Gather the beauty of women

Author: Yong Rong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: After reading Cai Cai Nü Se (The Colorful Women), the immediate impression is that it is a work by a pure woman writing in pure Chinese. This writing is a rather leisurely, natural, and non-utilitarian state, where all worldly desires and grievances seem distant from Yong Rong. She immerses herself in understanding and interpreting the ancients, especially ancient women, and finds joy in the art of arranging Chinese characters ("pai bing bu zhen"). She lingers in reflections on family and love. The book's genre and themes are diverse, including essays, critiques, prose, and novels, as well as what she calls "idle" poetry, lyrics, and quatrains. While there is no single thread running through the content, the writing style and state of mind reflect the author's love and preservation of pure Chinese, as well as her thoughts on the fate of ordinary people, especially women. In the preface, the author writes: "The poetry left to us by our ancestors is the purest, most concise, and most elegant part of the Chinese language. The times have gradually distanced us from them, but those who hold onto their love are not just me." How about poetry? The beauty of the Chinese language lies in its purity, conciseness, and elegance, and poetry is a higher-level manifestation of this beauty. No wonder Yong Rong places such high value on her own classical poetry. In Cai Cai Nü Se, whether in essays, critiques, prose, or novels, most of the focus is on the living conditions and human dignity of women. In this book, Yong Rong discusses many women, including the "water-like" girls from Dream of the Red Chamber (like Daiyu, Xifeng, and Xiangyun), the courtesans from Golden Lotus, and the flower spirits, foxes, and ghosts from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, as well as the prostitutes mentioned in Qing Dynasty notes. From the perspective of a pure woman, Yong Rong treats these diverse women with sympathetic understanding. In her writings, one can sense Yong Rong's "presence." For her, judging these women from a moral standpoint is meaningless and rather cliché. Instead, she views them as real women with blood, flesh, love, and hatred. Yong Rong admires Cao Xueqin and Pu Songling because their works reflect respect for women's personalities in every corner. For example, in Women Are Born to Desire a Home—Three Women, Yong Rong says: "In Chen Yunqi, there is tolerance and understanding for these young women. They are neither Bodhisattvas or immortals in the clouds, nor 'women of debauchery' who deserve hell. Though they lack 'moral perfection,' they possess the radiance of humanity.