Hua Xiren and Nanny Li Fight
Chapter 20 starts off with a bang, as Nanny Li and Hua Xiren go after each other.
My Translation
Chapter 20
Wang Xifeng Uses Proper Speech to Suppress Jealousy;
Lin Daiyu Uses Clever Words to Tease a Sweet Voice
When Jia Baoyu was explaining the story of the mice in Lin Daiyu’s room, Xue Baochai came in suddenly. She teased him for not remembering the “green wax” poetic allusion during the Lantern Festival.
The three of them stayed in the room, joking with one another. Baoyu was afraid that Lin Daiyu might get indigestion if she took a nap right after eating, or that she might lie awake at night. Neither would be good for her health. Fortunately, Baochai had come, and Daiyu didn’t want to sleep while everybody was there, so Baoyu could relax.
They suddenly heard a loud noise from Baoyu’s room. Everybody listened. Then Lin Daiyu laughed. “That’s your nanny and Hua Xiren fighting,” she told Baoyu. “Xiren is actually really good to her. If your nanny still insists on scolding her like this, she must be old and muddled.”
Baoyu hurried up to go over, but Baochai caught him first. “Don’t fight with your nanny,” she warned. “She’s old and confused. You should just let her win.”
“I know,” said Baoyu. He then departed.
He found Nanny Li leaning on her cane in the middle of the courtyard, scolding Hua Xiren. “Ungrateful whore!” she said. “I was the one who raised you. Now that I’ve come, you lie down on the kang like there’s nothing to it and don’t even look at me. All you care about is seducing Baoyu until he ignores me and only listens to you. You’re nothing but a little maid bought for a few taels of silver, and yet you’ve started stirring up trouble in this room! One of these days, whether you like it or not, you’ll be dragged out and married off to some servant boy. Then we’ll see if you can still bewitch people!”
Xiren thought at first that Nanny Li was angry because she was lying down. “I’m sick,” she explained. “I was sweating, and my head was covered. I didn’t see you, madam.” But when she heard Nanny Li say that she had bewitched Baoyu and would be married off to a servant, she couldn’t help feeling ashamed and wrong, and so she burst into tears.
Baoyu heard all of this, but there was little he could do. He had to defend Xiren, and said that she was ill and was taking medicine. “If you don’t believe me,” he added, “ask the other maids.”
Nanny Li was even angrier when she heard this. “You just protect those foxes!” she scolded. “How could you still recognize me? Who am I supposed to ask? Who wouldn’t take your side? Who hasn’t been tamed by Xiren? I know about all these things! I’ll go with you and speak with Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang about this. I nursed you until you were this big, and now that you don’t need my milk you toss me aside and let the maids defy me!” She wept as she scolded.
At this point Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, and the others came over. “Nanny, please be more forgiving,” they urged her, “and just let it go.”
When Nanny Li saw the two of them arrive she started to pour out her grievances. She went on and on complaining about the tea incident, Qianxue’s dismissal, yesterday’s cream business, and so on.
Coincidentally, Wang Xifeng was in the main room at this time finishing up the day’s accounting when she heard the noise from the back. She knew right away that Nanny Li’s old sickness had flared up again. And, since Nanny Li had lost money that day, she was taking it out on Baoyu’s maids.
Wang Xifeng hurried over, grabbed Nanny Li by the arm, and, with a smile, said “Nanny, don’t get upset. We’re in the middle of the holidays, and Grandmother Jia has only just had one day of fun. You’re an elder, after all, and you should be the one keeping other people in line when they raise a fuss. You can’t tell me that you don’t know the rules, and that you’re the one here making a scene and getting Grandmother Jia upset, are you? Just tell me who has been bad and I’ll beat them for you. Now, I’ve got a chicken heating up over in my rooms. Come on over and eat with me and have a drink.” Wang Xifeng pulled Nanny Li along as she spoke. “Feng’er,” she continued, “carry Nanny Li’s cane for her and her handkerchief for wiping her tears.”
Nanny Li went off with Wang Xifeng, her feet barely touching the ground. Even as she went, she kept her complaining. “I don’t care about my life anymore!” she lamented. “I might as well throw all the rules out today and make one big scene, even I lose face. It’s better than putting up with the insults from those whores.”
Baochai and Daiyu were both watching from behind. They clapped their hands as they saw how Xifeng was handling the problem. “Good thing she blew in like a gust of wind,” they laughed, “and scooped the old woman away!”
Baoyu nodded. “Who knows what score she’s settling now?” he said with a sigh. “She picks on the softer ones to bully around. And who knows which girl offended her and started this?”
Before Baoyu could finish, Qingwen interrupted him. “Who here is crazy enough to offend her?” she said. “And, if you did offender her, then have the guys to admit it. There’s no reason to drag other people into this.”
Xiren pulled at Baoyu. “Because of me you offended your old nanny,” she said through tears, “and now you’re offending these other people for me as well? Isn’t that already more than I can take? And yet you keep on dragging other people into it!”
Baoyu swallowed his anger and held his tongue as he saw how sick Xiren was, and as he thought about all the added trouble. He comforted her and got her to lie down again. When he saw how feverishly hot she was, he stayed by her side, leaned down beside her, and urged her on. “Just focus on getting better,” he said. “Don’t worry about these unimportant things.”
“If I got angry over things like this, I couldn’t stay in this room for even a minute,” said Xiren with a cold laugh. “But, if this keeps up day after day, how is anybody supposed to live? It only takes you a moment to offend others for my sake, but they remember it for a long time. When times are tough, regardless of whether they say nice things or mean things, what is everyone supposed to think?” She was on the verge of crying again as she spoke. But, since she was afraid of upsetting Baoyu, she forced herself to hold them back.
Translation Critique
Hawkes
There’s not much to say about the David Hawkes translation of this passage, which is all relatively straightforward.
Yang
The Yangs use a few unusual words.
For example, when referring to Hua Xiren, they describe how “the old woman accused her of vamping Pao-yu.” Vamping comes from the verb vamp, which means “to seduce or exploit someone.”
Later, when Nanny Li starts complaining excitedly, they note that “it was hard to make head or tail of her maundering.” Maundering means “a rambling or pointless discourse.”
I believe this is the first time we’ve seen the Yangs use unusual words in their translation. Usually it’s David Hawkes who is using these unusual words.
Chinese Text
第二十回 王熙鳳正言彈妒意 林黛玉俏語謔嬌音
話說寶玉在黛玉房中說耗子精，寶釵撞來，諷刺寶玉元宵不知「綠蠟」之典，三人正在房中互相取笑。那寶玉恐黛玉飯後貪眠，一時存了食，或夜間走了困，皆非保養身體之法，幸而寶釵走來，大家談笑，那黛玉方不欲睡，自己才放了心。忽聽他房中嚷起來，大家側耳聽了一聽，黛玉先笑道：「這是你媽媽和襲人叫喚呢。那襲人待他也罷了，你媽媽再要認真排揎他，可見老背晦了。」
寶玉忙欲趕過去，寶釵一把拉住道：「你別和你媽媽吵才是呢。他是老糊塗了，倒要讓他一步兒的是。」寶玉道：「我知道了。」說畢，走來。只見李嬤嬤拄著柺杖，在當地罵襲人：「忘了本的小娼婦兒！我抬舉你起來，這會子我來了，你大模廝樣兒的躺在炕上，見了我也不理一理兒。一心只想裝狐媚子哄寶玉，哄的寶玉不理我，只聽你的話。你不過是幾兩銀子買了來的小丫頭子罷咧，這屋裡你就作起耗來了！好不好的，拉出去配一個小子，看你還妖精似的哄人不哄！」襲人先只道李嬤嬤不過因他躺著生氣，少不得分辯說：「病了，才出汗，蒙著頭，原沒看見你老人家。」後來聽見他說哄寶玉，又說配小子，由不得又羞又委屈，禁不住哭起來了。
寶玉雖聽了這些話，也不好怎樣，少不得替他分辯，說病了吃藥。又說：「你不信，只問別的丫頭。」李嬤嬤聽了這話，越發氣起來了，說道：「你只護著那起狐狸，那裡還認得我了呢？叫我問誰去？誰不幫著你呢？誰不是襲人拿下馬來的？我都知道。那些事！我只和你到老太太、太太跟前去講講。把你奶了這麼大，到如今，吃不著奶了，把我扔在一邊兒，逞著丫頭們要我的強！」一面說，一面哭。
彼時，黛玉寶釵等也過來勸道：「媽媽，你老人家擔待他們些就完了。」李嬤嬤見他二人來了，便訴委屈，將當日吃茶，茜雪出去，和昨日酥酪等事，嘮嘮叨叨，說個不了。
可巧鳳姐正在上房算了輸贏賬，聽見後面一片聲嚷，便知是李嬤嬤老病發了，又值他今兒輸了錢，遷怒於人，排揎寶玉的丫頭。便連忙趕過來，拉了李嬤嬤，笑道：「媽媽別生氣。大節下，老太太剛喜歡了一日，你是個老人家，別人吵，你還要管他們才是；難道你倒不知規矩，在這裡嚷起來，叫老太太生氣不成？你說誰不好，我替你打他。我屋裡燒的滾熱的野雞，快跟了我喝酒去罷。」一面說，一面拉著走，又叫：「豐兒，替你李奶奶拿著柺棍子，擦眼淚的絹子。」那李嬤嬤腳不沾地，跟了鳳姐兒走了。一面還說：「我也不要這老命了！索性今兒沒了規矩，鬧一場子，討個沒臉，強似受那些娼婦的氣。」
後面寶釵黛玉見鳳姐兒這般，都拍手笑道：「虧他這一陣風來，把個老婆子撮了去了！」寶玉點頭嘆道：「這又不知是那裡的賬，只揀軟的欺負！又不知是那個姑娘得罪了，上在他賬上了。」一句未完，晴雯在旁說道：「誰又沒瘋了，得罪他做什麼？既得罪了他，就有本事承任，犯不著帶累別人。」襲人一面哭，一面拉著寶玉道：「為我得罪了一個老奶奶，你這會子又為我得罪這些人，這還不夠我受的？還只是拉扯人！」寶玉見他這般病勢，又添了這些煩惱，連忙忍氣吞聲，安慰他仍舊睡下出汗。又見他湯燒火熱，自己守著他，歪在旁邊勸他：「只養病，別想那些沒要緊的事。」襲人冷笑道：「要為這些事生氣，這屋裡一刻還住得了？但只是天長日久，盡著這麼鬧，可叫人怎麼過呢？你只顧一時為我得罪了人，他們都記在心裡，遇著坎兒，說的好說不好聽的，大傢什麼意思呢？」一面說，一面禁不住流淚，又怕寶玉煩惱，只得勉強忍著。
Translation Notes
正言 means “proper speech” or “righteous words.”
彈 means to suppress, rebuke, or shut down.
俏語 means clever banter or playful speech.
謔 means to tease,joke, or banter with
嬌音 means a sweet or delicate voice.
排揎 means to scold, reprimand, or blame
娼婦 is a derogatory word that means “prostitute” or “whore”
大模廝樣 means either “natural and unhurried” or “arrogant.” Here it almost certainly means “arrogant.”
狐媚 refers to women, and means to entice a man with one’s feminine charms
妖精 means a monster or demon; it can also mean enchantress or temptress
豐兒 (Feng’er) is one of Wang Xifeng’s maids:
撮 means to scoop up or carry off