CHAPTER 1 Zhen Shi-yin makes the Stone’s acquaintance in a dream And Jia Yu-cun finds that poverty is not incompatible with romantic feelings
- acquaintance: a person that you have met but do not know well.
- incompatible: not able to exist or work with another person or thing because of basic differences.
此開卷第一回也。作者自云曾歷過一番夢幻之後，故將真事隱去，而借「通靈」說此《石頭記》一書也，故曰「甄士隱」云云。但書中所記何事何人？自己又云：今風塵碌碌，一事無成，忽念及當日所有之女子，一一細考較去，覺其行止見識皆出我之上，我堂堂鬚眉，誠不若彼裙釵。我實愧則有餘，悔又無益，大無可如何之日也！當此日，欲將已往所賴天恩祖德錦衣紈袴之時，飫甘饜肥之日，背父兄教育之恩，負師友規訓之德，以致今日一技無成，半生潦倒之罪，編述一集，以告天下。知我之負罪固多，然閨閣中歷歷有人，萬不可因我之不肖自護己短，一并使其泯滅也。所以蓬牖茅椽，繩床瓦灶，並不足妨我襟懷。況那晨風夕月，階柳庭花，更覺得潤人筆墨。我雖不學無文，又何妨用假語村言敷衍出來，亦可使閨閣昭傳，復可破一時之悶，醒同人之目，不亦宜乎？故曰「賈雨村」云云。更於篇中間用「夢」「幻」等字，卻是此書本旨，兼寓提醒閱者之意。
看官！你道此書從何而起？說來雖近荒唐，細玩頗有趣味。
GENTLE READER, What, you may ask, was the origin of this book? Though the answer to this question may at first seem to border on the absurd , reflection will show that there is a good deal more in it than meets the eye .
- absurd: stupid and unreasonable, or silly in a humorous way.
- meets the eye: Idiom-To be visible or noticeable.
卻說那女媧氏煉石補天之時，於大荒山無稽崖煉成高十二丈、見方二十四丈大的頑石三萬六千五百零一塊。那媧皇只用了三萬六千五百塊，單單剩下一塊未用，棄在青埂峰下。誰知此石自經鍛煉之後，靈性已通，自去自來，可大可小。因見眾石俱得補天，獨自己無才，不得入選，遂自怨自愧，日夜悲哀。
Long ago, when the goddess Nǚ-wa was repairing the sky, she melted down a great quantity of rock and, on the Incredible Crags of the Great Fable Mountains, moulded the amalgam into thirty-six thousand, five hundred and one large building blocks, each measuring seventy-two feet by a hundred and forty-four feet square. She used thirty-six thousand five hundred of these blocks in the course of her building operations, leaving a single odd block unused, which lay, all on its own, at the foot of Greensickness Peak in the aforementioned mountains. Now this block of stone, having undergone the melting and moulding of a goddess, possessed magic powers. It could move about at will and could grow or shrink to any size it wanted. Observing that all the other blocks had been used for celestial repairs and that it was the only one to have been rejected as unworthy, it became filled with shame and resentment and passed its days in sorrow and lamentation .
- moulded: try to be changed or be influenced by someone 煉
- amalgam: a mixture of mercury and another metal
- celestial: of or from the sky or outside this world
- resentment: to feel angry because you have been forced to accept someone or something that you do not like
- lamentation: sadness and feeling sorry, or something that expresses these feelings
一日，正當嗟悼之際，俄見一僧一道，遠遠而來，生得骨格不凡，豐神迥異。來到這青埂峰下，席地坐談，見著這塊鮮瑩明潔的石頭，且又縮成扇墜一般，甚屬可愛。那僧托於掌上，笑道：「形體倒也是個靈物了，只是沒有實在的好處；須得再鐫上幾個字，使人人見了，便知你是件奇物，然後攜你到那昌明隆盛之邦、詩禮簪纓之族、花柳繁華之地、溫柔富貴之鄉那裡去走一遭。」石頭聽了大喜，因問：「不知可鐫何字？攜到何方？望乞明示。」那僧笑道：「你且莫問，日後自然明白。」說畢，便袖了，同那道人飄然而去，竟不知投向何方。
One day, in the midst of its lamentings, it saw a monk and a Taoist approaching from a great distance, each of them remarkable for certain eccentricities of manner and appearance. When they arrived at the foot of Greensickness Peak, they sat down on the ground and began to talk. The monk, catching sight of a lustrous, translucent stone—it was in fact the rejected building block which had now shrunk itself to the size of a fan-pendant and looked very attractive in its new shape—took it up on the palm of his hand and addressed it with a smile: ‘Ha, I see you have magical properties! But nothing to recommend you. I shall have to cut a few words on you so that anyone seeing you will know at once that you are something special. After that I shall take you to a certain brilliant successful poetical cultivated aristocratic elegant delectable luxurious opulent locality on a little trip.’ The stone was delighted. ‘What words will you cut? Where is this place you will take me to? I beg to be enlightened.’ ‘Do not ask,’ replied the monk with a laugh. ‘You will know soon enough when the time comes.’ And with that he slipped the stone into his sleeve and set off at a great pace with the Taoist. But where they both went to I have no idea.
- lamenting: to express sadness and feeling sorry about something
- eccentricities: the state of being eccentric (strange or unusual, sometimes in a humorous way)
- lustrous: very shiny
- translucent: If an object or a substance is translucent, it is almost transparent, allowing some light through it in an attractive way
- pendant: a piece of jewelry worn around the neck, consisting of a long chain with an object hanging from it, or the object itself
- poetical: like or relating to poetry or poets
- aristocratic: belonging to a class of people who hold high social rank
- delectable: looking or tasting extremely good, and giving great pleasure
- opulent:expensive and luxurious
又不知過了幾世幾劫，因有個空空道人訪道求仙，從這大荒山無稽崖青埂峰下經過，忽見一塊大石，上面字跡分明，編述歷歷。空空道人乃從頭一看，原來是無才補天，幻形入世，被那茫茫大士渺渺真人攜入紅塵，引登彼岸的一塊頑石。上面敘著墮落之鄉，投胎之處，以及家庭瑣事，閨閣閒情，詩詞謎語，倒還全備，只是朝代年紀失落無考。後面又有一偈云：
無才可去補蒼天，枉入紅塵若許年。此係身前身後事，請誰記去作奇傳？
Countless aeons went by and a certain Taoist called Vanitas in quest of the secret of immortality chanced to be passing below that same Greensickness Peak in the Incredible Crags of the Great Fable Mountains when he caught sight of a large stone standing there, on which the characters of a long inscription were clearly discernible. Vanitas read the inscription through from beginning to end and learned that this was a once lifeless stone block which had been found unworthy to repair the sky, but which had magically transformed its shape and been taken down by the Buddhist mahasattva Impervioso and the Taoist illuminate Mysterioso into the world of mortals , where it had lived out the life of a man before finally attaining nirvana and returning to the other shore. The inscription named the country where it had been born, and went into considerable detail about its domestic life, youthful amours, and even the verses, mottoes and riddles it had written. All it lacked was the authentication of a dynasty and date. On the back of the stone was inscribed the following quatrain :
Found unfit to repair the azure sky; Long years a foolish mortal man was I.
My life in both worlds on this stone is writ: Pray who will copy out and publish it?
- inscription: words that are written or cut in something
- discernible: able to be seen or understood
- mortals: (of living things, especially people) unable to continue living for ever; having to die
- nirvana: a state of freedom from all suffering that Buddhists believe can be achieved by removing all personal wishes
- riddles: a type of question that describes something in a difficult and confusing way and has a clever or funny answer, often asked as a game
- quatrain: a group of four lines in a poem
空空道人看了一回，曉得這石頭有些來歷，遂向石頭說道：「石兄，你這一段故事，據你自己說來，有些趣味，故鐫寫在此，意欲問世傳奇。據我看來，第一件，無朝代年紀可考；第二件，並無大賢大忠理朝廷治風俗的善政，其中只不過幾個異樣女子，或情，或癡，或小才微善：我縱然抄去，也算不得一種奇書。」石頭果然答道：「我師何必太癡？我想歷來野史的朝代，無非假借漢唐的名色；莫如我這石頭所記，不借此套，只按自己的事體情理，反倒新鮮別致。況且那野史中，或訕謗君相，或貶人妻女，姦淫凶惡，不可勝數，更有一種風月筆墨，其淫穢污臭，最易壞人子弟。至於才子佳人等書，則又開口文君，滿篇子建，千部一腔，千人一面，且終不能不涉淫濫。在作者不過要寫出自己的兩首情詩艷賦來，故假捏出男女二人名姓，又必旁添一小人，撥亂其間，如戲中的小丑一般。更可厭者，『之乎者也』，非理即文，大不近情，自相矛盾。竟不如我這半世親見親聞的幾個女子，雖不敢說強似前代書中所有之人，但觀其事跡原委，亦可消愁破悶。至於幾首歪詩，也可以噴飯供酒。其間離合悲歡，興衰際遇，俱是按跡循蹤，不敢稍加穿鑿，至失其真。只願世人當那醉餘睡醒之時，或避事消愁之際，把此一玩，不但是洗舊翻新，卻也省了些壽命筋力，不更去謀虛逐妄了。我師意為如何？」
From his reading of the inscription Vanitas realized that this was a stone of some consequence. Accordingly he addressed himself to it in the following manner: ‘Brother Stone, according to what you yourself seem to imply in these verses, this story of yours contains matter of sufficient interest to merit publication and has been carved here with that end in view. But as far as I can see it has no discoverable dynastic period, and it contains no examples of moral grandeur among its characters—no statesmanship, no social message of any kind. All I can find in it, in fact, are a number of females, conspicuous, if at all, only for their passion or folly or for some trifling talent or insignificant virtue. Even if I were to copy all this out, I cannot see that it would make a very remarkable book.’
- moral: relating to the standards of good or bad behaviour, fairness, honesty, etc. that each person believes in, rather than to laws
- grandeur: the quality of being very large and special or beautiful
- conspicuous: very noticeable or attracting attention, often in a way that is not wanted
- folly: the fact of being stupid, or a stupid action, idea, etc.
- trifling: A trifling matter or amount of money is small or not important
‘Come, your reverence,’ said the stone (for Vanitas had been correct in assuming that it could speak) ‘must you be so obtuse? All the romances ever written have an artificial period setting—Han or Tang for the most part. In refusing to make use of that stale old convention and telling my Story of the Stone exactly as it occurred, it seems to me that, far from depriving it of anything, I have given it a freshness these other books do not have. ‘Your so-called “historical romances”, consisting, as they do, of scandalous anecdotes about statesmen and emperors of bygone days and scabrous attacks on the reputations of long-dead gentlewomen, contain more wickedness and immorality than I care to mention.
- reverence: A feeling of respect or admiration for someone or something
- obtuse: stupid and slow to understand, or unwilling to try to understand
- stale: no longer new or fresh, usually as a result of being kept for too long
- depriving: to take something, especially something necessary or pleasant, away from someone
- anecdotes: a short, often funny story, especially about something someone has done
- bygone: belonging to or happening in a past time
- scabrous: offensive or shocking, because describing or showing sex
Still worse is the “erotic novel”, by whose filthy obscenities our young folk are all too easily corrupted. And the “boudoir romances”, those dreary stereotypes with their volume after volume all pitched on the same note and their different characters undistinguishable except by name (all those ideally beautiful young ladies and ideally eligible young bachelors)— even they seem unable to avoid descending sooner or later into indecency. “The trouble with this last kind of romance is that it only gets written in the first place because the author requires a framework in which to show off his love-poems. He goes about constructing this framework quite mechanically, beginning with the names of his pair of young lovers and invariably adding a third character, a servant or the like, to make mischief between them, like the chou in a comedy.
- erotic: relating to sexual desire and pleasure
- filthy: extremely or unpleasantly dirty
- obscenities: the fact that something is obscene 猥褻
- corrupted: dishonestly using your position or power to get an advantage, especially for money
- boudoir: dreary: a beautifully decorated room used in the past by a woman for sleeping, dressing, relaxing, and entertaining
- dreary: boring and making you feel unhappy
- pitched: sloping and not flat
- descending: used to refer to a body part that is in a downward direction
- indecency: morally offensive behaviour
- mischief: behaviour, especially a child’s, that is slightly bad but is not intended to cause serious harm or damage
‘What makes these romances even more detestable is the stilted, bombastic language— inanities dressed in pompous rhetoric, remote alike from nature and common sense and teeming with the grossest absurdities. ‘Surely my “number of females”, whom I spent half a lifetime studying with my own eyes and ears, are preferable to this kind of stuff? I do not claim that they are better people than the ones who appear in books written before my time; I am only saying that the contemplation of their actions and motives may prove a more effective antidote to boredom and melancholy.
- detestable: used to refer to people or things that you hate very much
- stilted: (of a person’s behaviour or way of speaking or writing) too formal and not smooth or natural
- bombastic: using long and difficult words, usually to make people think you know more than you do
- inanities: the quality of being extremely silly or having no real meaning or importance, or something that is extremely silly like this
- pompous: too serious and full of importance
- rhetoric: speech or writing intended to be effective and influence people
- teeming: If a place is teeming, it is full of people
- absurdities: the quality of being stupid and unreasonable, or silly in a humorous way
- contemplation: serious and quiet thought for a period of time
- antidote: a chemical, especially a drug, that limits the effects of a poison
- boredom: the state of being bored
- melancholy: sad
And even the inelegant verses with which my story is interlarded could serve to entertain and amuse on those convivial occasions when rhymes and riddles are in demand. ‘All that my story narrates, the meetings and partings, the joys and sorrows, the ups and downs of fortune, are recorded exactly as they happened. I have not dared to add the tiniest bit of touching-up, for fear of losing the true picture. ‘My only wish is that men in the world below may some-times pick up this tale when they are recovering from sleep or drunkenness, or when they wish to escape from business worries or a fit of the dumps, and in doing so find not only mental refreshment but even perhaps, if they will heed its lesson and abandon their vain and frivolous pursuits, some small arrest in the deterioration of their vital forces. What does your reverence say to that?’
- convivial: friendly and making you feel happy and welcome
- tiniest: extremely small
- heed: to pay attention to something, especially advice or a warning
空空道人聽如此說，思忖半晌，將這《石頭記》再檢閱一遍。因見上面大旨不過談情，亦只是實錄其事，絕無傷時誨淫之病，方從頭至尾抄寫回來，問世傳奇。從此，空空道人因空見色，由色生情，傳情入色，自色悟空，遂改名情僧，改《石頭記》為《情僧錄》。東魯孔梅溪題曰《風月寶鑑》。後因曹雪芹於悼紅軒中披閱十載，增刪五次，纂成目錄，分出章回，又題曰《金陵十二釵》，並題一絕。－－即此便是《石頭記》的緣起。詩云：
滿紙荒唐言，一把辛酸淚。都云作者癡，誰解其中味？
For a long time Vanitas stood lost in thought, pondering this speech. He then subjected the Story of the stone to a careful second reading. He could see that its main theme was love; that it consisted quite simply of a true record of real events; and that it was entirely free from any tendency to deprave and corrupt. He therefore copied it all out from beginning to end and took it back with him to look for a publisher. As a consequence of all this, Vanitas, starting off in the Void (which is Truth) came to the contemplation of Form (which is Illusion); and from Form engendered Passion; and by communicating Passion, entered again into Form; and from Form awoke to the Void (which is Truth). He therefore changed his name from Vanitas to Brother Amor, or the Passionate Monk, (because he had approached Truth by way of Passion), and changed the title of the book from The Story of the Stone to The Tale of Brother Amor. Old Kong Mei-xi from the homeland of Confucius called the book A Mirror for the Romantic. Wu Yu-feng called it A Dream of Golden Days. Cao Xueqin in his Nostalgia Studio worked on it for ten years, in the course of which he rewrote it no less than five times, dividing it into chapters, composing chapter headings, renaming it The Twelve Beauties of Jinling, and adding an introductory quatrain. Red Inkstone restored the original title when he recopied the book and added his second set of annotations to it. This, then, is a true account of how The Story of the Stone came to be written.
Pages full of idle words; Penned with hot and bitter tears:
All men call the author fool; None his secret message hears.
- deprave: to make someone morally bad or evil
- contemplation: serious and quiet thought for a period of time
- annotations: a short explanation or note added to a text or image, or the act of adding short explanations or notes
《石頭記》緣起既明，正不知那石頭上面記著何人何事？看官請聽：
按那石頭上書云：當日地陷東南，這東南有個姑蘇城，城中閶門，最是紅塵中一二等富貴風流之地。這閶門外有個十里街，街內有個仁清巷，巷內有個古廟，因地方狹窄，人皆呼作「葫蘆廟」。廟旁住著一家鄉宦，姓甄，名費，字士隱，嫡妻封氏。性情賢淑，深明禮義。家中雖不甚富貴，然本地也推他為望族了。因這甄士隱稟性恬淡，不以功名為念，每日只以觀花種竹、酌酒吟詩為樂，倒是神仙一流人物。只是一件不足：年過半百，膝下無兒，只有一女，乳名英蓮，年方三歲。
Long, long ago the world was tilted downwards towards the south-east; and in that lower-lying south-easterly part of the earth there is a city called Soochow; and in Soochow the district around the Chang-men Gate is reckoned one of the two or three wealthiest and most fashionable quarters in the world of men. Outside the Chang-men Gate is a wide thorough-fare called Worldly Way; and somewhere off Worldly Way is an area called Carnal Lane. There is an old temple in the Carnal Lane area which, because of the way it is bottled up inside a narrow cul-de-sac, is referred to locally as Bottle-gourd Temple. Next door to Bottle-gourd Temple lived a gentleman of private means called Zhen Shi-yin and his wife Feng-shi, a kind, good woman with a profound sense of decency and decorum. The household was not a particularly wealthy one, but they were nevertheless looked up to by all and sundry as the leading family in the neighbourhood. Zhen Shi-yin himself was by nature a quiet and totality unambitious person. He devoted his time to his garden and to the pleasures of wine and poetry. Except for a single flaw, his existence could, indeed, have been described as an idyllic one. The flaw was that, although already past fifty, he had no son, only a little girl, just two years old, whose name was Ying-lian.
- tilted: to (cause to) move into a sloping position
- reckoned: to think or believe
- cul-de-sac: a short road that is blocked off at one end
- decorum: behaviour that is controlled, calm, and polite
- sundry: several and different types of
- idyllic: An idyllic place or experience is extremely pleasant, beautiful, or peaceful
一日，炎夏永晝，士隱於書房閒坐，手倦拋書，伏几盹睡。不覺朦朧中走至一處，不辨是何地方，忽見那廂來了一僧一道，且行且談。只聽道人問道：「你攜了此物，意欲何往？」那僧笑道：「你放心。如今現有一段風流公案正該了結，－－這一干風流冤家尚未投胎入世－－趁此機會，就將此物夾帶於中，使他去經歷經歷。」那道人道：「原來近日風流冤家又將造劫歷世。但不知起於何處？落於何方？」那僧道：「此事說來好笑。只因當年這個石頭，媧皇未用，自己卻也落得逍遙自在，各處去遊玩。一日，來到警幻仙子處，那仙子知他有些來歷，因留他在赤霞宮中，名他為赤霞宮神瑛侍者。他卻常在西方靈河岸上行走，看見那靈河岸上三生石畔有棵絳珠仙草，十分嬌娜可愛，遂日以甘露灌溉，『這絳珠草』始得久延歲月。後來既受天地精華，復得甘露滋養，遂脫了草木之胎，幻化人形，僅僅修成女體，終日游於『離恨天』外，饑餐『秘情果』，渴飲『灌愁水』。只因尚未酬報灌溉之德，故甚至五內鬱結著一段纏綿不盡之意，常說：『自己受了他雨露之惠，我並無此水可還；他若下世為人，我也同去走一遭，但把我一生所有的眼淚還他，也還得過了！』因此一事，就勾出多少風流冤家都要下凡，造歷幻緣。那絳珠仙草也在其中。今日這石正該下世，我來特地將他仍帶到警幻仙子案前，給他掛了號，同這些情鬼下凡，一了此案。」那道人道：「果是好笑，從來不聞有還淚之說。趁此你我何不也下世度脫幾個，豈不是一場功德？」那僧道：「正合吾意。你且同我到警幻仙子宮中，將這蠢物交割清楚。待這一干風流孽鬼下世，你我再去。如今有一半落塵，然猶未全集。」道人道：「既如此，便隨你去來。」
Once, during the tedium of a burning summer’s day, Shi-yin was sitting idly in his study. The book had slipped from his nerveless grasp and his head had nodded down onto the desk in a doze. While in this drowsy state he seemed to drift off to some place he could not identify, where he became aware of a monk and a Taoist walking along and talking as they went. ‘Where do you intend to take that thing you are carrying?’ the Taoist was asking. ‘Don’t you worry about him!’ replied the monk with a laugh. ‘There is a batch of lovesick souls awaiting incarnation in the world below whose fate is due to be decided this very day. I intend to take advantage of this opportunity to slip our little friend in amongst them and let him have a taste of human life along with the rest.’ ‘Well, well, so another lot of these amorous wretches is about to enter the vale of tears,’ said the Taoist. ‘How did all this begin? And where are the souls to be reborn?’ ‘You will laugh when I tell you,’ said the monk. ‘When this stone was left unused by the goddess, he found himself at a loose end and took to wandering about all over the place for want of better to do, until one day his wanderings took him to the place where the fairy Disenchantment lives.
- tedium: the quality of being boring for a long time
- idly: without any particular purpose
- drowsy: being in a state between sleeping and being awake
- wretched: a person who experiences something unpleasant
- vale: used in the name of some valleys
- disenchantment: a feeling of no longer believing in the value of something, especially having learned of the problems with it
‘Now Disenchantment could tell that there was something unusual about this stone, so she kept him there in her Sunset Glow Palace and gave him the honorary title of Divine Luminescent Stone-in-Waiting in the Court of Sunset Glow. ‘But most of his time he spent west of Sunset Glow ex-ploring the banks of the Magic River. There, by the Rock of Rebirth, he found the beautiful Crimson Pearl Flower, for which he conceived such a fancy that he took to watering her every day with sweet dew, thereby conferring on her the gift of life. ‘Crimson Pearl’s substance was composed of the purest cosmic essences, so she was already half-divine; and now, thanks to the vitalizing effect of the sweet dew, she was able to shed her vegetable shape and assume the form of a girl. ‘This fairy girl wandered about outside the Realm of Separation, eating the Secret Passion Fruit when she was hungry and drinking from the Pool of Sadness when she was thirsty.
- dew: drops of water that form on the ground and other surfaces outside during the night
- cosmic: relating to the universe and the natural processes that happen in it
- vitalizing: energy and strength
The consciousness that she owed the stone something for his kindness in watering her began to prey on her mind and ended by becoming an obsession. ‘ “I have no sweet dew here that I can repay him with,” she would say to herself. “The only way in which I could perhaps repay him would be with the tears shed during the whole of a mortal lifetime if he and I were ever to be reborn as humans in the world below.” ‘Because of this strange affair, Disenchantment has got together a group of amorous young souls, of which Crimson Pearl is one, and intends to send them down into the world to take part in the great illusion of human life. And as today happens to be the day on which this stone is fated to go into the world too, I am taking him with me to Disenchantment’s tribunal for the purpose of getting him registered and sent down to earth with the rest of these romantic creatures.’ How very amusing!’ said the Taoist. ‘I have certainly never heard of a debt of tears before. Why shouldn’t the two of us take advantage of this opportunity to go down into the world ourselves and save a few souls? It would be a work of merit.’ ‘That is exactly what I was thinking,’ said the monk. ‘Come with me to Disenchantment’s palace to get this absurd creature cleared. Then, when this last batch of romantic idiots goes down, you and I can go down with them. At present about half have already been born. They await this last batch to make up the number.’ ‘Very good, I will go with you then,’ said the Taoist.
- amorous: of or expressing sexual desire
- tribunal: a special court or group of people who are officially chosen, especially by the government, to examine (legal) problems of a particular type
- absurd: stupid and unreasonable, or silly in a humorous way
卻說甄士隱俱聽得明白，遂不禁上前施禮，笑問道：「二位仙師請了。」那僧道也忙答禮相問。士隱因說道：「適聞仙師所談因果，實人世罕聞者。但弟子愚拙，不能洞悉明白。若蒙大開癡頑，備細一聞，弟子洗耳諦聽，稍能警省，亦可免沉淪之苦了。」二仙笑道：「此乃玄機，不可預洩。到那時只要不忘了我二人，便可跳出火坑矣。」士隱聽了，不便再問，因笑道：「玄機固不可洩露，但適云『蠢物』，不知為何？或可得見否？」那僧說：「若問此物，倒有一面之緣。」說著，取出遞與士隱。
Shi-yin heard all this conversation quite clearly, and curiosity impelled him to go forward and greet the two reverend gentlemen. They returned his greeting and asked him what he wanted. ‘It is not often that one has the opportunity of listening to a discussion of the operations of karma such as the one I have just been privileged to overhear,’said Shi-yin. ‘Unfortunately I am a man of very limited understanding and have not been able to derive the full benefit from your conversation. If you would have the very great kindness to enlighten my benighted understanding with a somewhat fuller account of what you were discussing, I can promise you the most devout attention. I feel sure that your teaching would have a salutary effect on me and—who knows—might save me from the pains of hell.’ The reverend gentlemen laughed. ‘These are heavenly mysteries and may not be divulged. But if you wish to escape from the fiery pit, you have only to remember us when the time comes, and all will be well.’ Shi-yin saw that it would be useless to press them. ‘Heavenly mysteries must not, of course, be revealed. But might one perhaps inquire what the “absurd creature” is that you were talking about? Is it possible that I might be allowed to see it?’ ‘Oh, as for that,’ said the monk: ‘I think it is on the cards for you to have a look at him,’ and he took the object from his sleeve and handed it to Shi-yin.
- karma: the force produced by a person’s actions in one life that influences what happens to them in future lives
- divulged: to make something secret known
士隱接了看時，原來是塊鮮明美玉，上面字跡分明，鐫著「通靈寶玉」四字，後面還有幾行小字。正欲細看時，那僧便說「已到幻境」，就強從手中奪了去，和那道人竟過了一座大石牌坊，上面大書四字，乃是「太虛幻境」。兩邊又有一副對聯，道：「假作真時真亦假，無為有處有還無。」
Shi-yin took the object from him and saw that it was a clear, beautiful jade on one side of which were carved the words ‘Magic Jade’. There were several columns of smaller characters on the back, which Shi-yin was lust going to examine more closely when the monk, with a cry of ‘Here we are, at the frontier of Illusion’, snatched the stone from him and disappeared, with the Taoist, through a big stone archway above which THE LAND OF ILLUSION was written in large characters. A couplet in smaller characters was inscribed vertically on either side of the arch: Truth becomes fiction when the fiction’s true; Real becomes not-real where the unreal’s real.
- lust: a very strong sexual desire
士隱意欲也跟著過去，方舉步時，忽聽一聲霹靂，若山崩地陷。士隱大叫一聲，定睛看時，只見烈日炎炎，芭蕉冉冉，夢中之事便忘了一半。又見奶母抱了英蓮走來。士隱見女兒越發生得粉粧玉琢，乖覺可喜，便伸手接來，抱在懷中，鬥他玩耍一回，又帶至街前看那過會的熱鬧。方欲進來時，只見從那邊來了一僧一道。那僧癩頭跣足，那道跛足蓬頭，瘋瘋癲癲，揮霍談笑而至。及到了他門前，看見士隱抱著英蓮，那僧便大哭起來，又向士隱道：「施主，你把這有命無運累及爹娘之物抱在懷內作甚？」士隱聽了，知是瘋話，也不睬他。那僧還說：「捨我罷！捨我罷！」士隱不耐煩，便抱女兒轉身纔要進去。那僧乃指著他大笑，口內念了四句言詞，道是：慣養嬌生笑你癡，菱花空對雪澌澌。好防佳節元宵後，便是煙消火滅時。
Shi-yin was on the point of following them through the archway when suddenly a great clap of thunder seemed to shake the earth to its very foundations, making him cry out in alarm. And there he was sitting in his study, the contents of his dream already half forgotten, with the sun still blazing on the ever-rustling plantains outside, and the wet-nurse at the door with his little daughter Ying-lian in her arms. Her delicate little pink-and-white face seemed dearer to him than ever at that moment, and he stretched out his arms to take her and hugged her to him. After playing with her for a while at his desk, he carried her out to the front of the house to watch the bustle in the street. He was about to go in again when he saw a monk and a Taoist approaching, the monk scabby-headed and barefoot, the Taoist tousle-haired and limping. They were behaving like madmen, shouting with laughter and gesticulating wildly as they walked along.
- blazing: to burn brightly and strongly
- rustling: the sound that paper or leaves make when they move
- bustle: to do things in a hurried and busy way
- gesticulating: to make movements with your hands or arms, to express something or to emphasize what you are saying
When this strange pair reached Shi-yin’s door and saw him standing there holding Ying-lian, the monk burst into loud sobs. ‘Patron,’ he said, addressing Shi-yin, ‘what are you doing, holding in your arms that ill-fated creature who is destined to involve both her parents in her own misfortune?’ Shi-yin realized that he was listening to the words of a madman and took no notice. But the monk persisted: ‘Give her to me! Give her to me!’ Shi-yin was beginning to lose patience and clasping his little girl tightly to him, turned on his heel and was about to re-enter the house when the monk pointed his finger at him, roared with laughter, and then proceeded to intone the following verses: ‘Fond man, your pampered child to cherish so; That caltrop-glass which shines on melting snow! Beware the high feast of the fifteenth day; When all in smoke and fire shall pass away!’
- persisted: to try to do or continue doing something in a determined but often unreasonable way
- pampered: given special treatment that makes you feel as comfortable as possible or gives you whatever you want
士隱聽得明白，心下猶豫，意欲問他來歷，只聽道人說道：「你我不必同行，就此分手，各幹營生去罷。三劫後，我在北邙山等你，會齊了，同往太虛幻境銷號。」那僧道：「最妙，最妙。」說畢，二人一去，再不見個蹤影了。士隱心中此時自忖：「這兩人必有來歷，很該問他一問，－－如今後悔卻已晚了！」
Shi-yin heard all this quite plainly and was a little worried by it. He was thinking or asking the monk what lay behind these puzzling words when he heard the Taoist say, ‘We don’t need to stay tether. Why don’t we part company here and each go about his own business? Three kalpas from now I shall wait far you on Bei-mang Hill. Having joined forces again there, we can go together to the Land of Illusion to sign off.’ ‘Excellent!’ said the other. And the two of them went off and soon were both lost to sight. ‘There must have been something behind all this, ‘thought Shi-yin to himself.’ really ought to have asked him what he meant, but now it is too late.’
- thther: to tie someone or something, especially an animal, to a post or other fixed place, with a rope or chain
這士隱正在癡想，忽見隔壁葫蘆廟內寄居的一個窮儒－－姓賈名化，表字時飛，別號雨村的－－走來。這賈雨村原係湖州人氏，也是詩書仕宦之族。因他生於末世，父母祖宗根基已盡，人口衰喪，只剩得他一身一口，在家鄉無益，因進京求取功名，再整基業。自前歲來此，又淹蹇住了，暫寄廟中安身，每日賣文作字為生，故士隱常與他交接。
He was still standing outside his door brooding when Jia Yu-cun, the poor student who lodged at the Bottle-gourd Temple next door, came up to him. Yu-cun was a native of Hu-zhou and came from a family of scholars and bureaucrats which had, however, fallen on bad times when Yu-cun was born. The family fortunes on both his father’s and mother’s side had all been spent, and the members of the family had themselves gradually died off until only Yu-cun was left There were no prospects for him in his home town, so he had set off for the capital, in search of fame and fortune. Unfortunately he had got no further than Soochow when his funds ran out, and he had now been living there in poverty for a year, lodging in this temple and keeping himself alive by working as a copyist. For this reason Shi-yin saw a great deal of his company.
當下雨村見了士隱，忙施禮，陪笑道：「老先生倚門佇望，敢街市上有甚新聞麼？」士隱笑道：「非也。適因小女啼哭，引他出來作耍，正是無聊的很。賈兄來得正好，請入小齋，彼此俱可消此永晝。」說著，便令人送女兒進去，自攜了雨村來至書房中。小童獻茶。方談得三五句話，忽家人飛報：「嚴老爺來拜。」士隱慌忙起身謝道：「恕誆駕之罪。且請略坐，弟即來奉陪。」雨村起身也讓道：「老先生請便。晚生乃常造之客，稍候何妨。」說著，士隱已出前廳去了。
As soon as he caught sight of Shi-yin, Yu-cun clasped his hands in greeting and smiled ingratiatingly. ‘I could see you standing there gazing, sir. Has anything been happening in the street?’ ‘No, no,’ said Shi-yin. ‘It just happened that my little girl was crying, so I brought her out here to amuse her. Your coming is most opportune, dear boy. I was beginning to feel most dreadfully bored. Won’t you come into my little den, and we can help each other to while away this tedious hot day?’ So saying, he called for a servant to take the child indoors, while he himself took Yu-cun by the hand and led him into his study, where his boy served them both with tea. But they had not exchanged half-a-dozen words before one of the servants rushed in to say that ‘Mr Yan had come to pay a call.’ Shi-yin hurriedly rose up and excused himself: ‘I seem to have brought you here under false pretences. I do hope you will forgive me. If you don’t mind sitting on your own here for a moment, I shall be with you directly.’ Yu-cun rose to his feet too. ‘Please do not distress yourself on my account, sir. I am a regular visitor here and can easily wait a bit.’ But by the time he had finished saying this, Shi-yin was already out of the study and on his way to the guest-room.
- ingratiatingly: is intended to make people like you
這裡雨村且翻弄詩籍解悶。忽聽得窗外有女子嗽聲，雨村遂起身往外一看，原來是一個丫鬟在那裡掐花兒。生得儀容不俗，眉目清秀，雖無十分姿色，卻也有動人之處。雨村不覺看得呆了。那甄家丫鬟掐了花兒，方欲走時，猛抬頭見窗內有人，敞巾舊服，雖是貧窘，然生得腰圓背厚，面闊口方，更兼劍眉星眼，直鼻方腮。這丫鬟忙轉身迴避，心下自想：「這人生的這樣雄壯，卻又這樣襤褸，我家並無這樣貧窘親友，想他定是主人常說的什麼賈雨村了。－－怪道又說他『必非久困之人！』每每有意幫助周濟他，只是沒有什麼機會。」如此一想，不免又回頭一兩次。雨村見他回頭，便以為這女子心中有意於他，遂狂喜不禁，自謂此女子必是個巨眼英豪，風塵中之知己。
Left to himself, Yu-cun was flicking through some of Shi-yin’s books of poetry in order to pass the time, when he heard a woman’s cough outside the window. Immediately he jumped up and peered out to see who it was. The cough appeared to have come from a maid who was picking flowers in the garden. She was an unusually good-looking girl with a rather refined face: not a great beauty, by any means, but with something striking about her. Yu-cun gazed at her spellbound. Having now finished picking her flowers, this anonymous member of the Zhen household was about to go in again when, on some sudden impulse, she raised her head and caught sight of a man standing in the window. His hat was frayed and his clothing threadbare; yet, though obviously poor, he had a fine, manly physique and handsome, well-proportioned features. The maid hastened to remove herself from this male presence; but as she went she thought to herself, ‘What a fine-looking man! But so shabby! The family hasn’t got any friends or relations as poor as that. It must be that Jia Yu-cun the master is always on about. No wonder he says that he won’t stay poor long. I remember hearing him say that he’s often wanted to help him but hasn’t yet found an opportunity.’ And thinking these thoughts she could not forbear to turn back for another peep or two. Yu-cun saw her turn back and, at once assuming that she had taken a fancy to him, was beside himself with delight. What a perceptive young woman she must be, he thought, to have seen the genius underneath the rags! A real friend in trouble!
- refined: made pure by removing unwanted material
- spellbound: having your attention completely held by something, so that you cannot think about anything else
- frayed: with the threads at the edge coming loose
- threadbare: material or clothes have become thin or damaged because they have been used a lot
- forbear: to prevent yourself from saying or doing something, especially in a way that shows control, good judgment, or kindness to others:
- peep: to secretly look at something for a short time, usually through a hole
- rags: a torn piece of old cloth
一時，小童進來。雨村打聽得前面留飯，不可久待，遂從夾道中自便門出去了。士隱待客既散，知雨村已去，便也不去再邀。
After a while the boy came in again and Yu-cun elicited from him that the visitor in the front room was now staying to dinner. It was obviously out of the question to wait much longer, so he slipped down the passage-way at the side of the house and let himself out by the back gate. Nor did Shi-yin invite him round again when, having at last seen off his visitor, he learned that Yu-cun had already left.
- elicited: to get or produce something, especially information or a reaction
一日，到了中秋佳節，士隱家宴已畢，又另具一席於書房，自己步月至廟中來邀雨村。
But then the Mid Autumn festival arrived and, after the family convivialities were over, Shi-yin had a little dinner for two laid out in his study and went in person to invite Yu-cun, walking to his temple lodgings in the moonlight.
- convivialities: the quality of being friendly and making people feel happy and welcome
原來雨村自那日見了甄家丫鬟，曾回顧他兩次，自謂是個知己，便時刻放在心上。今又正值中秋，不免對月有懷，因而口占五言一律云：
未卜三生願，頻添一段愁。悶來時歛額，行去幾回頭。自顧風前影，誰堪月下儔？蟾光如有意，先上玉人樓。
Ever since the day the Zhens’ maid had, by looking back twice over her shoulder, convinced him that she was a friend, Yu-cun had had the girl very much on his mind, and now that it was festival time, the full moon of Mid Autumn lent an inspiration to his romantic impulses which finally resulted in the following octet: ‘Ere on ambition’s path my feet are set, Sorrow comes often this poor heart to fret . Yet, as my brow contracted with new care, Was there not one who, parting, turned to stare? Dare I, that grasp at windows in the wind, Hope, underneath the moon, a friend to find? Bright orb, if with my plight you sympathize, Shine first upon the chamber where she lies.’
- octet: a group of eight singers or musicians performing together
- fret: to be nervous or worried
雨村吟罷，因又思及平生抱負，苦未逢時，乃又搔首對天長歎，復高吟一聯云：「玉在櫝中求善價，釵於奩內待時飛。」恰值士隱走來聽見，笑道：「雨村兄真抱負不凡也！」雨村忙笑道：「不敢。不過偶吟前人之句，何期過譽如此！」因問：「老先生何興至此？」士隱笑道：「今夜中秋，俗謂『團圓之節』，想尊兄旅寄僧房，不無寂寥之感，故特具小酌，邀兄到敝齋一飲。不知可納芹意否？」雨村聽了，並不推辭，便笑道：「既蒙謬愛，何敢拂此盛情？」說著，便同士隱復過這邊書院中來了。
Having delivered himself of this masterpiece, Yu-cun’s thoughts began to run on his unrealized ambitions and, after much head-scratching and many heavenward glances ac-companied by heavy sighs, he produced the following couplet, reciting it in a loud, ringing voice which caught the ear of Shi-yin, who chanced at that moment to be arriving: ‘The jewel in the casket bides till one shall come to buy. The jade pin in the drawer hides, waiting its time to fly.’ Shi-yin smiled. ‘You are a man of no mean ambition, Yu-cun.’ ‘Oh no!’Yu-cun smiled back deprecatingly. ‘You are too flattering. I was merely reciting at random from the lines of some old poet. But what brings you here, sir?’ ‘Tonight is Mid Autumn night,’said Shi-yin. ‘People call it the Festival of Reunion. It occurred to me that you might be feeling rather lonely here in your monkery, so I have arranged for the two of us to take a little wine together in my study. I hope you will not refuse to join me.’ Yu-cun made no polite pretence of declining. ‘Your kindness is more than I deserve,’ he said. ‘I accept gratefully.’ And he accompanied Shi-yin back to the study next door.
- masterpiece: a work of art such as a painting, film, or book that is made with great skill
- deprecatingly: in a way that shows you think something is of little value or importance, or do not approve of it
須臾，茶畢，早已設下杯盤。那美酒佳肴自不必說。二人歸坐，先是款酌慢飲，漸次談至興濃，不覺飛觥獻斝起來。當時街坊上家家簫管，戶戶笙歌，當頭一輪明月，飛彩凝輝，二人愈添豪興，酒到杯乾。雨村此時已有七八分酒意，狂興不禁，乃對月寓懷，口占一絕云：
時逢三五便團圞，滿把清光護玉欄。天上一輪纔捧出，人間萬姓仰頭看。
Soon they had finished their tea. Wine and various choice dishes were brought in and placed on the table, already laid out with cups, plates, and so forth, and the two men took their places and began to drink. At first they were rather slow and ceremonious; but gradually, as the conversation grew more animated, their potations too became more reckless and un-inhibited. The sounds of music and singing which could now be heard from every house in the neighbourhood and the full moon which shone with cold brilliance overhead seemed to increase their elation, so that the cups were emptied almost as soon as they touched their lips, and Yu-cun, who was already a sheet or so in the wind, was seized with an irrepressible excitement to which he presently gave expression in the form of a quatrain, ostensibly on the subject of the moon, but really about the ambition he had hitherto been at some pains to conceal: ‘In thrice five nights her perfect O is made, Whose cold light bathes each marble balustrade. As her bright wheel starts on its starry ways, On earth ten thousand heads look up and gaze.’
- elation: a state of extreme happiness or excitement
- irrepressible: full of energy and enthusiasm; impossible to stop
- quatrain: a group of four lines in a poem
- ostensibly: in a way that appears or claims to be one thing when it is really something else
士隱聽了大叫：「妙極！弟每謂兄必非久居人下者，今所吟之句，飛騰之兆已見，不日可接履於雲霄之上了。可賀，可賀！」乃親斟一斗為賀。雨村飲乾，忽歎道：「非晚生酒後狂言，若論時尚之學，晚生也或可去充數掛名。只是如今行李路費，一概無措，神京路遠，非賴賣字撰文即能到的！」士隱不待說完，便道：「兄何不早言？弟已久有此意，但每遇兄時，並未談及，故未敢唐突。今既如此，弟雖不才，義利二字卻還識得。且喜明歲正當大比，兄宜作速入都。春闈一捷，方不負兄之所學。其盤費餘事，弟自代為處置，亦不枉兄之謬識矣。」當下即命小童進去速封五十兩白銀並兩套冬衣。又云：「十九日乃黃道之期，兄可即買舟西上。待雄飛高舉，明冬再晤，豈非大快之事？」雨村收了銀衣，不過略謝一語，並不介意，仍是吃酒談笑。那天已交三鼓，二人方散。
‘Bravo!’said Shi-yin loudly. ‘I have always insisted that you were a young fellow who would go up in the world, and now, in these verses you have just recited, I see an augury of your ascent. In no time at all we shall see you up among the clouds! This calls for a drink!’ And, saying this, he poured Yu-cun a large cup of wine. Yu-cun drained the cup, then, surprisingly, sighed: ‘Don’t imagine the drink is making me boastful, but I really do believe that if it were just a question of having the sort of qualifications now in demand, I should stand as good a chance as any of getting myself on to the list of candidates. The trouble is that I simply have no means of laying my hands on the money that would be needed for lodgings and travel expenses. The journey to the capital is a long one, and the sort of money I can earn from my copying is not enough—’ ‘Why ever didn’t you say this before?’ said Shi-yin interrupting him. ‘I have long wanted to do something about this, but on all the occasions I have met you previously, the conversation has never got round to this subject, and I haven’t liked to broach it for fear of offending you. Well, now we know where we are. I am not a very clever man, but at least I know the right thing to do when I see it. Luckily, the next Triennial is only a few months ahead. You must go to the capital without delay. A spring examination triumph will make you feel that all your studying has been worth while. I shall take care of all your expenses. It is the least return I can make for your friendship.’ And there and then he instructed his boy to go with all speed and make up a parcel of fifty tales of the best refined silver and two suits of winter clothes. ‘The almanac gives the nineteenth as a good day for travelling,’ he went on, addressing Yu-cun again. ‘You can set about hiring a boat for the journey straight away. How delightful it will be to meet again next winter when you have distinguished yourself by soaring to the top over all the other candidates!’ Yu-cun accepted the silver and the clothes with only the most perfunctory word of thanks and without, apparently, giving them a further moment’s thought, for he continued to drink and laugh and talk as if nothing had happened. It was well after midnight before they broke up.
- augury: a sign of what might happen in the future
- ascent: the act of climbing or moving upwards
- broach: to begin a discussion of something difficult
- Triennial: Triennial
- almanac: 曆書本子
- perfunctory: done quickly, without taking care or interest
士隱送雨村去後，回房一覺，直至紅日三竿方醒。因思昨夜之事，意欲寫薦書兩封與雨村帶至都中去，使雨村投謁個仕宦之家為寄身之地，因使人過去請時，那家人回來說：「和尚說，賈爺今日五鼓已進京去了，也曾留下話與和尚轉達老爺，說：『讀書人不在黃道黑道，總以事理為要，不及面辭了。』」士隱聽了，也只得罷了。
After seeing Yu-cun off, Shi-yin went to bed and slept without a break until the sun was high in the sky next morning. When he awoke, his mind was still running on the conversation of the previous night. He thought he would write a couple of introductory letters for Yu-cun to take with him to the capital, and arrange for him to call on the family of an official he was acquainted with who might be able to put him up; but when he sent a servant to invite him over, the servant brought back word from the temple as follows: ‘The monk says that Mr Jia set out for the capital at five o’clock this morning, sir. He says he left a message to pass on to you. He said to tell you, “A scholar should not concern himself with almanacs, but should act as the situation demands,” and he said there wasn’t time to say good-bye.’ So Shi-yin was obliged to let the matter drop.
真是閒處光陰易過，倏忽又是元宵佳節。士隱令家人霍啟抱了英蓮去看社火花燈。半夜中，霍啟因要小解，便將英蓮放在一家門檻上坐著。待他小解完了來抱時，那有英蓮的蹤影？急的霍啟直尋了半夜，至天明不見，那霍啟也不敢回來見主人，便逃往他鄉去了。
It is a true saying that ‘time in idleness is quickly spent’. In no time at all it was Fifteenth Night, and Shi-yin sent little Ying-lian out, in the charge of one of the servants called Calamity, to see the mummers and the coloured lanterns. It was near midnight when Calamity, feeling an urgent need to relieve his bladder, put Ying-lian down on someone’s doorstep while he went about his business, only to find, on his return, that the child was nowhere to be seen. Frantically he searched for her throughout the rest of the night; but when day dawned and he had still not found her, he took to his heels, not daring to face his master and mistress, and made off for another part of the country.
- Calamity: a serious accident or bad event causing damage or suffering
- frantically: done in a hurried way and in a state of excitement or confusion
那士隱夫婦見女兒一夜不歸，便知有些不好，再使幾個人去找尋，回來皆云音訊全無。夫妻二人，半世只生此女，一旦失去，何等煩惱！因此，晝夜啼哭，幾乎不顧性命。看看一月，士隱已先得病；夫人封氏，也因思女遘疾，日日請醫問卦。
Shi-yin and his wife knew that something must be wrong when their little girl failed to return home all night. Then a search was made; but all those sent out were obliged in the end to report that no trace of her could be found. The shock of so sudden a loss to a middle-aged couple who had only ever had the one daughter can be imagined. In tears every day and most of the night, they almost lost the will to go on living, and after about a month like this first Shi-yin and then his wife fell ill, so that doctors and diviners were in daily attendance on them.
- diviners: Divination占卜
不想這日，三月十五，葫蘆廟中炸供，那和尚不小心，油鍋火逸，便燒著窗紙。此方人家俱用竹籬木壁，也是劫數應當如此，於是接二連三，牽五掛四，將一條街燒得如火焰山一般。彼時雖有軍民來救，那火已成了勢了，如何救得下！直燒了一夜方息，也不知燒了多少人家。只可憐甄家在隔壁，早成了一堆瓦礫場了，只有他夫婦並幾個家人的性命不曾傷了。急的士隱惟跌足長歎而已。與妻子商議，且到田莊上去住。偏值近年水旱不收，盜賊蜂起，官兵剿捕，田莊上又難以安身。只得將田地都折變了，攜了妻子與兩個丫鬟投他岳丈家去。
Then, on the fifteenth of the third month, while frying cakes for an offering, the monk of Bottle-gourd Temple carelessly allowed the oil to catch alight, which set fire to the paper window. And, since the houses in this area all had wooden walls and bamboo fences—though also, doubtless, because they were doomed to destruction anyway-the fire leaped from house to house until the whole street was blazing away like a regular Fiery Mountain; and though the firemen came to put it out, by the time they arrived the fire was well under way and long past controlling, and roared away all night long until it had burnt itself out, rendering heaven knows how many families homeless in the process. Poor Zhens! Though they and their handful of domestics escaped unhurt, their house, which was only next door to the temple, was soon reduced to a heap of rubble, while Shi-yin stood by helpless, groaning and stamping in despair. After some discussion with his wife, Shi-yin decided that they should move to their farm in the country; but a series of crop failures due to flooding and drought had led to widespread brigandage in those parts, and government troops were out everywhere hunting down the mutinous peasants and making arrests. In such conditions it was impossible to settle on the farm, so Shi-yin sold the land and, taking only two of the maids with them, went with his wife to seek refuge with his father-in-law, Feng Su.
- doomed: certain to fail, die, or be destroyed
- rendering: the way that something is performed, written, drawn, etc.
- heap: an untidy pile or mass of things
- rubble: the piles of broken stone and bricks, etc. that are left when a building falls down or is destroyed
- brigandage: 強盜
- troops: soldiers on duty in a large group
- mutinous: 叛變的
- peasants: a person who owns or rents a small piece of land and grows crops, keeps animals, etc. on it, especially one who has a low income, very little education, and a low social position. This is usually used of someone who lived in the past or of someone in a poor country.
他岳丈名喚封肅，本貫大如州人氏，雖是務農，家中卻還殷實。今見女婿這等狼狽而來，心中便有些不樂。幸而士隱還有折變田產的銀子在身邊，拿出來託他隨便置買些房地，以為後日衣食之計。那封肅便半用半賺的，略與他些薄田破屋。士隱乃讀書之人，不慣生理稼穡等事，勉強支持了一二年，越發窮了。封肅見面時便說些現成話兒，且人前人後又怨他不會過，只一味好吃懶做。士隱知道了，心中未免悔恨，再兼上年驚唬，急忿怨痛：暮年之人，那禁得貧病交攻？竟漸漸的露出那下世的光景來。可巧這日拄了拐掙扎到街前散散心時，忽見那邊來了一個跛足道人，瘋狂落拓，麻鞋鶉衣，口內念著幾句言詞道：
世人都曉神仙好，惟有功名忘不了。古今將相在何方？荒塚一堆草沒了！
世人都曉神仙好，只有金銀忘不了。終朝只恨聚無多，及到多時眼閉了！
世人都曉神仙好，只有姣妻忘不了。君生日日說恩情，君死又隨人去了！
世人都曉神仙好，只有兒孫忘不了。癡心父母古來多，孝順子孫誰見了！
This Feng Su was a Ru-zhou man who, though only a farmer by calling, had a very comfortable sufficiency. He was somewhat displeased to see his son-in-law arriving like a refugee on his doorstep; but fortunately Shi- yin had on him the money he had realized from the sale of the farm, and this he now entrusted to his father-in-law to buy for him, as and when he could, a house and land on which he could depend for his future livelihood. Feng Su embezzled about half of this sum and used the other half to provide him with a ruinous cottage and some fields of poor, thin soil. A scholar, with no experience of business or agricultural matters, Shi-yin now found himself poorer after a year or two of struggle than when he had started. Feng Su would treat him to a few pearls of rustic wisdom whenever they met, but behind his back would grumble to all and sundry about ‘incompetents’ and ‘people who liked their food but were too lazy to work for it’, which caused Shi-yin great bitterness when it came to his ears. The anxieties and injustices which now beset him, coming on top of the shocks he had suffered a year or two previously, left a man of his years with little resistance to the joint onslaught of poverty and ill-health, and gradually he began to betray the unmistakable symptoms of a decline. One day, wishing to take his mind off his troubles for a bit, he had dragged himself, stick in hand, to the main road, when it chanced that he suddenly caught sight of a Taoist with a limp—a crazy, erratic figure in hempen sandals and tattered clothes, who chanted the following words to himself as he advanced towards him:
- embezzled: to secretly take money that is in your care or that belongs to an organization or business you work for
- rustic: simple and often rough in appearance; typical of the countryside
- grumble: to complain about someone or something in an annoyed way
- sundry: several different; various
- beset: having a lot of trouble with something, or having to deal with a lot of something that causes problems
- onslaught: a very powerful attack
‘Men all know that salvation should be won, But with ambition won’t have done, have done. Where are the famous ones of days gone by? In grassy graves they lie now, every one. Men all know that salvation should be won, But with their riches won’t have done, have done. Each day they grumble they’ve not made enough. When they’ve enough, it’s goodnight everyone! Men all know that salvation should be won, But with their loving wives they won’t have done. The darlings every day protest their love: But once you’re dead, they’re off with another one. Men all know that salvation should be won, But with their children won’t have done, have done. Yet though of patents fond there is no lack, Of grateful children saw I ne’er a one.’
士隱聽了，便迎上來道：「你滿口說些什麼？只聽見些『好了』『好了』。」那道人笑道：「你若果聽見『好了』二字，還算你明白！可知世上萬般『好』便是『了』，『了』便是『好』；若不『了』便不『好』；若要『好』，須是『了』。我這歌兒便叫《好了歌》。」
Shi-yin approached the Taoist and questioned him. ‘What is all this you are saying? All I can make out is a lot of “won” and “done”.’ ‘If you can make out “won” and “done”,’ replied the Taoist with a smile, ‘you may be said to have understood; for in all the affairs of this world what is won is done, and what is done is won; for whoever has not yet done has not yet won, and in order to have won, one must first have done. I shall call my song the “Won-Done Song”.’
士隱本是有夙慧的，一聞此言，心中早已悟徹，因笑道：「且住！待我將你這《好了歌》注解出來，何如？」道人笑道：「你就請解。」士隱乃說道：
陋室空堂，當年笏滿床；衰草枯楊，曾為歌舞場。蛛絲兒結滿雕梁，綠紗今又糊在蓬窗上。說甚麼脂正濃，粉正香！如何兩鬢又成霜？昨日黃土隴頭埋白骨，今宵紅綃帳底臥鴛鴦。金滿箱，銀滿箱，轉眼乞丐人皆謗。正歎他人命不長，那知自己歸來喪？訓有方，保不定日後作強梁；擇膏粱，誰承望流落在煙花巷！因嫌紗帽小，致使鎖枷扛。昨憐破襖寒，今嫌紫蟒長。亂烘烘，你方唱罷我登場，反認他鄉是故鄉。甚荒唐，到頭來，都是為他人作嫁衣裳！
Shi-yin had always been quick-witted, and on hearing these words a flash of understanding had illuminated his mind. He therefore smiled back at the Taoist: ‘Wait a minute! How would you like me to provide your “Won-Done Song” with a commentary?’ ‘Please do!’ said the Taoist; and Shi-yin proceeded as follows:
‘Mean hovels and abandoned halls Where courtiers once paid daily calls: Bleak haunts where weeds and willows scarcely thrive Were once with mirth and revelry alive. Whilst cobwebs shroud the mansion’s gilded beams, The cottage casement with choice muslin gleams. Would you of perfumed elegance recite? Even as you speak, the raven locks turn white. Who yesterday her lord’s bones laid in clay, On silken bridal-bed shall lie today. Coffers with gold and silver filled: Now, in a trice, a tramp by all reviled. One at some other’s short life gives a sigh, Not knowing that he, too, goes home—to die! The sheltered and well-educated lad, In spite of all your care, may turn out bad; And the delicate, fastidious maid End in a foul stews, plying a shameful trade. The judge whose hat is too small for his head Wears, in the end, a convict’s cangue instead. Who shivering once in rags bemoaned his fate, Today finds fault with scarlet robes of state. In such commotion does the world’s theatre rage: As each one leaves, another takes the stage. In vain we roam: Each in the end must call a strange land home. Each of us with that poor girl may compare Who sews a wedding-gown for another bride to wear.’
那瘋跛道人聽了，拍掌大笑道：「解得切，解得切！」士隱便說一聲「走罷」，將道人肩上的搭褳搶了過來背上，竟不回家，同著瘋道人飄飄而去。
‘A very accurate commentary!’ cried the mad, lame Taoist, clapping his hands delightedly. But Shi-yin merely snatched the satchel that hung from the other’s shoulder and slung it from his own, and with a shout of ‘Let’s go!’ and without even waiting to call back home, he strode off into the wide world in the company of the madman.
- snatched: to take hold of something suddenly and roughly
- slung: to throw or drop something carelessly
- strode: stride
當下哄動街坊，眾人當作一件新聞傳說。封氏聞知此信，哭個死去活來，只得與父親商議，遣人各處訪尋。那討音信？無奈何，只得依靠著他父母度日。幸而身邊還有兩個舊日的丫鬟伏侍，主僕三人日夜做些針線，幫著父親用度。那封肅雖然每日抱怨，也無可奈何了。
This event made a great uproar in the little town, and news of it was relayed from gossip to gossip until it reached the ears of Mrs Zhen, who cried herself into fits when she heard it. After consulting her father, she sent men out to inquire everywhere after her husband; but no news of him was to be had. It was now imperative that she should move in with her parents and look to them for support. Fortunately she still had the two maids who had stayed on with her from the Soochow days, and by sewing and embroidering morning, noon and night, she and her women were able to make some contribution to her father’s income. The latter still found daily occasion to complain, but there was very little he could do about it.
- imperative: extremely important or urgent
- embroidering: to decorate cloth or clothing with patterns or pictures consisting of stitches that are sewn directly onto the material
- latter: near or towards the end of something
這日，那甄家的大丫鬟在門前買線，忽聽得街上喝道之聲，眾人都說：「新太爺到任了。」丫鬟隱在門內看時，只見軍牢快手一對一對過去，俄而大轎內抬著一個烏帽猩袍的官府來了。那丫鬟倒發了個怔，自思：「這官兒好面善！倒像在那裡見過的？」於是進入房中，也就丟過，不在心上。至晚間，正待歇息之時，忽聽一片聲打的門響，許多人亂嚷，說：「本縣太爺的差人來傳人問話！」封肅聽了，唬得目瞪口呆。
One day the elder of the two maids was purchasing some silks at the door when she heard the criers clearing the street and all the people began to tell each other that the new man-darin had arrived. She hid in the doorway and watched the guards and runners marching past two by two. But when the mandarin in his black hat and scarlet robe of office was borne past in his great chair, she stared for some time as though puzzled. ‘Where have I seen that mandarin before?’ she wondered. ‘His face looks extraordinarily familiar.’ But presently she went into the house again and gave the matter no further thought. That night, just as they were getting ready for bed, there was suddenly a great commotion at the door and a confused hubbub of voices shouting that someone was wanted at the yamen for questioning, which so terrified Feng Su that he was momentarily struck dumb and could only stare.
不知有何禍事，且聽下回分解。
If you wish to know what further calamity this portended, you will have to read the following chapter.
MeTime 