In that protracted and unheard-of famine, people even plundered wild vegetables, weeds and leaves in order to survive. As soon as the grass sprouts, people dig up the roots and cook it, and even the leaves on the trees become the objects of the picking, and all life from the willow tree to the elm tree is threatened. When the elderly starve to death, the family members will not feel sad, but will rejoice, believing that they can save food to continue the lives of more people. A newlywed daughter-in-law is so hungry that she can't sleep, and she hides under a wall to eavesdrop on her family's secret food, only to hear her family's decision to cook her for food. Frightened, she fled back to her parents' home overnight to inform her parents of what had happened to her. However, after she was put to sleep by her mother, she was pleasantly surprised to hear her father and mother's words, and thought that it was better to kill her own family and eat it than to let her family kill her. In such an era of "people eating people", the daughter-in-law of Bai Jiaxuan, a big Bai family in Bailuyuan Village, and Bai Xiaowen's daughter-in-law were also starved to death. In this simple woman, we see the cruelty and dark exposure of human nature.
In the drama version of "White Deer Plain", the screenwriter's adaptation of the role of Bai Xiaowen's daughter-in-law is not pleasing. She was portrayed as a selfish, indifferent, and bitter image, provoking Bai Xiaowen to split up and bullying Tian Xiao'e. The adaptation in the play blames Bai Xiaowen's fall on the woman's lack of talent and appearance, which seems to be understandable. However, in the original book, she is just an ordinary woman, the first woman in Bai Xiaowen's life. She married into the richest family in Bailu Plain, but she was still starved to death. Her death had nothing to do with poverty, but was just a victim of that era. The author does not describe her too much, but just puts her in the torrent of history and makes her an ordinary victim.
Leng Qiuyue's story is another thought-provoking part of "White Deer Plain". These women endured hunger and suffering in their own way, despite their different positions and roles in those turbulent times. They don't exist to be protagonists or have names, but to remind us of the cruelty of our time and the darkness of human nature. This real and deep story background allows us to understand the theme and meaning of "White Deer Plain" more deeply. I'm going to reorganize this text to keep its core meaning and try to add some personal opinions. This passage mainly tells about the sorrow and helplessness of women in a patriarchal society, as well as Bai Jiaxuan's ruthlessness and indifference.
The daughters-in-law on the White Deer Plain, as well as thousands of female characters in rural China, their sorrows were revealed by the death of a woman in the White Deer Plain. She is just one of many women, representing their helplessness and sorrow. Bai Jiaxuan's ruthlessness and lack of attention to her make her even more helpless and powerless in this society.
In the years of famine, she took her two children to live with Bai Xiaowen, and the long-term worker Lusan took the initiative to ask for resignation, but Bai Jiaxuan's benevolence did not give her the care she deserved. Although he is willing to suffer with Lu San, his ruthlessness and ruthlessness towards his son Bai Xiaowen deeply stung him. In that particular period, women were more of a burden and were seen as beings with no use value.
When she was starved to death, Bai Xiaowen was enjoying the beauty of life. And she, the wife who had accompanied him through the difficult years, was neglected and forgotten. This further reflects the low status of women in that era and the ruthlessness of the patriarchal society. She is not the first woman to receive this treatment, nor will she be the last. The ruthlessness and injustice of this society is deplorable.
Will anyone question Bai Jiaxuan's indifference and ruthlessness? Not really. When his mother brought Bai Xiaowen's two sons to him, he focused on her grandson, which was undoubtedly a kind of neglect and snub for her. Only the fairy grass secretly helped her, and only the fairy grass as a woman could understand her helplessness and sorrow.
In this patriarchal society, people are often driven by power and interest to ignore those who are neglected. And those women who are forgotten and ignored, their pain and helplessness cannot be understood and perceived. This is a question worth pondering. So I think that the injustice of the patriarchal society to women is the culprit, and those selfish and indifferent men stick their fingers in women like thorns, making them even more helpless in the face of difficulties and adversity. We need more people to stand up and understand and care about them, and only then can we truly change this society. One night, I finally mustered up the courage to fight against fate, however, I was severely beaten by Bai Xiaowen. He didn't like me just because I had taught him some sophistication, but I was not talented or beautiful, I could do housework, and I was three years older than him. I became a victim of Bai Jiaxuan's daughter-in-law for his son, and his anger at my struggle undoubtedly took out on me, leading to my tragic end.
Before I died, I personally went to Tian Xiao'e's cave and jumped and cursed at the door. Bai Xiaowen opened the door of the kiln, and a slap made me fall on the threshold. However, even at the last moment of my life, I still desperately threw myself into the kiln to fight with Tian Xiao'e, until finally I stopped yelling and scolding and was dragged back home. This is my last struggle, and the sad thing is that I never thought of beating Bai Xiaowen, maybe because I was afraid, maybe I didn't have such a consciousness, the mountain of three obedience and four virtues made me live carefully.
I accurately felt my death, and said the saddest sentence to Bai Jiaxuan: "Dad, I have been married to our family for so many years, I have seen you how ugly and lazy I am, I have thought about this and that, but I didn't expect that I would starve to death." After saying this, I fell to the ground and never got up again. The dead no longer cause people to be amazed, but no one will remember me. My mother's family was also indifferent to me, and didn't even send me to see it for the last time. They seemed to have forgotten about me, a girl who had been away for many years, and only sent their youngest brother to mourn their filial piety. After howling a few times, the poor brother grabbed the big bowl and poured noodles into the pot to pour the soup and ate it.
The people of Bailu Plains did not feel grief about this, and the dead no longer caused special surprise and excessive grief on the part of their families. People were just surprised that Bai Jiaxuan's family also died. Even my funeral was solved by Bai Xiaowu. Bai Xiaowen disappeared into the world of people he once disliked as if he didn't exist. In the last piece of paradise in Bailuyuan in that famine era, Tian Xiao'e and I soaked in the cave all day long. We smoke when we're full, and we go to bed when we're full. It was one of our most carefree days. I also gave birth to two children for Bai Xiaowen, but it was all over. I often paint a picture in my mind, which is the beautiful life of the Bai family, however, the reality is like a duckweed, floating in the shadow of the mansion, and finally falling silent. If Tian Xiao'e is the gravedigger of feudal etiquette, then the tragedy of Bai Xiaowen's daughter-in-law is the norm of that era. Their lives are spent in the shadow of their husbands and in-laws, and they are humble but trying to survive, which makes people feel even more helpless and sad.
When we think back to the stories of hunger and cannibalism, we may doubt their authenticity. However, looking through the messages of the past, there are people who vividly describe the reality of the famine years, and perhaps all the doubts stem from the reality of the unexperienced. We should be thankful that we are lucky, but at the same time, we should reflect on those sad stories. These stories are the main theme of "White Deer Plain", and they are also the freedom and equality that we will always pursue.
Let us reflect on the pain and tragedy of the past, while also cherishing the happiness of the present. Let us not forget the past, cherish the present, and at the same time look forward to the future, because this is our eternal theme and pursuit. Only in this way can we truly move towards freedom and equality, and achieve true happiness.