The Concubine’s Son
New here? I’m translating all 120 chapters of 紅樓夢 (Dream of the Red Chamber) into modern American English, one passage at a time. Each passage comes with the Chinese text, a comparison with Hawkes and the Yangs, and notes on the hard words. We’re now in Chapter 20.
Jia Huan is upset, and rightfully so. The truth is that he simply can’t win, no matter what. After all, he can’t change his mother.
This is what we learned in yesterday’s translation post, which you can see here:
The important part here isn’t the cheat, but, rather, this section:
趙姨娘見他這般，因問：「是那裡墊了踹窩來了？」賈環便說：「同寶姐姐玩來著。鶯兒欺負我，賴我的錢；寶玉哥哥攆了我來了。」趙姨娘啐道：「誰叫你上高臺盤了？下流沒臉的東西！那裡玩不得？誰叫你跑了去討這沒意思？」
When his mother, Concubine Zhao, saw the state he was in, she asked, “Who walked all over you this time?”
“I was playing with Sister Bao,” said Jia Huan. “Ying’er picked on me and cheated me out of my money, and then Brother Baoyu chased me off.”
Concubine Zhao spat at him. “Who told you to go climbing up to the high table? You low-down, shameless thing! Couldn’t you play anywhere else? Who told you to run over there and go begging for humiliation?”
