Jia Yucun Is Interrupted

A fascinating example of literary technique

Jia Yucun Is Interrupted

In yesterday’s post, Jia Yucun was oddly interrupted while talking to his clerk (my translation of 門子).

I’ll recap briefly. Yucun read the following poem about the wealth of local families that the clerk handed to him:

賈不假，白玉為堂金作馬。

阿房宮，三百里，住不下金陵一個史。

東海缺少白玉床，龍王來請金陵王。

豐年好大雪，珍珠如土金如鐵。

The Jias: their wealth is no pretense, with white jade halls and golden horses.

The Shis: their mansions are 300 li, outshining the Epang Palace of Emperor Qin.

The Wangs: when the dragons lack jade beds in the East Sea, the Dragon King begs the Wangs of Jinling for help.

The Xues: their prosperous snow falls all year round; to them pearls are like dirt and gold like scrap iron.

And then Yucun left abruptly when somebody came by:

雨村尚未看完，忽聞傳點報：「王老爺來拜。」雨村忙具衣冠出去迎接，有頓飯工夫方回來。

Before Yucun could finish reading, he suddenly heard an official announcement: “Magistrate Wang is here to visit.” Yucun quickly straightened up his clothes and went out to receive the guest. He was away for about the time it takes to eat a meal – about 30 minutes – before he returned.

So why do you think Cao Xueqin wrote this bizarre interlude?