Qin Keqing’s Illness
Things become even more complicated in this section, as Jia Huang’s wife learns about Qin Keqing’s mysterious illness. This is an excellent example of the realistic way Dream of the Red Chamber is written; more on that tomorrow.
My Translation
Jia Huang’s wife’s carriage arrived at the Ningguo Mansion before long, and entered through the eastern side gate. Once the carriage had stopped and she got down, she went inside to see Lady You.
By that time, how could she still be so furious?
After politely exchanging pleasantries and some casual conversation, she finally got to the point of her visit. “Why haven’t I seen Qin Keqing?” she asked.
“I don’t know what’s come over her,” replied Lady You. “It’s been over two months since she last had her period. We had a doctor look at her, but he said it wasn’t a pregnancy.
“These last few days she’s been so tired in the afternoon that she can’t move anymore. She’s been too tired to speak, and her vision has started to blur.
“‘Don’t worry about your formal duties,’ I told her. ‘Skip the morning and evening greetings for now, and just focus on getting better. If any relatives come to visit, I’ll take care of it. And if anybody older is upset, I’ll explain everything to them for you.’
“I even spoke with Jia Rong. ‘Don’t bother her at all,’ I told him. ‘Don’t make her angry. Just let her have peace and quiet for a few days, and then she’s sure to get better. If there’s something she wants to eat, just come get it from my place. And, God forbid, if anything should happen to her, and if you wanted another wife like this, with her looks and with her temperament, you could search with a lantern and still not find one!’
“She’s so kind and has such a great character; all of her relatives and elders adore her! That’s why I’ve been so worried these past few days.
“And then, of all things, her younger brother came to see her first thing this morning. But who would have expected that a boy like him wouldn’t know what is proper? Since he saw that his older sister was so sick, he really shouldn’t have told her such awful things. Even if he had suffered an awful injustice, it wasn’t right to talk about that in front of her.
“Who would have known that there was a fight at school yesterday? It seems that some student studying there, one of those students from the edges of the family, actually bullied him. There was also some awful sounding gossip, and he went and told his sister about it.
“Aunt, you know how she is. She might seem happy all the time in front of others, but she thinks carefully about everything. No matter what it is, she’s think about it for days and nights on end.
“Actually, this sickness of hers is all because she would think too much in the first place! When she heard today that her brother had been bullied, she was furious, and she was also distressed. The thing that made her angry is that these awful friends were stirring up trouble and gossiping. The thing that made her distressed, however, is that her own brother wasn’t studying well and wasn’t focusing on his studies. And that’s the thing that led to all the commotion at the school.
“She simply refused to eat her breakfast altogether because of this problem. I was just over there myself trying to comfort her, and admonishing her brother a little. I told him to go to the other mansion and find Baoyu. And it wasn’t until I watched her finish a cup of bird’s nest soup that I finally came over here.
“Dear aunt! Can you imagine just how worried I am? And even worse is that we can’t find a single good doctor for her! When I think of her illness, it feels like my heart is being pricked by needles! Do you know of a good doctor we can call?”
When Lady Jin heard this, the anger she had come with and had planned to use to lash out at Qin Keqing completely disappeared. I haven’t heard anybody mention any good doctors lately,” said Lady Jin after she heard Lady You’s request for a good doctor. “However, after hearing you describe it, there’s still a chance that it could be a pregnancy. Sister-in-law, you really shouldn’t let anybody treat her haphazardly. If she were misdiagnosed, the consequences would be awful!”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” replied Lady You.
Translation Critique
Hawkes
David Hawkes translates 你且不必拘禮 as “never mind about wifely duties,” which seems inaccurate and confusing, especially in a rich house filled with maids and servants. In this context, 拘禮 seems to refer more to Qin Keqing’s formal and ceremonial duties around the house than to anything else. Note that Lady You mentions things like visiting with guests, not cooking or cleaning or whatever.
Hawkes also takes Lady You’s entire quotation and sticks it together in a single paragraph. This is one of the biggest complaints I have about his translation. It’s difficult to focus as a reader when you’re facing a wall of text that lasts a page and a half with no breaks at all.
In the original, Lady Jin’s anger “早嚇的丟在「爪窪國」去了.” This literally means that she was so startled by what was happening to Qin Keqing that her anger fled to the island of Java. Hawkes translates this part literally: “Mrs. Huang’s determination to have things out with Qin-shi […] fled to the far kingdom of Java.”
Yang
The Yangs have Lady You instruct Qin Keqing to visit her if she wants to eat anything special, and to ask Wang Xifeng if she still doesn’t have what she wants to eat. That part is not in the Chinese original text.
Thankfully, the Yangs divide up the long monologue into three paragraphs, which makes it easier to digest.
The Yangs also describe how Lady Jin’s frustration had “been scared away into the Sea of Java,” which is not a particularly accurate translation.
Chinese Text
到了寧府，進了東角門，下了車，進去見了尤氏，那裡還有大氣兒？殷殷勤勤敘過了寒溫，說了些閒話兒，方問道：「今日怎麼沒見蓉大奶奶？」
尤氏說：「他這些日子，不知怎麼了，經期有兩個多月沒有來，叫大夫瞧了，又說並不是喜。那兩日，到下半日就懶怠動了，話也懶怠說，眼神也發眩。我叫他：『你且不必拘禮，早晚不必照例上來，你竟養養兒罷。就有親戚來，還有我呢。別的長輩怪你，等我替你告訴。』連蓉哥兒我都囑咐了，我說：『你不許累掯他，不許招他生氣，叫他靜靜兒的養幾天就好了。他要想什麼吃，只管到我屋裡來取。倘或他有個好歹，你再要娶這麼一個媳婦兒，這麼個模樣兒，這麼個性格兒，只怕打著燈籠兒也沒處找去呢！』他這為人行事兒，那個親戚長輩兒不喜歡他？所以我這兩日心裡很煩！偏偏兒的，早起他兄弟來瞧他，誰知他那小孩子家不知好歹。看見他姐姐身上不好，這些事也不當告訴他，就受了萬分委屈，也不該向著他說。誰知昨日學房裡打架，不知是那裡附學的學生倒欺負他，裡頭還有些不乾不淨的話，都告訴了他姐姐。嬸子，你是知道的，那媳婦雖則見了人有說有笑的，他可心細，不拘聽見什麼話兒，都要忖量個三日五夜才算。這病就是打這用心太過上得的！今兒聽見有人欺負了他的兄弟，又是惱，又是氣。惱的是那狐朋狗友，搬是弄非，調三惑四；氣的是為他兄弟不學好，不上心念書，才弄的學房裡吵鬧。他為這件事，索性連早飯也沒吃。我才到他那邊解勸了他一會子，又囑咐了他的兄弟幾句，我叫他兄弟到那邊府裡又找寶玉兒去。我又瞧著他吃了半鍾兒燕窩湯，我才過來了。嬸子！你說我心焦不心焦？況且目今又沒個好大夫。我想到他病上，我心裡如同針扎的一般！你們知道有什麼好大夫沒有？」
金氏聽了這一番話，把方才在他嫂子家的那一團要向秦氏理論的盛氣，早嚇的丟在「爪窪國」去了。聽見尤氏問他好大夫的話，連忙答道：「我們也沒聽見人說什麼好大夫。如今聽起大奶奶這個病來，定不得還是喜呢。嫂子倒別叫人混治，倘若治錯了，可了不得！」尤氏道：「正是呢。」
Translation Notes
殷勤 means earnest, courteous, or sincere
蓉大奶奶 means “Jia Rong’s wife,” which is Qin Keqing.
經期 means a menstrual cycle.
In the context, 喜 (“a happy event”) means pregnancy.
懶怠 means to lack energy; it’s used here as an adverb.
發眩 means to not be able to see clearly.
拘禮 means to rigidly adhere to formal etiquette, even when it might be unnecessary or burdensome
好歹 literally means “good and evil,” but is frequently used to mean an accident or mishap.
媳婦 means daughter-in-law. Qin Keqing is Lady You’s daughter in law; Jia Rong is her son. This is also why she’s speaking to him so directly and bluntly.
不知好歹 means to not be able to tell the good from the bad, or to be unable to see the good intentions others have. Notice that 好歹 here is different than 好歹 was above.
嬸子, or “aunt,” is puzzling here. It seems that Jia Huang belongs to the same generation as Jia Zheng, and Jia She. Lady You, meanwhile, is married to Jia Zhen, and is from the same generation as Jia Baoyu. And so she calls Jia Huang’s wife by a formal generational title, even though it seems that Lady You is actually older.
三日五夜 means for a long time. It literally means “three days and five nights.”
狐朋狗友 means disreputable friends, or a gang of scoundrels
搬是弄非 is similar to the modern idiom 搬弄是非. Both mean “to sow discord” or “to tell false tales.”
調三惑四 means to confuse and mislead people
燕窩湯 means bird’s nest soup, which is a type of rare soup made from edible bird’s nests.
The phrase 你說我心焦不心焦 is a rhetorical question: “Tell me, am I worried or not?” It’s a rhetorical question designed to emphasize the worry that she feels. This grammatical construction still exists in modern Chinese.
金氏 (Lady Jin) is the name of Jia Huang’s wife. The fact that her surname is Jin is alluded to because she is Jin Rong’s mother’s sister-in-law. This is yet another example of information about a character being introduced very subtly.
爪窪國 means a remote or far-away place. It literally refers to the island of Java, but is usually used figuratively to mean a far away place. Here it means that Lady Jin’s anger went far away when she heard what was happening to Qin Keqing.
This is such an interesting and digestible way to read a Chinese classic, albeit in English. I've been learning simplified for five years only, so the traditional characters are a huge barrier, but the sheer length and complexity of 红楼梦is also. I managed to watch a series a few years ago, but hasn't realised from that experience that 红楼梦 is an outstanding piece of literature. I mentioned this new translation coming out to my lecturer, 张老师，which she thought was incredible, so I will share a subscription link with her.