玉嬌梨 — Page 1

由劉昭宇製作。

Produced by Jau-Yu Liou

第一回　小才女代父題詩

Chapter 1: The Little Talented Girl Composes a Poem on Her Father's Behalf

詩に曰く：六經はもともと人の心に宿り、笑いも罵りもすべて文章の中に尋ねられる。

The poem says: The Six Classics are rooted in the human heart; laughter and scolding alike are to be found within literary expression.

天地はひとつの舞台であり、侮ってはならない。古今の論争には深い目が必要だ。

Heaven and Earth form a great stage—do not look down upon it; to weigh the disputes of all ages, the eye must be keen.

鄭衛の詩が残されているのにはわけがある。春秋の乱著は決していわゆる淫らなものではない。

The poems of Zheng and Wei were preserved with purpose; the disordered chronicles of the Spring and Autumn Annals are by no means licentious.

さらに揚子雲は千年の後にも、生き死にを繰り返しながら知音に感謝した。

Moreover, Yang Ziyun, across a thousand years, lived and died again and again, expressing gratitude to those who truly understood him.

話に言う、正統年間に、科挙の甲科出身で太常正卿の位についた白玄という人物がいた。字は太玄といい、金陵の出身であった。

The story goes that during the Zhengtong reign era, there was an official who had passed the highest imperial examinations and held the position of President of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; his surname was Bai and his given name Xuan, his courtesy name Taixuan, and he was a native of Jinling.

王振が権力を弄んだため、冠を掛けて故郷に帰った。

Because Wang Zhen was manipulating power at court, he hung up his official cap and returned home.

この白太常には兄弟がなく、妹が一人いるだけだったが、その妹は山東の盧副使のもとに嫁いで遠くへ行ってしまい、ひとりぼっちになっていた。

This Vice President Bai had neither elder nor younger brothers; he had only one younger sister, who had married the Deputy Commissioner Lu of Shandong and gone far away, leaving him to stand entirely alone.

彼は生来、落ち着いた性格で欲が少なく、名利を貪らず、人への追従を好まなかった。ただ詩酒で自らを楽しませ、都市での煩雑な付き合いを嫌って、郊外に居を定めた。

By nature he was calm and desired little; he did not covet fame or profit, and was too lazy to flatter others. He simply amused himself with poetry and wine, and finding the social entanglements of the city too burdensome, he chose to settle in the countryside.

城から六七十里ほど離れたところに、錦石村という地名の村があった。

About sixty or seventy li from the city was a place called Jinshi Village.

その村は四方を青い山に囲まれ、一筋の清らかな小川が西から東へと曲がりくねって流れ、両岸には桃や李の花が咲き乱れ、山水の趣がたいそうあった。

The village was ringed on all sides by green hills; a clear stream wound its way from west to east in graceful curves, and on both banks peach and plum blossoms bloomed in abundance, giving the place a most charming landscape quality.

村には千戸あまりの住民がいたが、富貴の家といえば白太常が第一であった。

Although the village had more than a thousand households, when it came to wealthy and distinguished families, Bai the Prefect of Ceremonies was considered foremost.

白太常は高い官位に就き、家も裕福で、才学と政治的名望も大いにあったが、ただ四十を過ぎても後継ぎがいないことを嘆いていた。

This Bai held a high official post, his family was wealthy, and he had great renown for his learning and political reputation; yet he grieved that he had passed forty without an heir.

何人かの妾を蓄えたこともあったが、不思議なことに、そばに置いておいて三五年経っても何の兆しもなかった。

He had once kept several concubines, but strangely, even after keeping them by his side for three or five years, there was not the slightest sign of a child.

その後、彼女たちを去らせて他家へ嫁がせると、一年も経たないうちに皆子を産んだ。

Yet after he let them go to marry into other households, each one bore a child within the year.

白公は嘆息して、これも運命だと考え、それ以来妾を買うことをやめた。

Master Bai sighed and accepted it as fate, and thereafter stopped purchasing concubines.

夫人の呉氏はあちこちの神社仏閣にお参りし、線香を焚いて願をかけ、四十四歳になってようやく女の子を一人授かった。

His wife, Lady Wu, went everywhere praying to gods and Buddhas, burning incense and making vows, until finally at the age of forty-four she gave birth to a daughter.

その子が生まれた日、白公は夢の中で神人が美しい玉を一つ授けてくれる夢を見た。その玉の色は日のように赤く輝いていたので、乳名を紅玉と名付けた。

On the day of the birth, Master Bai dreamed that a divine being presented him with a beautiful piece of jade, its color red and glowing like the sun; he therefore gave her the infant name Hongyu, meaning Red Jade.

白公夫妻は晩年に子がなく、女の子であっても大変喜んだ。

Since Master Bai and his wife had no children in their later years, they were overjoyed even to have a daughter.

紅玉は容姿が非常に美しく、春柳のような眉、秋の水面のような瞳を持ち、さらに聡明な性格で、八九歳になると女の手仕事もひとつひとつ人より優れていた。

Hongyu was extraordinarily beautiful in appearance—her brows like spring willows, her eyes like the ripples of autumn water—and moreover she had a clever nature; by the age of eight or nine she had mastered every kind of needlework and embroidery, surpassing others in each.

不幸にも十一歳の時、母の呉氏が先に亡くなり、それ以来毎日白公に従って読書や書を学んだ。

Unhappily, when she was eleven her mother Lady Wu passed away first, and from then on she followed Master Bai every day, studying books and practicing calligraphy.

果たして山川の秀気を受け、天地陰陽の恵みを受けた彼女は、十分な美貌と十分な聡明さを兼ね備え、十四五歳になると詩文を理解し作ることができ、まさに一人の女学士となっていた。

Indeed, having absorbed the finest essence of mountains and rivers and been blessed by the harmony of Heaven and Earth, she possessed both exceptional beauty and exceptional intelligence; by the age of fourteen or fifteen she could understand and compose poetry and prose, having truly become a learned woman in her own right.

白公は詩酒に心を寄せ、毎日詩を吟じていたので、紅玉小姐は詩詞の道において特に長けていた。

Since Master Bai poured his heart into poetry and wine and chanted verses every day, Miss Hongyu became especially accomplished in the art of poetry and verse.

家で暇なとき、白公が詩を作ると紅玉に和韻させ、紅玉が作ると白公が推敲するという具合だった。

When they were at home with leisure time, if Master Bai composed a poem he would have Hongyu respond with a matching rhyme, and if Hongyu composed one, Master Bai would refine and polish it.

白公はこのような娘がいるので、息子のことを考えず、ただ才色兼備の佳婿を選ぼうと思っていたが、なかなか見つからず、そのため十六歳になっても縁談が決まっていなかった。

Having such a daughter, Master Bai gave no thought to producing a son, wishing only to select a husband of both talent and appearance for her; yet such a person was not easily found, and so by the time she turned sixteen she was still not betrothed.

思いがけず朝廷が土木の変に遭い、正統帝が北方に連れ去られ、景泰帝が即位し、王振は誅殺され、朝臣たちが復職を命じられた。

Unexpectedly, the court suffered the disaster of Tumu, the Zhengtong Emperor was taken captive to the north, the Jingtai Emperor ascended the throne, Wang Zhen was punished for his crimes, and the dismissed court officials were called back to service.

白公は旧臣として、吏部の議論で再び太常正卿に推薦され、間もなく任命の知らせが金陵に届いた。

Since Master Bai's name was among the former officials, the Board of Civil Appointments unanimously recommended him once again as President of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and in a matter of days the appointment was announced and the news arrived in Jinling.

白公は本来、官職に就くことを望まなかったが、紅玉の縁談がまだ決まっていなかったため、こう考えた。「私が佳婿を選ぼうとしても、一郷一邑の人材には限りがある。どうして京師に行かないのか。京師は天下の文人が集まる場所であり、必ずや優れた人物がいるはずだ。この機会を借りて行ってみてはどうか。もし縁があり、良い婿が見つかれば、老後の頼りにもなろう。」

Master Bai did not truly wish to take office, but since Hongyu's marriage had not yet been arranged, he reasoned: 'If I wish to select a fine husband, the talent within one township or county is limited—why not go to the capital? The capital is where the literary men of the empire gather; surely there must be outstanding young men there. Why not take advantage of this journey? If fate provides, and a good husband is found, it would also give me some support in old age.'

心が決まると辞退せず、吉日を選んで紅玉小姐を連れて京へ赴任した。

His mind made up, he did not decline the appointment; he chose an auspicious day and set out for the capital, taking Miss Hongyu along with him.

京師に到着すると、朝廷に謁見の挨拶を済ませ、任所に着いてから私邸を借りて住み始めた。

Upon arriving at the capital, he reported to court and paid his respects, and once he had taken up his post he found a private residence to move into.

太常寺は閑職の衙門であり、しかも白公は忠義の人であったが疎放な性格で、面倒な仕事を嫌っていた。

The Court of Imperial Sacrifices was a post of little real business; and though Master Bai was loyal and principled, he was by nature easygoing and disliked taking on complicated affairs.

国家に大事があって九卿が会議を開いても、それは主に二つの衙門と担当部署が取り仕切り、太常卿は名前だけで唯々諾々とするだけで、大して心力を使うことはなかった。

Even when important state affairs arose and the Nine Ministers convened for deliberations, it was the two principal offices and the relevant ministries that took the lead; the President of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was there in name only, simply nodding in assent, and had little need to exert himself.

毎日、公務が終わると飲酒して詩を詠むだけだった。

Every day, once official business was done, he did nothing but drink wine and compose poetry.

数ヶ月が過ぎると、詩酒を好む同僚たちが集まり、花見や柳見をしながら互いに行き来するようになった。

After a few months had passed, a group of like-minded colleagues who enjoyed poetry and wine gathered around him, and they began visiting one another frequently, delighting in flowers and willows together.

九月中旬のこと、白公は門人から菊の鉢を十二鉢贈られ、書斎の階下に並べた。

In the middle of the ninth month, a disciple sent Master Bai twelve pots of chrysanthemums, which were arranged below the steps of the study.

鶏冠紫や酔楊妃や銀鶴翎など、どれも珍しい品種で、香りが深く姿が疎らで、影が簾に広がり、金の簪が十二本並ぶかのようだった。

There were varieties such as Cockscomb Purple, Drunken Imperial Consort, and Silver Crane Feather; every pot was a rare cultivar. Their fragrance was deep and their forms graceful, their shadows spreading across the curtain, no less striking than twelve golden hairpins arranged in a row.

白公はたいそう気に入り、毎日酒を持って鑑賞していた。

Master Bai was enormously pleased and every day drank wine while admiring them.

この日ちょうど詩を吟じて鑑賞していると、突然、呉翰林と蘇御史が訪ねてきたと報告があった。

On this very day, just as he was chanting and admiring the flowers, word suddenly came that Han-lin Scholar Wu and Censor Su had come to call.

この呉翰林こそ白公の妻の兄弟で、名を呉珪といい、号を瑞庵といい、白公と同郷で、義気を重んじる人物であった。

This Han-lin Scholar Wu was in fact Master Bai's brother-in-law, named Wu Gui, styled Rui'an, a fellow townsman of Master Bai and a man who greatly valued righteousness.

蘇御史は名を蘇淵、字を方回といい、河南籍の進士ではあるが、本籍はやはり金陵であった。

Censor Su's given name was Su Yuan and his courtesy name Fanghui; though registered in the Henan examination district, his ancestral home was also Jinling.

また白公と同年の進士であり、詩酒の交わりもあったので、三人は大変親しく、政務の暇にはどちらかが互いを訪ねるのが常だった。

He was also a classmate of Master Bai from the same examination year, and since they also shared a friendship over poetry and wine, the three men were extremely close; whenever they had leisure from official duties, one or the other would seek out the others.

白公は二人が来たと聞いて、慌てて迎えに出た。

Hearing that the two men had arrived, Master Bai hurried out to receive them.

三人は日頃から親しく往来していたので、気心が知れており、客套めいた挨拶など少しもなかった。

The three of them were so well accustomed to one another's company that their rapport was warm and complete, with not the slightest trace of formal ceremony.

白公はひと目見るなり、笑って言った。「ここ二日、菊の花が見事に咲き誇っているのに、お二人はなぜ来て鑑賞なさらないのか。」

The moment they met, Master Bai said with a smile: 'The chrysanthemums have been in magnificent bloom these past two days—why have you two not come to admire them?'

呉翰林が言った。「先日、李念台が南直隸学院に赴任することになったので、送別会に出席して時間が取れませんでした。昨夜こそ来て花を楽しもうと思ったのですが、思いがけなく出かける直前に老楊という人物が寿文の草稿を持って立って待っており、石都督の夫人の誕生日を祝うためにすぐに書いてほしいと言われ、またもや一日費やしてしまいました。今朝は風が穏やかで日差しも麗らかだったので、花期を逃しては大変と思い、蘇老仙を誘って突然ながらお邪魔しました。」

Han-lin Scholar Wu said: 'The other day I had to attend the farewell banquet for Li Niantai, who has been appointed Superintendent of Schools for the Southern Metropolitan Region, and could not find the time. Last evening I fully intended to come and enjoy the flowers, but just as I was heading out I unexpectedly ran into that dreadful fellow Old Yang, who was standing there waiting with a birthday eulogy in hand, insisting it be written immediately to congratulate Administrator Shi's wife on her birthday—so another whole day was wasted. This morning the wind was gentle and the sun was bright, and fearing I might miss the blooming season entirely, I invited Elder Su and came over uninvited.'

蘇御史が言った。「小弟もここ数日来ようと思っていたのですが、衙門が多忙で、どうしても良い時節を無駄にしてしまいました。」

Censor Su said: 'I too have been meaning to come these past few days, but the office has been so busy with affairs that I could not help but squander the fine season.'

三人は話しながら堂に上がり、服を着替え、お茶をいただき、それから書斎に招かれて菊を見た。

The three of them chatted as they went up to the hall, changed their garments, had tea served, and were then invited into the study to admire the chrysanthemums.

黄色は濃く紫は薄く、二隅に美しく並べられた様子は、まるで二列の美人のようだった。

Deep yellow and pale purple were beautifully arranged in both corners, looking for all the world like two rows of lovely maidens.

呉翰林と蘇御史はともに絶え間なく花を称えた。三人はしばらく花を鑑賞し、白公はすぐに家人に酒を並べさせて一緒に飲んだ。

Han-lin Scholar Wu and Censor Su both praised the flowers without cease. After the three of them had admired the flowers for a while, Master Bai promptly had the household servants bring out wine for them to drink together.