suicides herself. It seems that the reason why she marries Sun do not coincide with the prediction because the verdicts say that Sun is an ungrateful man which means he used to be helped by Jia’s Family but not Sir She owes him money. Since that the next forty chapters were written by another author named Gao E, it is normal that there are some derivations. Anyway, Ying-chun’s marriage is unhappy and she is dead because of this. When Ying-chun returns to Jia’s Family, she tells Lady Wang: “And next to them I have missed my beloved Amaryllis Eyot. If only I might spend another four or five days in the Garden, I think I could die content…” (Yang, 613) It is very sad to hear these words. How miserable her life is! It is more tragic when we think of the beautiful scene that she is sitting under a flower tree, stringing Jasmine blossoms.

All these are the thought of humanism of the author. Ying-chun has no talents and no distinct personality so she can’t be a challenge for the feudalism like Dai-yu or an irony like Bao-chai. She is the representative of those people who are week and like to be peaceful. These kinds of people have no harm to others and the society but they are always hurt by the world. To live is the value of them and they can’t be denied because of their intelligence or their competence. Every life should be respected and every life has its significance to exist. The death of Ying-chun reveals the darkness of the society at that time and calls for the reflection of humanism. The gentle and soft life is beautiful and it can’t be determined by anyone.

Conclusion

A Dream of Red Mansions has a great significant in the literature circle. The author Cao Xueqin has created a miracle. In this novel, it covers poems, music, architecture, medicine, food, and dress and so on. However, the most appealing things are the various characters. They all have their bright personalities and can make a deep impression on the readers. However, there is one exception—a quiet girl who is always ignored by people. She is the second one of the four girls of Jia’s Family. In this paper, the significance of this character has been analyzed and the exploration of the writer’s intention is made. In the first part, it can be seen that there are rare researches about this character—Ying-chun and some of them are only the deductions of her birth secret. Since the detail descriptions of Ying-chun is also very little in the novel, analysis of this character is also made, making people know more about her. At the end of the part, a deep analyzing is made to understand the purpose of the author. The conclusion is that the existence of Ying-chun is the mourning for humanism. People should show respect to life under any conditions. This is also the first reflection of humanism in ancient Chinese novel. 

Bibliography

Huang, Martin, "The Self Displaced: Women and Growing Up in the Dream of the Red Chamber." In Literali and Self-Re/Presentation: Autobiographical Sensibility in the Eighteenth Century Chinese Novel. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 1997.
Yang, Xianyi and Gladys Yang translated, Cao Xueqin wrote. A Dream of Red Mansions. Beijign: Foreign Languages Press, 2001.   
Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanism 3 May 2015, 09:37.



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