Very funny philosophy contrasts I found between Hong Lu and the new Jia Candidate
I haven’t seen anyone mention this here, so I think I might try pointing this out myself.
(I use GPT to help with some translations, but all the info and analysis are my own.)
It’s been a while since 7.5b dropped but still,spoiler alert.
-New Jia Candidate Jia Qiu
In case you haven’t noticed, Jia Qiu isn’t a character referenced from Dream Of The Red Chamber (DOTRC)like the other Jia candidates . Instead, he’s based on Confucius (Kong Qiu), the founder of Confucianism. His companions, Zilu and Zigong, are also named after real historical disciples of Confucius.This positions Jia Qiu as a direct representation of Confucian values.
-The thing about DOTRC and Confucianism
Things get very interesting when you consider how heavily DotRC is influenced by Taoist philosophy, especially Zhuangzi ,who has criticized Confucian values and their pursuits multiple times.Confucianism is mocked throughout DotRC as well, There’s even scenes where Baoyu or Daiyu straight up roasting traditional Confucian ideals and the obsession with government service and calling those who believe in this value fools.
Aside from the fact Hong Lu is clearly referencing the Taoist supporter Baoyu (and Daiyu), he himself shows multiple Taoist traits as well!
*It would be a bit hard for me to summarize Zhuangzi’s philosophies and it’s connections with YingYang/ Reality and illusion(which heavily influenced some of my speculations and supports about the two in one theory)Maybe I’ll do another post about it in the future once I acknowledge them better. For now I’m just gonna list some simple Taoism things that can connect to Hong Lu:
Two scenes mentioning butterflies in both Canto 5 and 7 :
In Canto V,Hong Lu claimed he was envious of how the butterfly travels so freely and unbounded a cross the water.Reflecting a little of Zhuangzi’s pursuit of Xiao Yao (逍遙）:to be free and unbounded physically and mentally by external possessions.
And in Canto VII ,he mentioned butterflies again, clearly referencing Zhuangzi’s famous "Butterfly Dream":
> Zhuang Zhou (Zhuangzi) once dreamed that he was a butterfly. Upon waking, he was confused—was he a man who had dreamed of being a butterfly, or a butterfly now dreaming he was a man? This is a theory Zhuangzi made , challenging the idea of an objective, permanent reality while also reflecting the Taoist belief —what we take as real may only be one perspective, not the absolute truth.
View anger pointless.(7.5a)
Has no ambitions and is uninterested in higher positions and wealth(7.5b)
Unwilling to participate in the Heirarch Evaluation.(Zhuangzi’s unwillingness to work for the government and climb high for power)
just wants to follow the flow,live naturally and avoid meaningless struggle.
All these above are very Taoist behavior/ traits (with a little touch of Fatalism though.)
So,putting a character like Jia Qiu—a walking embodiment of Confucian order—on the (presumably)opposed side against Hong Lu , who represents Taoist freedom and detachment both in the game and the original novel is a very interesting and clever thing, since you’ll not only have to read through DOTRC but understanding the thoughts behind the work……
If we end up clashing Jia Qiu and his students in Canto 8, it wouldn’t just be a narrative conflict but also a symbolic one: Confucius vs. Zhuangzi, structure vs. spontaneity, the world of duty vs. the dream of freedom.
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