The Golden Days

by Cao Xueqin

  Jia Rong turned and went back into the room to tell his parents. Going out once more, he summoned Lai Sheng and gave instructions for preparing a two-day birthday party, which Lai Sheng duly proceeded to put into operation. But of that no more.

  About noon next day one of the servants at the gate came in to report:

  ‘The Dr Zhang you sent for has arrived, sir’.

  Cousin Zhen went out to receive the doctor and conducted him into the main reception room, where they both sat down. He waited until the doctor had taken tea before broaching the subject of his visit.

  ‘Yesterday Mr Feng was telling me about your great learning,’ said Cousin Zhen. ‘I gather that it includes a profound knowledge of medicine. I assure you I was very much impressed.’

  ‘I am only a very indifferent scholar,’ replied Dr Zhang, ‘and my knowledge is really extremely superficial. However, Mr Feng was telling me yesterday of the courteous and considerate patronage of scholars which is traditional in your family, so when I received your summons I felt unable to refuse. I must insist, though, that I am entirely lacking in real learning and am acutely embarrassed to think that this will all too soon become apparent.’

  ‘My dear sir, you are altogether too modest,’ said Cousin Zhen. ‘Do you think I could ask you to go in now and have a look at my daughter-in-law ? We are relying on your superior knowledge to put us out of our uncertainty.’

  He left the doctor in the charge of Jia Rong, who conducted him through the inner part of the house to his own apartment, where Qin-shi was.

  ‘Is this the lady?’ asked the doctor.

  ‘Yes, this is my wife,’ Jia Rong replied. ‘Do sit down! I expect you would like me to describe her symptoms first, before you take the pulse?’

  ‘If you will permit me, no,’ said the doctor. ‘I think it would be better if I took the pulse first and asked you about the development of the illness afterwards. This is the first time I have been to your house, and as I am not a skilled practitioner and have only come here at our friend Mr Feng’s insistence, I think I should take the pulse and give you my diagnosis first. We can go on to talk about her symptoms and discuss a course of treatment if you are satisfied with the diagnosis. And of course, it will still be up to you to decide whether or not the treatment I prescribe is to be followed.’

  ‘You speak with real authority, doctor,’ said Jia Rong. ‘I only wish we had got to hear of you earlier. Take her pulse now, then, and let us know whether what she has can be cured, so that my parents may be spared further anxiety.’

  At this point Qin-shi’s women carried in a large arm-rest of the kind used in consultations, propped her forward with her arms across it, and drew back her sleeves, exposing both arms at the wrist. The doctor stretched out his hand and laid it on her right wrist, then, having first regulated his own breathing in order to be able to count the rate, he felt the pulses with great concentration for the space of several minutes, after which he transferred to the left wrist and spent an equal amount of time on that. This done, he proposed that they should withdraw to the outside room to talk.

  Jia Rong accompanied him outside and sat with him on the kang. An old woman served tea, which Jia Rong invited the doctor to take, waiting until he had done so before asking him for his diagnosis.

  ‘Tell me, doctor, from your reading of my wife’s pulse, do you think she can be cured?’

  ‘Well, the lower left distal pulse is rapid and the lower left median pulse is strong and full,’ said the doctor. ‘On the right side, the distal pulse is thin and lacks strength and the median pulse is faint and lacks vitality.

  ‘Now, a rapid lower left-hand distal pulse means that a malfunction of the controlling humour of the heart is causing it to generate too much fire; and the strong lower median pulse means that the liver’s humour is blocked, giving rise to a deficiency of blood. A thin, weak distal pulse on the right side indicates a gross deficiency of humour in the lungs; and a faint right median pulse lacking in vitality shows that the earth of the spleen is being subdued by the woody element of the liver.

  ‘If the heart is generating fire, the symptoms should be irregularity of the menses and insomnia. A deficiency of blood and blockage of humour in the liver would result in pain and congestion under the ribs, delay of the menses beyond their term, and burning sensations in the heart. A deficiency of humour in the lungs would give rise to sudden attacks of giddiness, sweating at five or six in the morning, and a sinking feeling rather like the feeling you get in a pitching boat. And if the earth of the spleen is being subdued by the wood of the liver, she would undoubtedly experience loss of appetite, lassitude, and general enfeeblement of the whole body. If my reading of the lady’s pulse is correct, she ought to be showing all these symptoms. Some people would tell you they indicated a pregnancy, but I am afraid I should have to disagree.’

  ‘You must have second sight, doctor!’ said one of the old women, a body-servant of Qin-shi’s who was standing by. ‘What you have said exactly describes how it is with her; there is no need for us to tell you anything more. Of all the doctors we’ve lately had around here to look at her none has ever spoken as much to the point as this. Some have said she’s expecting; others have said it’s illness; one says it’s not serious; another only gives her till the winter solstice; not one of them tells you anything you can really rely on. Please doctor, you tell us: just how serious is this illness ?’

  ‘I am afraid my colleagues have allowed your mistress’s condition to deteriorate,’ said the doctor.’ If she had been given proper treatment at the very beginning, when she first started her courses, there is every reason to suppose that she would by now be completely cured. But the illness has been neglected for so long now, this breakdown was almost bound to happen. I would say that with proper treatment she has about a one in three chance of recovery. We shall just have to see how she responds to my medicine. If, after taking it, she can get a good night’s sleep, her chances will be distinctly better: say fifty-fifty.

  ‘From my reading of her pulse, I should expect your mistress to be a very highly strung, sensitive young woman. Sometimes, when people are over-sensitive, they find a good deal that is upsetting in what goes on around them; and of course, if things are upsetting them, they will tend to worry a lot. This illness has been caused by too much worry affecting the spleen and causing an excess of wood in the liver, with the result that the menstrual blood has been prevented from flowing at the proper times. If we were to ask your mistress about the dates of her courses, I am sure we should find that they tended to be on the late side, isn’t that so ?’

  ‘Absolutely right,’ the old woman replied. ‘Her periods have never been early. Sometimes two or three days late, sometimes as much as ten days: but in any case, always late.’

  ‘You see!’ said the doctor.’ There is the cause of the trouble. If she could have been treated in time with something to fortify the heart and stabilize the humours, she would never have got into this present state. What we have now, I am afraid, is an advanced case of dehydration. Well, we shall have to see what my medicine can do for her.’

  He wrote out the following prescription and handed it to Jia Rong:

  For a decoction to increase the breath, nourish the heart, fortify the spleen and calm the liver

  Ginseng 2 drams

  Atractylis (clay-baked) 2 drams

  Lycoperdon 3 drams

  Nipplewort (processed) 4 drams

  Angelica 2 drams

  White peony root 2 drams

  Hemlock parsley drams

  Yellow vetch root 3 drams

  Ground root of nutgrass 2 drams

  Hare’s ear (in vinegar) dram

  Huaiqing yam 2 drams

  Dong E ass’s glue (prepn with powdered oyster-shell) 2 drams

  Corydalis (cooked in wine) drams

  Roast liquorice dram

  Adjuvant: Excoriate and remove pits from 7 lotus-seeds;

  Item 2 large jujubes.

  ‘Most
impressive!’ said Jia Rong, glancing at the prescription. ‘Tell me, though, doctor: just how serious is this illness? Is her life in danger?’

  The doctor smiled. ‘You are an intelligent young man, Mr Jia. When an illness has reached this stage, it is not going to be cured in an afternoon. We must see how she responds to medication. As I see it, there is no real danger this winter. I should say that if she can get past the spring equinox, you could look forward to a complete recovery.’

  Jia Rong was intelligent enough to understand the real import of what the doctor was telling him and did not question him further. Having first seen him out, he went in to show the prescription and written summary of the diagnosis to Cousin Zhen and gave both his parents a full account of what the doctor had said.

  ‘No other doctor has ever spoken so convincingly,’ said You-shi, turning to Cousin Zhen. ‘I am sure his medicine will do her good.’

  Cousin Zhen smiled complacently.

  ‘This man is no medical hack practising for a living,’ he said. ‘It’s only because Feng Zi-ying is such a good friend of mine that he could be persuaded to come and see us. Perhaps with a man like this treating her our daughter-in-law stands some chance of getting better. I see there is ginseng in that prescription, by the way. You can use some of that pound of high-grade ginseng we bought the other day.’

  Seeing that they had no more to say, Jia Rong went out and ordered the drugs for Qin-shi’s medicine to be purchased and prepared. But you will have to read the next chapter if you want to know what effect the medicine had on her when she had taken it.

  Chapter 11

  Ning-guo House celebrates the birthday

  of an absent member

  And Jia Rut conceives an illicit passion

  for his attractive cousin

  Jia Jing’s birthday had now arrived. Cousin Zhen packed sixteen lacquer gift-boxes with the rarest and choicest delicacies and instructed Jia Rong to take a number of domestics with him and deliver them to Jia Jing. He was to observe carefully whether or not his grandfather was pleased, and having made his kotow, was to deliver the following message:

  ‘Because of your request, Father has not ventured to visit you himself. Instead he will place himself at the head of the entire family and lead them in prostrating themselves in your direction.’

  Having received his father’s instructions, Jia Rong mustered his band of servants and set out.

  Back at home visitors gradually began to arrive. Jia Lian and Jia Qiang were the first. Having inspected the various seating arrangements, they inquired whether there was to be entertainment of some kind.

  ‘The Master had originally been reckoning on old Sir Jing coming here today,’ said one of the servants, ‘so he didn’t arrange for any entertainment. But the day before yesterday he learned that Sir Jing would not be coming, so he asked us to find a troupe of actors and a band. They are at present on the stage in the garden getting ready for the performance.’

  Lady Xing, Lady Wang, Wang Xi-feng and Bao-yu arrived next and were welcomed and conducted inside by Cousin Zhen and You-shi. You-shi’s mother was already there. She was introduced to the new arrivals, who were then invited to sit down and were served by Cousin Zhen and You-shi with tea.

  ‘We realize,’ said Cousin Zhen,’ that Lady Jia is a generation older than Father. Father is only her nephew, of course, and strictly speaking it wasn’t correct form to invite a person of her age at all. Nevertheless, since the weather is so fresh and nice just now and the chrysanthemums in the garden at their best, we had rather hoped that she might enjoy coming over for a bit and having all her children and grandchildren around her. That was our only motive in asking her. I’m sorry she decided not to honour us.’

  ‘Up to yesterday,’ Xi-feng put in hurriedly, not waiting for Lady Wang to reply, ‘Grandmother had been intending to come. Then yesterday evening she saw Bao-yu eating some peaches and the greedy old thing couldn’t resist trying one herself. She only ate about two thirds of a peach, but she had to get up twice running in the early hours, and this morning she still felt rather poorly and told me to tell you that she definitely wouldn’t be able to come. But she said that if you have any specially nice things to eat she would like one or two kinds to try; only they must be soft and easy to digest.’

  Cousin Zhen smiled with pleasure.

  ‘Well, that’s all right then. Knowing how much Grandma enjoys a bit of fun, I thought it didn’t seem like her not to come today unless she had some good reason for not coming.’

  ‘The other day Xi-chun was telling us that Rong’s wife is not very well,’ said Lady Wang. ‘What exactly is wrong with her?’

  ‘It’s a very puzzling illness,’ You-shi replied. ‘At Mid-Autumn last month, when she got back from playing cards half the night with you and Lady Jia, she seemed perfectly all right. But from the twentieth onwards she seemed to get more and more tired and listless every day – too tired even to eat. She’s been like that for more than a fortnight now, and it is two months since she had a period.’

  ‘Couldn’t she be expecting?’ said Lady Xing.

  They were interrupted by a servant from outside:

  ‘Sir She and Sir Zheng and all the other gentlemen have arrived, sir. They are in the main reception room.’

  Cousin Zhen hurried out.

  ‘To begin with that’s what some of the doctors told us,’ said You-shi, resuming the conversation; ‘but yesterday Feng Zi-ying introduced a doctor friend of his to us who is terribly good, someone he went to school with, and he said that she wasn’t expecting at all. He said she was suffering from a serious illness. He wrote a prescription for her yesterday and she has already had one dose of the medicine. Today her giddiness is a bit better, but everything else is still pretty much the same.’

  ‘There!’ said Xi-feng. ‘I thought it must be something quite serious to keep her away, especially on a day like this. I know she would have forced herself to come if she could have done.’

  ‘You remember you saw her here on the third,’ said You-shi. ‘She had a terrible struggle to keep going on that occasion. It was only because the two of you have always been so close and she didn’t want to miss you that she made the effort.’

  Xi-feng’s eyes became moist and for a moment she was too overcome to speak.

  ‘I know “the weather and human life are both unpredictable”,’ she said at last, ‘but she’s only a child still. If anything should happen to her as a result of this illness, I think all the fun would go out of life!’

  While she was speaking Jia Rong came in, and having greeted in turn first Lady Xing, then Lady Wang, and then Xi-feng, he turned to his mother:

  ‘I’ve just delivered the food to Grandfather, and I told him that Father was entertaining all the men of the family at home and had not presumed to visit him because of what he said. Grandfather was very pleased. He said “That is exactly as it should be.” He said I was to tell you and Father to see that my great-uncles and great-aunts are properly looked after, and he told me that I was to look after my uncles and aunts and cousins. He also said he wanted the blocks for Divine Rewards to be cut as quickly as possible and ten thousand copies printed for free distribution. I’ve already given this message to Father. Now I’ve got to hurry off again to look after the gentlemen while they have their dinner.’

  ‘Rong, just a moment!’ said Xi-feng as he was going. ‘How is it really with your wife?’

  Jia Rong’s brows contracted in a worried frown.

  ‘She’s not at all well, Auntie. You’ll know what I mean when you see her presently.’

  He left without saying any more.

  ‘Well, ladies!’ said You-shi. ‘Will you have dinner in here, or shall we eat in the garden? There are some actors in the garden preparing an entertainment.’

  ‘In here would be all right, wouldn’t it?’ said Lady Wang with a glance in Lady Xing’s direction.

  You-shi at once gave orders to her women to serve. There was an answering cry fr
om outside the door and a great flurry of domestics each bustling about her own contribution to the meal. In no time at all the table was laid and dinner ready. You-shi made Lady Xing and Lady Wang sit at the head with her mother, while she, Xi-feng and Bao-yu sat at the two sides.

  Lady Xing and Lady Wang politely protested that they had come to offer birthday felicitations, not to eat a birthday feast.

  ‘Yes,’ said Xi-feng. ‘After all these years of spiritual self-improvement, Uncle must by now be practically an Immortal. And with Immortals, as we all know, “it’s the thought that counts and not the ceremony”.’

  The others all laughed.

  You-shi’s mother, Lady Xing, Lady Wang and Xi-feng, having finished their meal, rinsed out their mouths and washed their hands, had just announced their intention of going into the garden, when Jia Rong came in with a message for his mother.

  ‘My great-uncles and all the other gentlemen have just finished their dinner. Great-uncle She says he has business at home, and Great-uncle Zheng doesn’t like plays because he says he can’t stand the noise; but all the others have gone with Uncle Lian and Cousin Qiang to watch the players.

  ‘People have come with cards and birthday presents from the Prince of An-nan, the Prince of Dong-ping, the Prince of Xi-ning, the Prince of Bei-jing, the Duke of Zhen-guo and five others of the Niu clan and the Marquis of Zhong-jing and seven others of the Shi clan. The presents have all been received at the counting-house. They have been entered in the gift-book, and the people who brought them have been issued with thank-you cards. They have also been tipped the usual amounts and given a meal before leaving.

  ‘And Father says will you please bring the great-aunts and Grandmother You and Auntie Feng to the garden now.’

  ‘Yes, we’ve finished too,’ said You-shi. ‘We were about to come over when you arrived.’