Pandora’s Box
I’ve talked about this before, but it’s time to bring it up again.
The biggest issue with Dream of the Red Chamber has to do with its textual history.
I’ve been trying to stay away from diving too deep into this, in large part because it can really confuse the story. But there’s really no way we can get away from this.
As I explained in this post about a year and a half ago, there’s a huge difference between the officially published versions of Dream of the Red Chamber and the handwritten manuscripts that have survived over the years:
Now, we know for a fact that Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E did some extensive editing of whatever manuscripts they had before publishing the book in 1791. By this time, original author Cao Xueqin had been dead for years; in fact, Cao Xueqin passed away in 1765.
We also know that the handwritten manuscripts themselves are not complete. In fact, Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E noted in their introduction to the 1791 published edition that they had compiled the book from scattered handwritten manuscripts that were clearly incomplete.
The problem comes when there are significant differences between the two versions. And that’s exactly what has happened with Jia Tanchun’s first poem.
We know that this version of the poem is directly attributable to Cao Xueqin:
萬象爭輝匾額 探春
名園築出勢巍巍，奉命何慚學淺微。
精妙一時言不出，果然萬物有光輝。
All Things Complete In Splendor Tanchun
A famous garden built on such a grand and towering scale;
Having received this command, how can I complain that my learning is shallow and meager?
Such exquisite refinement; words fail to capture it in a single moment.
Indeed, everything here radiates its own brilliance.
The interesting thing about this poem is that it’s almost exactly the same as Jia Yingchun’s poem:
曠性怡情（匾額）
迎 春
園成景物特精奇，奉命羞題額「曠怡」。
誰信世間有此境？游來寧不暢神思？
Plaque: Carefree and Happy
Ying Chun
The garden is complete, and its scenery is very rare and fine;
To obey the command, I timidly compose this “Carefree and Happy” poem.
Who would believe there would be such a place on earth?
How could wandering around here not refresh your mind?
If you dive into these two poems, the similarities are amazing.
The first line in Yingchun’s poem, 園成景物特精奇 (the garden is finished and the scenery looks amazing and rare) is almost directly reflected in Tanchun’s first line, 名園築出勢巍巍 (the famous garden was built on a grand and tremendous scale).
The second lines are almost exactly the same. Both refer to the fact that the poems were ordered, and both mention that their abilities are poor: 奉命羞題額「曠怡」(To obey the command, I timidly compose this Carefree and Happy poem) is Yingchun’s version, and 奉命何慚學淺微 (Now that I’ve received the command, how can I complain about my shallow and meager learning) is Tanchun’s version.
And the final two lines also repeat each other - I’ll let you look at those yourself.
Personally, I think that Cao Xueqin himself likely went back to revise this poem in particular. In my opinion, I think that the relatively shallow original Tanchun poem was likely a placeholder - and I suspect that the Yingchun poem also might have been a placeholder that Cao Xueqin never got around to revising.
The longer Xichun poem is fascinating, as I mentioned yesterday:
文采風流（匾額）
探春
秀水明山抱復回，風流文采勝蓬萊。綠裁歌扇迷芳草，紅襯湘裙舞落梅。
珠玉自應傳盛世，神仙何幸下瑤臺。名園一自邀遊賞，未許凡人到此來。
Plaque: Elegance and Literary Grace
By Tanchun
The beautiful waters and bright mountains embrace and wind back around,
This refined charm and literary brilliance surpasses Penglai.
The brilliant green looks like performance fans, fooling even the fragrant grass,
And the red flowers set off the Xiang skirts that dance with the falling plum blossoms.
Pearls and jade should naturally be celebrated in this golden age;
How lucky we are that the immortals descended from the Jade Terrace!
Once this famous garden invites you in to admire its beauty,
It will hardly allow any ordinary mortal to enter.
In particular the line 綠裁歌扇迷芳草，紅襯湘裙舞落梅 (The brilliant green looks like performance fans, fooling even the fragrant grass, / And the red flowers set off the Xiang skirts that dance with the falling plum blossoms.) is absolutely brilliant.
This probably won’t make much sense until we finally get to chapter 81, but I strongly doubt that Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E were capable of composing a poem like this. I strongly feel that this is actually a Cao Xueqin poem.
The thing that we’ll learn about Jia Tanchun as the story continues is that she is fiercely independent and quite proud of herself and her own achievements. Comments in this poem, such as 名園一自邀遊賞，未許凡人到此來 (one you’ve strolled around this famous garden, no other mortal will be allowed to enter) allude directly to Tanchun’s sense of pride and self worth.
Anyway, the long story short here is that I think the longer poem is legitimately a Cao Xueqin creation, even if we don’t have a handwritten manuscript to prove it.