by Cao Xueqin
Lady Bright is associated with the pipa (Japanese biwa), or Chinese lute, which as a matter of historical fact may well have found its way into China round about her time. Chinese painters generally represent her clothed in furs and holding a pipa under one arm. The twanging string of the second line of the quatrain is presumably a lute-string. Chinese half-believed, or professed to believe, that if the person playing a note on a stringed instrument did so sufficiently sadly or passionately, the string was liable to break.
The most favoured guess for the riddle is ‘an inked string’ – the device which Chinese carpenters used for marking a straight line on wood.
MA-WEI
Ma-wei was the site of the post-house where Lady Yang (Yang Gui-fei), another unfortunate Chinese court lady, was strangled. Lady Yang was the favourite of the Tang emperor Ming-huang (reg. A.D. 712–56), whose infatuation with her is supposed to have been one of the contributory causes of the An Lushan rebellion. When the Chinese court fled from Changan on a July night in 756 to escape from the approaching rebels, the emperor’s military escort mutinied at Ma-wei about forty miles west of the city, killing Lady Yang’s cousin, the detested Prime Minister Yang Guozhong, and insisting that Lady Yang herself should be delivered up to them. She was strangled by the Chief Eunuch and her dead body handed over for the mutinous soldiery to trample on, while the grieving emperor stood helplessly by. According to one tradition, when some years later the emperor – or ex-emperor as he now was – had her buried remains exhumed, everything had disappeared except for a perfume-sachet, which filled the whole grave with its scent. The ex-emperor had this sachet wrapped up in some of his favourite’s clothes and reinterred. This is clearly the story that is referred to in the last line of the quatrain.
The most convincing of the various solutions proposed for the concealed riddle is ‘scented soap’, doubly appropriate because Ming-huang first became enamoured of Lady Yang when he saw her taking a bath. She is, in fact, the naked lady of Bao-yu’s crab-flower poem in chapter 37 to which his girl cousins took such exception.
THE MONASTERY AT PU-DONG
This was the scene of the action taking place in that much-loved drama, already several times referred to in the pages of this novel, The Western Chamber. The story exists in several different forms, both fictional and dramatic, the best-known being the play by the thirteenth century dramatist Wang Shifu. This, in a heavily-edited seventeenth century version, is the Western Chamber so frequently referred to and quoted from in The Story of the Stone.
The play’s plot, which derives from a short story by Yuan Zhen (A.D. 779–831), a friend and collaborator of the poet Bo Juyi (the ‘Po Chü-i’ familiar to Western readers through the translations of Arthur Waley), follows the love-affair of a poor young scholar, Zhang Jun-rui, who had taken up lodging in the monastery, and a high-born young lady, Cui Ying-ying, travelling with her widowed mother and her maid, the witty and vivacious Hong-niang (‘Reddie’), who acts as the lovers’ go-between. The third line of the quatrain refers to the rough treatment meted out to Reddie when the lovers’ affair became known. The ‘mistress’ of that line is Ying-ying’s widowed mother.
To my mind the most convincing guess for the concealed riddle is ‘a red travelling-lantern’.
THE PLUM-TREE SHRINE
The subject of this quatrain is taken from another much-loved play, The Return of the Soul by Tang Xianzu (1550–1616) 1, in which the heroine, Li-niang, dreams of meeting a handsome young scholar called Liu (‘willow’) while sleeping under a plum-tree in a deserted garden and is so affected by her dream that she pines away and apparently dies. Before she dies she paints a portrait of herself and inscribes a poem on it, the last line of which is the first line of this quatrain. She is buried under the plum-tree beneath which she had had her dream, and her sorrowing father has a Taoist oratory – the Plum-tree Shrine – built near by where prayers may be said perpetually for her soul. Meanwhile Li-niang’s dream-lover had himself been dreaming of Li-niang. He eventually finds his way to the shrine and its garden, where he discovers the portrait and inscribed verses (hence the second line of this quatrain), and later has Li-niang exhumed, whereupon she comes back to life and the lovers, after various further vicissitudes, become man and wife.
The subject of the concealed riddle appears to be ‘a white silk fan’. Such fans were called ‘full moon fans’ (cf. line 3 of the quatrain). Like all fans, they would be discarded with the passing of the hot weather and not required again until the following year.
Characters in Vol. II
ABBOT ZHANG an old Taoist, chief priest of the Lunar Queen Temple
ADAMANTINA a genteel and eccentric young nun residing in Prospect Garden
ADVENT Caltrop’s maid
ALMOND Liu Xiang-lian’s page
‘AMARYLLIS ISLANDER’ poetry club pseudonym of JIA YING-CHUN
AMBER maid of Grandmother Jia
APRICOT maid of Bao-chai
AROMA principal maid of Bao-yu
AUNT XUE widowed sister of Lady Wang and mother of Xue Pan and Bao-chai
AUNT ZHAO concubine of Jia Zheng and mother of Tan-chun and Jia Huan
AUNT ZHOU Jia Zheng’s other concubine
‘BABY’ see JIA QIAO-JIE
BAILIFF WU see WU JIN-XIAO
BAN-ER see WANG BAN-ER
BAO-CHAI see XUE BAO-CHAI
BAO ER’S WIFE domestic of easy virtue taken in adultery with Jia Lian
BAO-QIN see XUE BAO-QIN
BAO-YU see JIA BAO-YU
BIJOU stage name of JIANG YU-HAN
BRIGHTIE and BRIGHTIE’S WIFE couple employed by Xi-feng in her financial transactions
CALTROP Xue Pan’s ‘chamber wife’; originally daughter of Zhen Shi-yin, kidnapped in infancy
CANDIDA maid of Li Wan
CARMINE concubine purchased by Jia She
CASTA maid of Li Wan
CHAI see XUE BAO-CHAI
CHARMANTE one of the Jia family’s troupe of child actresses
CHESS principal maid of Ying-chun
‘CLOUD MAIDEN’ poetry club pseudonym of SHI XIANG-YUN
COUSIN BAO (1) see JIA BAO-YU
(2) see XUE BAO-CHAI
COUSIN CHAI see XUE BAO-CHAI
COUSIN DAI see LIN DAI-YU
COUSIN FENG see WANG XI-FENG
COUSIN LIAN see JIA LIAN
COUSIN LIN see LIN DAI-YU
COUSIN PAN see XUE PAN
COUSIN QIN see XUE BAO-QIN
COUSIN SHI see SHI XIANG-YUN
COUSIN TAN see JIA TAN-CHUN
COUSIN WAN see LI WAN
COUSIN XI see JIA XI-CHUN
COUSIN XUE see XUE PAN
COUSIN YING see JIA YING-CHUN
COUSIN YUN see SHI XIANG-YUN
COUSIN ZHEN son of Jia Jing; acting head of the senior (Ning-guo) branch of the Jia family
CRIMSON maid of Bao-yu later employed by Xi-feng
DAI see LIN DAI-YU
DAI-YU see LIN DAI-YU
DELICATE junior maid of Dai-yu
DR WANG see WANG JI-REN
EBONY maid of Tan-chun
ÉLÉGANTE one of the Jia family’s troupe of child actresses
EMERALD maid of Bao-yu
FAITHFUL principal maid of Grandmother Jia
‘FARMER SWEETRICE’ poetry club pseudonym of LI WAN
FELICITY maid attendant on Xi-feng
FENG see WANG XI-FENG
FENG ZI-YING family friend of the younger Jias
FU QIU-FANG sister of Fu Shi
FU SHI ambitious protégé of Jia Zheng
GOLDEN principal maid of Lady Wang
GRANDMOTHER JIA née SHI; widow of Bao-yu’s paternal grand father and head of the Rong-guo branch of the Jia family
GRANNIE LIU an old countrywoman patronized by Xi-feng and later by Grandmother Jia
‘GREEN BOY’ poetry club pseudonym of JIA BAO-YU
HU-SHI Jia Rong’s second wife
HUA ZI-FANG Aroma’s elder brother
HUAN
see JIA HUAN
JIA BAO-YU incarnation of the Stone; the eldest surviving son of Jia Zheng and Lady Wang of Rong-guo House
JIA BIN obscure member of the Jia family in the same generation as Cousin Zhen and Jia Lian
JIA CHANG junior member of the clan given casual employment by the Rong-guo Jias
JIA CONG little son of one of Jia She’s concubines
JIA HUAN Bao-yu’s half-brother; the son of Jia Zheng and his concubine, ‘Aunt’ Zhao
JIA HUANG member of the Jia family in reduced circumstances belonging to the same generation as Cousin Zhen and Jia Lian
JIA JING father of Cousin Zhen and nominal head of the Ning-guo branch of the family living in retirement in a Taoist monastery outside the city
JIA JUN young schoolboy attending the Jia family school
JIA LAN Li Wan’s little son
JIA LIAN SON of Jia She and Lady Xing and husband of Wang Xi-feng
JIA LING and JIA PING junior members of the clan given casual employment by the Rong-guo Jias
JIA QIANG distant relation of the Ning-guo Jias patronized by Cousin Zhen and later given charge by the Rong-guo Jias of the family’s troupe of actresses
JIA QIAO-JIE little daughter of Jia Lian and Wang Xi-feng
JIA QIN junior member of the clan employed by the Rong-guo Jias to look after the nuns from Prospect Garden in the family temple outside the city
JIA QIONG obscure member of the Jia family in the same generation as Cousin Zhen and Jia Lian
JIA RONG son of Cousin Zhen and You-shi
JIA SHE Jia Zheng’s elder brother; father of Jia Lian and Ying-chun
JIA TAN-CHUN daughter of Jia Zheng and ‘Aunt’ Zhao; half-sister of Bao-yu and second of the ‘Three Springs’
JIA XI-CHUN daughter of Jia Jing and younger sister of Cousin Zhen; youngest of the ‘Three Springs’
JIA XING obscure junior member of the Jia clan occasionally pre sent at family gatherings
JIA YING-CHUN daughter of Jia She by a concubine; eldest of the ‘Three Springs’
JIA YU-CUN a careerist claiming relationship with the Jia family
JIA YUAN-CHUN daughter of Jia Zheng and Lady Wang and elder sister of Bao-yu; the Imperial Concubine
JIA YUN poor relation of the Rong-guo Jias employed by Xi-feng in Prospect Garden
JIA ZHENG Bao-yu’s father; the younger of Grandmother Jia’s two sons
JIA ZHI obscure junior member of the Jia clan occasionally present at family gatherings
JIA ZHU deceased elder brother of Bao-yu; husband of Li Wan and father of her little son Jia Lan.
JIANG YU-HAN a female impersonator patronized by the Prince of Zhong-shun
JIN WEN-XIANG Faithful’s elder brother
KINGFISHER Shi Xiang-yun’s maid
‘LADY ALL-SPICE’ poetry club pseudonym of XUE BAO-CHAI
LADY JIA see GRANDMOTHER JIA
LADY WANG wife of Jia Zheng and mother of Jia Zhu, Yuan-chun and Bao-yu
LADY XING wife of Jia She and mother of Jia Lian
LAI DA Chief Steward of the Rong-guo mansion
LAI SHANG-RONG Lai Da’s son, educated and enabled to obtain advancement under the Jia family’s patronage
LAI SHENG Chief Steward of the Ning-guo mansion
LANDSCAPE maid of Xi-chun
LI GUI Nannie Li’s son; Bao-yu’s foster-brother and chief groom
LI QI Li Wan’s cousin; younger sister of Li Wen
LI WAN widow of Bao-yu’s deceased elder brother, Jia Zhu, and mother of Jia Lan
LI WEN Li Wan’s cousin; elder sister of Li Qi
LIN DAI-YU incarnation of the Crimson Pearl Flower; orphaned daughter of Lin Ru-hai and Jia Zheng’s sister, Jia Min
LIN ZHI-XIAO and LIN ZHI-XIAO’S WIFE domestics holding the highest position in the Rong household under the Chief Steward Lai Da
LIU XIANG-LIAN young man of independent means friendly with Lai Shang-rong and the younger Jias
‘LOTUS DWELLER’ poetry club pseudonym of JIA XI-CHUN
LOU-SHI Jia Jun’s mother
MACKEREL maid of Bao-yu
MAMMA SONG old servant attached to Bao-yu’s apartment, mostly employed on errands
MARQUIS OF ZHONG-JING, THE see SHI DING
MASTER BAO see JIA BAO-YU
MASTER RONG see JIA RONG
MELILOT junior maid of Bao-yu
MERRY page in employment of Cousin Zhen and You-shi
MISS BAO see XUE BAO-CHAI
MISS LIN see LIN DAI-YU
MISS SHI see SHI XIANG-YUN
MISS XING see XING XIU-YAN
MR LIAN see JIA LIAN
MR QIANG see JIA QIANG
MR XIA see XIA BING-ZHONG
MR ZHEN see COUSIN ZHEN
MR ZHU see JIA ZHU
MRS BAI mother of Golden and Silver
MRS LAI aged mother of the Chief Steward, Lai Da
MRS LI Li Wan’s widowed aunt; mother of Li Wen and Li Qi
MRS LIAN see WANG XI-FENG
MRS SONG see MAMMA SONG
MRS XUE see AUNT XUE
MRS ZHEN see YOU-SHI
MRS ZHU see LI WAN
MUSK maid of Bao-yu
NANNIE LI Bao-yu’s former wet-nurse
NIGHTINGALE principal maid of Dai-yu
NUAGEUSE a sing-song girl
NURSE ZHOU Shi Xiang-yun’s nurse
OLD MRS LAI see MRS LAI
OLDIE one of Bao-yu’s pages
ORIOLE principal maid of Bao-chai
PARROT maid of Grandmother Jia
PATIENCE chief maid and confidante of Wang Xi-feng
PEARL maid of Grandmother Jia
PERIWINKLE Bao-qin’s maid
PICTURE principal maid of Xi-chun
‘PLANTAIN LOVER’ poetry club pseudonym of JIA TAN-CHUN
PLOUGHBOY one of Bao-yu’s pages
PRETTIKINS junior maid of Grandmother Jia
PRINCE OF BEI-JING, THE see SHUI RONG
PRINCE OF ZHONG-SHUN, THE an ageing pederast, patron of the female impersonator ‘Bijou’
PROSPER and PROVIDENCE maids of Aunt Xue
QIAN SHENG groom in the employment of the Rong-guo mansion
QIAO-JIE see JIA QIAO-JIE
QIN ZHONG dead friend of Bao-yu; younger brother of Jia Rong’s deceased first wife
RIPPLE maid of Bao-yu
‘RIVER QUEEN’ poetry club pseudonym of LIN DAI-YU
SCRIBE principal maid of Tan-chun
SHI DING Marquis of Zhong-jing; nephew of Grandmother Jia and uncle of Shi Xiang-yun
SHI XIANG-YUN orphaned great-niece of Grandmother Jia
SHUI RONG Prince of Bei-jing; princely connection of the Jias friendly with Bao-yu
SILVER maid of Lady Wang; Golden’s younger sister
SIR SHE see JIA SHE
SIR ZHENG see JIA ZHENG
SKYBRIGHT maid of Bao-yu
SNOWGOOSE maid of Dai-yu
STEADFAST junior maid in Bao-yu’s apartment
STOPPO one of Jia Lian’s and Xi-feng’s pages
STORKY one of Bao-yu’s pages
SUNCLOUD and SUNSET maids of Lady Wang
SUNSHINE page employed by Wang Xi-feng for clerical duties
SWEEPER one of Bao-yu’s pages
TAN see JIA TAN-CHUN
TAN-CHUN see JIA TAN-CHUN
TANGERINE maid of Ying-chun
TEALEAF Bao-yu’s principal page
TOPAZE and TRÉSOR girl-actresses in the Jia family troupe
TRINKET junior maid in Bao-yu’s apartment
TWO-TIMES one of Bao-yu’s pages
WANG BAN-ER little grandson of Grannie Liu
WANG REN Xi-feng’s elder brother
WANG JI-REN doctor in regular attendance on the Rong-guo Jia family
WANG RONG groom in the employment of the Rong-guo mansion
WANG XI-FENG wife of Jia Lian and niece of Lady Wang, Aunt Xue and Wang Zi-teng
WANG ZI-TENG elder brother of Lady Wang and Aunt Xue
WU J
IN-XIAO bailiff of the Ning-guo farms
WU XIN-DENG Clerk of Stores at the Rong-guo mansion
XI-CHUN see JIA XI-CHUN
XI-FENG see WANG XI-FENG
XIA BING-ZHONG eunuch Master of the Bedchamber in the Imperial Palace
XIANG-LIAN see LIU XIANG-LIAN
XIANG-YUN see SHI XIANG-YUN
XING XIU-YAN Lady Xing’s niece; gifted daughter of improvident and sponging parents
XIU-YAN see XING XIU-YAN
XUE BAO-CHAI daughter of Aunt Xue
XUE BAO-QIN niece of Aunt Xue and younger sister of Xue Ke
XUE KE Xue Bao-qin’s elder brother
XUE PAN the ‘Oaf King’; son of Aunt Xue and elder brother of Bao-chai
YING-CHUN see JIA YING-CHUN
YOU-SHI wife of Cousin Zhen and mother of Jia Rong
YU-CUN see JIA YU-CUN
YUAN-CHUN see JIA YUAN-CHUN
YUN (1) see SHI XIANG-YUN
(2) see JIA YUN
ZHANG CAI’S WIFE senior domestic employed in the Rong mansion
ZHANG DE-HUI manager of Xue Pan’s largest pawnshop
ZHANG RUO-JIN and ZHAO YI-HUA grooms in the employment of the Rong-guo mansion
Genealogy of the Ning-guo and Rong-guo Houses of the Jia Clan
The Wang Family
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