玉嬌梨 — Page 1

由劉照宇製作

Produced by Jau-Yu Liou

詩曰：六經原本在人心，笑罵皆文仔細尋。

The poem says: The Six Classics are rooted in the human heart; even mockery and insults are literature if you seek carefully.

天地戲場觀莫矮，古今聚訟眼須深。

The world is a stage — do not take a low view of it; in the disputes of all ages, one must look with penetrating eyes.

詩存鄭衛非無意，亂著春秋豈是淫。

That the Book of Songs preserved the odes of Zheng and Wei was not without purpose; that the Spring and Autumn Annals recorded disorder was hardly lewd.

更有子雲千載後，生生死死謝知音。

And then there is Yang Xiong, a thousand years on — through life and death he gave thanks to those who truly understood him.

話說正統年間，有一科甲太常正卿姓白名玄，表字太玄，乃金陵人氏。

The story goes that during the Zhengtong reign, there was an examination graduate serving as President of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, surnamed Bai and given name Xuan, with the courtesy name Taixuan, a native of Jinling.

因王振弄權，挂冠而歸。

Because the eunuch Wang Zhen had seized power, he hung up his official cap and returned home.

這白太常上無兄下無弟，只有一個妹子，又嫁與山東盧副使遠去，止得隻身獨立。

This President Bai had neither elder nor younger brothers; he had only one younger sister, who had married a Deputy Commissioner named Lu in Shandong and gone far away, leaving him entirely alone.

他為人沉靜寡欲，不貪名利，懶於逢迎，但以詩酒自娛，因嫌城市中交接煩冗，遂卜居於鄉。

By nature he was calm and free from desire, neither greedy for fame nor profit, too lazy for flattery and social climbing, finding his pleasure solely in poetry and wine; disdaining the tedious socializing of city life, he chose to settle in the countryside.

去城約六七十里，地名喚做錦石村。

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

這村裡青山環繞四面，一帶清溪，直從西過東，曲曲回抱，兩堤上桃李芳菲，頗有山水之趣。

The village was encircled by green hills on all sides, with a clear stream running from west to east in winding curves, its banks lined with blooming peach and plum trees — a place of considerable scenic charm.

這村中雖有千餘戶居民，若要數富貴人家，當推白太常為第一。

Although the village had over a thousand households, if one were to name the wealthiest and most distinguished family, President Bai's would rank first.

這白太常官又高家又富，才學政望，又大有聲名，但只恨年過四十卻無子嗣。

President Bai held high office, was wealthy, renowned for his learning and political reputation — yet he bitterly lamented that past forty he still had no son.

也曾蓄過幾個姬妾，甚是作怪，留在身邊三五年再沒一毫影響。

He had kept a few concubines, which was strange indeed — after three or five years at his side there was not the slightest sign of pregnancy.

又移去嫁人，不上年餘便人人生子。

Yet after they were sent away and married others, each one bore a child within a year.

白公嘆息，以為有命，遂不復買妾。

Master Bai sighed and took it as his fate, and thereafter bought no more concubines.

夫人吳氏，各處求神拜佛，燒香許願，直到四十四上，方生得一個女兒。

His wife, Lady Wu, sought divine aid everywhere, praying at temples, burning incense, and making vows; it was not until she was forty-four that she finally gave birth to a daughter.

臨生這日，白公夢一神人賜美玉一塊，顏色紅赤如日，因取乳名叫做紅玉。

On the day of her birth, Master Bai dreamed that a divine being presented him with a beautiful jade the color of red fire like the sun, so he gave her the pet name Hongyu — Red Jade.

白公夫妻因晚年無子，雖然生個女兒，卻也十分歡喜。

Since Master Bai and his wife had no son in their later years, the birth of a daughter still brought them great joy.

這紅玉生得姿色非常，真似眉如春柳，眼似秋波，更兼性情聰慧，到八九歲，便學得女工針黹，件件過人。

Hongyu was exceptionally beautiful — her eyebrows like spring willows, her eyes like autumn ripples — and she was also intelligent and quick-witted; by the age of eight or nine she had mastered all manner of needlework and sewing, excelling in everything.

不幸十一歲上，母親吳氏先亡過了，就每日隨著白公讀書寫字。

Sadly, when she was eleven her mother Lady Wu passed away, and from then on she spent every day at Master Bai's side studying books and practicing calligraphy.

果然是山川秀氣所鍾，天地陰陽不爽，有十分姿色，又十分聰明，到得十四五時，便知書能文，竟已成一個女學士。

Indeed, she was the very embodiment of the finest essence of mountain and river; the cosmic forces of yin and yang had not erred — she was both supremely beautiful and supremely intelligent, and by fourteen or fifteen she was learned and accomplished in writing, truly a female scholar.

因白公寄情詩酒，日日吟詠，故紅玉小姐於詩詞一道，尤其所長。

Since Master Bai poured his feelings into poetry and wine, chanting verses daily, Miss Hongyu had a particular gift for poetry and lyrics above all else.

家居無事，往往白公做了，叫紅玉和韻，紅玉做了，與白公推敲。

At home with nothing to do, Master Bai would often compose a poem and ask Hongyu to write a matching verse; when Hongyu composed, she and Master Bai would polish it together.

白公因有了這等一個女兒，便也不思量生子，只要選擇一個有才有貌的佳婿配他，卻是一時沒有，因此耽擱到一十六歲尚未聯婚。

Having such a daughter, Master Bai no longer thought about having a son; he only wished to find a talented and handsome fine husband for her — but there was no suitable candidate to be found, and so the matter dragged on until she was sixteen and still unmarried.

不期朝廷遭土木之難，正統北狩，景泰登極，王振伏辜，起復朝臣。

Then unexpectedly the court suffered the disaster of Tumu, the Zhengtong Emperor was taken captive in the north, the Jingtai Emperor ascended the throne, Wang Zhen was punished for his crimes, and officials who had resigned were recalled to service.

白公名係舊臣，吏部會議仍推白公為太常正卿，不日命下，報到金陵。

Master Bai's name was on the register of former officials, and the Ministry of Personnel's deliberations again nominated him as President of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; the appointment came within days and word reached Jinling.

白公本意不願做官，只因紅玉姻事未就，因想道：「吾欲選擇佳婿，料此一鄉一邑人才有限，怎如京師，乃天下文人聚處，豈無東床俊彥，何不借此一行？」

Master Bai had no real wish to serve, but because Hongyu's marriage was not yet settled, he reflected: 'I want to find an outstanding son-in-law — surely the talent in a single village or county is limited. The capital, by contrast, is where scholars from all over gather; there must be fine young men to sit at one's east couch there. Why not take this opportunity to go?'

倘姻緣有在，得一美婿，也可籍半子之靠。

If fate is willing and a fine son-in-law can be found, I may yet have someone to depend upon as a half-son.

主意定了，遂不推辭，擇個吉日，挈帶紅玉小姐同上京赴任。

His mind made up, he accepted without further refusal, chose an auspicious day, and brought Miss Hongyu with him to the capital to take up his post.

到了京師，請訓朝廷，到了任，尋一個私宅住下。

Arriving in the capital, he received instructions from the court, assumed his office, and found a private residence to live in.

這太常寺乃是一個清淡衙門，況白公雖然忠義，卻是個疏懶之人，不願攬事，就是國家有大事著九卿會議，也只是兩衙門與該部做主，太常卿不過備名色唯諾而已，那有十分費心力處。

The Court of Imperial Sacrifices was an undemanding office; and though Master Bai was loyal and upright, he was by nature unhurried and reluctant to take on burdens — even when affairs of state required the Nine Ministers to confer, the substantive decisions were made by the two main offices and the relevant ministry, while the President of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices merely lent his name and nodded along, requiring little expenditure of effort.

每日公事完了，便只是飲酒賦詩。

After completing his daily official duties, he did nothing but drink wine and compose poetry.

過了數月，便有一班好詩酒的僚友，或花或柳，遞相往還。

After a few months, a circle of colleagues who shared his love of poetry and wine had formed, and they visited one another among flowers and willows in a continual round of social calls.

時值九月中旬，白公因一門人送了十二盆菊花，擺在書房階下，也有雞冠紫，也有醉楊妃，也有銀鶴翎，盆盆皆是細種。

It was mid-ninth month when a disciple sent twelve pots of chrysanthemums, which were arranged on the steps of the study — some the deep purple of a cockscomb, some the flushed red of the Drunken Lady Yang, some the silvery white of crane feathers, each pot a fine variety.

深香疏態，散影滿簾，何減屏列金釵十二。

Their deep fragrance and graceful forms cast scattered shadows across the blinds — no less splendid than twelve golden hairpins arrayed on a folding screen.

白公十分喜愛，每日把酒玩賞。

Master Bai was greatly delighted and spent every day drinking wine and admiring them.

這一日正吟賞間，忽報吳翰林與蘇御史來拜。

One day, while he was in the midst of admiring and reciting verse, word came that Academician Wu and Censor Su had arrived to pay their respects.

原來這吳翰林就是白公妻舅，叫做吳珪，號瑞庵，與白公同里，為人最重義氣。

It happened that this Academician Wu was Master Bai's brother-in-law, named Wu Gui, with the studio name Rui'an, from the same village as Master Bai, and a man who set the highest store by loyalty and righteousness.

這蘇御史名喚蘇淵，字方回，雖是河南籍中的進士，原籍卻也是金陵。

Censor Su's name was Su Yuan, courtesy name Fanghui; though he had passed the examinations under Henan's jurisdiction, his ancestral home was also Jinling.

又與白公是同年，又因詩酒往來，所以三人極相契厚，每每於政事之暇，不是你尋我，就是我訪你。

He and Master Bai were also classmates from the same examination year, and through their shared love of poetry and wine, the three men had become extremely close, often seeking one another out whenever they had free time from official duties.

白公聽見二人來拜，慌忙出來迎接。

Master Bai, hearing the two had come to call, hurried out to welcome them.

三人因平日往來慣了，情意浹洽，全無一點客套。

Since the three were accustomed to one another's company and entirely at ease, there was not the slightest trace of formality between them.

一見了，白公便笑說道：「這兩日菊花開得十分爛熳，二兄何不來一賞？」

At first sight, Master Bai laughed and said, 'The chrysanthemums have been in full glorious bloom these past few days — why did you two not come to admire them sooner?'

吳翰林道：「前日因李念臺點了南直隸學院，與他餞行，不得工夫。

Academician Wu said, 'The other day, since Li Niantai was appointed as Education Commissioner for the Southern Metropolitan Region, we held a farewell banquet for him and could not find the time.

昨晚正要來賞，不期剛出門，遇見老楊厭物拿一篇壽文，立等要做了，與石都督夫人上壽，又誤了一日工夫。

Last evening I was just about to come and admire the flowers when, the moment I stepped out the door, that tiresome old Yang came and thrust a birthday oration at me, insisting it be written on the spot as a birthday tribute for Commander Shi's wife — and so another day was wasted.'

今早見風和日麗，恐怕錯過花期，所以約了蘇老仙不速而至。」

This morning, seeing the gentle breeze and fine sunlight, and fearing we might miss the blooming season, I invited our venerable Su and we came uninvited.'

蘇御史道：「小弟連日也要來，只因衙門中多事，未免辜負芳辰。」

Censor Su said, 'I too have been wanting to come for days, but my office has kept me busy and I have unfortunately missed these lovely hours.'

三人說著話，走到堂上相見，更了衣，待了茶，遂邀入書房中看菊。

Talking as they went, the three walked into the hall, exchanged greetings, changed into informal clothes, were served tea, and were then invited into the study to view the chrysanthemums.

果然黃深紫淺，擺好兩隅，不異兩行紅粉。

Indeed, deep yellows and pale purples were arranged in the two corners of the room, no different from two rows of beautifully made-up ladies.

吳翰林與蘇御史俱誇獎好花不絕。

Academician Wu and Censor Su praised the flowers without end.

三人賞玩了一會，白公即令家人擺上酒來同飲。

After admiring the flowers for a while, Master Bai ordered the servants to bring out wine so they could drink together.

飲了數杯，吳翰林因說道：「此花秀而不艷，美而不妖，雖紅黃紫白，顏色種種鮮妍，卻終帶幾分疏野瀟洒氣味，使人愛而敬之。

After several cups, Academician Wu remarked, 'These flowers are elegant without being gaudy, beautiful without being bewitching; though their colors of red, yellow, purple, and white are all brilliantly vivid, they always retain a measure of wild and free-spirited character that makes one both love and respect them.

就如二兄與小弟一般，雖然在此做官，而日日陶情詩酒，與林下無異，終不似老楊這班俗吏，每日趨迎權貴，只指望進身做官，未免為花所笑。」

It is just like the two of you and myself — though we serve as officials here, we daily steep ourselves in poetry and wine, no different from recluses in the woods, and utterly unlike that vulgar lot of Yang's kind, who daily fawn upon the powerful and influential, thinking of nothing but advancing their careers; the flowers would surely laugh at them.'

白公笑道：「雖然如此說，只怕他們又笑你我不會做官，終日只好在此冷曹，與草木為伍。」

Master Bai laughed: 'Even so, they would probably laugh at you and me for not knowing how to be officials, good for nothing but sitting in this dull backwater post all day, keeping company with plants and trees.'

蘇御史道：「他們笑我們，殊覺有理；我們笑他便笑錯了。」

Censor Su said, 'That they laugh at us seems quite reasonable; but if we laugh at them, we are in the wrong.'

吳翰林道：「怎麼我們到笑差了？」

Academician Wu said, 'How is it that we are wrong to laugh at them?'

蘇御史道：「這京師原是個名利場，他們爭名奪利，正其宜也。你我既不貪富，又不圖貴，況白年兄與小弟又無子嗣，何必溷跡於此，以博旁人之笑。」

Censor Su said, 'The capital is fundamentally a marketplace of fame and profit; for them to compete for fame and gain is entirely fitting. You and I neither covet wealth nor seek honor; and since Brother Bai and I have no sons to speak of, why should we muddy ourselves here merely to draw others' laughter?'

白公嘆口氣道：「年兄之言最是，小弟豈不曉得？只是各有所圖，故苟戀如此，斷非捨不得這頂烏紗帽耳。」

Master Bai sighed and said, 'What you say is most apt — how could I not know it? But each man has his own purpose, and that is why I linger thus; it is certainly not that I cannot bear to part with this official cap.'