浅议《京华烟云》的“道”(2)

Quietness is called submission to Fate; what has submitted to Fate has became part of the always so. To know the always-so is to be illumined.”[16] Here, man’s Fate is the existing of origin. The western people say man likes a candle which shines over this world actively; while in Chinese people’s opinion, man likes a mirror, reflect on this world passively. During the process of shining over the world, human beings fight with Fate, like Faustus, struggle in the unchangeable existing condition. Struggle to the end becomes human’s fate. The traditional Chinese culture, Tao School tells people “to do nothing”. In the background of this kind of culture we do not make a detailed inquiry any more. We do not think deeply and struggle any longer. We just conform to the arrangement of Fate. We know that life is not always happy and cloudy. But the sun will always rise; tomorrow will be a better day. That is a faith. When we encounter the difficulty we should see the hope. We wait for spring in the cold winter. We await for flowers to come out again. We wait the sunshine day in the long dark. The Chinese live with this faith. This novel advocates thought of Tao School through different attitudes of different characters towards life and death as well. Life and death is eventually a natural phenomenon. But there are an immense variety of attitudes towards life and death because of different modes of thought. Though deaths of Mrs.Yao and Tseng family, we can see that Confucians take life and death too serious. They consider death is of endless pain, bitter and sorrow. Nevertheless, Tow school believes that life and death is gathering and distributing of breathes (i.e., state of atmosphere), gathering is life and distributing is death. Life and death differ from one to the other. The rotten and the magic change with each other is the law of nature circulation. Yak Si’an believes that life and death is the very law of existence. A true Taoist merely triumphs over death. He dies more cheerfully than others. He is not afraid of it because death is "returning to the Tao ". When MuLan asks him:" father, do you believe in becoming an immortal? Taoists always believe in it.” Mr.Yao answers:' that is popular Taoism. Life and death are the very law of existence. I do believe in immortality. I am immortal through you and your sister and Afei and all the children born of my children. I'm living all over again you, as you are living all over again in Atung and Amei. There is no death. You cannot defeat nature. Life goes on forever."[17]Mr.Yao's view of life shows us that, life is raised to a higher level in circulations. People, on one hand, must value one's life; on the other hand, there is no need to feel depressed and disappointed to the brevity of life.

IV. View of love and marriage
Taoists believe that” It happened of its own accord” even in the view of love and marriage. At all times and in all lands, love has been a permanent topic. Red Chamber Dream, the great Traditional Chinese novels, is lined with the love story between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu. From the beginning to the end of the book Moment in Peking that owns 700,000 characters, there are mainly four marriages worth of mentioning. Are these marriages successful or complete failing? What are their results? The original reasons of success and failure are worth of exploring. Among these marriages, these are several women images that have lively personality and queer way of thinking. Their views of love vary. Some of them sacrifice all their time for “love”, some die for love, and some one conceal her love deeply in their heart. Love is the same, but the way of love differ from one to another .Now, let’s trace their origins in fact, they are determined by different thoughts, Confucianism or thought of Tao school.
According to the author’s description, Mannia was a true product of Confucianism. Her parents were both Confucians .She was brought up by her father, got a full old education of women. Mannia accepted what the feudal Confucian ethical code had given her: “Women’s character”, ”Women’s speech”, ”Women’s appearance”, “Women’s accomplishment”. What’s more, she bound a small pair of feet. Masters of Tseng families’ were crazy about superstitious belief. When their elder son was dying, they believed that “Tsunghsi ” could make Ping Ya recover. That’s why they let PingYa marry young Mannia. After Ping Ya died, Mannia went into another Confucian family from the previous one. During the whole process, no one came out to pretest for her. There was an opinion in her mind, which was :I live as daughter-in –law of Tseng family, I die as daughter-in –law of Tseng family, too. Mannia remained unmarried. She was alone; she never went to the back garden surrounded by high walls, because his father told her that in opera of novels almost all the degeneration of girls and amorous encounters took place in the back garden. One day, Mannia was persuaded by MuLan and Sunya to go to see the foreign film together. She enjoyed herself very much that day because she had never seen such an interesting new thing. But her father-in-law got furious. He thought she had done what a widow should not do. Mannia did not breathe a word to protest. Instead, she thought it wrong all her fault indeed. She spent rest of her life with her adopted son and finally ended her life by herself because the Japanese intruders’ base conducts. The happiness of such a beautiful, pure, kind-hearted, gentle woman was "eaten" by so-called “feudal Confucian ethical code”. Is Mania is only tragic girl produced by feudal Confucian ethical code. The answer is absolutely “No”. The author regards “the classical beauty” as the weapon of criticism. He criticizes those ridiculous and deep-rooted ethical codes of Confucianism.

Another tragedy of love happened to a young master and his maid. Tiren, the elder young master of Yao family, had been spoiled since a child and formed a supercilious and arrogant personality of doing things as what he liked. Silversreen, who was brought to Yao family as a maid by Mulan’s uncle who she was only three, served Tiren since a child. She was three years older than him. She was clever, capable and beautiful, too. They fell in love with each other when they grew up. Tiren meaned to marry Silverscreen. But Tiren’s mother who was strongly affected by the conception didn’t agree. She thought there was great difference between master and maid, and marriage should be according to the custom of “well-matched” in social and economic status. She considered Silverscreen’ behavior to be "A posy toad ticking of eating swan flesh!"She was inexorable to hinder their development. At lasting, owing to the reason that Mrs.Yao robbed Silverscreen’s child, which forced her to suicide .It should had been a good match, if Mrs.Yao hadn’t prevent them, and the tragedy would had not happened. Another product of Confucian school that Lin created was Mrs.Yao, whose later half-life was miserable .She had to take the responsibility of what she did. What’s more, Tiren and Silverscreen loved each sincerely. Tiren had his own advantage, that is, he was kind and took love seriously. He was able to try his best to get ahead to peruse his real love over all the obstacle of feudal Confucian ethical code, which is admirable. The character Silverscreen also accords with he demands of perusing the equality of personality and freedom of marriage during the period of the May 4th Movement of 1919.
Suppose that the two marriages above were caused by feudal ethical code of Confucianism, the following two marriages, on the contrary, followed the advice of “Tao”. In this novel, Lin Yutang characterizes a perfect women image---- Yao Mulan, who is called “the daughter of the Taoist”. From Mulan, we can see what is perfect woman in the author’s eye. Therefore, the author uses more words on her. Since a child, educated and influenced by her father, Mulan freed herself from kinds of feudal ethical Confucian code and old customs. She might be a woman out of the ordinary at that time. She learned embroider from her mother. She had a lot of other skills to whistle, to sing Beijing Opera, to collect and appreciate antique. She was deeply affected by thought of Tao School. Her father told her:" When you yourself are right, nothing that happens to you can ever be wrong." It became MuLan’ s lifetime motto. She derived optimism and courage from this sentence. She believed that there was such a beautiful world .We must fight and endure it .She was optimistic and open-minded because she was imperceptibly influenced by thought of Tao school. Facing ups and downs of life, she could always keep such a state of mind: be browns of life, unrestrained and natural, Thought she didn’t marry the man she loved, she still believed that" It happened of its own accord" and that a person’s fate had been arranged ahead of time. Though the readers may consider this as a regrettable imperfection, but imperfection is a sort of beauty. So she took the “regrettable imperfection” as a kind of “beauty” concealing it in the heart, enjoying it quietly and secretly. Although Sun Ya and she might not be a perfect couple, they could be a suitable one .She always looked forward to the peaceful idyllic life embraced by hill and water. What's more, Milan showed her magnanimous virtue when her husband Sonya cheated her and had paramour Cao Lihue. With the help of her father Mr., she carried out an ingenious scheme to make Lihue quit actively and willingly. In addition, when the author creates the character Cao Lihue, he has two purposes: one is to show Milan’s magnanimous virtue; the other is that although Cao Lihue has been in love with Sonya, she refused to become his concubine which in a sense embodies the new woman demands the equality of men and women and “one husband, one wife” in terms of marriage during the time of the time of the May 4th Movement.

Judging solely from the marriage of Tire and Cilverscreen, they fought against traditional conception at great price .It seem that Mrs.Yao on behalf of Confucian power prevailed. However, if we look into the combination of Afei and Baofen, it is not the case. Afei and Hongyu was a pair of playing companies who had been an innocent affection for each other since child hood. Hong yu' s personality was similar to that of Lin Daimyo in Red Chamber Dream. She was sentimental and susceptible and had been ill since child and nearly took medicine everyday, but she was talented. She loved Afei deeply in her heart, meanwhile, she felt inferior because of her illness, and envied Paofen. At last, she drowned herself for a miserable misunderstanding. As for the marriage of Afei and Hongyu, Mr.Yao had his own view. One day Mulan told him "Fourth sister is not so well, you know it is time that they were engaged". Old Yao remained silent, thinking, his eyes very distant, and then he said, "You still have this idea of “ tsunqhsi”. It did not work in the case of Mannia, didn't it? Wait until she is better” their opinions about the similar things are to tally different .The Tsengs, who were influenced strongly by the Confucian thought, through their son's illness only could be only by the traditional way of "tsunghsi" so they would rather sacrifice Mannia' s whole happy life for the roundless hope .On the contrary, Mr.Yao was very aware of the nonsense of “tsunghsi”. What he said “Wait better a little" indicated his thought of “happening naturally”. Later, he also considered the marriage of Afei and Baofen to be happening naturally, so when Mrs.Yao didn't look down upon Baofen for her identity of maid and assented to their marriage, Mr. made use of the opportunity to gain his end.

Chapter3. The feature of “Tao”’ introduction in the book
One thing worthies mentioning is that the way the author introduces traditional Chinese culture to the west takes the form of novel, in which he creates a series of typical and lively characters and specific thought. If the two books written by Lin, My Country and My People and The Art of Living introduce Chinese tradition to the west in the form of prose, Moment In Peking then describes detailed Chinese historic culture to the west in the form of art image. The author applies the way of Chinese traditional novel, which is out of date for the Chinese, but is new and novel for the western people. Therefore, as for the type of the book, it is a novel of more than 70,000 words. Why did the author write the book by the form of novel? He ascribes it to the features of the type of novel. Comparing with other types, the type of novel has artistic appeal that is to strike root in the hearts of readers. So, he thinks there is not better form than novel that is so vivid that can make reader seem to be participating. The novel is like a silent guider who shows the western people to appreciate various scenes at render.

As for “Tao”, a kind of traditional thought of China is totally new to the western people. It is hard to understand for them. For it is kind of abstract thought, which was produced thousands of years ago. It was expressed in the classical literary style. How did the author deal with this? Firstly, the author translated the ancient Chinese prose into modern and easy English. It embodied in the structure of the novel. The novel was pided into three sections. Each section began with a passage extract from Zhuangtse. The first section began with the extract from the Master .Its original content is that “在太极之先而不为高，在六极之下而不为深，先天地生而不为久，长于上古而不为老。”The author translated it into that “To Tao， the zenith is not high， nor the nadir now ；no point in time is long ago，nor lapse of ages has it grown old” The second section began with the extract from the essay on “Relativity” by Chuangtse. Its original content is that “梦饮酒者,旦而哭泣; 梦哭泣者,旦而田猎, 是旦暮遇之也.” The author translated it into that “Those who dream of lamentation and sorrow wake to join the hunt. This is a paradox. Tomorrow a sage may arise to explain it; but that tomorrow will not be until ten thousands generations have gone by. Yet you may meet him any day just around the comer.” The third section began with the extract from The Northern Travels Of Knowledge by Chuangtse. It original content is that “故万物一也,是其所美者为神奇,其所恶者为臭腐;是腐烂腐化为神奇,神奇复化为臭腐.” The author translated it into that “Therefore all things are one. What we love is the mystery of life. What we hate is corruption in death. But the corruptible in its turn becomes mysterious life, and this mysterious life once more becomes corruptible.” Comparing the original contents with the translation. We can see that Lin Yutang spread “Tao” exactly according to his thorough understanding.
Secondly, the author introduced Taoism through comparing it to Confucianism in the book. He distinguishes the two kinds of thought according to his own specific understanding: “Taoism and science were the two great enthusiasm of Mr.Yao, and were somehow completely harmonized in his mind. Perhaps this was natural, because Taoism showed an interest in nature, its endless procession of the seasons, its laws of growth and decay, the persity of its creatures and the mystery of the infinite and the infinitesimal. Its cosmos was a cosmos of change and flux and interaction between conflicting forces, obeying the silent laws of an impersonal, nameless, speechless god with should not have been named at all, but which the Taoists were forced to call by the name of ‘Tao’, while insisting that it was unnamed and unnamable. Mr.Yao’s idea was that with Western science now opening up the mysteries of nature, Lifu, as a young man, should not miss the opportunity of delving into the new discoveries.”[18] At the beginning of this passage, the author revealed clearly natural distinguishment in a short sentence that is “Taoism showed an interest in nature”, “Confucianism was interest only in human relationships, in literature and history”. And then he explains it concretely. At last he states that the change and interaction of the nature follows all the rule of “Tao”. In a word, Lin Yutang succeeded in creating a kind of art atmosphere full of both interest of English and Chinese spirit, which the western readers acquire the Chinese culture by a real and perfect English.

Conclusion

Moment in Peking is wholly covered with" the philosophy of Chuangtse ". The author Lin Yutang thinks, the most ideal Chinese scholar is the one who takes life philosophically on the basis of wisdom and insight. This kind of philosophy can generate a magnanimous mind, which makes a person lives his life with an soft attitude, discarding position and wealth and living a happy and satisfactory life. Meanwhile, this kind of philosophy also creates perception of freedom, favor of unconventional and unrest raining and attitude of loftiness and indifference. Only one owns such kind of freedom and indifference can he enjoy the happy life ardently. This is so-called real “Tao” .The two main characters are inoculated with the author's ideal of life. Such kind of ideal is also the zenith of life the scholar of China has been pursuing for thousands of years.
Although Tao thoughts was created in a particular period and had its on limitation, the attitude towards life philosophically, cherishing life, the idea of treating life atomically and magnanimous mind make great sense of enlighteners and have unfailing value of enlightening. In all, thoughts of Tao School will not vanish with the paying of times, its thoughts of Tao and remark of wisdom will be sure to produce completely new and gain the whole new explanation of meaning in the new times and centuries.

Bibliography
[1] 汤奇云.《瞬息京华》的文化意蕴探寻[J].新疆大学学报,1995,23（4）：P72。
[2] 同[1]，P72。
[3] 林东宣.试谈《京华烟云》与道家文化[J].泉州师专学报,1998,（1）：P26。
[4] 陈朝旭.从姚木兰的形象看林语堂的悲剧意识和快乐哲学[J].黎明职业大学学报,2005，6（2）：P19。
[5] Lin Yutang. My Country and My People[M].Peking: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press,2000,p114。
[6] 同[5]，P114-115。
[7] Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching [M]. Peking: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1998,P91。
[8] 同[7]，p120。
[9] Lin Yutang. Moment in Peking [M]. Peking: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press,1999,p7。
[10] 同[9]，P11。
[11] 同[9]，P365。
[12] 同[9]，P365。
[13] 崔大华等. 道家与中国文化精神[M]. 河南：河南人民出版社，2003.P632。
[14] 同[7]，P168。
[15] 同[9]，P5。

[16] 同[7]，P32。
[17] 同[9]，P821。
[18] 同[9]，P603。