The novel "Xiao Xiao" was created by Shen Congwen in 1929, and the novel uses fresh language to tell Xiao Xiao's encounter as a child bride.
Like "Border City", this novel is also based on the theme of rural life in western Hunan Province, expressing the author's desire for an ideal society of "human beauty".
Although Xiao Xiao could not escape the persecution of the old Chinese rural child bride system, she was able to get a good death, which can also be regarded as compensation for Xiao Xiao's innocence and kindness.
Through the work "Xiao Xiao", the author shows us the beauty of human nature and outlines an ideal social appearance that is not polluted by material civilization.
The beauty of human nature refers to the praise and praise of human nature.
Xiao Xiao is the embodiment of beauty, she is kind and simple, and she gathers the beauty of human nature.
However, such a "beautiful" Xiao Xiao has not been guarded to grow, but still needs to face the ruthlessness of life.
Xiao Xiao had no mother and grew up on the Zhuangzi where her uncle farmed. At the age of 12, Xiao Xiao became a child bride, and her husband was 9 years younger than her.
Xiao Xiao was hard-working in her in-laws' home, and in addition to taking care of her little husband, Xiao Xiao was willing to learn and be willing to do the work of performing hemp, spinning wheels, laundry, sizing and weaving, and beating pig grass.
Xiao Xiao never complained about his origins, nor did he know how to calculate and plan, but simply and freely lived. Her "perfection" reminds me of the equally "perfect" Cuicui.
From the beginning of the love sinus to the adherence to the original heart, Cuicui's loyalty to love and dedication to sending. Shen Congwen uses love to show readers the beauty of Cuicui's human nature.
Although Cuicui and Xiao Xiao are very good, their encounters are not beautiful.
3 years later, Xiao Xiao grew up, and the workers in the family took a fancy to her. Faced with ignorant love and the poisonous oath of the flower dog, Xiao Xiao entrusted herself to the flower dog.
Xiao Xiao thought that the years would be quiet from now on, but he did not expect that it was a non-person. When The Flower Dog learned that Xiao Xiao was pregnant, he ran away irresponsibly. And Because of various misunderstandings, he left Cuicui.
Like Venus's broken arm, there is never anything perfect in life. However, Xiao Xiao has not fallen from beginning to end, nor has she complained, but has just blindly endured the suffering brought to her by life, which is a kind of courage and a kind of beauty in human nature.
In feudal society, Xiao Xiao, as a child bridesmaid, did something with the flower dog and conceived a child, which was a shame and a very evil ugly thing.
The countrymen gave Xiao Xiao's uncle two choices, "Sink the Pond" or "Sell". The uncle really couldn't bear to let Xiao Xiao "sink the pool" and die, so he agreed to "sell".
However, Xiao Xiao, who has a big belly, who will take over the plate? With nowhere to go for a while, he temporarily stayed at his in-laws' house.
The in-laws did not force Xiao Xiao to die, but was relieved.
The book reads: "Since this matter has been explained clearly and according to the rules of the countryside, it does not matter much, and only waits for punishment, but everyone is relieved." ”
The little husband was also reluctant to leave Xiao Xiao, and it wasn't long before Xiao Xiao played with her little husband. Later, Xiao Xiao gave birth to a child in her belly, and later added a male to her little husband.
The whole family lived happily together as if nothing had happened.
In the confrontation between human nature and system, human nature triumphs over the system. Xiao Xiao did something "shameful", but he was not forced to die, and finally he could get a good death. This is Shen Congwen's ideal society, and it is also the beauty of tolerance in human nature.
The same is true in "Border City", for love, he would rather give up the mill representing wealth and wealth, but also want to keep his love, this kind of loyalty to love, not attached to the performance, highlights the beauty of human nature.
In a materialistic society, people are materialized and tend to do the same for things with empty heads and brains.
Le Pen, the author of "The Ragtag Crowd", believes that in the group, the humanity of the individual will be annihilated, the ability to think independently will be lost, and the spirit of the group will replace the spirit of the individual.
That is to say, under the "civilized society", more and more people believe what the public believes, adhere to what the public insists on, they dare not resist, nor dare to have their own judgment, but blindly follow.
However, Shen Congwen was not materialized by "civilized society". In 1929, he returned to Shanghai from Xiangxi and saw the mutation of human nature under the "civilized society", he was disappointed, and he did not want to see people "go with the flow".
Therefore, in order to praise the beauty of human nature, he created an "ideal society", hoping to awaken people's conscience, call on people to rebel, and cause people to think.
Shen Congwen expressed his desire for an "ideal society" through "Xiao Xiao". The novel is exquisitely conceived and freshly written, and the human beauty of the supporting characters in the story is also three-dimensional and vividly displayed in front of everyone.
Little husband
The little husband is well-behaved and obedient, and there is no "young master's disease" of the big family, he will not be pampered and proud, and he will not deliberately tease Xiao Xiao.
He obeyed Xiao Xiao in everything and never hurt Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao, who was abandoned by the flower dog, had a bigger belly day by day. In order to remove the child, Xiao Xiao drank cold water and ate fragrant ashes, and made a series of abnormal moves.
The little husband was very worried, but he was tight-lipped and did not leak half a sentence. Later, Xiao Xiao's ugly deeds were known to the countrymen, and everyone locked Xiao Xiao up and did not let her and her little husband get close.
The little husband never blamed Xiao Xiao for not keeping the woman's way, but was reluctant to marry Xiao Xiao, and finally even accepted Xiao Xiao and had a baby with her.
As Xiao Xiao's husband, the wife did disgraceful things, and she was put on a "green hat", which should have been the rhythm of old and dead. However, the little husband was grateful for the old feelings and chose to be tolerant. It is the tolerant beauty of this human nature that rescues Xiao Xiao.
Mother-in-law
Xiao Xiao worked hard in her in-laws' house, but her mother-in-law never forced her to work. She told Xiao Xiao that if she could do it, she would do it, and if she couldn't do it, she wouldn't ask for it.
This is also the reason why although Xiao Xiao's body grows fast, his mind is still simple. If you do not eat the suffering of life too early, you will not know how to protect yourself, and you will not live in depression every day.
In addition, the mother-in-law also allowed Xiao Xiao to save some private money during her labor. The mother-in-law let the daughter-in-law keep the private money, which is a rare thing in the feudal society. The materialized mother-in-law of "civilized society" is clever enough to calculate the daughter-in-law, eager to deduct the daughter-in-law's labor force and earn the daughter-in-law's hard-earned money.
However, Xiao Xiao's mother-in-law is very generous, which is a kind of human beauty, and it is also the reason why Xiao Xiao can simply live.
Grandfather
Grandfather was a local figure with status and status, but he never put up a fight with Xiao Xiao. He would tease Xiao Xiao kindly, saying that she was like a schoolgirl, which made Xiao Xiao anxious and laugh.
Every time Xiao Xiao was in a hurry, her grandfather would make trouble with her, and he would never use etiquette to restrain her. Xiao Xiao is not like a child bride, but more like a granddaughter of her grandfather. The sharing of heaven by grandchildren is the mode of getting along between Xiao Xiao and his grandfather.
Later, Xiao Xiao's scandal was exposed, and my grandfather, as a person with status, did not clean up the portal for the sake of reputation, but left Xiao Xiao with the whole family, and after a long time, he naturally accepted Xiao Xiao.
Hume once said, "Nature endows man with countless desires and needs, but to alleviate them gives him weak means." Man can only make up for his shortcomings if he is social. ”
Under Shen Congwen's warm brushstrokes, society no longer "eats people" and life is no longer only suffering. In fact, it is not without suffering, Xiao Xiao's pregnancy after the failure of customs is the suffering she should bear, but under the glory of "human beauty", all ugliness has been washed away, and all sufferings have been dissolved by the light of human nature.
In the materially rich "civilized society", more and more people pursue those external things that have been materialized. So they become indifferent, they become selfish, they become businessmen who trade with the devil.
Every day, they challenge the evils of human nature with practical actions. They don't believe in beauty, and they don't want to believe in the warmth of human nature.
In fact, what you don't believe can only mean that you are "lonely", does not mean that it does not exist.
Remember that "knife-blocking girl" Cui Translation?
On the evening of March 10, 2019, in the campus of Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Liang Yuying was attacked by a man at night, and after Cui Yiwen saw the situation, he tried his best to rescue Liang Yuying, protected Liang Yuying with his body, and he was stabbed 8 times.
She said, "I'm a soldier's child!" All I knew was that if I didn't rush up, she might die. ”
A 20-year-old girl, in the face of gangsters, desperately shows the strength of bravery with practical actions, and also shows the beauty of human nature.
On June 30, 2019, Wang Xianbo, a security guard in a residential area in Taizhou, picked up a 100,000 yuan bill and immediately called the police, waiting for the lost owner to get it back.
In the face of a huge amount of money, Mr. Wang did not want to take it for himself, but returned it to the owner, this kind of gold collection behavior, which is touching and also shows the brilliance of human nature.
"Good daughter-in-law" Yang Caichun, 63 years old this year. For 38 years, Yang Caichun has taken care of many lonely and widowed elderly people and is known as everyone's "good daughter-in-law".
In April 2017, Yang Caichun was honored in the "China Good People List". She has to take care of not only her elderly and sick in-laws, but also her husband's 3 young sisters, as well as her childless uncles and grandmothers.
She is the messenger of beauty, the embodiment of goodness, the most beautiful angel in human nature.
It is said that "human beauty" is very rare, but Zi Mo believes that although "human beauty" is precious, it should not be regarded as a strange thing.
It is precisely because the beauty of human nature defeated the system of "civilized society" that Xiao Xiao finally got a good death; it was precisely because Cui Yiwen was just and brave that Liang Yuying was spared; if it were not for Wang Xianbo's collection of gold, the lost owner would have suffered heavy losses; if Yang Caichun only cared for himself and was not so filial, the elderly in-laws, sisters and others might have already become a star in the sky.
The essence of human nature is beautiful, and because it is beautiful, it is possible to be happy. We should learn bravery from Cui Yiwen, learn from Wang Xianbo to collect gold, and learn filial piety from Yang Caichun.
We should adhere to the "beginning of man, nature is good", and should not be infected by "civilized society", so as to be defined as evil labels.
May there be more beauty in life, and may the beauty of human nature also overcome indifference and defeat "ugliness".