Analysis of Allusion in Dream of the Red Chamber: Escorting the Coffin South

Brief Introduction

"Escorting the Coffin South" is a key plot point in the last forty chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber. It refers to the story where Jia Zheng, following his mother's dying wish, personally escorts Grandmother Jia's coffin back to their ancestral home in the south for burial after her death. This event is not only a critical turning point in the Jia family's transition from prosperity to decline but also profoundly reflects the concept of filial piety under feudal ethics and the dispersion of family fate. It is an indispensable link to understanding the tragic ending of the entire book.

Core Knowledge Points

1. Event Background: As the supreme ruler of the Jia family, Grandmother Jia passed away in her old age at the Rongguo House in Beijing. Before her death, she instructed that she should not be buried in Beijing but hoped to "have her leaves fall to their roots" and be buried in Jinling in the south.
2. Executor: As the eldest son, Jia Zheng took on the heavy responsibility of "escorting the coffin." Although the Jia family had already been confiscated and was financially strapped at the time, Jia Zheng insisted on escorting the coffin personally, demonstrating his adherence to ritual laws and filial piety.
3. Route and Destination: The coffin departed from Beijing, traveled south all the way to Jiangning (present-day Nanjing), and was finally buried in the Jia ancestral grave, fulfilling Grandmother Jia's wish to "return her soul to her native land."
4. Separation of Characters: This journey led to the separation of the core members of the Jia family. Jia Baoyu was left behind in Beijing, laying the groundwork for his subsequent departure from the world to become a monk, symbolizing the rupture of family bonds.

Connection to Book Content

In the commonly circulated version (Gao E's continuation), chapters 100 to 110 mark the end of the Jia family's status as a "centipede that does not fall stiff even when dead" with Grandmother Jia's death. "Escorting the Coffin South" is not merely a movement of physical space but a divergence in the family's fortune.

The book describes the hardships Jia Zheng faced while escorting the coffin, including the need to raise funds for the journey, reflecting the reality of the Jia family's economic collapse. Meanwhile, Jia Baoyu, left behind in Beijing, faced Daiyu's illness and death and the family's decline, growing increasingly lonely. Jia Zheng's journey south and Baoyu's stay in the north created a spatial isolation, symbolizing the rupture of the Jia family's emotional ties.

Furthermore, this plot echoes the prophecy at the beginning of Dream of the Red Chamber: "A vast expanse of white earth, truly clean." Grandmother Jia's coffin returning south is like the return of the family's soul, while the prosperity of the Rongguo House in Beijing comes to a complete end. Through "Escorting the Coffin South," the author completes the final closure of the Jia family's tragic fate, showcasing the inevitable disintegration of a feudal large family under dual political and economic blows.

Cultural and Social Significance

From the perspective of social customs, "Escorting the Coffin South" reflects the ancient funeral culture of "resting in peace in the earth" and "leaves falling to their roots." Jia Zheng's persistence in this act even when the family was in decline highlights the absoluteness of "filial piety" in Confucian ethics. However, this adherence appears desolate and powerless in the face of reality's poverty and turmoil, further deepening the tragic color of the novel.

Conclusion

"Escorting the Coffin South" is part of the tragic climax of Dream of the Red Chamber. Through specific funeral rites, it reflects the deep logic of character fate and the rise and fall of the family. This plot not only drives the story toward its end but also leaves readers with profound thoughts on family, affection, and belonging.