A Dream of Red Mansion

by Cao Xueqin

  The sight of these things made Daiyu forget about putting on something warmer. She picked up the two handkerchiefs and gazed blankly at her old poems, then started weeping. Zijuan coming in now saw Xueyan standing there stock-still, holding a felt wrapper of clothes. The mutilated pouch, the fan-case in two or three pieces and the snipped off tassel were on the little table; and Daiyu, clutching two old handkerchiefs with writing on them, was gazing at them in tears. Truly:

  When the sad meet with sadness,

  New tears mingle with the old!

  Zijuan realized that these things had reopened old wounds, making her young mistress grieve over the past, and guessed it would be useless to reason with her.

  “Why look at those, miss?” she asked, smiling. “They’ll only remind you Of the pranks Master Bao and you got up to when you were young, quarrelling one day and making it up the next. If he’d been as well-mannered then as he is now, these things would never have got spoilt.”

  To Zijuan’s surprise, this banter reminded Daiyu even more of her first years here. Big tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “Xueyan’s standing waiting,” Zijuan reminded her. “Do put on something warmer.”

  Then at last Daiyu put down the handkerchiefs. Zijuan promptly picked them up to wrap them up with the pouch and other things and whisk them away.

  Daiyu, draping a fur-lined jacket over her shoulders, went disconsolately to the outer room to sit down. Turning her head she noticed that she had not yet put away Baochai’s poems. She picked them up, reread them twice, then sighed:

  “Though our positions are different, we’re one in our distress. I may as well write four verses too and set them to music, to sing them to a lute accompaniment. Tomorrow I’ll copy them out and send them to her by way of reply.”

  She told Xueyan to fetch the brush and ink-stone from her desk, then wrote four stanzas, after which she got out the lute scores and set her verses to the melodies Quiet Orchid and Longing for a Worthy Man. She made a copy to send to Baochai, then told Xueyan to fetch from the chest the short lute she had brought north with her. Having tuned the strings she practised some finger exercises. And as Daiyu was so intelligent and had learned to play a little in the south, although out of practice she soon regained her old skill. She played until it was late, then called Zijuan in to clear up and went to bed.

  To return to Baoyu. He got up and dressed the next morning and was on his way to school with Beiming when Moyu came running towards them, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Master Bao, you’ve got off cheap today!” cried Moyu. “The tutor’s not at school; it’s a holiday.”

  “Is that true?” demanded Baoyu.

  “If you don’t believe me, look! Can’t you see Master Huan and Master Lan coming?”

  Sure enough, Baoyu saw the two boys accompanied by their pages laughing and chatting together as they approached. At sight of him they stood at respectful attention.

  “Why are you coming back?” he asked.

  Huan answered, “The tutor has some business today, so he’s given us one day’s holiday. We’re to go back tomorrow.”

  Baoyu went to report this to his grandmother and father, then returned to Happy Red Court.

  “Why are you back?” asked Xiren.

  He told her the reason, and after sitting down for a short time started out.

  “Where are you off to?” she wanted to know. “What’s the hurry? You’ve just been given a day off. I advise you to have a rest.”

  He halted then with lowered head and said, “You’re right, of course. But it’s so seldom I get a free day, why shouldn’t I have some fun? Do have a heart!”

  He looked so pathetic that Xiren chuckled, “All right, go wherever you like, sir!”

  Just then lunch was served, however, and Baoyu had to eat. But after gobbling his food and rinsing his mouth he dashed off to find Daiyu. When he reached her gate, he saw Xueyan hanging out some handkerchiefs in the courtyard.

  “Has your mistress had her meal?” he asked.

  “She had half a bowl of congee in the morning, but didn’t want any lunch. She’s taking a nap now. You’d better come back later, Master Bao.”

  Baoyu had to turn back. He did not know where to go until it occurred to him that he had not seen Xichun for several days; so he strolled over to Smartweed Breeze Cot. Stopping outside her window, he discovered that all was quiet and thought he had better not enter as she must be having a siesta too. He was on the point of leaving when he heard a faint sound inside, but could not make out what it was. He stopped to listen, and after some time heard a chinking sound. Still he could not make out what it was.

  “If you move that piece here,” said a voice inside, “what about your position there?”

  At that he realized they were playing draughts, but could not identify the voice. Then he heard Xichun say, “What do I care? If you take that piece of mine, I’ll move here. If you take this piece, I’ll move there. I shall still be able to encircle that place in the end.”

  “What if I do this?” asked the other.

  “Ah!” exclaimed Xichun. “I didn’t guard against a thrust like that!”

  The second voice sounded familiar, but Baoyu knew it was not one of his cousins’. Assuming that the other player could not be an outsider, he softly raised the portiere and went in, only to discover that the visitor was no other than the “outsider” Miaoyu of Green Lattice Nunnery. Seeing this, he dared not disturb them; and the two girls, intent on their game, did not notice him. Baoyu stood beside them watching.

  Miaoyu, her head lowered, asked, “Don’t you want this corner?”

  “Of course I do,” said Xichun. “But your pieces there are all dead, so what have I to fear?”

  “Don’t be so sure,” said Miaoyu. “Wait and see.”

  “I’ll attack here and see what you can do.”

  Miaoyu, smiling, linked her pieces in one continuous border and counterattacked, threatening Xichun’s corner.

  “This is called ‘pulling off the boot,’“ she chuckled.

  Before Xichun could reply Baoyu burst out laughing, making the two girls start.

  “Why do such a thing?” exclaimed Xichun. “Coming in without a word to startle us! How long have you been there?”

  “Quite a while. I’ve been watching you fight for that corner.”

  He greeted Miaoyu and said to her with a smile, “It’s rarely that you leave your saintly abode. Why have you descended today to the mundane world?”

  Miaoyu flushed up but said nothing, lowering her head to keep her eyes on the board. Conscious of his gaffe, Baoyu tried to cover it up.

  “You who have renounced the world are not like us vulgar worldlings,” he said with a conciliatory smile. “First of all, your hearts are at peace, so you are more spiritual and have quiet perception....”

  He was running on like this when Miaoyu glanced up at him, then lowered her head again, blushing furiously. Baoyu, cold-shouldered like this, sat down sheepishly at one side.

  Xichun wanted to finish the game, but after a while Miaoyu said, “Let’s play some other time.” She stood up to smooth down her clothes, but then sat down again and asked Baoyu famously, “Where did you come from?”

  He had been waiting for her to address him so that he could make up for his earlier tactlessness. However, it occurred to him that she might be testing his understanding. He reddened and could not answer. With a faint smile Miaoyu turned to talk to Xichun.

  “Is that so hard to answer, Second Brother?” chuckled Xichun. “Have you never heard the saying, I came from where I’ve been’? Why blush like that as if she were a stranger?”

  Miaoyu took this dig personally. Her heart misgave her and her cheeks burned—she knew she must be red in the face too. In her embarrassment she stood up and said, “I’ve been here so long, I must be getting back to my nunnery.”

  As Xichun knew her ways, instead of pressing her to stay she saw her to the door.

  “It’s s
o long since last I was here,” said Miaoyu, “I may not be able to find my way back with all those twists and turns.”

  “Why not let me show you the way?” Baoyu volunteered. “Thank you, sir. Please lead on!”

  Taking their leave of Xichun, they left Smartweed Breeze Cot and followed a winding path which took them near Bamboo Lodge. Suddenly they heard a twanging.

  “Where does that luting come from?” Miaoyu asked.

  “It must be Cousin Lin playing the lute.”

  “Can she play too? Why did she never mention it?”

  Baoyu repeated what Daiyu had said to him.

  “Let’s call on her,” he proposed.

  “One can only listen to luting, not look at it—that’s always been the rule,” she objected.

  “I’m a vulgar person, I know,” he said with a grin.

  Being outside Bamboo Lodge now, they seated themselves on an artificial hill to listen quietly to the clear music. Daiyu was chanting softly.

  The wind is soughing, the days drawing in,

  Far away, lost in thought, the lovely maid;

  I gaze towards my home—where is it?

  Tears stain my dress beside the balustrade.

  After a pause she continued:

  Far-stretching hills, long rivers,

  Bright moonlight shining on my window-sill;

  Sleepless I lie beneath faint Milky Way,

  Clad in thin silk; the wind and dew are chill.

  As she paused again, Miaoyu remarked, “The first stanza used the qin rhyme, the second the yang rhyme. Let’s hear what follows.”

  Then they heard fresh chanting inside:

  Your lot is not of your choosing,

  And mine is filled with care;

  You and I are kindred spirits,

  Revering the ancients that we may not err.

  Miaoyu commented, “Another stanza, but how mournful!”

  “Though I don’t understand music, it does sound too sad,” Baoyu agreed.

  Inside, they heard the strings being retuned.

  “The main string is too high!” Miaoyu exclaimed. “It may not fit that scale.”

  Inside, Daiyu resumed:

  Life in this world is but a speck of dust,

  Karma ordains all mortals’ destiny;

  If Karma rules, then why repine?

  Would that my heart were pure as the moon in the sky!

  The colour draining from her face Miaoyu exclaimed, “Why did she suddenly play such a high note? It’s enough to crack metal or stone! This is too extreme.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I doubt if she can keep it up.”

  Even as she said this, they heard the main string snap. Miaoyu stood up and hastily started off.

  “What’s the matter?” Baoyu asked. “You’ll know later; don’t talk about it.”

  With that she left, and Baoyu went back to Happy Red Court feeling puzzled and depressed.

  Miaoyu returned to the nunnery, and the old deaconess waiting for her there closed the gate. She sat down for a while to chant the sutra for the day, and after supper burned incense and worshipped Buddha. This done, she dismissed the deaconess for the night. As her couch and back-rest were ready, she quietly let down the curtain and sat cross-legged to meditate, banishing all frivolous thoughts to concentrate on the truth.

  Some time after midnight, she heard a thud on the roof. Suspecting a thief, she left her couch and went out to the veranda. She saw cloud streamers in the sky and moonlight limpid as water. As it was not yet too cold, she stood there alone for a while by the balustrade till a sudden caterwauling broke out on the roof. Abruptly recalling Baoyu’s remarks that day, her heart started beating faster and her face burned. Hastily suppressing her feelings, she returned to her cell and sat down again on the couch.

  But her fancy, now running as wild as galloping horses, made her imagine that the couch was rocking and she was no longer in the nunnery. Many young lordlings had come to ask for her hand and, against her wishes, go-betweens were tugging and pushing her into a carriage. Then brigands kidnapped her and threatened her with swords and clubs, so that she screamed for help.

  This aroused the novices and deaconess, who came with torches to see what was the matter. Finding Miaoyu with outflung arms, frothing at the mouth, they hastily woke her up.

  Her eyes staring, crimson in the face, she shouted, “How dare you thugs attack one under Buddha’s protection!”

  Frightened out of their wits they assured her, “It’s us! Wake up!”

  “I want to go home,” she cried. “If there’s any kind soul among you, take me back!”

  “You’re here in your own cell,” said the deaconess, then told the novices to pray to Guanyin and ask for an oracle. They opened the book of oracles at a passage indicating that she had “offended a spirit in the southwest corner.”

  “That’s right!” one of them exclaimed. “No one lives in the southwest corner of Grand View Garden, so there are bound to be evil spirits there.”

  They busied themselves getting soup for her and boiled water. And the novice who took the best care of Miaoyu, being a southerner herself, sat on the couch and put one arm around her.

  Miaoyu turned to her and demanded, “Who are you?”

  “Don’t you know me?”

  Miaoyu looked more carefully. “So it’s you!” she cried, hugging the novice to her. “If you don’t save me, mother,” she sobbed, “I’m done for!”

  The novice tried to bring her to her senses. She massaged her while the deaconess brought tea, and not till dawn did Miaoyu fall asleep. They sent for doctors then. One diagnosed her trouble as debility of the spleen brought on by worry; one attributed it to a hot humour in the blood; another to offending evil spirits; and yet another diagnosed a chill. They could not reach agreement.

  Later they called in another doctor who after examining the patient asked, “Did she practise yoga?”

  “Yes, every night,” answered the deaconess.

  “Was this a sudden fit last night?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then it came on because evil thoughts crossed her mind and kindled a hot humour.”

  “Is it dangerous?”

  “It can be cured, as luckily she did not meditate very long, so the evil did not penetrate too deep.”

  He prescribed some medicine to alleviate the hot humour in her heart, and after taking it Miaoyu felt some relief.

  When young dandies heard this story, they spread all manner of rumours and commented, “She’s too young—romantic and intelligent too —to stand such an austere life. Who knows what lucky man will get hold of her in future?”

  After a few days, although Miaoyu felt better, she was still not back to normal, her mind remaining confused.

  One day, Xichun was sitting quietly when Caiping came in to ask, “Do you know, miss, what happened to Sister Miaoyu?”

  “No. What?”

  “I heard Miss Xing and Madam Zhu discussing it yesterday. The night after she went back from playing chess with you, some evil spirit took possession of her, and she started raving that bandits had come to kidnap her! Even now she hasn’t recovered. Isn’t that extraordinary?”

  Xichun remained silent, thinking, “Though Miaoyu is so chaste, she’s not severed all earthly ties yet. It’s too bad that I live in a family like this and can’t become a nun. If I renounced the world, how could evil thoughts assail me? Not one would cross my mind—all desires would be stilled!” Then, suddenly struck by an idea, she chanted:

  In the beginning Creation had no abode;

  Where, then, should we abide?

  Since we come from the void

  We should return to the void.

  She told a maid to burn incense and sat quietly for a while, then looked up the treatises on draughts by Kong Rong, Wang Jixin and others. After reading a few pages, she was not impressed by such gambits as “thick foliage enfolds crabs” and “yellow hawks seize a hare,” while the “thirty
-six ways to enclose a corner” struck her as too hard to remember. She was intrigued, however, by “ten galloping dragons” and was thinking this over when someone entered her compound calling “Caiping!” If you want to know who it was, read the following chapter.

  Chapter 88

  Baoyu, to Please His Grandmother, Praises a Fatherless Boy

  Jia Zhen, to Uphold Household Discipline, Has Unruly Servants Whipped

  As Xichun was studying the treatise on draughts, she heard Caiping’s name called in the courtyard and recognized Yuanyang’s voice. Caiping went out to usher in Yuanyang, who had brought a young maid carrying a small yellow silk bundle.

  “What brings you here?” asked Xichun with a smile.

  “The old lady will be eighty-one next year, miss. As that’s nine times nine, she’s going to offer sacrifices for nine days and nine nights, and she’s vowed to have three thousand six hundred and fifty-one copies of the Diamond Sutra made. This work has been given to copyists outside. But as people say this sutra, like Taoist canons, is only the shell of truth whereas the Prajnaparamitra Sutra is the kernel, this second sutra must be included as well to make the offering more meritorious. Since the Prajnaparamitra Sutra is the more important, and Guanyin is a female bodhisattva, the old lady wants some mistresses and young ladies of the family to make three hundred and sixty-five copies of it, as an act of reverence. In our family except for Madam Lian who’s too busy with household affairs and, besides, can’t write—all the ladies are going to write copies, some more, some less. Even Madam Zhen and the concubines of the East Mansion will be doing their share. So of course all the ladies over here must join in.”