the proliferation
of aesthetics. The word "aesthetics" first came from the Greek word "aesthesis", and the original meaning was "feeling of the senses". Modern philosophy defines aesthetics as the theory and philosophy of recognizing cognitive sensations in art, science, design and philosophy. The aesthetic value of an object is not simply defined as "beauty" and "ugly", but to recognize the type and essence of the object. Nowadays, the word "aesthetics" is showing a trend of flooding in daily language applications, and its meaning seems to have deviates from its original meaning. "Aesthetics", which can be seen everywhere now, is closer in meaning to the Japanese "aesthetics" (esthetics, びがく), an overall style situation or an established criterion. That is, closer to the concept of "style".
"A Chinese Ghost Story" is based on a short story from "Strange Tales from a Liaozhai". Originally, it was just a story of a female ghost repaying a scholar for her promise, but after the interpretation of Xiaodong and Tsui Hark, it became a heart-warming oriental love classic, and it is also a very good text for oriental aesthetic psychology research.
Oriental classic story structure
In Chinese classic dramas and novels, it is not uncommon for ghosts, foxes, monsters or famous ladies to make promises to a poor scholar who has no talent other than being handsome, and the poor scholar himself has no talent. Moreover, he often relies on the pity of women to escape, but he often has reliable friends or noble people who can help him - such as Zhang Sheng's friend Du Que in "The West Chamber" and the general in "Nie Xiaoqian". Yan Chixia. So in the end, from today's point of view, the stories we see are really female ghosts, fox spirits, ladies and gentlemen, all of them have a scholar. Therefore, Yi Zhongtian said, Western stories are all about heroes saving beautiful women, and Eastern stories are about beautiful people saving scholars. Such a story is not only in line with the general public's yearning for the unreachable upper class and the expectation that they can change their own destiny through chance, but also has a romantic and tortuous process, so it is enduring for a long time and is still feasible today.
Apart from the usual gag style of Hong Kong films, the biggest difference between the 87 version of "A Chinese Ghost Story" and "Strange Tales from a Liaozhai" is that Nie Xiaoqian's motive for approaching Ning Caichen was originally utilitarianism such as repaying her kindness and gaining a noble identity. Sexual motives have become non-utilitarian motives such as pure love; and Ning Caichen has changed from a dull scholar to a romantic and amorous genius. Nie Xiaoqian, who is charming and amorous but has ill-fated fate, happens to meet Ning Caichen, who is gentle and upright. The two together form the general structure of oriental classic love stories - to put it bluntly, it is a combination of a young lady and a scholar.
The title of Dongfang's Hao Sijia
is "A Chinese Ghost Story", so it is natural to highlight the screen image of Nie Xiaoqian. In fact, this image was created with unprecedented success in this edition, almost becoming the Hao Scarlett of the East. In the film, Wang Zuxian plays the somewhat demonic and innocent Nie Xiaoqian, like the image of Hao Sijia created by Vivien Leigh. On the one hand, she seduces Ning Caichen to let the other party have deep-rooted love and risk her life; on the other hand, she is so beautiful that she commits herself and rescues Ning Caichen many times; Nie Xiaoqian, who is both a "demon girl" and a "goddess", successfully The audience was fascinated and sighed. Nie Xiaoqian dressed in white is as pure and inviolable as a goddess, but the many fragrant scenes shown from Ning Caichen's perspective make the audience seem to cross a certain taboo bottom line (such as the scene of bathing in the room and the tryst in the small building by the lake). , obtained the satisfaction of voyeuristic desire through Ning Caichen's eyes.
It is undeniable that this lively and fragrant Nie Xiaoqian is still displayed and displayed on the screen for people to admire and watch. And such Nie Xiaoqian is also full of distinct oriental sentiments. The attitude of Ning Caichen's refusal and welcome, the graceful and charming movements by the lake, the shrewdness in secretly fighting with the sisters, and the weak willow Fufeng's posture in front of the grandmother all show the unique social environment (patriarchal power) of oriental women. The supremacy of the social system, women are imprisoned and lack the ability to be independent) and family politics (women want to gain social status and power through marriage, but cannot control the choice of marriage partners); She has an elegant demeanor, but is also bold and slutty different from ordinary women. She can freely commit herself to a man she loves. She is by no means the usual repressed and abstinent image of a lady-in-law. This Nie Xiaoqian is a collection of thousands of male fantasies. It's a combination of "lady" and "prostitute". The male audience is not only directly impacted by the visual beauty, but also greatly satisfied by taking the role of Ning Caichen. It can be said that they have obtained double satisfaction as a voyeur and an actor, and experienced a spiritual encounter through watching the movie.
Where is the desire of the female audience satisfied
in this film? Are female audiences just watching an objectified Nie Xiaoqian from a male perspective? Do not. It is true that female audiences are also viewing the movie from a masculine perspective to a certain extent, and watching Nie Xiaoqian, who has been created to satisfy male desires. However, Nie Xiaoqian is also an outlet for women's own desires to be released.
As mentioned in the previous article, the personalities of oriental women are very complex. The main reason is that China's close family structure determines that women must play multiple roles at the same time. The roles of daughter, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, sister-in-law, younger brother and sister, wife, mother and mother-in-law are often integrated at the same time. In dealing with different roles, completely different strategies and attitudes must be adopted. For example, as a daughter-in-law, you should be humble and obedient to your in-laws, as a wife, you should be dignified and gentle, and as a concubine or sister-in-law, you should be good at managing peer relationships and competing for favor in front of your elders. One of the characteristics of oriental women is their complex character, or in other words, they are exquisite. In the role of Nie Xiaoqian, the act of being obedient to her grandmother can be seen as flattering to the elders who can control her destiny, and the struggle with Xiaodie can be seen as an open and secret struggle between peers. It can be said that although Nie Xiaoqian is a ghost, the situation she is in is no different from that of ordinary women—the elders rule, the marriage is not free, and the peers fight for each other—which will also resonate with female audiences. Although Nie Xiaoqian was used by her grandmother to kill someone, the most important thing to her was not this, but her grandmother arranged to marry an old black mountain demon that she did not like. The reason why she rebelled was because she met Ning Caichen, who she liked, and did not want to marry according to her grandmother's arrangement. It can be said that the most important thing for Nie Xiaoqian is not the life of the family but the freedom of love. Such a romantic setting naturally moves women.
For today's women, although the personal freedom and social status have been greatly improved in the changing times, the problems that have plagued women for thousands of years still exist. Various constraints from the family society still suffocate them. Seeing that Nie Xiaoqian bravely rose up against fate and gained freedom and love, female audiences have a deeper experience that is different from that of male audiences.
Tragedy is Oriental Aesthetics
Although Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen were rescued by Meng Yan Chixia, the two escaped, but they could not have a lover and end up married. Although the two of "people and ghosts have different paths" have fulfilled their love, they still have to separate sadly. Ning Caichen didn't even see Xiaoqian for the last time. After Nie Xiaoqian was reincarnated, Ning Caichen and Yan Chixia continued to drive Ma Yuan away to the end of the world. Such a tragic ending is the embodiment of oriental aesthetics. The theory of fatalism and reincarnation has endured in China's thousand-year-old culture, and no amount of human intervention can overcome the wheel of fate. As the saying goes, "Sometimes one has to have one's fate, and one must never force one's fate." The Eastern fatalism, which emphasizes the joy of knowing one's fate, does not appreciate the Western-style saying that "fate is in one's own hands". Manpower may change the fate of Jincheng a little but cannot change the outcome. Just like in "Journey to the West", Sun Wukong traveled against the sky several times through five hundred years, but in the end he still had to succumb to his fate. Nie Xiaoqian was also unable to resist her own fate. Although the screenwriter and director in the sequel achieved a happy ending by letting Ning Caichen meet a person who looks like Xiaoqian, but for the audience, the love between Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian still permanently ceased to be separated from Liming. Only what is broken is beautiful.
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