"Dream of Red Mansions" depicts the story of the rise and fall of the Jiafu family, full of ups and downs and vicissitudes. From Lin Daiyu's entry into Jiafu to the marriage of Xue Baochai and Jia Baoyu, the whole process is like a dream. However, in ten years, no newborn baby has arrived in Jiafu, in stark contrast, Jiao Xing outside Jiafu married Jia Yucun and gave birth to a son; After Qin Keqing's death, Zhenguo Gong also got his eldest son. Are these things fatalistic or human interference? There will be a time for wealth and wealth, and when the fortune is exhausted, the descendants will be cut off. As the saying goes, "Rich heirlooms, but three generations."
Jiafu has a history of more than 100 years, and now it is also in decline. Initially, Jia Fu was knighted for his service and earned a lot of money on rewards, farmland, and bribes, but this wealth was far from enough to sustain a luxurious life. Over time, the economic situation of Ja Province deteriorated. The sons lived a luxurious life, spent a lot of money, and always had a large group of people waiting for them when they traveled. In addition to living in luxury, Jiafu also needed to maintain interpersonal relationships, and the weddings and birthdays of these princes and nobles required large sums of money. As a result, by about 80 times, Jia Fu was already mired in poverty.
Children and grandchildren are not only ignorant, but also incompetent. They indulge in a life of indulgence, which leads to a decrease in fertility. And the daughter of Jiafu did not inherit the ancestry, Yuanchun had no children, Yingchun was tortured to death, Tanchun was immortal, and cherished Chun as a nun. From an objective point of view, in addition to mysterious factors such as luck, the decline in adaptability and immunity brought about by wealth is also a reason that cannot be ignored. Mother Jia and Grandma Liu visited the Grand View Garden together, Grandma Liu was four years older than Mother Jia, but her body was tough, but Mother Jia fell ill because of this. In addition, Sister Jia Qiao only played in the Grand View Garden for a while before she fell ill.
There are constant disputes within the back house, but in the end it is empty. Under the ancient feudal system, the back house has always been a place of right and wrong, and children are an important tool for women to compete for power and status. If the eldest wife fails to give birth, the concubine will naturally have difficulty giving birth, and the attacker has not been pregnant for many years, which is likely to be restricted by the old rules. Wang Xifeng's jealous gaze on Ping'er made Ping'er dare not get pregnant, just like attacking someone. In Jia Lian's room, Ping'er has never been pregnant for many years, which is no accident. In Jia's mansion, Wang Xifeng's jealousy is well known, and she will never allow others to give birth to Jia Lian's child.
In fact, even if someone does not understand this rule as well as Raider and Ping'er, the concubine who has sex is pregnant, and the child may not survive. For example, the second sister You mentioned in the book, because she was taken back to Jiafu without permission, was spared Wang Xifeng's poisonous hands, but when she was pregnant, Wang Xifeng had already done something, so that the child had no chance of surviving. There are not a few secret methods inside Jiafu, and even worse.
The reason why Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng, Mrs. Xing and others were able to survive in "Dream of Red Mansions" and live well is that in addition to relying on the strength of their mother's family, more importantly, they can gain a foothold in the huge family by their own means. There have been no newborns born in Jiafu for more than ten years, and it is inseparable from the hidden methods in the house. This is also closely related to Cao Xueqin's life experience, and the story of the Cao family, which experienced the three emperors of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, is in line with the story of Dream of Red Mansions. Cao Yin, the grandfather of the Cao family, was a weaver in Jiangning and concurrently supervised the imperial history, and was trusted by the emperor, and Cao Yin was responsible for the preparation of Kangxi's six southern tours.
However, the Cao family was punished for the shortfall, and the family fell into the middle. Since then, the word luxury has nothing to do with the Cao family, leaving only the cruel real life. The rise and fall of the four major families in the Dream of Red Mansions is also a metaphor for the rise and fall of the Cao family, the lack of newborns symbolizes the decline of the four major families, and will eventually go to destruction.