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A Study on Xue Bao-chai: Some Fundamental Problems of Character s Discourse in The Dream of the Red Chamber Ou Li-Chuan Associate Professor, Department of Chinese Literature, National Taiwan University Abstract This article discusses some core issues in the character discourse on Xue Bao-chai: the episodes of the jia-huo (Xue s transferring blame to Lin) event, the Jin-chuan ( ) case, and the Iou San-jie ( ) and Liou Xiang-lian ( ) case. I also reinterpret the hidden meaning of the verse even heartless is fascinating ( ). Emphasizing that these segmented episodes should be put in a comprehensive and consistent context, I argue against a well-known view attributing Xue Bao-chai a negative character. I contend that she is rather a secular humanist, then discuss some reasons why the pro Dai, contra Chai attitude becomes dominant among the readers and interpreters of The Dream of the Red Chamber: Besides readers sympathy for the weak, a psychology of mask-phobia also plays an key role, wherein readers project their own experience into Ciao Xue-qin ( ) s differing description techniques on Dai and Chai. On the whole, I contend that The Dream of the Red Chamber is too often treated implicitly as a monotonous narrative with a single value judgment, which supposedly represents the author s aesthetic and emotional preferences. As a consequence, many criticisms about the characters of The Dream of the Red Chamber tend to be extreme and partial, especially the discourses about Xue. By contrast, I propose that the novel is a polyphonic narrative, where characters are objectively discovered, organically developed, 144
and described with art. Wherein characters complement and contrast each other but there is not necessarily opposition between them, let alone the author s approval or criticizing. Keywords: The Dream of the Red Chamber, Xue Bao-chai, Lin Dai-yu, even heartless is fascinating ( ) 145
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155 80 46
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92 Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin, 1895-1975 93 92 Northrop Frye, 1912-1991 1998 11 4-5 93 1998 6 5 13 189
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