Hong lou meng: chapters 52-53, Cao Xueqin’s humanity, Ning-Rong, textual problems

1/ Let’s again compare Hong lou meng and The Tale of Genji, in terms of characterisation. Both novels have a large scope and have about 400-500 characters, but whereas The Tale of Genji has about 20 characters we know well or truly well and within that group Murasaki Shikibu focuses on a handful of characters, Cao Xueqin treats nearly 40 characters as major. Murasaki Shikibu focuses more on depth, so we know Genji much better than we know Bảo Ngọc (Baoyu) for example, but if we look at the entire canvas and compare the 2 novels as a whole, Cao Xueqin’s characters are more well-realised, more colourful and diverse, including people from different classes of society. The characters in Hong lou meng feel real, and there are often pairs of characters who appear similar but who are nevertheless distinct. 

For example, Tình Văn (Qingwen/ Skybright) also gets jealous and often makes snide remarks like Đại Ngọc (Daiyu) but doesn’t have her depth and sensitivity and tends to be more short-tempered; Sử Tương Vân (Shi Xiangyun) and Vương Hy Phượng (Wang Xifeng) are both charming, loud, and full of vitality, but Vương Hy Phượng (Wang Xifeng) is cruel and often flatters the grandmother and gets away with slightly insulting her or pointing out her foibles by disguising it as a joke, whereas Tương Vân (Xiangyun) is forthright, sometimes without tact, but still lovable because she is kind, open-hearted, and intelligent; Tập Nhân (Xiren/ Aroma) and Bình Nhi (Ping’er/ Patience) are both excellent servants and kind girls, but Tập Nhân (Aroma) seems more reserved and patient, and doesn’t mind suffering a bit loss, such as with vú Lý (nannie Li), etc. 

We watch these characters go about their daily lives, watch them enter and exit the scenes… then Cao Xueqin gradually drops more details about them, gives them a backstory or adds some more layers and creates more depth. 

In chapter 19, he gives Tập Nhân (Aroma) a backstory, a family outside the Giả (Jia) family, and again alludes to it in chapter 51. 

In chapter 44, we get to know Bình Nhi (Patience) better. 

Now chapter 52 is devoted to Tình Văn (Skybright), another servant. 

This doesn’t mean that Cao Xueqin only cares about servants—earlier in the novel, we already saw him hint at the suffering of Giả Nguyên Xuân (Jia Yuanchun), the Imperial Consort. But the servants seem to get more sympathy, more understanding and love from him. 

As a novel, Hong lou meng is full of humanity and sympathy. At some point I would write a Cao Xueqin vs Tolstoy comparison, but not yet. 

2/ A very small detail in chapter 53 catches my attention: Giả Dung’s (Jia Rong) new wife Hồ thị (Hu-shi) is in the room with her mother-in-law Vưu thị (You-shi), but she leaves the room to avoid Giả Trân (Jia Zhen) when he enters. 

3/ The 2 men of the 2 branches of the Giả (Jia) family are named “for the first time” in chapter 53. Previously they were only referred to by their titles.  

Ninh quốc công (Duke of Ningguo) is Giả Diễn (Jia Yan). 

Vinh quốc công (Duke of Rongguo) is, well… 

Here, there is a continuity issue: the Vietnamese translation follows the Chinese text and says the name of Vinh quốc công (Duke of Rongguo) is Giả Pháp (Jia Fa), but the English translation goes with Jia Yuan because that’s the name given in chapter 3, when Đại Ngọc (Daiyu) moves into the house and sees the sign. The name in Vietnamese is Giả Nguyên. 

Now, if you look at my family tree, the majority of the characters are part of Vinh quốc (Rongguo) house: Giả Bảo Ngọc (Jia Baoyu), Lâm Đại Ngọc (Lin Daiyu), Giả Nguyên Xuân (Jia Yuanchun), Giả Thám Xuân (Jia Tanchun), Giả Nghênh Xuân (Jia Yingchun), Giả Liễn (Jia Lian)… 

A few others belong to the Ninh (Ningguo) house: Giả Trân (Jia Zhen), Giả Dung (Jia Rong), Giả Tích Xuân (Jia Xichun)…

Looking again at the family tree made me realise that I’d always grouped Tích Xuân (Xichun) together with the young people of the Vinh quốc (Rongguo) house because she’s brought up with other Xuân (Chun) girls and always hangs out with them, and Giả Dung (Jia Rong) is around their age, but Tích Xuân (Xichun) is actually the younger sister of his father Giả Trân (Jia Zhen).

4/ As I read about the Lunar New Year celebrations in chapter 53 (note that I say Lunar New Year, not Chinese New Year—Vietnamese people also celebrate it), I can’t help thinking that Hong lou meng has to be written by a rich person who went poor. 

Not a poor person, who wouldn’t have known such luxuries and wouldn’t have the education and the knowledge of so many fields.

Not a rich person who stayed rich either, who wouldn’t have known decline and in such a society of strict hierarchy probably wouldn’t have understood so well servants and poor people. 

5/ Chapter 53 would be the final chapter in volume 2 of the Penguin edition (David Hawkes and John Minford). Volume 2, as David Hawkes has pointed out in his introduction, focuses on the material world—gone are the Buddhist monk and Taoist priest, gone is Thái hư ảo cảnh (The land of illusion), nor do we see any ghosts. The supernatural and mythological elements were my favourite part of volume 1, but their absence in volume 2 isn’t a problem because the characters are now more developed and there is more poetry. In volume 2, we also see more, much more of Sử Tương Vân (Shi Xiangyun), my favourite of the girls.

Volume 2 ends with some bad signs: many characters have delicate health, especially Đại Ngọc (Daiyu), who constantly gets sick; and now we start to hear from the Giả (Jia) people themselves that they struggle financially because of their extravagant lifestyles and wasteful habits, and aren’t as wealthy and secure as they appear. 

6/ After reading David Hawkes’s preface to volume 3, I’m rather concerned about the different solutions of different texts to the continuity errors of the Chinese original. For the Hong lou meng read-along, Knulp Tanner is reading the French version, Vishy is reading the English translation by the Yangs called Dream of the Red Mansions, others are reading the English translation called The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes and John Minford, and I’m reading the Vietnamese one and occasionally check the Hawkes-Minford one. 

I remember the scene with Diệu Ngọc (Miaoyu/ Adamantina) in chapter 41. After her rant about tea and water…

This is the Hawkes text: 

“Dai-yu was too well aware of Adamantina’s eccentricity to attempt a reply; and since it felt awkward to sit there saying nothing, she signalled to Bao-chai that they should go.” 

This is the Vietnamese text:

“Bảo Thoa biết Diệu Ngọc có tính dở hơi, không thích nói nhiều, cũng không thích ngồi lâu; uống nước xong, rủ Đại Ngọc đi ra.” 

My translation of the Vietnamese text: 

“Baochai knows Miaoyu is eccentric so she doesn’t want to talk much, and doesn’t want to stay long; after drinking the tea, signals to Daiyu that they leave.” 

See the difference? So now I don’t know which of them dislikes Diệu Ngọc (Miaoyu/ Adamantina).