"The Soul of Jade Pear" is a classical Chinese tragic novel written by Xu Zhenya, a novelist of the Republic of China in 1912. It is based on the author's true emotional experience. The work tells the story of young teacher He Mengxia who fell in love with the young widow Bai Liying after seeing her for the first time. Later, it was a love tragedy that the two were not allowed to unite due to the constraints of feudal ethics. "Jade Pear Soul" originated from a lingering and pathos love story between the author Xu Zhenya and the widow Chen Peifen. From 1909 to 1911, the author taught in Wuxi and lived in the home of Cai Yinting, a famous calligrapher near the school. The Cai family has a widowed daughter-in-law, Chen Peifen, whose son studied at Xu Zhenya. Xu Zhenya and Chen Peifen went from admiring each other to falling in love. The two exchanged letters and sang poems together. But in feudal society, a widow was a miserable "widow" who could only feel like a dry well, and remarrying would be detrimental to moral integrity. It was difficult for the two lovers to get married, so Chen Peifen had no choice but to marry her niece Cai Ruizhu to Xu Zhenya. Therefore, the author wrote this novel to express the love trapped in his heart. This book has had a profound impact. At that time, "Jade Pear Soul" was serialized in newspapers every day, which caused the newspaper's sales to skyrocket. The novel has not yet been finished, but it has already caused a sensation among Shanghai citizens, especially a large number of female readers, who are reading it with gusto. "Jade Pear Soul" belongs to the aristocratic crowd. But the era it lived in promoted its widespread dissemination. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, women in the boudoir were no longer content to read only "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "The Romance of the West Chamber". They wanted to use newspapers to read modern romance novels, which featured young men and women in modern costumes and modern consciousness, including dresses and cheongsams, and stories of affairs and elopements. "Jade Pear Soul" just meets the needs of boudoir girls in Shanghai, Beijing and other places. With the development of newspapers in big cities, it has also been adapted into dramas and films. Objectively, "The Soul of Jade Pear" has spread further and its influence is increasing day by day.
Reader comments
This book touched me very much. The love tragedy between He Mengxia and Bai Liying made people sigh. They were bound by feudal ethics and could not be together, which reminded me that I had given up on some dreams due to the pressure of reality. The line in the book, "Is there anyone who sheds tears with me? The most ecstatic thing is to ask him if he is speechless." It really expresses the helplessness of love. However, this also makes me cherish what I have now more and work hard to pursue my own happiness.
The main value lies in understanding what people were doing and thinking at that time. The literary value and social value (from today's perspective, may be higher at the time) are relatively limited.
This book touched me very much. The love tragedy between He Mengxia and Bai Liying made people sigh. They were bound by feudal ethics and could not be together, which reminded me that I had given up on some dreams due to the pressure of reality. The line in the book, "Is there anyone who sheds tears with me? The most ecstatic thing is to ask him if he is speechless." It really expresses the helplessness of love. However, this also makes me cherish what I have now more and work hard to pursue my own happiness.
The main value lies in understanding what people were doing and thinking at that time. The literary value and social value (from today's perspective, may be higher at the time) are relatively limited.