When Daiyu entered Jia's Mansion and went to meet her second uncle Jia Zheng, she passed through three rooms successively, and from the difference in layout, you can see their different functions. The first place is the Rongxi Hall, this is the main house of the Rongguo Mansion, the plaque inside is not given by the emperor, that is, the prince wrote, the ornaments in the room are also priceless, not the red sandalwood carving case, is the green bronze tripod, not the ink dragon painting, is the Nanmu chair, it can be said that it is very magnificent, showing the style of the Guogong Mansion. It is conceivable that this place is not a place for the people of Rongfu to sit up every day, just like the main gate of Rongfu, it will only be used for special moments. Naturally, Mrs. Jia Zhengwang did not sit here for a banquet. It was supposed to be a place to receive the royal family and princely ministers.
From this, we can also conclude that when the second prince of Rongning was alive, Jiafu was so brilliant, what a Xuanhe, Rongxi Hall condensed the glory of Jiafu for a hundred years, highlighting the glory of Jiafu in the past, all kinds of precious utensils, royal handwriting, are showing us how a nobleman who has been rich for nearly a hundred years has gone through the baptism of time and wind and rain, and is still standing.
Daiyu then came to the east of the main room of the three ear rooms, the layout of these three ear rooms is not simple, the pillows, backrests, and mattresses are all brand new, and the internal ornaments are also very elegant, of course, this is not the daily living place of Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang. From the furnishings, it can be seen that this should be a place where Jia Zheng receives his colleagues on a daily basis, or a waiting place for guests to visit, and it is also a relatively formal place for hospitality. Before Daiyu met her second uncle, she was arranged to wait here.
According to the fat batch, this is the daily hospitality place of the old man, so the interior decoration is brand new, not homely, or half-old. Various ornaments, such as new flowers, sputum boxes, seats, tea bowls, ......They are all complete, almost all of them can be used by guests, and these things should be replaced every day, and there are special people responsible for cleaning and management.
Daiyu has just arrived, although she is also a guest of Jiafu, but after all, she is a relative of Jiafu, the granddaughter of Jia's mother, and the niece of Jia Zheng, not an outsider. The old ladies didn't know the inside story, so they naturally followed the routine of Jiafu's hospitality and brought Daiyu here first.
In fact, the place where Daiyu visited her uncle and aunt was not located here, but was placed in the daily living place of Mrs. Jia Zhengwang, which was also the last room Daiyu came to, which was the three small main rooms on the east corridor. The furnishings here are very everyday and very simple. There are books and tea sets directly placed on the table, which should be the traces of Jia Zheng's reading here, and the pillows, mattresses, and chairs here are all half-old, not luxurious, and there are fireworks, which is enough to show that this is the real living place of Mrs. Jia Zhengwang. Many people read this, a little puzzled by the half-old layout of Rongfu, Jiafu is so rich, why not replace it with a new one, Fat Yanzhai gave the reader a puzzle, he told a joke about the farmer entering Beijing, in order to illustrate that although Jiafu is rich, it is impossible to wear gold and silver in daily life, only half-old, in line with the daily use of a century-old nobleman.
Just like our daily home, it is impossible to wear a suit or leather shoes like going out or going to work, or wear heavy makeup, but how to be comfortable, maybe walking around in pajamas, maybe wearing a cape and no makeup. The daily life of Jia Mansion is the same. No matter how rich you are, you can't use the best of everything, and you can't make everything brand new, or even replace it every day.
Even the so-called upper class now, rich people, will not play like this. On the contrary, the more rich and noble people are, the more frugal they may be, the more simple, and the more low-key, not to mention that the political master is a serious scholar who is not yet luxurious, and he will not be bound by these mundane things.
From the Rongxi Hall, which highlights the nobility and glory of Jiafu, to the three ear rooms in the east that specialize in entertaining guests and banquets, and then to the three small main rooms in the east corridor where Mrs. Jia Zhengwang really has her daily routine, layer by layer, from Daiyu's eyes, the internal architectural pattern of Rongguo Mansion is written, as well as the different functions of Jiafu.
Author: Xi Sishao, this article is an original work of the Red Mansion.