Li Ruzhen

Li Ruzhen

Li Ruzhen (about 1763-1830), whose name is Songshi, was born in Daxing, Zhili, a novelist and writer in Qing Dynasty. Therefore, he is known as peipingzi. He is erudite, proficient in literature and phonology. The most famous work in existence is Jing Hua Yuan.

Life of the characters

In 1763, Li Ruzhen was born in Daxing (today's Beijing), Zhili. He was a famous novelist in the Qing Dynasty.

When she was young, she learned from Ling tingkan (about 1755-1809) about ancient rites, music rules, calendar, and territorial evolution. Li Ruzhen was particularly interested in territorial evolution. Li Ruzhen's disdain for the eight part essay (a style of imperial examination in the Ming and Qing Dynasties) led to his failure in his whole life. The biggest official had been the county magistrate of Henan Province, but he was knowledgeable and proficient in phonology. In his youth, his book Li's Yinjian was published. All his life, he was upright, not a powerful man, not good at drilling camp, and never got a decent official position. After middle age, he felt hopeless and devoted himself to learning. From the 60th year of Qianlong to the 20th year of Jiaqing (1795-1815), Li Ruzhen spent 20 years to write the book Jing Hua Yuan, which is comparable to journey to the West and Fengshen bang.

At the age of 19, Li Ruzhen came to Haizhou with her brother Li Ruhuang and lived in the office of the ambassador of the Salt Department of Banpu farm. Since then, he has lived in Haizhou, except for being an official in Henan twice. Li Ruzhen was educated by the master of Confucian classics, Ling tingkan, and was a classmate with Qiao Shaofu, Qiao shaoqiao, and Xu Qiaolin. Not long after arriving in Haizhou, Li Ruzhen married sister Xu Qiaolin and married two Xu in Banpu. Li Ruzhen is erudite, not only proficient in literature and phonology, but also proficient in go. In the 60th year of Qianlong (1795), a public game was held in Haizhou and played against nine chess players. Later, he compiled more than 200 pieces of chess scores played by famous players at that time, and published the book "Shou Zi Pu" in 1817. In the preface, Xu Qiaolin praised the book as "the best foundation of the Yi family". Li Ruzhen's greatest achievement in her life was to write the classic "Jing Hua Yuan". This book is written by him by collecting local customs, local slang and historical sites in ancient Haizhou area, and "spending more than 30 years of painstaking efforts at all levels". It is a classic masterpiece directly produced in ancient Haizhou area. Since its publication in 1818, Jinghuayuan has been concerned by all parties. Lu Xun, Zheng Zhenduo, Hu Shi, Lin Yutang and others have studied it, and they have a high evaluation. Lu Xun called it a wonderful book in a brief history of Chinese novels, which can be compared with Wanbao Quanshu. Foreign scholars have also devoted themselves to the study of this book. Feishman, a female sinologist in the former Soviet Union, said that this book is "a masterpiece combining fantasy novels, historical novels, satirical novels and travel novels." Jing Hua Yuan has been translated into English, Russian, German and Japanese. Scholars from Australia, South Korea and other countries have also come to Haizhou to investigate the writing background and the author's life. Li Ruzhen was poor in her later years. His works include Jing Hua Yuan, Li Shi Yin Jian and Shou Zi PU.

Now, there is a "Li Ruzhen Memorial Hall" in his former Banpu residence.

Personal works

"Flowers in the mirror" is the work of Li Ruzhen in her later years, originally intended to write 200 times, but only completed 100 times.

The first 50 chapters are about the story of Tang Ao, Lin Zhiyang and duo Jiugong, who traveled to other countries and Tang Xiaoshan to find their father: the hundred flower fairy offended Chang'e fairy at the Queen Mother's birthday party. Instead of swearing that "if hundred flowers bloom in the season when they should not bloom, they are willing to fall into the world and suffer a lifetime of disaster." Later, when xinyuehu came down to earth, Chang'e specially told her to let a hundred flowers bloom to show her prestige. Xinyuehu was born into Wu Zetian. Later, in the severe winter, when she was drunk, Empress Wu issued an imperial edict to let a hundred flowers blossom. The fairies were not in the cave, and the flower gods did not dare to disobey the edict, so they had to open up. Therefore, Baihua fairy and 99 flower gods were demoted to the world. Baihua fairy was born as Tang Xiaoshan, the daughter of Tang Ao, a scholar. Tang Ao's official career was disadvantageous and he wanted to be a recluse. He left his wife and son and followed his brother Lin Zhiyang to do business overseas. They passed through dozens of countries, met many strange customs, strange people and strange things, wild grass fairy flowers, wild island monsters, and met more than a dozen beautiful young women who were reincarnated by the flower fairy. Tang Xiaoshan followed Lin Zhiyang to find his father until xiaopenglai mountain. He changed his name to Tang Guichen according to his father's order, and returned to China on board.

The last 50 chapters focus on the talents of women. Wu Zetian opened her examination and enrolled 100 talented women. They held many celebratory banquets and performed calligraphy, painting, piano, chess, poetry, rhyme, divination, algorithm, various lantern riddles, all kinds of wine orders, as well as Shuanglu, magiao, Shehu, Cuqiu, Doucao, Tihu and so on. Tang Guichen went to xiaopenglai to find his father for the second time. Finally, it is written that the sons of Xu Jingye, Luo Binwang and others set up troops to fight for Wu. With the help of immortal, they defeated the four enchantments set up by Wu's army and succeeded Zhongzong to the throne.

Memorial Hall

In memory of Li Ruzhen, Banpu town built a "Li Ruzhen Memorial Hall" in the center of the town for people to admire. The memorial hall is in the form of antique architecture, and the Museum

There is a Bust Statue of Li Ruzhen in the inner main hall. The museum displays related cultural relics, various versions of Jinghuayuan and the research results of Jinghuayuan at home and abroad. On the wall set off by green bamboos is engraved with the four characters "jinghuashuiyue", which is reminiscent of the scenes and implied meanings described in the book. After the completion of Li Ruzhen memorial hall, many Chinese and foreign scholars and tourists come here every year to have a glimpse.

Li Ruzhen memorial hall, built in 1992, is located in the East Street of Banpu Town, Haizhou District, covering an area of 1500 square meters. It is composed of a new foyer, a main exhibition hall and a newly renovated former residence. It is small, exquisite and antique. On display in the hall is a variety of Chinese and foreign versions of Jing Hua Yuan, as well as academic papers and research materials of experts and scholars at home and abroad. Li Ruzhen has lived in Banpu for more than 30 years. He spent 20 years in his former residence to write a masterpiece "Jing Hua Yuan". At the memorial ceremony, the experts and scholars of Jinghuayuan Research Association fully affirmed the construction, protection and collection of cultural and historical materials of the memorial. They hope that the relevant departments at all levels can expand the scale of the memorial hall, collect all kinds of Li Ruzhen's cultural relics and the domestic and foreign versions and research materials of Jinghuayuan, constantly enrich the cultural relics in the collection, gradually expand the scale, and build the Li Ruzhen memorial hall into a research center of Jinghuayuan. Calligrapher and painter Xu Houwen also presented Li Ruzhen's brother-in-law Xu Qiaolin and Xu Guilin's portraits and precious calligraphy and paintings to the memorial.

Character achievement

The content of the novel is complex, and the range of knowledge involved is broad. The work praises women's talents, fully affirms women's social status, and criticizes the feudal idea that men are superior to women and women have no talents. The author extols the wisdom and ability of talented women. Like Tingting and Honghong in the black tooth Kingdom, when they were young, they asked the wise and talented Duke duo Jiugong "sweat like rain", "scratch his ears and gills", "his face is blue and red, and he hates to have no place to drill". For example, Luo Hongjuan's skill of shooting tiger with Magic Arrow is far more than that of male hunter; Yan Zixiao, a swordsman in female middle school, flies over the eaves and walks over the wall, haunts and haunts. Zhilanyin and Lin Wanru are proficient in phonology, and milanfen seems to be a mathematician. In addition, like Gong e, Shangguan Wan'er has "extraordinary knowledge", "quick talent", "beautiful chest and great eloquence". Her poems are fast and good, and all the courtiers admire her.

In the author's ideal "daughter country" with women as the center, "men wear clothes and skirts in order to govern internal affairs; women wear boots and hats in order to govern external affairs". Women's wisdom and ability are not weaker than men, from the emperor to the auxiliary minister are women. This reflects the author's good desire for equality between men and women, and for women to have the same social status as men. Since the middle of Ming Dynasty, there have been many works praising women's talents, but the "daughter country" is the original creation of Li Ruzhen. The author expresses his social ideal through the imaginary "gentleman country". "Junzi state" is a "state of rites and music" which is "easy to let go without dispute". There are four big characters on the gate: "only good is treasure". "The Lord has a strict instruction to his subjects that if they offer jewelry, they will burn it down and ask for punishment.". The prime minister here is "modest and amiable", approachable and "free from official habits", which makes people feel amiable and respectable. The people here are modest and give way to each other. "The common people, no matter rich or poor, should stop talking and be polite." the tiller gives way to the bank and the doer gives way. The main sellers compete for less money and sell the best goods; the main buyers compete for higher prices and inferior goods, but they can't give in to each other. In this way, the novel negates the feudal officialdom which is domineering, corrupt and perverted the law, and the real society which is full of intrigue and fraud.

Personal evaluation

The author ridicules the fake Confucianists with their pungent and humorous writing style. The pedant who pretended to be in the "white Republic of China" actually read "young me young, as well as people's young" in Mencius as "cutting me, cutting against people". This kind of people who do not learn and have no skills are also mercenaries who regard "money as life" and try to take advantage of it. "Shushi state" is full of gold plaques such as "virtuous and upright", "virtuous and noble", "intelligent and upright", and all kinds of people are dressed in Confucian scarves and plain clothes. They are polite, full of "too much", but they are very fussy

He is stingy. When he is full of wine and food, he even carries the remaining salt beans in his arms. Even a used bare tooth stick should be put in his sleeve. The work reveals the sour and rotten atmosphere of these false gentleness by means of internal and external contrast, and satirizes the ugly appearance of the scholars incisively and vividly.

In addition, the author's bad behavior and improper quality are criticized. People in "two sides" are born with two faces, one face in front of others and another face behind others. Even in the face of a man

Chinese PinYin : Li Ru Zhen