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The Peony Pavilion Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 232 4th International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2018) Tension and Flow: an Analysis on the Emotional Structure of The Peony Pavilion Yanping Chen Collage of Literature and Journalism Sichuan University Chengdu, China 610064 Abstract—Influenced by the conditions of developed and even resonance. Through this subtle influence, readers commodities economy and Yang Ming philosophy of mind, receive irreplaceable emotional education. This is an there emerged a new wave of social thoughts focusing on emerging emotional concept that is different from traditional secularism and affirming human desire in the middle and late feudal ethics and is based on the affirmation of lust. It was Ming Dynasty. Tang Xianzu, who has fully absorbed the rejected and guarded by the feudal Guardian. In the 42nd essence of this emerging social thought trend, has involved it chapter of “A Dream of Red Mansions”, the secret warning into the legendary The Peony Pavilion in a creative way. This of Xue Baochai's warning to Lin Daiyu was the evidence, work, which affirms the desires of the secular people, has and she used the admonitory words: "I'm most afraid of stroked the dominant social concept with the core of Cheng being changed by miscellaneous book". It also proves that Zhu’s Neo-Confucianism in a very clear-cut manner. In the the book "The Peony Pavilion" shaped the temperament of works, this sharp contradiction is deeply expanded. The emotional tensions reflected in the development and evolution the girls in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. of it is in line with Raymond Williams' description of the The emotions are never merely related to individuals, but “emotional structure” theory. Therefore, this paper uses also closely related to the social culture style at that time. In Raymond Williams' emotional structure theory as a other words, the seemingly very personal emotions are perspective to comb and analyze the emotional structure actually closely related to the infiltration of social culture. embodied in The Peony Pavilion. Social culture differs from time to time. Even the cultures in the same time, are not highly mixed and united in the types Keywords—The Peony Pavilion; emotional structure; benevolence of living; true feelings of emotions. There are dominant type, remnant type, and emerging type. Raymond William's structure of feeling theory carried out an in-depth discussion of this. Although I. INTRODUCTION Raymond Williams's definition of "emotional structure" has Tang Xianzu's legendary “The Peony Pavilion” in the changed in different arguments at different times, the so- Wanli 26th year of Ming Dynasty (1598), with a strong sense called emotional structure is "people's overall feeling for of against Neo-Confucianism and feudal rituals, shows a life" in general (1954, "Film Introduction".), "culture in a strong characteristic of pursuing individual freedom, and period of time" and "a type of social experience that is represents the feelings of a group of people who were aware always in a dissolved state" (1961 "The Long Revolution"), of it at that time to a large extent. Therefore, since the day as well as an "emerging cultural element that has not fixed in when the book was circulated, a group of loyal readers, a pre-emergence state" (1977 Marxism and Literature). especially female readers have been gathered. The original In these definitions, it is particularly important to note words of Lin Yining, a female reader of the Qing Dynasty, in that Raymond Williams used to place descriptive words such the Preface to the Returning Ghost: When the book was first as "dissolved state" and "not yet fixed" before "social published, scholars all bought it to put it on their desk. Tang experience" and "cultural factors." These words contain the Xianzu also wrote in his poem "Two Poems for the Women meaning of change and imply the intrinsic complexity of the Who Crying by Lou River" that "why did she die for love? sensory structure. That is to say, the sensory structure of an There must be something to be sad. It is only the literature in era is not indistinguishable like the iron plate, but may be the a period of time, but the people who like literature in the mixture of all social and cultural states in the past, present, world are influenced." to sincerely respond to readers' and future stages. concern and affection for the "The Peony Pavilion" in the book. "The Peony Pavilion" is a legendary book written in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. It is widely spread and is The reason why “The Peony Pavilion” can be so widely considered by the mainstream feudal class as a poisonous and lastingly circulated is because it not only has rich and and herbaceous book type that should be banned since it can meandering plots, elegant and mellow words, but also has transform people's temperament. Because of the special deep rebellious thoughts, so the book can not only be used environment and the sharp advance of the author, its for pastimes, but also can give people a strong soul vibration emotions and thoughts conform to Raymond Williams' Copyright © 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 357 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 232 characteristic description of the "dissolved state" and "not yet the other hand, it is related her temperament. Mr. Cai fixed" of the emotional structure. Therefore, analyzing from Yuanpei once pointed out in the "History of Chinese Ethics": the perspective of Raymond Williams' emotional structure "Since the Song Dynasty, everything is according to the theory enables us to better understand The Peony Pavilion as reason instead of emotion. It is believed that widows will well as Tang Xianzu and the times trend in the time of Tang lose their chastity if they remarry. It was said that the Xianzu. starvation is minor matter but losing chastity is severe. Therefore, women are immersed in poverty and can never II. RESISTING THE REASON WITH EMOTION: DU get out!" In the late Ming dynasty of the feudal society, the LINIANG'S DREAM AND DEATH ruling class attached more importance to feudal ethics and morality. Therefore "the feudal rites and chastity concept In the part of author's inscription of The Peony Pavilion, advocated by the confucianists" , "not only became a Tang Xianzu wrote: "I don't know why I love you but it universal social moral identity, but also are translated into becomes deeper when I realize it. It can make living person the main moral beliefs and behavioral standards in the hearts die and die person alive. If living people can't die for love, or of a vast number of women."[3] Such attention and the dead can’t revive because of love, they don't have deep recognition are particularly prominent in the important part love." These words use the method of a combination of of the establishment and promotion of the ethical and moral positive and negative expositions, and affirm the emotions aspects by the bureaucratic home. Women born and raised in that have the power to break through the bound of death and such an environment are either domesticated into mothers life in an absolutely decisive tone. However, this kind of and wives conforming to the three obedience and the four power, placed in the real world where we live, will inevitably virtues, such as Du Liniang's mother Zhen who “only acted be ridiculous for people. In this regard, Tang Xianzu’s as a spinning brick” for the whole life and “know a little bit response is: “it won't happen from the perspective of the of courtesy” [4], or awakening but unwilling to change and reason, but how can we know if it won't happen from the can only compromise or die early in order to end the perspective of emotion” [1]. That is to say, the things that suffering in heart, such as the protagonist Yu Erniang in can't be tolerant under the standard of the reason have much Tang Xianzu's "Two Women Weeping by the Min River". space to exist under the standard of emotion. Such an act of Besides, they may also struggle to rebel after awakening, listing the things that can't exist from the perspective of which is an impossible task that transcends the times. Tang “reason” and must exist from the perspective of “emotion” Xianzu had a clear understanding of this, so when setting up hint the clearest position of Tang Xianzu's resisting “reason” the scene for the plot, he did not design an activity space that with “emotion”. allows talents and beauties live relatively freely like the The real expansion of the confrontation between emotion authors of many previous Scholar—Beauty Romances. and reason is promoted by Du Liniang, the protagonist of Instead, he dwells on the abstract and avoids real issues to “The Peony Pavilion”. In other words, the author of the put unfulfilled rebellion into imaginary dreams and death. legendary, Tang Xianzu wrote the emotion with a pen and The different interpretation of A Fair Maiden is the added the anti-reason spirit filling in his mind to the role of trigger for Du Liniang’s resistance. In the seventh section of Du Liniang that he makes efforts to shape. Although Du "The Peony Pavilion", "Boudoir school", when pedant Chen Liniang is only a woman and she may appear weaker than Zuiliang is about to interpret the book based on annotations, men in rebellion, as the role who is most constrained and Du Liniang rejected it skillfully: "Master, student can hindered by the creed of Cheng Zhu Neo-Confucianism interpret the book according to annotations by myself.
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