The Survival Differences between Jia Baoyu and Jia Yun

A Study on the Original Lanji Culture Dream of Red Mansions

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Return home like a rainbow

In the sixth episode of A Dream of Red Mansions, Wang Xifeng said to Grandma Liu, "As the saying goes, there are three poor relatives in the imperial court, not to mention you and me". Wang Xifeng is really not posturing in front of Granny Liu. The Jia family really has poor relatives, and Jia Yun is one of them.

In the twenty-fourth chapter, Jia Baoyu saw Jia Yun who was "gentle and delicate" and felt "very kind". Jia Baoyu has always disliked contact with men with beards, but he has a good impression on Jia Yun. After all, Jia Yun’s image is in line with Jia Baoyu’s aesthetics.

However, Jia Baoyu did not recognize Jia Yun, but Jia Lian reminded him that Jia Yun was "the son of the fifth sister-in-law who lived on the back porch".

The world has always been divided, and the living conditions between people have always been very different. Jia Baoyu and Jia Yun are both descendants of the Jia family. Jia Baoyu is the "darling" of the Jia family and the "phoenix" in the Jia family. He lives in love with thousands of people, while Jia Yun lives alone with his mother and has a hard life. Jia Yun is a relative of Jia Baoyu, but they live in two different worlds, so that Jia Baoyu doesn’t recognize Jia Yun.

Although Jia Baoyu is four or five years younger than Jia Yun, he is Jia Yun’s uncle. Therefore, Jia Baoyu said to Jia Yun in a joking tone, "You are more picky than before, and you look like my son." As a result, Jia Yun, who was quick and quick-witted, conveniently recognized Jia Baoyu as his "father".

In the 25th chapter, Jia Baoyu and Wang Xifeng were framed by Aunt Zhao and Ma Daopo, and their lives were hanging by a thread. Jia Yun guarded Jia Baoyu day and night, "working hard for several days". Jia Baoyu, the "father", did not do anything for Jia Yun, the "son", but Jia Yun did his best to protect Jia Baoyu. It can be seen that Jia Yun is very filial and responsible, and really cares about Jia Baoyu, the recognized "father".

In the 26th chapter, Jia Baoyu and Jia Yun had a "casual conversation". The content of the conversation is completely the life of a dude led by Jia Baoyu: "He also said whose actor is good and whose garden is good, and told him whose maid is beautiful, whose banquet is rich, who has exotic goods and who has foreign objects." These lives are something Jia Yun has never experienced. Jia Yun doesn’t have the capital to enjoy life. He is a child of poor families. If he wants to survive, he must try his best to seize the opportunity.

Jia Yun is not as well-fed as Jia Baoyu, nor can he live so exquisitely, poetically and romantically like Jia Baoyu. After his father’s death, he quickly felt the warmth of human feelings and the coldness of the world. In order to get a job in Wang Xifeng, he turned to his uncle for help, and all he got was bitter sarcasm. In order to take care of his mother’s mood, he didn’t reveal the humiliation he felt at his uncle in front of his mother. Unlike Jia Baoyu, Jia Yun can have a young master’s temper and be carefree, because he knows too much about the difficulty of survival and the complexity of human feelings.

Jia Yun can’t have no economic mind like Jia Baoyu, and he doesn’t even know money. He is pragmatic and sophisticated. The money that Jia Baoyu disdains is extremely important to Jia Yun. For Jia Yun, what Jia Baoyu despises is that "everything is learned when the world is clear, and people’s understanding is an article" is the way to survive. Therefore, he can bribe Wang Xifeng for work. For Jia Yun, this is not shameful, but a need for survival. Lofty is what people like Jia Baoyu who don’t know the hardships of life value, and it is not what Jia Yun needs to insist on.

Jia Yun is not as rich in poetry as Jia Baoyu, and he is not as excited as Jia Baoyu because Jia Tanchun invited him to join the poetry club. He gave him two pots of Bai Haitang to be filial to Jia Baoyu, and at the same time wrote a copybook with no literary talent. He can’t walk into the elegant cultural circle of Jia Baoyu and others, so he can only try his best to express his feelings for Jia Baoyu. Bai Haitang can make Jia Baoyu and their poems flourish, which is a part of Jia Yun’s work.

However, Jia Yun can also boldly pursue his own love. Of course, the love between him and Xiaohong can’t be as touching as Baodai’s. Jia Yun and Xiaohong are both rich in human fireworks, and they are both good at seeking opportunities for themselves by eloquence. Therefore, the love between them is also full of human fireworks.

Xiaohong originally intended to win Jia Baoyu’s favor, but she was disheartened by the ridicule and exclusion of Qiu Wen and others. So she changed her goal. She and Jia Yun fell in love with each other after several eye-catching. They can’t write touching love poems, nor can they say thrilling love words, but they convey their affection to each other with handkerchiefs.

People like Jia Baoyu who have no pragmatic spirit and ability can’t survive after the downfall of Jia’s family. At that time, people like Jia Yun who know how to survive and are grateful will be particularly important. Without Jia Yun who fought bravely, Jia Baoyu probably couldn’t even live, let alone pursue spiritual liberation.

Jia Baoyu and Jia Yun represent two living conditions: Jia Baoyu pursues spiritual freedom and emotional satisfaction; Jia Yun pursues the living space according to the secular rules. Jia Yun’s lifestyle is naturally closer to our ordinary people. After all, most people in this world can’t be rich and idle like Jia Baoyu. Jia Baoyu will not be a rich and idle person one day, and it is not easy to truly appreciate Jia Yun.

What is rare is that Jia Baoyu has never looked down on Jia Yun because of the huge difference between him and himself. This is the lovely place of Jia Baoyu. What’s more, Jia Yun never belittled himself in front of Jia Baoyu because of poverty. In A Dream of Red Mansions, they are the clean stream in the turbid things.

Original title: "The Survival Differences between Jia Baoyu and Jia Yun"