紅樓夢 楊憲益譯 共120回 892頁

1、1Chapter 1Zhen Shiyin in a Dream Sees the Jadeof Spiritual UnderstandingJia Yucun in His Obscurity Is Charmedby a MaidThis is the opening chapter of the novel. In writing this story of the Stone the author wanted to reco

2、rd certain of his past dreams and illusions, but he tried to hide the true facts of his experience by using the allegory of the jade of “Spiritual Understanding.” Hence his recourse to names like Zhen Shiyin.1 But what a

3、re the events recorded in this book, and who are the characters? About this he said:“In this busy, dusty world, having accomplished nothing, I suddenly recalled all the girls I had known, considering each in turn, and it

4、 dawned on me that all of them surpassed me in behaviour and understanding; that I, shameful to say, for all my masculine dignity, fell short of the gentler sex. But since this could never be remedied, it was no use regr

5、etting it. There was really nothing to be done.“I decided then to make known to all how I, though dressed in silks and delicately nurtured thanks to the Imperial favour and my ancestors’ virtue, had nevertheless ignored

6、the kindly guidance of my elders as well as the good advice of teachers and friends, with the result that I had wasted half my life and not acquired a single skill. But no matter how unforgivable my crimes, I must not le

7、t all the lovely girls I have known pass into oblivion through my wickedness or my desire to hide my shortcomings.“Though my home is now a thatched cottage with matting windows, earthen stove and rope-bed, this shall not

8、 stop me from laying bare my heart. Indeed, the morning breeze, the dew of night, the willows by my steps and the flowers in my courtyard inspire me to wield my brush. Though I have little learning or literary talent, wh

9、at does it matter if I tell a tale in rustic language to leave a record of all those lovely girls. This should divert readers too and help distract them from their cares. That is why I use the other name Jia Yucun.”2Do y

10、ou know, Worthy Readers, where this book comes from? The answer may sound fantastic, yet carefully considered is of great interest. Let me explain, so that there will be no doubt left in your minds.When the goddess Nu Wa

11、 melted down rocks to repair the sky, at Baseless Cliff in the Great Waste Mountain she made thirty-six thousand five hundred and one blocks of stone, each a hundred and twenty feet high and two hundred and forty feet sq

12、uare. She used only thirty-six thousand five hundred of these and threw the remaining block down at the foot of Blue Ridge3 Peak. Strange to relate, this block of stone after tempering had acquired spiritual understandin

13、g. Because all its fellow blocks had been chosen to mend the sky and it alone rejected, it lamented day and night in distress and shame.One day as the Stone was brooding over its fate, it saw approaching from the distanc

14、e a Buddhist monk and Taoist priest, both of striking demeanour and distinguished appearance. They came up to the Stone and sat down to chat.When they saw the pure translucent Stone which had shrunk to the size of a fan-

15、pendant, the monk took it up on the palm of his hand and said to it with a smile:“You look like a precious object, but you still lack real value. I must engrave some characters on you so that people can see at a glance t

16、hat you’re something special. Then we can take you to some civilized and prosperous realm, to a cultured family of official status, a place where flowers and willows flourish, the home of pleasure and luxury where you ca

17、n settle down in comfort.”The Stone was overjoyed.3their lives, sparing themselves the harm of quarrels and arguments, or the trouble of chasing after what is illusory.“Besides, this story offers readers something new, u

18、nlike those hackneyed and stale hodge-podges of sudden partings and encounters which teem with talented scholars and lovely girls Cao Zijian, Zhuo Wenjun, Hongniang, Xiaoyu5 and the like. What do you say, master?”The Rev

19、erend Void thought it over, then carefully reread The Tale of the Stone. He found in it both condemnation of treachery and criticism of flattery and evil, but it was clearly not written to pass censure on the times. More

20、over it surpassed other books in its voluminous accounts of benevolent princes, good ministers, kind fathers and filial sons, and all matters pertaining to proper human relations, as well as eulogies of virtuous deeds. A

21、lthough the main theme was love, it was simply a true record of events, superior to those sham meretricious works devoted to licen-tious assignations and dissolute escapades. Since it did not touch at all on current even

22、ts he copied it out from beginning to end and took it away to find a publisher.Since all manifestations are born of nothingness and in turn give rise to passion, by describing passion for what is manifest we comprehend n

23、othingness. So the Taoist changed his name to the Passionate Monk and changed the title of the book from The Tale of the Stone to the Record of the Passionate Monk.Kong Meixi of eastern Lu6 suggested the title Precious M

24、irror of Love. Later Cao Xueqin in his Mourning-the-Red Studio pored over the book for ten years and rewrote it five times. He divided it into chapters, furnished headings for each, and renamed it The Twelve Beauties of

25、Jinling. He also inscribed on it this verse:Pages full of fantastic talkPenned with bitter tears;All men call the author mad,None his message hears.Now that the origin of the story is clear, let us see what was recorded

26、on the Stone.Long ago the earth dipped downwards in the southeast, and in that southeast part was a city named Gusu7; and the quarter around Changmen Gate of Gusu was one of the most fashionable centres of wealth and nob

27、ility in the world of men. Outside this Changmen Gate was a certain Ten-li Street, off which ran the Lane of Humanity and Purity; and in this lane stood an old temple, which being built in such a narrow space was known f

28、rom its shape as Gourd Temple. Beside this temple lived a gentleman named Zhen Fei, whose courtesy name was Shiyin. His wife, née Feng, was a worthy virtuous woman with a strong sense of propriety and right. Althoug

29、h neither very rich nor noble, their family was highly regarded in that locality.Zhen Shiyin had a quiet disposition. Instead of hankering after wealth or rank, he was quite happy tending flowers, growing bamboos, sippin

30、g wine or writing poems spending his time very much like an immortal. One thing alone was lacking: he was now over fifty but had no son, only a three-year-old daughter named Yinglian.One long hot summer day as Shiyin wa

31、s sitting idly in his study, the book slipped from his hand and, leaning his head on the desk, he fell asleep.In dream he travelled to an unknown place, where he suddenly noticed a monk and a Taoist approaching, talking

32、together. He heard the Taoist ask:“Where do you mean to take that stupid object?”“Don’t worry,” replied the monk. “A love drama is about to be enacted, but not all its actors have yet been incarnated. I’ m going to slip

33、this silly thing in among them to give it the experience it wants.”“So another batch of amorous sinners are bent on making trouble by reincarnation,” commented the Taoist. “Where will this drama take place?”“It’s an amus

34、ing story.” The monk smiled. “You’ve never heard anything like it. In the west, on the bank of the Sacred River, beside the Stone of Three Incarnations there grew a Vermilion Pearl Plant which was watered every day with

35、sweet dew by the attendant Shen Ying in the Palace of Red Jade. As the months and years went by and the Ver-milion Pearl Plant imbibed the essences of heaven and earth and the nourishment of rain and dew, it cast off its