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This is another somewhat short segment from the book. Jia Baoyu gets his first takes of actual rural life here, and he seems mesmerized by it.

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We run into yet another interesting literary reference today. It’s time to geek out over more Chinese poetry!

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This is another one of those transitional scenes. I’ve broken this transition up into two parts because, as usual, something interesting is going on here. More on that tomorrow.

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This is a long passage, but is one of my favorites. The literary allusion here is simply great.

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Chapter 15

Wang Xifeng Abuses Her Power at the Iron Threshold Monastery;

Qin Zhong Finds Pleasure in the Steamed Bun Convent

After he approached the carriage and lifted his eyes, Baoyu saw that the Prince of Beijing, Wang Shirong, wore a white official cap with a silver pin and tassel and silver-tipped wings on his head, along with a white ceremonial dragon robe with wavy borders embroidered with the insignia of a dragon with five claws, as well as a scarlet leather belt inlaid with jade. His face was like beautiful jade, and his eyes looked like bright stars. He was an extremely handsome man.

Baoyu hurried forward to pay his respects. When Shirong reached out from his chair to help Baoyu up, he saw that Baoyu was wearing a silver headdress that gathered up his hair, a headband with a twin-dragons-rising-from-the-sea design, a white arrow-sleeved dragon robe, and a silver belt dotted with pearls. His face was like a spring flower, and his eyes were like dots of paint.

“You live up to your reputation,” said the Prince of Beijing with a smile. “Like your name, you truly are precious and a jewel! Where is that precious jewel that came in your mouth?”

Baoyu responded by quickly taking it from inside his clothes and handing it over. The Prince looked closely at it, read the characters inscribed on it aloud, and asked, “Does it really work as well as they say?”

“Though they say it works,” replied Jia Zheng, “we’ve never tried it yet.”

The Prince commented on how amazing the jade was as he smoothed out its silk cord and placed it back on Baoyu’s neck. He then held Baoyu’s hand and asked him how old he was and what books he was currently studying. Baoyu answered every question clearly.

The Prince saw that Baoyu’s speech was clear and that he was well spoken. He turned to Jia Zheng with a smile. “Your esteemed son is truly brilliant and promising! I don’t mean to be presumptuous in your venerable presence, but surely one day ‘the young phoenix will sing more clearly than the old.’ His future will surely be beyond all measure.”

“How could my dog of a son accept such an undeserved golden compliment? And yet, if things were to turn out as Your Grace has so benevolently suggested, it would indeed be a great blessing to the younger generation.”

“Only one more thing,” replied the Prince. “With such natural gifts, it’s clear that your honored son must be the apple of his revered grandmother’s eye. And yet we of the later generation are not well served by excessive indulgence, for excessive indulgence surely will lead to the neglect of our studies. I myself once fell into this very trap, and I suspect that your esteemed son will also do likewise.

If he finds it difficult to apply himself at home, he should come frequently to my humble residence. Though I am a man of little account, I am fortunate that none of the renowned scholars of the empire who pass through the capital fail to extend their favorable regard towards me. Accordingly, my humble abode is a gathering place for men of exceptional talent. If your esteemed son were to come often to converse and meet with them, his learning would certainly progress daily.”

“Of course,” replied Jia Zheng with a deep bow.

The Prince then removed a string of beads from his wrist and handed them to Baoyu. “Today is our first meeting,” he said, “and, in my hurry, I was unable to bring a congratulatory gift. This is a bracelet made with fragrant prayer beads that I graciously received from His Imperial Majesty. Let this gift represent my congratulations and respect.”

Baoyu accepted the gift, and turned and presented it to Jia Zheng. Jia Zheng and Baoyu then offered their thanks to the Prince.

At this point, Jia She and Jia Zhen came together and asked the Prince to return to his carriage.

“The departed has now ascended to the Immortal Realm, and is no longer part of our world,” said the Prince. “Though I, as a minor prince, have been privileged with the Emperor’s favor and have inherited an empty noble title, how could I dare proceed ahead of the casket of the departed?

When Jia She and the others saw that he was determined, they had no choice but to express their gratitude for his grace and leave. They ordered their attendance to silence the music, they allowed the funeral procession to pass, and the Prince only proceeded after that. No more of this story.

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Translation Critique

Hawkes

David Hawkes calls 鐵檻寺 (the Iron Threshold Monastery) “Water-moon Priory,” for some reason. I’m not entirely sure why.

Hawkes doesn’t do a great job with the poem, unfortunately:

“I trust I shall not offend you by saying so to your face,” he said, “but I venture to prophesy that this fledgling of yours will one day ‘sing sweeter than the parent bird.’”

You’d have to know the Chinese original to understand the phrase “sing sweeter than the parent bird.” Hawkes was a master of classical Chinese poetry, and I can only cringe at the fact that he didn’t do anything more with this masterful literary reference. It really loses the flavor of the original, and is a tremendous shame.

Hawkes deals with the troublesome phrase 蕶苓香念珠 by calling it a “rosary made of the aromatic seeds of some Indian plant.” The uncertainty by the word “some” is actually masterful here, hiding the fact that nobody knows what in the world 蕶苓香 actually refers to.

Yang

The Yangs avoid the poem entirely: “May I venture to predict that in time to come this young phoenix may even surpass the old one?”

Again, this really is a shame, especially since the Yangs frequently use footnotes to explain the novel. This was a great chance to show the reader the literary masterpiece that is Dream of the Red Chamber, and yet they sadly let it slip away.

The Yangs deal with 蕶苓香念珠 by calling it “this string of beads made of the aromatic seeds of some plant.” Again, the unclear “some” helps cover up the fact that nobody really knows what in the world it refers to.

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Chinese Text

第十五回 王鳳姐弄權鐵檻寺　秦鯨卿得趣饅頭庵

話說寶玉舉目見北靜王世榮頭上戴著淨白簪纓銀翅王帽，穿著江牙海水五爪龍白蟒袍，繫著碧玉紅鞓帶，面如美玉，目似明星，真好秀麗人物。寶玉忙搶上來參見。世榮從轎內伸手攙住，見寶玉戴著束髮銀冠，勒著雙龍出海抹額，穿著白蟒箭袖，圍著攢珠銀帶，面若春花，目如點漆。北靜王笑道：「名不虛傳，果然如寶似玉！」問：「銜的那寶貝在那裡？」寶玉見問，連忙從衣內取出遞與。北靜王細細看了，又唸了那上頭的字，因問：「果靈驗否？」賈政忙道：「雖如此說，只是未曾試過。」

北靜王一面極口稱奇，一面理順彩絛，親自與寶玉帶上，又攜手問寶玉幾歲，現讀何書。寶玉一一答應。北靜王見他語言清朗，談吐有致，一面又向賈政笑道：「令郎真乃龍駒鳳雛！非小王在世翁前唐突，將來『雛鳳清於老鳳聲』，未可量也。」賈政陪笑道：「犬子豈敢謬承金獎。賴藩郡餘恩，果如所言，亦廕生輩之幸矣。」北靜王又道：「只是一件：令郎如此資質，想老太夫人自然鍾愛；但吾輩後生甚不宜溺愛，溺愛則未免荒失了學業。昔小王曾蹈此轍，想令郎亦未必不如是也。若令郎在家難以用功，不妨常到寒邸。小王雖不才，卻多蒙海內眾名士，凡至都者，未有不垂青目的，是以寒邸高人頗聚。令郎常去談談會會，則學問可以日進矣。」賈政忙躬身答道：「是。」

北靜王又將腕上一串念珠卸下來，遞與寶玉，道：「今日初會，倉卒無敬賀之物，此係聖上所賜蕶苓香念珠一串，權為賀敬之禮。」寶玉連忙接了，回身奉與賈政。賈政帶著寶玉謝過了。於是賈赦賈珍等一齊上來叩請回輿。北靜王道：「逝者已登仙界，非你我碌碌塵寰中人。小王雖上叨天恩，虛邀郡襲，豈可越仙輀而進呢？」賈赦等見執意不從，只得謝恩回來，命手下人掩樂停音，將殯過完，方讓北靜王過去。不在話下。

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Translation Notes

弄權 means to abuse one’s power or to manipulate one’s power for personal goals

秦鯨卿 is the courtesy name (or 字) of Qin Zhong (秦鍾). I don’t believe that we’ve seen this courtesy name before.

秀麗 means beautiful or pretty, and is normally used to describe a woman.

The Prince’s first comment to Jia Baoyu, 名不虛傳，果然如寶似玉, is a play on Baoyu’s name. Baoyu’s Chinese name is 寶玉; 寶 means a treasure (or, as an adjective, precious), and 玉 means jade. You can think of this phrase as the Prince saying something like “you really are a precious piece of jade, just like your name.”

銜 means to hold in the mouth. The Prince’s question refers to the jade piece that Jia Baoyu was famously born with in his mouth. That story is implied here by that simple verb 銜.

寶貝 usually means “darling,” “honey,” or “baby” in modern Chinese. Here it means “a treasure.”

靈驗 means effective. This is a fascinating word to use here, since the name of the jade piece is 通靈寶玉; as you’ll remember, this translates to something like “The Precious Jade of Spiritual Understanding,” though the phrase 通靈 is kind of hard to translate. 靈驗 actually is a word that means “effective”; however, it’s interesting that Cao Xueqin would have the Prince say this particular word. See more here:

極口稱奇 means to express one’s wonder at something over and over again.

令郎 is an honorific noun meaning “your son.”

龍駒鳳雛 means “a dragon’s colt and a phoenix’s chick.” It’s a phrase that refers to a young person who is especially bright and who has a promising future.

世翁 is another honorific term. The Prince is noting the fact that Jia Zheng is from an elder generation.

The line 雛鳳清於老鳳聲 comes from a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin (李商隱) that he composed to praise the son of a good friend. The poem is called 韓冬郎即席爲詩相送，一座盡驚。他日余方追吟「連宵侍坐裴回久」之句，有老成之風，因成二絕寄酬，兼呈畏之, which is a long name that translates to “Han Donglan composed an impromptu poem at the farewell feast, astonishing everybody. Days later, when I recited that line ‘All night we sat together, lingering long,’ I found it mature far beyond his years. Therefore I wrote this four line poem to send him in return, and have also presented them to Wei Zhi.” Wei Zhi (畏之) was the courtesy or literary name of Han Wo’s father, Han Zhan, who was Li Shangyin’s friend. This is the full poem:

十歲裁詩走馬成，冷灰殘燭動離情。

桐花萬里丹山路，雛鳳清於老鳳聲。

劍棧風檣各苦辛，別時冰雪到時春。

爲憑何遜休聯句，瘦盡東陽沈姓人。

At ten, you composed poems as fast as a horse.

With cold ashes and a dying candle, there was a feeling of parting.

On the thousand mile road to Mount Dan, amid the phoenix tree blossoms,

The young phoenix sang clearer than the old phoenix.

The sword-path bridge and the wind-tossed mast both have its toil.

It was icy when we parted; it will be spring when you arrive.

Don’t press He Xun to make a linked verse;

Mr. Shen from Dongyang has already wasted away.

The second part includes a pretty obscure reference about not composing a matching poem. He Xun was a gifted poet of the Liang Dynasty, several hundred years before this poem was created. Meanwhile, Mr. Shen was a famous poet of the Southern Qi dynasty who was known for being very thin; Li Shangyin used Mr. Shen to refer to himself, claiming that he was too thin and weary to keep up with the brilliance of his friend’s son.

Mount Dan (丹山) was the mythological home of the phoenix, and doesn’t really refer to an actual place. The idea is that the old phoenix, or Li Shangyin’s friend, is already living on the mountain. The new phoenix, his friend’s son, is going up the mountain to replace the old phoenix, and will likely surpass him.

The phrase 冷灰殘燭動離情 evokes the emotion of parting. Note the word 情 at the end, which, of course, is one of the most important words in the entire novel. This poem would fit in nicely with the poems by Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu that we’re going to eventually get to.

Anyway, in the novel text, the Prince of Beijing is clearly saying that Jia Baoyu will outshine his father Jia Zheng.

賴藩郡 is an old fashioned formal phrase used to address royalty such as the Prince.

寒邸 is a humble term used by nobles or officials to refer to their own residence.

蕶苓香念珠 is a fragrant group of prayer beads. It’s not entirely clear what 蕶苓 actually stands for.

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Jia Baoyu meets the Prince of Beijing as we end chapter 14. The Chinese here is extremely formal and, honestly, gives me a headache to try to work through.

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In today’s post, we’re going to take a quick look at the massive funeral banner honoring the late Qin Keqing. This should seem at least a little bit ostentatious to you.

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We’ve got another segment today that describes just how busy Wang Xifeng was in the middle of the funeral preparations. This is an excellent description of her character, and includes a pretty fascinating poetry fragment.

My Translation

It just so happens that right at this time the wife of the Duke of Shanguo passed away. Lady Xing and Lady Wang went to offer their condolences and attend the funeral procession.

Meanwhile, the wife of the Prince of Xi’an Commandery was celebrating her birthday, which also meant that gifts had to be sent out.

Wang Xifeng’s older brother, Wang Ren, was returning south with his entire household. This meant writing letters to family as well as preparing items to send along with him.

Additionally, Yingchun was sick, which meant that she needed to meet with doctors every day and take medicine. Wang Xifeng had to review the written medical reports, discuss the origins of the sickness with the doctors, and deliberate over every prescription.

With so many things that needed to be done, all jumbled together, it’s hard to even describe them all. As a result, Wang Xifeng was so busy that she didn’t feel like tea or meals, and felt restless whenever she was sitting or lying down.

When she went to the Ningguo Mansion, people from the Rongguo Mansion would follow her there. When she returned to the Rongguo Mansion, people from the Ningguo Mansion would be right behind her.

However, even though she was this busy, Xifeng was fiercely competitive by nature. She was really only scared of being criticized. And so she used up every ounce of strength to plan and arrange things with meticulous precision. The entire family could do nothing but sigh in admiration at her efforts.

This particular night was the night before the funeral. Relatives and friends filled the seats of the hall, but Lady You secluded herself alone in the inner chamber. Every single detail of the entertainment and hospitality was managed by Xifeng. She did it all by herself comprehensively and without a single mistake.

Now, there were other sisters-in-law in the family. However, some were poor at speaking, some did not have proper manners, some were so shy that they weren’t able to meet with guests, and some were scared to death of officials.

This only made Wang Xifeng look better in comparison. She was poised and capable, elegantly correct and properly refined. She was truly “a single speck of red in the midst of ten thousand green leaves.”

And so how could Wang Xifeng have cared about any of those other women? She simply waved her hand and issued her commands, and let every action speak for itself.

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Translation Critique

Hawkes

David Hawkes seems to make a mistake when it comes to Wang Ren:

She had to write to her parents and get things ready to send to them when her elder brother Wang Ren returned with his wife and children to the South.

The confusing part here is that it’s not clear in the Chinese original whether he was going down to the south where Wang Xifeng was (i.e. the family lives in Nanjing), or whether he was departing the Rongguo Mansion and moving further south instead (in which case the family might be living in Beijing instead of Nanjing). This is another example of details in Dream of the Red Chamber being kept deliberately obscure for literary effect.

Oddly and bizarrely, Hawkes completely skips the 萬綠叢中一點紅 line. I really don’t understand this, because it’s an excellent and interesting literary touch, and it seems to clearly belong in the text.

Yang

The Yangs add in a segment that is not in the 1792 version of the novel:

Then a first son was born to the Duke of Chenkuo and congratulatory gifts had to be sent.

It’s possible that this was in an earlier manuscript and the Yangs felt it was better to add it back in.

The Yangs also completely ignore the 萬綠叢中一點紅 line, and I’m not sure why.

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Chinese Text

目今正值繕國公誥命亡故，邢王二夫人又去弔祭，送殯；西安郡王妃華誕，送壽禮；又有胞兄王仁連家眷回南，一面寫家信並帶往之物；又兼迎春染疾，每日請醫服藥，看醫生的啟帖，講論症源，斟酌藥案，各事冗雜，亦難盡述。因此，忙的鳳姐茶飯無心，坐臥不寧。到了寧府裡，這邊榮府的人跟著；回到榮府裡，那邊寧府的人又跟著。鳳姐雖然如此之忙，只因素性好勝，惟恐落人褒貶，故費盡精神，籌劃的十分整齊，於是，合族中上下無不稱歎。

這日伴宿之夕，親朋滿座，尤氏獨臥於內室，一切張羅款待都是鳳姐一人周全承應。合族中雖有許多妯娌，也有言語鈍拙的，也有舉止輕浮的，也有羞口羞腳不慣見人的，也有懼貴怯官的，越顯得鳳姐灑爽風流，典則俊雅，真是「萬綠叢中一點紅」了。那裡還把眾人放在眼裡？揮霍指示，任其所為。

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Translation Notes

繕國公 means something like “the Duke of Shanguo.” This is one of the “dukes” (公) established in the fictional hierarchy of the novel. 繕 means to repair or mend.

誥命 here means a “titled lady,” and probably refers to the wife of the Duke of Shanguo.

華誕 is an honorific word for birthday.

壽禮 means a birthday present for an elderly person

胞兄 means an elder brother who was born of the same parents.

Based on the context, it seems that 王仁 (Wang Ren) is Wang Xifeng’s older brother. The word 胞兄 specifically means an older brother of the same parents to distinguish the relative from family members born to plural wives.

染疾 means to become sick.

好勝 here means competitive or aggressive. The character 好 is read hào, as in “to like” or “to enjoy.”

褒貶 means to criticize or speak ill of

伴宿 means to keep vigil the night before the funeral of a deceased person. Here you can think of this as describing the night before the funeral.

張羅 and 款待 both mean the exact same thing in this context. Both of them mean to receive and entertain guests.

妯娌 means sisters-in-law

羞口羞腳 means so shy that you don’t dare speak or move.

灑爽 means dashing and spirited.

風流 is a word we’ve seen several times so far in this book. Here it likely means “charismatic” and not “romantic” or “dissolute.”

典則俊雅 is an idiom that means elegantly correct and properly refined.

萬綠叢中一點紅 is allegedly a quotation from a forgotten Tang dynasty poem. It’s not clear who originally wrote it. As quoted, the two lines of the poem go like this:

濃綠萬枝紅一點，動人春色不須多。

One dot of red amid thousands of green branches,

You don’t need much springtime for inspiration.

The phrase basically means something outstanding or exceptional that immediately captures your attention, with an emphasis on its contrast against everything in the background.

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I’ve got another in depth passage for you. Jia Zhen meets here with a head monk named Sekong, and just his name has a lot of significance. This is another relatively short passage of text, but there’s a lot to talk about.

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This is where we learn about the death of Lin Daiyu’s father, Lin Ruhai. Interestingly enough, the actual attention here is paid on Wang Xifeng’s concern for her husband, Jia Lian, and not on Lin Daiyu at all.

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This segment of chapter 14 shows us a little bit more of Wang Xifeng’s power. Cao Xueqin does a brilliant job of showing us the power that Wang Xifeng has over the household budget without spending a lot of time explaining it to us.

My Translation

After Wang Xifeng had finished eating, a maid from the Ningguo Mansion came to collect one of the symbols. She needed to procure some lamp oil and paper offerings.

“I thought for sure you’d come today to pick it up,” said Wang Xifeng with a smile. “Did you forget about it? If you had completely forgotten about it, you would have had to cover the cost yourself. All the better for me!”

“Of course I’d forgotten about it!” smiled the woman. “I just remembered it a moment ago. If I had been one step late, I wouldn’t have been able to collect it.” And she took the symbol and left.

A little while later, the symbols had been handed over and were tallied up. Qin Zhong saw this and said with a smile, “Both of the mansions use the same symbols. What if somebody secretly made one by themselves and used it to take out silver? What would you do?”

“If it’s like that,” smiled Wang Xifeng, “then there would be no law and order left in the world!”

“Well, then how come nobody from our household ever comes to get a symbol for supplies?” asked Baoyu.

“You’re still asleep when they come to collect them,” replied Xifeng. “But tell me, when are you finally going to start your evening classes?”

“I wish I could start today,” replied Baoyu. “But they’ve been so slow at getting the study ready. There’s nothing I can do.”

“Well, if you ask me nicely,” said Xifeng with a smile, “I guarantee I can speed things up.”

“You’re no use,” replied Baoyu. “When it’s time for them to work on it, they’ll start working on it.”

“But they need the supplies to do the work,” replied Xifeng. “And, if I didn’t give them the matching symbol to get the supplies, they’d be in a difficult situation!”

After she said this, Baoyu got close to Xifeng and started to ask her for the tally. “Dear Fengjie,” he said. “Give them the symbol so they can get the supplies and fix up the room!”

“I’m so tired that my body is aching,” replied Xifeng. “How can I put up with your torment? Don’t worry about it. They just took the symbol to get the wallpaper and paste today. Do you really think they need to be ordered to get it done? Do you think they’re stupid?”

Baoyu was unconvinced, and so Xifeng had Caiming show him the record in the register.

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Translation Critique

Hawkes

Hawkes translates the difficult 都便宜了我 as “That would have suited me down to the ground!” It’s a somewhat effective way of dealing with a passage that is really not easy to translate into English.

I think Hawkes makes a mistake when it comes to Xifeng telling Baoyu to stop pestering her. The Chinese says “今兒才領了裱糊紙去了。他們該要的，還等叫去呢？可不傻了？” which means something like “They were just here to get the tally for the wallpaper and paste today. Do you think they really need to be ordered to get their work done? Do you think they’re stupid?” Hawkes translates it like this:

They’ve just been round to see about paper for the windows. It would loo pretty stupid if you were to send them off for something they have already got.

There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding here of what Wang Xifeng is saying. She’s trying to tell Jia Baoyu that she can arrange the order of events so that his room will have priority over everything else, and that she can do this by simply handling who gets the necessary symbol at what time. Baoyu seems to think that she’s saying she’ll prevent the workers from working on his study at all, which is why she tells him that they just came to get the wallpaper and paste. She’s telling him that there’s no reason for her to order them on what to do; rather, she can control them simply by controlling the flow of supplies.

Yang

The Yangs translate 你請我請兒，包管就快了 as “If you treat me, I’ll speed things up.” This is also a possible translation of the passage, though I don’t think Wang Xifeng is actually asking Jia Baoyu to treat her to something; after all, she now controls all the finances of both households. This is why I think it’s better to interpret this passage as something more like “if you ask me nicely.”

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Chinese Text

鳳姐飯畢，就有寧府一個媳婦來領牌，為支取香燈。鳳姐笑道：「我算著你今兒該來支取。想是忘了？要終久忘了，自然是你包出來，都便宜了我！」那媳婦笑道：「何嘗不是忘了！方才想起來。再遲一步，也領不成了。」說畢，領牌而去。

一時登記交牌。秦鍾因笑道：「你們兩府裡都是這牌，倘別人私造一個，支了銀子去，怎麼好？」鳳姐笑道：「依你說，都沒王法了！」寶玉因道：「怎麼咱們家沒人來領牌子支東西？」鳳姐道：「他們來領的時候，你還做夢呢。我且問你，你們多早晚才念夜書呢？」寶玉道：「巴不得今日就念才好。只是他們不快給收拾書房，也是沒法兒。」鳳姐笑道：「你請我請兒，包管就快了。」寶玉道：「你也不中用。他們該做到那裡的時候，自然有了。」鳳姐道：「就是他們做，也得要東西，擱不住我不給對牌，是難的！」寶玉聽說，便挨向鳳姐身上，立刻要牌，說：「好姐姐！給他們牌，好支東西去收拾。」鳳姐道：「我乏的身上生痛，還擱的住你這麼揉搓？你放心罷，今兒才領了裱糊紙去了。他們該要的，還等叫去呢？可不傻了？」寶玉不信，鳳姐便叫彩明查冊子給他看。

Translation Notes

The phrase 要終久忘了，自然是你包出來，都便宜了我 is actually pretty difficult to understand. The thing is that nobody could take any of the supplies without the 領牌, which is the official seal or tally or symbol needed to pick things up to have them officially drawn against the budget for funeral expenses. If the maid had forgotten to pick up the 領牌 for the supplies, there would have been no way to get them from the official account. Wang Xifeng here is implying that she would have needed to pay for them herself outside on the open market (自然是你包出來), and then remarking that she’d save the expense in the household budget (都便宜了我).

你請我請兒 is kind of an odd phrase to understand. 請 seems to be used as a verb twice, and I think the 兒 at the end of the second repetition is softening the meaning somewhat. This is why it means something like “if you were to ask nicely,” or “if you were to kindly ask me.”

不中用 means unfit or incapable.

擱不住 means to be unable to stand or unable to endure

揉搓 means to torment or torture

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This is a pretty short section. I’ve kept this section short in part because it’s a complete thought, or scene, in and of itself. However, the real reason to keep this short is because there are some pretty interesting translation challenges here.

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Now we see the real aggressive side of Wang Xifeng come out. She’s one of the most interesting characters in the entire book.

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This is an extremely powerful and descriptive section of Dream of the Red Chamber. This is where Cao Xueqin’s writing ability is on full display. I’d argue that this is up there with the best I’ve read of masters of literature such as Goethe.

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Today we have a long lecture by Wang Xifeng, as she instructs the staff at the Ningguo mansion on what to do. Wang Xifeng is pretty clearly a good administrator.

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My Translation

Though it was early, the older maids and married female staff of the Ningguo Mansion had already gathered together. They saw Wang Xifeng and Lai Sheng’s wife assigning tasks to the staff. Not daring to intrude, they lingered outside the window to eavesdrop.

They heard Xifeng say to Lai Sheng’s wife, “Since I’ve been put in charge, I’m afraid that all of you are going to be upset with me. I’m afraid that I’m not like Lady You, who is easy going and lets you do as you please. Don’t keep talking about how things are noramlly done here in your household. From now on, you’ll do what I say. If any of you make a mistake, no matter how prominent you might be, you’ll be dealt with fairly and strictly.”

After saying this, she ordered Caiming to read out the personnel roster, callling up each person by name to appear before her for inspection. Once that was done, Wang Xifeng issued her instructions.

“These twenty will be divided up into two groups of ten,” she said. “Each day, their sole duty will be handling visiting relatives and friends, serving tea. They are not to concern themselves with anything else.

“These twenty will also be split into two shifts. Each day, their sole duty is to manage the meals and tea for the household relatives. They are not to concern themselves with anything else.

“These forty will also be split into two shifts. Their duties will be in the mourning hall, including tending the incense, adding oil to the lamps, hanging the draperies, guarding the coffin, presenting offerings of food and tea, and leading the ceremonial wailing at the appropriate times. They are not to concern themselves with anything else.

“These four will be in charge of the pantry, managing the cups, dishes, and tea utensils. If a single piece goes missing, the four of them will share the cost of its replacement.

“These eight will be solely responsible for receiving and storing ceremonial gifts.

“These eight will be solely responsible for the lamp oil, candles, and paper offerings in all areas. I will draw these supplies in bulk and hand them to you eight. You will then distribute them to the various locations according to the quantities I specify.

“These twenty will take turns keeping the night watch in all areas. They will secure the gates and doors, watch for fire hazards, and keep things clean.

“The rest will be assigned by courtyard. Every person will be responsible for a specific area. From the furniture and antiques down to the spitoons and dusters, including every last blade of grass and every object, if anything is lost or damaged, the person assigned to guard it will be held accountable to replace it.

“Lai Sheng’s wife will conduct daily inspections. If anybody is found shirking their duties, gambling, drinking, fighting, or quarreling, you will seize them and report them to me immediately. If you show any favoritism, and I find out about it, I’ll disregard even several generations of family reputation and will hold you accountable.

“Now that everything is clearly deligated, if any group’s work falls into disorder, I will hold that group accountable.

“Those who usually work for me carry timepieces with them. All tasks, large or small, have a designated time. In any case, the main room of your house also has a clock. I will come to take the morning roll call at a quarter past five. We will eat at ten o’clock. Any requests for tokens or business reports are to be handled only at a quarter past eleven. At half past seven in the evening, after the evening paper offerings have been burned, I will personally make an inspection tour. When I return from that tour, the night watch will turn the keys over to me. The next day, we will begin again at a quarter past five.

“I’m afraid we will all have to endure several days of hard work. Once this is over, your master will certainly reward you.”

When she finished saying all this, Xifeng ordered the distribution of tea leaves, oil, feather dusters, brooms,and other supplies by specified quantities. At the same time, a group began moving in furnishings, including table covers, chair drapes, seat cushions, felt rugs, spittoons, footstools, and so on. As each item was handed out, they were clearly recorded, including who was in charge of which area and who had received which items. The list was extremely detailed.

The servants accepted their assignments, and now everybody has a clear duty. This was unlike before, when they would only pick out the easy tasks, leaving the difficult ones to be avoided entirely. Now there was no risk of items going missing amid the chaos. And, with visitors coming and going, all was orderly, a far cry from the previous disorder and lack of direction. All the old practices of shirking work, pilfering, and other such abuses were entirely eliminated.

With her authority firmly established, and now that her commands were being executed, Wang Xifeng felt very happy. She noticed that Lady You was sick and that Jia Zhen, who was overwhelmed by grief, was eating very little. And so she personally saw to it that they were given a variety of fine meals and side dishes, which were prepared at the Rong Guo Mansion and were brought order. In response, Jia Zhen also ordered that excellent dishes be sent every day to Wang Xifeng’s quarters for her alone.

Wang Xifeng was not tired or overwhelmed in the slightest, and arrived punctually every day at the appointed time to take roll call and to attend to business. She acted entirely within the side quarters, never mingling with her sisters-in-law. Even when female visitors came and went, she did not receive them or see them off.

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Translation Critique

Hawkes

Hawkes makes Wang Xifeng out to be a little bit more strict and arrogant than she is in the Chinese original. This is how Hawkes translates the last part of her instructions to Lai Sheng’s wife:

From now on, whatever it is, you do it the way I tell you to, and anyone who departs by as much as a hair’s breadth from what I say is for it good and proper, no matter how senior or how important she thinks she is!

In Chinese, she says 錯我一點兒，管不得誰是有臉的，誰是沒臉的，一例清白處治, which means something like “If you make a little mistake, regardless of whether you have face or don’t have face, you’ll be dealt with cleanly and transparently.” In other words, she’s emphasizing the fact that she’ll deal with everybody the same way regardless of their status, in a way that is wrapped up in a somewhat egalitarian notion of treating people fairly.

By the way, I don’t know what Hawkes means by “is for it good and proper.” I’m assuming there’s some British connotation here that I’m missing.

Hawkes calls 鐘錶 a “watch,” and is apparently undisturbed by the idea of servants in an 18^th century Chinese household having “watches” with them. My guess is that he thinks of it as a kind of pocket watch, though the truth is that even in Europe pocket watches were luxury items until the second half of the 18^th century.

Yang

The Yangs do a better job than David Hawkes at translating Wang Xifeng’s threat to those who don’t obey:

The least disobedience will be dealt with publicly, no matter how much face the offender might have.

“Dealt with publicly” seems like a good way to deal with the tricky 清白處治.

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Chinese Text

那寧國府中老婆、媳婦早已到齊，只見鳳姐和賴升媳婦分派眾人執事，不敢擅入，在窗外打聽。聽見鳳姐和賴升媳婦道：「既託了我，我就說不得要討你們嫌了。我可比不得你們奶奶好性兒，諸事由得你們。再別說你們這府裡原是這麼樣的話，如今可要依著我行。錯我一點兒，管不得誰是有臉的，誰是沒臉的，一例清白處治。」說罷，便吩咐彩明念「花名冊」，按名一個一個叫進來看視。一時看完，又吩咐道：「這二十個分作兩班，一班十個，每日在內單管親友來往，倒茶，別的事不用管。這二十個也分作兩班，每日單管本家親戚茶飯，也不管別的事。這四十個人也分作兩班，單在靈前上香、添油、掛幔、守靈、供飯、供茶、隨起舉哀，也不管別的事。這四個人專在內茶房收管杯碟茶器，要少了一件，四人分賠。這四個人單管酒飯器皿，少一件也是分賠。這八個人單管收祭禮。這八個人單管各處燈油、蠟燭、紙札，我一總支了來交給你們八個人，然後按我的數兒往各處分派。這二十個每日輪流各處上夜，照管門戶，監察火燭，打掃地方。這下剩的按房分開，某人守某處，某處所有桌椅古玩起，至於痰盒、撣子等物，一草一苗，或丟或壞，就問這看守的賠補。賴升家的每日攬總檢視，或有偷懶的、賭錢、吃酒、打架、拌嘴的，立刻拿了來回我；你要徇情，叫我查出來，三四輩子的老臉就顧不成了。如今都有了定規，以後那一行亂了，只和那一行算賬。素日跟我的人，隨身俱有鐘錶，不論大小事，皆有一定的時刻。橫豎你們上房裡也有時辰鍾。卯正二刻，我來點卯。巳正吃早飯。凡有領牌回事，只在午初二刻。戌初燒過黃昏紙，我親到各處查一遍回來，上夜交明鑰匙。第二日還是卯正二刻過來。說不得咱們大家辛苦幾日罷。事完了，你們大爺自然賞你們。」說畢，又吩咐按數發茶葉、油燭、雞毛撣子、笤帚等物；一面又搬取傢伙：桌圍、椅搭、坐褥、氈席、痰盒、腳踏之類。一面交發，一面提筆登記，某人管某處，某人領物件，開的十分清楚。眾人領了去，也都有了投奔，不似先時只揀便宜的做，剩下苦差，沒個招攬。各房中也不能趁亂迷失東西。便是人來客去，也都安靜了，不比先前紊亂無頭緒。一切偷安竊取等弊，一概都蠲了。

鳳姐自己威重令行，心中十分得意。因見尤氏犯病，賈珍也過於悲哀不大進飲食，自己每日從那府中熬了各樣細粥，精美小菜，令人送過來。賈珍也另外吩咐每日送上等菜到抱廈內，單與鳳姐。鳳姐不畏勤勞，天天按時刻過來點卯理事。獨在抱廈內起坐，不與眾妯娌合群，便有女眷來往，也不迎送。

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Translation Notes

討嫌 means to dislike or loath.

花名冊 means a register of names.

拌嘴 means to bicker or argue.

徇情 means to show favoritism and not be fair.

鐘錶 must have been some sort of portable timepiece. Since we’re talking about China in the mid-18th century, this would have been something fabulously rare and probably very valuable. For Wang Xifeng’s servants to ordinarily carry around portable timepieces to know when to do their duties would have been extremely unusual, and is an obvious sign of wealth.

點卯 means an early morning roll call.

妯娌 is another word for sisters-in-law.

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We start Chapter 14 with a look at Wang Xifeng’s initial management of the Ningguo mansion. As you might have expected, the servants in that house are worried about the hard work she’ll put them through.

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We end chapter 13 by seeing Wang Xifeng take control over the management of the Ningguo Mansion.

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In today’s translation snippet, Wang Xifeng is given the reigns to manage the internal affairs of the Ningguo Mansion, the house across the street from her Rongguo Mansion (which she is also managing). I’ve split this up into two parts; we’ll get to the end of the chapter in tomorrow’s part.

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My Translation

And so Jia Zhen’s wishes were being fulfilled. However, inside the household Lady You’s old sickness had flared up again, leaving her unable to manage the household affairs. Jia Zhen was afraid that he’s become a laughingstock if there were any lapse in protocol when official ladies came to visit. And so he was deeply concerned.

Baoyu happened to be at his side as Jia Zhen was worried about this. “Everything seems to be working perfectly,” said Baoyu. “What is there to worry about?”

Jia Zhen explained to him that there was nobody at home to handle the visitors. “What’s so hard about that?” laughed Baoyu. “Let me recommend somebody to you that can take care of those visitors for a month. I guarantee that it will be well managed!”

Jia Zhen asked eagerly who it was. Since there were a lot of relatives and guests present, Baoyu thought it would be best for him to not speak openly. And so he went close to Jia Zhen’s ear and whispered a few words.

Jia Zhen was ecstatic when he heard this. “This is a perfect solution! I’ll go at once.” And he took Baoyu by the hand, left the visitors, and headed back to his living quarters.

Fortunately, since this day was not one of the main ceremonial days, only a few relatives and friends were in the inner quarters. There were only a few close female relatives there, and Lady Xing, Lady Wang, and Wang Xifeng were accompanying them.

A servant announced “The Master is coming in.” The women let out a collective gasp and hurried to hide themselves at the back. Only Wang Xifeng rose slowly to her feet.

Now, by this time Jia Zhen was also sick, and was overwhelmed with grief. And so he used a cane to walk, and hobbled inside the room.

“You’re not well,” said Lady Xing and the others to him. “You should rest, especially since you’ve got so many things to attend to. Why did you come here?”

Leaning on his cane, Jia Zhen tried to lower himself into a kneeling position to pay his respects and express his gratitude for their trouble.

Lady Xing and the others told Baoyu to hold him up, and quickly ordered someone to bring a chair for him to sit on. However, Jia Zhen refused to sit. Forcing a smile, he said, “Your nephew has come to ask a favor of my two aunts and my young cousin.”

“What is it?” asked Lady Xing and the others.

“You certainly know the situation,” continued Jia Zhen. “Now that my daughter-in-law has passed away and my own wife is ill, I see that the inner household is in a state of chaos. Therefore, I must beg Wang Xifeng to take care of my household for one month. That would help me feel at ease.”

“So that’s what this is all about,” replied Lady Xing with a smile. “Wang Xifeng is part of Lady Wang’s household. You should ask her about this.”

“She’s only a child,” said Lady Wang quickly. “What does she know about managing a household? If she doesn’t manage this properly, others will laugh at us. It would be better to ask someone else.”

“I understand your concerns,” smiled Jia Zhen. “You’re afraid that it would be too difficult for her. As for her ability to manage things, she’s shown decisive judgment since she was a child. Now that she is married and handles affairs across the street, she has clearly grown more capable and mature.

“As I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days, I’ve realized that Wang Xifeng is really the only one I can ask. If you won’t agree to this for the sake of your nephew and his wife, then at least do it for the sake of the deceased!” And he started crying.

Lady Wang was concerned because Wang Xifeng had never managed funeral affairs before. She was worried that Wang Xifeng would make mistakes and would invite ridicule. However, now that she saw how earnestly Jia Zhen was pleading, her heart softened somewhat. She sat staring at Wang Xifeng, lost in thought.

Wang Xifeng had always loved to take on responsibilities, and loved showing off her capabilities. When she saw Jia Zhen pleading so earnestly, she had already agreed in her heart. When she saw that Lady Wang seemed like she wanted to agree, she said to her, “Jia Zhen’s plea is so heartfelt. Please agree to it.”

“Are you up to it?” asked Lady Wang, quietly.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” replied Wang Xifeng. “The major external matters have already been sorted out by Jia Zhen. All that remains is to take care of the internal affairs. Besides, if there’s anything I don’t understand, I can always ask you.”

This made sense to Lady Wang, and so she didn’t say anything more.

When Jia Zhen saw that Wang Xifeng had agreed, he said with a forced smile, “I can’t concern myself with too much at the moment. In any case, I’ll have to ask you to take the trouble. Allow me first to offer you my respects. Once this is concluded, I’ll go over to your mansion to formally express my gratitude.”

He made a deep bow after saying that. Xifeng quickly returned the bow without delay.

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Translation Critique

Hawkes

This is another good example of how wordy The Story of the Stone is. It’s obvious from the context that Jia Zhen is concerned about his wife being ill and being unable to attend to the various official women who have come to visit. In Chinese, when Jia Baoyu asks him what the matter is, his replay is that “裡面無人,” or that there’s nobody to help manage the internal affairs. David Hawkes translates this passage this way:

Cousin Zhen explained that it was the present lack of a responsible female head of household which was the cause of his concern.

This is wordy and unnecessary, since it’s obvious from the context. It’s much easier to simply say “Jia Zhen said he was worried that nobody would be home to handle the visitors” or something similar.

Hawkes has Jia Zhen refer to Wang Xifeng as “Cousin Feng” in this portion. He seems to have used this title because Jia Zhen refers to her as 大妹妹 in the original, which really translates to something like “honored younger sister.” I’ve chosen to have him refer to her as Wang Xifeng instead to make it easier to read and understand. Note that Jia Zhen never refers to her as “Xifeng” or “Feng” in this entire passage; instead, he refers to her formally, as if she were superior to him.

Hawkes has Jia Zhen asking Wang Xifeng to “let me make you a reverence now, to show my gratitude.” “Make a reverence” is an odd phrase that I’m not familiar with, and is how Hawkes translates 行禮 (to offer one’s respects). Meanwhile, he has Wang Xifeng curtsy back to his formal bow.

Yang

As usual, the Yangs undertranslate this section. Jia Zhen’s concern is that his wife, Lady You, is unable to see to her internal responsibilities, in particular seeing to the female guests that come (惟恐各誥命來往，虧了禮數). The Yangs simply translate this as her being “unable to see to things.” It’s not just that she was sick in bed and unable to get up. The real problem is that the formality of the funeral demanded that she formally and politely receive the numerous official female visitors.

Oddly, the Yangs translate 可巧這日非正經日期 as “as this was not one of the major days on which masses were said.” The reference to the Mass is extremely bizarre, and I’m really not sure what they were going for with this translation.

The Yangs have Jia Zhen refer to Wang Xifeng as “Cousin Hsi-feng,” which is similar to Hawkes’ “Cousin Feng.” Again, this is not consistent with the original, where he refers to her formally as 大妹妹. The problem here is that 妹妹 literally means “younger sister,” which reflects the theoretical closeness of the two families and the generational lines. “Honored younger sister” doesn’t work as an English translation, and so most translators call 妹妹 “cousin” instead. Of course, the issue is that Wang Xifeng is not Jia Zhen’s cousin. She’s the wife of Jia Lian, who happens to be on the same generational line as Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu. However, Jia Lian isn’t technically cousins with Jia Zhen due to the separation between the two family lines that occurred generations ago. At any rate, having Jia Zhen call her “Cousin Feng” or “Cousin Hsi-feng” ignores the unusual and comical formality with which he refers to her – especially since she is clearly several decades younger than he is.

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Chinese Text

只是賈珍雖然心意滿足，但裡面尤氏又犯了舊疾，不能料理事務，惟恐各誥命來往，虧了禮數，怕人笑話，因此，心中不自在。當下正憂慮時，因寶玉在側，便問道：「事事都算妥貼了，大哥哥還愁什麼？」賈珍便將裡面無人的話告訴了他。寶玉聽說，笑道：「這有何難？我薦一個人與你，權理這一個月的事，管保妥當！」賈珍忙問是誰。寶玉見座間還有許多親友，不便明言，走向賈珍耳邊說了兩句。賈珍聽了，喜不自勝，笑道：「這果然妥貼。如今就去。」說著，拉了寶玉，辭了眾人，便往上房裡來。

可巧這日非正經日期，親友來的少，裡面不過幾位近親堂客。邢夫人、王夫人、鳳姐併合族中的內眷陪坐。聞人報：「大爺進來了。」唬的眾婆娘唿的一聲，往後藏之不迭，獨鳳姐款款站了起來。

賈珍此時也有些病症在身，二則過於悲痛，因拄個拐，踱了進來。邢夫人等因說道：「你身上不好，又連日多事，該歇歇才是。又進來做什麼？」賈珍一面拄拐，扎掙著，要蹲身跪下請安道乏。邢夫人等忙叫寶玉攙住，命人拿椅子與他坐。賈珍不肯坐，因勉強陪笑道：「侄兒進來，有一件事要求二位嬸孃、大妹妹。」邢夫人等忙問：「什麼事？」賈珍忙說道：「嬸孃自然知道。如今孫子媳婦沒了，侄兒媳婦又病倒，我看裡頭著實不成體統；要屈尊大妹妹一個月，在這裡料理料理，我就放心了。」邢夫人笑道：「原來為這個。你大妹妹現在你二嬸孃家，只和你二嬸孃說就是了。」王夫人忙道：「他一個小孩子，何曾經過這些事？倘或料理不清，反叫人笑話，倒是再煩別人好。」賈珍笑道：「嬸孃的意思，侄兒猜著了：是怕大妹妹勞苦了。若說料理不開，從小兒，大妹妹玩笑時就有殺伐決斷；如今出了閣，在那府裡辦事，越發歷練老成了。我想了這幾日，除了大妹妹，再無人可求了。嬸孃不看侄兒和侄兒媳婦面上，只看死的分上罷！」說著，流下淚來。

王夫人心中為的是鳳姐未經過喪事，怕他料理不起，被人見笑。今見賈珍苦苦的說，心中已活了幾分，卻又眼看著鳳姐出神。那鳳姐素日最喜攬事，好賣弄能幹，今見賈珍如此央他，心中早已允了，又見王夫人有活動之意，便向王夫人道：「大哥說得如此懇切，太太就依了罷。」王夫人悄悄的問道：「你可能麼？」鳳姐道：「有什麼不能的！外面的大事已經大哥哥料理清了，不過是裡面照管照管。便是我有不知的，問太太就是了。」王夫人見說得有理，便不出聲。賈珍見鳳姐允了，又陪笑道：「也管不得許多了，橫豎要求大妹妹辛苦辛苦。我這裡先與大妹妹行禮，等完了事，我再到那府裡去謝。」說著，就作揖。鳳姐連忙還禮不迭。

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Translation Notes

On first glance, you’d think that 誥命 would mean an official decree. While the word does have that meaning, here it refers specifically to women who have official titles through their husbands.

Jia Baoyu refers to Jia Zhen as 大哥哥 (older brother) despite the large age difference between them. This is because they are part of the same family generation. Remember that Qin Keqing was referred to as Jia Baoyu’s nephew’s wife back in chapter 5, even though she was older than him.

喜不自勝 means so happy that you can’t control yourself.

正經日期 refers to the bigger and more important days of Qin Keqing’s extended funeral ceremonies. This basically means that there were fewer people around on this particular day.

堂客 means female guest.

The reason these women “hid themselves at the back” (往後藏之不迭) is because Jia Zhen suddenly went from the more official outer quarters of the house, where he would handle official business, back to the inner quarters, where women and children tended to stay. There was also likely concern about him walking in on an informal discussion among women he was not related to.

In the phrase 藏之不迭, the pronoun 之 refers to themselves; they hid (藏) themselves. 不迭 means that they hid themselves in a disorderly fashion.

款款 doesn’t just mean “slowly.” It means something like “with a dignified manner.” This shows Wang Xifeng’s power.

二位嬸孃、大妹妹 refers specifically to the female family members who were sitting together. 嬸孃 means “aunt,” and there are two of them (二位). These are Lady Xing and Lady Wang, both of whom are one generation above Jia Zhen in the generational hierarchy (though he seem to be older than they are). Meanwhile, 大妹妹 (honored younger sister) refers to Wang Xifeng, who is of the same generation as Jia Baoyu and Jia Zhen in the generational hierarchy.

裡頭 here refers specifically to Jia Zhen’s inner household, or the domestic part of the Jia family.

體統 means decorum, decency, or dignity. When Jia Zhen says 不成體統, he means that he’s worried that the inner sphere of the household is not proper or decent enough because of his wife’s illness. “A state of chaos” really isn’t the best translation of this passage, but it gets the point across.

屈尊 means to condescend, and is an honorific term used when speaking to somebody of higher status. In other words, Jia Zhen isn’t simply asking the much younger Wang Xifeng to help take care of his household. He’s treating her as a dignitary who is much more venerated than himself.

殺伐決斷 means to be decisive.

出閣 means for a woman to get married.

When Jia Zhen says 侄兒 (nephew), he’s referring to himself. Again, this is because Lady Wang and Lady Xing are technically his aunts (嬸孃) in the generational line. Remember, though, that they’re not really his aunts, since the division between the two branches of the family happened several generations ago.

攬事 means to manage affairs, and particularly refers to taking care of the nitty gritty details.

允 is an older Chinese word that means to allow or consent. It’s kind of rare to see this verb used alone in this context, and gives kind of an old Chinese feel.

懇切 means sincere or earnest

還禮 here means to return a formal gesture. It’s pretty clear that Jia Zhen bows towards her (作揖). Wang Xifeng’s gesture in return was likely a formal female gesture of respect, which would have been comparable to a curtsy in the European tradition.

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Today we see the impact that buying the title for Jia Rong has on the funeral arrangements.

My Translation

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Today Jia Zhen figures out a way to buy a title for his son Jia Rong.

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My Translation

And so the family and all the household staff followed their proper rites in the funeral proceedings, ensuring that there was no disorder.

Jia Zhen, however, was concerned. “Jia Rong only has a low ranking honorary title from the Imperial College,” he thought to himself. “It wouldn’t look good if that’s all that was written on his spirit banner. Besides, a title like that would limit the number of attendees.” This made him feel very worried.

It just so happened that this was the fourth day of the first seven day mourning period. Early that morning, Dai Quan, the Chief Imperial Eunuch of the highest level of the palace, sent someone ahead with sacrificial offerings. He then arrived in a large sedan chair, preceded by people who beat a gong to clear the way, and presented his sacrifice personally. Jia Zhen hurried over to greet him and invited him to have tea at the Bee-Enticing Pavilion.

Jia Zhen had decided ahead of time what he wanted, and so he took advantage of the opportunity. He asked directly about the possibility of purchasing an official rank for Jia Rong.

Dai Quan understood at once. “I imagine this is to add some brightness to the funeral?” he asked with a smile.

“You’ve understood it exactly, Sir,” replied Jia Zhen.

“It just so happens that this an opportune time,” replied Dai Quan. “There’s a great vacancy at the moment. Currently out of the three hundred positions of the Dragon Imperial Guard, two are unfulfilled.

“Yesterday, the third brother of the Marquis of Xiangyang came to me with a request. He had already delivered 1500 taels of silver to my home. You know how it is; we’re old friends. Anyway, out of respect for his grandfather, I casually agreed.

“There is still one vacancy remaining, but I was approached by the Military Governor of Yongxing, named Feng, who wanted to buy it for his son. I just haven’t had time to reply for him.

“Anyway, since we’re talking about possibly giving it to your son, please write up a resume for him.”

Jia Zhen quickly ordered someone to prepare a resume for Jia Rong written on red paper. Dai Quan read it. This is what it said:

Jia Rong, Senior Licentiate of Jiangning County, Yingtian Prefecture, Jiangnan, 20 years old. Great Grandfather is Jia Daihua, formerly Military Governor of the Capital Garrison, Hereditary First Class Majestic Spirit General. Grandfather is Jia Jing, Palace Graduate of the Bingchen cycle. Father is Jia Zhen, Hereditary Third Rank Majestic Ferocity General.

Dai Quan looked it over and then handed it back to a personal attendant who was standing nearby. “Take this back to Old Zhao, the Director of the Ministry of Revenue,” he said. “Tell him that I respectfully request that he issue a certificate for a Fifth Class Imperial Guard of the Dragon, along with an official warrant. Then fill in his resume. I’ll come by tomorrow to deliver the silver.” The attendant acknowledged the order.

Dai Quan then got up to leave. Jia Zhen unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to stay, after which he escorded Dai Quan out to the main gate of the house.

Just as Dai Quan was about to board his sedan, Jia Zhen asked him, “Should I deliver the silver to the Ministry, or should I send it to Your Excellency’s residence?”

“If you deliver it at the Ministry, you’ll end up ruining it,” replied Dai Quan. “It’s better to simply weigh out a thousand taels of silver and send it straight to my home. That will take care of everything.”

Jia Zhen thanked him profusely. “Once the mourning period is over,” he said, “I will personally bring my son to your residence to to express our gratitude.” And Dai Quan left after that.

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Translation Critique

Hawkes

Hawkes refers to Jia Zhen’s problem here in a way that kind of plays it down: “the insignia to which Qin-shi was entitled would make a very poor showing when borne in the funeral procession.” Actually, the real problem is that Jia Zhen’s lavish funeral plans wouldn’t work because of his son’s low status. It’s not just that this would look strange; it would actually go completely against the social norms of Chinese funerals.

Hawkes has Dai Quan give a name to the younger brother of “Lord Xiang-yang.” The name is “Sannikins.” I’ve got no idea what this is supposed to mean, though I suppose “Sannikins” might refer to the fact that this brother is called 老三 (the third child in the family) in the original text. 三 is pronounced “san.”

Yang

The Yangs ignore the obvious “咱們的孩子” (our child) reference, and instead have Dai Quan asked “if your boy wants it.”

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Chinese Text

於是合族人並家下諸人都各遵舊制行事，自不得錯亂。賈珍因想道：「賈蓉不過是黌門監生，靈幡上寫時不好看。便是執事也不多。」因此，心下甚不自在。

可巧這日正是首七第四日，早有大明宮掌宮內監戴權，先備了祭禮遣人來，次後坐了大轎，打道鳴鑼，親來上祭。賈珍忙接待，讓坐至逗蜂軒獻茶。賈珍心中早打定主意，因而趁便就說要與賈蓉捐個前程的話。戴權會意，因笑道：「想是為喪禮上風光些？」賈珍忙道：「老內相所見不差。」戴權道：「事倒湊巧，正有個美缺。如今三百員龍禁尉缺了兩員。昨兒襄陽侯的兄弟老三來求我，現拿了一千五百兩銀子送到我家裡，你知道，咱們都是老相好，不拘怎麼樣，看著他爺爺的分上，胡亂應了。還剩了一個缺，誰知永興節度使馮胖子要求與他孩子捐，我就沒工夫應他。既是咱們的孩子要捐，快寫個履歷來。」

賈珍忙命人寫了一張紅紙履歷來。戴權看了，上寫著：

江南應天府江寧縣監生賈蓉，年二十歲。曾祖，原任京營節度使世襲一等神威將軍賈代化。祖，丙辰科進士賈敬。父，世襲三品爵威烈將軍賈珍。」

戴權看了，回手遞與一個貼身的小廝收了，道：「回去送與戶部堂官老趙，說我拜上他起一張五品龍禁尉的票，再給個執照，就把這履歷填上，明日我來兌銀子送過去。」小廝答應了。戴權告辭，賈珍款留不住，只得送出府門。臨上轎，賈珍問：「銀子還是我到部去兌，還是送入內相府中？」戴權道：「若到部裡兌，你又吃虧了；不如平準一千兩銀子送到我家就完了。」賈珍感謝不盡，說：「待服滿，親帶小犬到府叩謝。」於是作別。

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Translation Notes

黌門 means school. In this case, it seems to represent the Imperial College (國子監). Meanwhile, 監生 is an honorary title; you can read more about it on this page. Basically, Jia Rong only had an honorary title from the Imperial College that could easily be bought. Jia Zhen is concerned that the formal extravagance around Qin Keqing’s funeral does not match up with Jia Zhen’s official standing.

A 靈幡 was a spirit banner or funeral streamer; this was a tall vertical banner placed beside the coffin during a funeral. This would display the name of the deceased, as well as their title and status. Jia Zhen is concerned that the formal title Qin Keqing would qualify for does not fit the extravagance of her funeral.

執事 means an attendant; here it refers to attendants at the funeral. This seems to have been a reflection of funeral protocol during this time. The number of people who could attend and items that could be used would be naturally limited by the level of Qin Keqing’s husband’s title.

首七第四日 means the fourth day of the first seven day mourning period. As you might remember from a translation post a few days ago, the plan was to use seven periods of seven days to mourn the death of Qin Keqing.

大明宮 means the Daming Palace, which was the imperial residence of the Tang dynasty. In this case, it refers to the upper echelons of the imperial household, and not necessarily to the original building.

掌宮內監 means the chief eunuch. The 大明宮 part before means the highest level of the imperial residence. In other words, Jia Zhen is talking with an eunuch who has some very strong political connections.

戴權 (Dai Quan) is an interesting name. It literally means “to wear power.”

打道鳴鑼 refers to an old practice of having people with gongs go in front of an imperial carriage, beating on the gong to clear the way.

逗蜂軒 literally means “Bee Enticing Pavilion.” This seems to be a symbolic name, where bees could represent a swarm of petitioners or social climbers.

前程 means a scholarly honor or scholarly career.

會意 means to comprehend or understand

風光 literally means face or dignity. Dai Quan is asking in a somewhat roundabout manner if Jia Zhen is hoping to see Jia Rong receive a higher status for Qin Keqing’s funeral.

老內相 is a very respectful term for a high ranking eunuch.

龍禁尉 seems to be a fictional title, and literally means something like “Dragon Imperial Guard.”

馮胖子 literally means “Fatso Feng.” It’s a somewhat demeaning term, used by Dai Quan to hint at contempt.

Dai Quan refers to Jia Rong as 咱們的孩子 (our child), implying that his relationship with Jia Zhen is as close as family. This is likely to encourage him even more to give the bribe for the government position.

履歷 means a resume.

執照 means a license or permit

When Dai Quan says “Tomorrow I’ll bring the silver over” (明日我來兌銀子送過去), he’s adding another hint to Jia Zhen that he will need to pay up. While this is technically an illegal bribe, Dai Quan is treating this like a normal transaction.

小犬 literally means “puppy.” Here it’s a humble way to refer to one’s own son.

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