红楼梦诗词翻译

1 无才可去补苍天，枉入红尘若许年；此系身前身后事，倩谁记去作奇传？

Unfit to mend the azure sky, I passed some years on earth to no avail;
My life in both worlds is recorded here, Whom can I ask to pass on this romantic tale?


2 满纸荒唐言，一把辛酸泪！都云作者痴，谁解其中味？

Pages full of fantastic talk, Penned with bitter tears;
All men call the author mad, None his message hears.

3 惯养娇生笑你痴，菱花空对雪嘶嘶；好防佳节元宵后，便是烟消火灭时。（癞头僧吟英莲）

Fool, to care for this tender child,
An image in the mirror, snow melting away.
Beware what will follow the Lantern Feast,
The vanishing like smoke when the fire burns out.


4 未卜三生愿，频添一段愁；闷来时敛额，行去几回头；自顾风前影，谁堪月下俦？蟾光如有意，先上玉人楼！（贾雨村风尘怀闺秀诗）

Not yet divined the fate in sore for me,
Good reason have I for anxiety,
And so my brows are knit despondently,
But she, as she went off, looked back at me.
My shadow in the wind is all I see,
Will she by moonlight keep me company?
If sensibility were in its power,
The moon should first light up the fair one’s bower.


5 时逢三五便团圆，满把晴光护玉栏；
天上一轮才捧出，人间万姓仰头看！（贾雨村口占一绝）

On the fifteenth the moon is full,
Bathing jade balustrades with her pure light,
As her bright orb sails up the sky,
All men on earth gaze upwards at the sight.

6《好了歌》

世人都晓神仙好，惟有功名忘不了！
古今将相在何方？荒冢一堆草没了！
世人都晓神仙好，只有金银忘不了！
终朝只恨聚无多，及到多时眼闭了。
世人都晓神仙好，只有娇妻忘不了！
君生日日说恩情，君死又随人去了。
世人都晓神仙好，只有儿孙忘不了！
痴心父母古来多，孝顺儿孙谁见了？

All men long to be immortals
Yet to rich and ranks each aspires;
The great ones of old, where are they now?
Their graves are a mass of briars.
All men long to be immortals
Yet silver and gold they prize,
And grub for money all their lives
Till death seals up their eyes.
All men long to be immortals
Yet dote on the wives they’ve wed,
Who wear to love their husband evermore
But remarry as soon as he’s dead.
All men long to be immortals
Yet with getting sons won’t have done.
Although fond parents are legion,
Who ever saw a really filial son?



7 好了歌注解

陋室空堂，当年笏满床；
衰草苦杨，曾为歌舞杨。
蛛丝儿结满雕梁，
绿纱今又糊在蓬窗上。
说什么脂正浓，粉正香，
如何两鬓又成霜？
昨日黄土陇头埋白骨，
今宵红绡帐底卧鸳鸯。
金满箱，银满箱，
转眼乞丐人皆谤。
正叹他人命不长，
哪知自己归来丧？
训有方，保不定日后做强梁。
择膏梁，谁承望流落在烟花巷！
因嫌纱帽小，致使枷锁扛；
昨怜破袄寒，今嫌紫蟒长。
乱哄哄你方唱罢我登场，
反认他乡是故乡；
甚荒唐，
到头来都是为他人做嫁衣裳。

Mean huts and empty halls
Where emblems of nobility once hung;
Dead weeds and withered trees,
Where men have once danced and sung;

Carved beams are swathed in cobwebs
But briar-choked casements screened again with gauze;
While yet the rouge is fresh, the powder fragrant,
The hair at the temples turns hoary-for what cause?

Yesterday, yellow clay received white bones;
Today, red lanterns light the love-birds’ nest;
While men with gold and silver by the chest
Turn beggars, scorned by all the dispossessed.

A life cut short one moment makes one sight,
Who would have known it’s her turn next to die?
No matter with what pains he schools his sons.
Who knows if they will turn to brigandry?

A pampered girl brought up in luxury
May slip into a quarter of ill fame;
Resentment at a low official rank
May lead to fetters and a felon’s shame.

In ragged coat one shivered yesterday,
Today a purple robe he frowns upon;
All’s strife and tumult on the stage,
As one man ends his song the next comes on.

To take strange parts as home
Is folly past compare;
And all our labour in the end
Is making clothes for someone else to wear.

8 护官符

贾不假，白玉为堂金作马。宁国荣国二公之后共二十房分，除宁荣亲派八房在都外，现原籍住者十二房。
阿房宫，三百里，住不下金陵一个史。保龄侯尚书令史公之后，房分共八，都中现住十房，原籍八房。
东海缺少白玉床，龙王来请金陵王。都太尉统制县伯王公之后，共十二房，都中二房，余在籍。
丰年好大“雪”，珍珠如土金如铁。紫微舍人薛公之后，现领内库帑银行商，共八房。

The Jinling Jias, If truth be told, Have halls of jade, Stables of gold.
Vast O Pang Palace, Fit for a king, isn’t fine enough, for the Shis of Jinling.
If the Dragon King wants a white jade bed, He applies to the Wangs of Jinling, it’s said.
The Xues in their affluence, are so rich and grand, gold is like iron to them, and pearls like sand.

9 春梦随云散，飞花逐水流。寄言众儿女，何必觅闲愁。（警幻仙子歌）

Gone with the clouds spring’s dream, Flowers drift away on the stream;
Young lovers all, be warned by me, Cease courting needless misery.


10  方离柳坞,乍出花房.但行处,鸟惊庭树,将到时,
　　影度回廊.仙袂乍飘兮,闻麝兰之馥郁,荷衣欲动兮,
　　听环佩之铿锵.靥笑春桃兮,云堆翠髻,唇绽樱颗兮,榴
　　齿含香.纤腰之楚楚兮,回风舞雪,珠翠之辉辉兮,满
　　额鹅黄.出没花间兮,宜嗔宜喜,徘徊池上兮,若飞若扬.
　　蛾眉颦笑兮,将言而未语,莲步乍移兮,待止而欲行.羡彼
　　之良质兮,冰清玉润,羡彼之华服兮,闪灼文章.爱彼之貌
　　容兮,香培玉琢,美彼之态度兮,凤翥龙翔.其素若何,
　　春梅绽雪.其洁若何,秋菊被霜.其静若何,松生空谷.
　　其艳若何,霞映澄塘.其文若何,龙游曲沼.其神若何,月
　　射寒江.应惭西子,实愧王嫱.奇矣哉,生于孰地,来自
　　何方,信矣乎,瑶池不二,紫府无双.果何人哉?如斯之
　　美也! （赞警幻仙子赋）

Leaving the willow bank, she comes just now through the flowers. Her approach startles birds in the trees in the court, and soon her shadow falls across the verandah. Her fairy sleeves, fluttering, give off a heady fragrance of musk and orchid. With each rustle of her lotus garments, her jade pendants tinkle.
Her dimpled smile is peach-blossom in spring, her blue-black hair a cluster of clouds. Her lips are cherries and sweet the breath from her pomegranate teeth.
The curve of her slender waist is snow whirled by the wind. Dazzling her pearls and emeralds and gosling-gold the painted design on her forehead.
She slips in and out of the flowers, now vexed, now radiant, and floats over the lake as if on wings.
Her moth like eyebrows are knit yet there lurks a smile, and no sounds issues from her lips parted as if to speak as she glides swiftly on lotus feet and, pausing, seems poised for flight.
Her flawless complexion is pure as ice, smooth as jade. Magnificent her costume with splendid designs. Sweet her face, compact of fragrance, carved in jade; and she bears herself like a phoenix or dragon in flight.
Her whiteness? Spring plum-blossom glimpse through snow. Her purity? Autumn orchids coated with frost. Her tranquility? A pine in a lonely valley. Her beauty? Sunset mirrored in a limpid pool. Her grace? A dragon breasting a winding stream. Her spirit? Moonlight on a frosty river.
She would put Xishi on shame and make Wangqiang blush. Where was this wonder born? Whence does she come?
Verily she has no peer in fairyland, no equal in the purple courts of heaven.
Who can she be, this beauty?

11   秋窗风雨夕

滴不尽相思血泪抛红豆
开不完春柳春花满画楼
睡不稳纱窗风雨黄昏后
忘不了新愁与旧愁
咽不下玉粒金莼噎满喉
照不见菱花镜里形容瘦
展不开的眉头
捱不明的更漏呀
恰便是遮不住的青山隐隐
流不断的绿水悠悠

Like drops of blood fall endless tears of longing

By painted pavilion grow willows and flowers untold

Sleepless at night when wind and rain lash gauze windows

She cannot forget her sorrows new and old

Choking on rice like jade and wine like gold

She turns from her wan reflection in the glass

Nothing can smooth away her frown,

It seems that the long night will never pass;

Like the shadow of peaks, her grief is never gone;

Like the green stream it flows for ever on.

12   问菊

欲讯秋情众莫知
漫将幽意叩东篱
孤标傲世偕谁隐
一样花开为底迟
圃露庭霜何寂寞
鸿归蛩病可相思
休言举世无谈者
解语何妨话片时.

Questioning the chrysanthemum

My questions about autumn none can answer

Musing alone I stroll to the eastern fence

Proud recluse, with what hermit are you taking refuge?

All flowers must bloom, what makes you bloom so late?

So lonely in dewy gardens and frosty courts,

When swans fly off, crickets chirp, does your heart ache?

Say not there is none in the world worth taking to?

Since you understand, why don’t we chat awhile?

13  西厢记词

原来姹紫嫣红开遍
似这般都付与断井颓垣
良辰美景奈何天
赏心乐事谁家院
则为你如花美
似水流年

What a riot of brilliant purple and tender crimson,Among the ruined wells and crumbling walls

What an enchanting sight on this fine morning,

But who is there that takes delight in the spring?

For you are as fair as a flower

And youth is slipping away like flowing water

14          葬花词 　　

花谢花飞花满天，红消香断有谁怜？ 　　

游丝软系飘春榭，落絮轻沾扑绣帘。 　　

闺中女儿惜春暮，愁绪满怀无释处； 　　

手把花锄出绣帘，忍踏落花来复去。 　

柳丝榆荚自芳菲，不管桃飘与李飞； 　　

桃李明年能再发，明年闺中知有谁？ 　　

三月香巢已垒成，梁间燕子太无情。 　　

明年花发虽可啄，却不道人去梁空巢也倾。 　　

一年三百六十日，风刀霜剑严相逼； 　　

明媚鲜妍能几时，一朝漂泊难寻觅。 　　

花开易见落难寻，阶前愁煞葬花人； 　　

独倚花锄泪暗洒，洒上空枝见血痕。 　　

杜鹃无语正黄昏，荷锄归去掩重门； 　　

青灯照壁人初睡，冷雨敲窗被未温。 　　

怪奴底事倍伤神？半为怜春半恼春： 　　

怜春忽至恼忽去，至又无言去不闻。 　　

昨宵庭外悲歌发，知是花魂与鸟魂？ 　　

花魂鸟魂总难留，鸟自无言花自羞； 　　

愿奴胁下生双翼，随花飞到天尽头。 　　

天尽头，何处有香丘？ 　　

未若锦囊收艳骨，一抔净土掩风流； 　　

质本洁来还洁去，强于污淖陷渠沟。 　　

尔今死去侬收葬，未卜侬身何日丧？ 　　

侬今葬花人笑痴，他年葬侬知是谁？ 　　

试看春残花渐落，便是红颜老死时； 　　

一朝春尽红颜老，花落人亡两不知！


As blossoms fade and fly across the sky,

Who pities the faded red, the scent that has been?

Softly the gossamer floats over spring pavilions,

Gently the willow fluff wafts to the embroidered screen.

A girl in her chamber mourns the passing of spring,

No relief from anxiety her poor heart knows;

Hoe in hand she steps through her portal,

Loath to tread on the blossom as she comes and goes.     

Willows and elms, fresh and verdant,             

Care not if peach and plum blossom drift away;
Next year the peach and plum will bloom again,
But her chamber may stand empty on that day. 

By the third month the scented nests are built,
But the swallows on the beam are heartless all;
Next year, though once again you may peck the buds, 
From the beam of an empty room your nest will fall.

Each year for three hundred and sixty days
The cutting wind and biting frost contend.

How long can beauty flower fresh and fair?
In a single day wind can whirl it to its end.
Fallen, the brightest blooms are hard to find;
With aching heart their grave-digger comes now

Alone, her hoe in hand ,her secret tears
Falling like drops of blood on each bare bough.
Dusk falls and the cuckoo is silent;
Her hoe brought back, the lodge is locked and still;
A green lamp lights the wall as sleep enfolds her,

Cold rain pelts the casement and her quilt is chill.
What causes my two-fold anguish?
Love for spring and resentment of spring;
For suddenly it comes and suddenly goes,
Its arrival unheralded, noiseless its departing .


Last night from the courtyard floated a sad song-
Was it the soul of blossom, the soul of birds?
Hard to detain ,the soul of blossom of birds,
For blossoms have no assurance, birds no words.


I long to take wing and fly
With the flowers to earth’s uttermost bound;
And yet at earth’s uttermost bound
Where and a fragrant burial mound be found?


Better shroud the fair petals in silk

With clean earth for their outer attire;
For pure you came and pure shall go,
Not sinking into some foul ditch or mire.


Now you are dead I come to bury you;
None has divined the day when I shall die;
Men laugh at my folly in burying fallen flowers,
But who will bury me when dead I lie?


See, when spring draws to a close and flowers fall,
This is the season when beauty must ebb and fade;

The day that spring takes wing and beauty fades
Who will care for the fallen blossom or dead maid?

 

 

晴雯曲——霁月难逢,彩云易散.心比天高,shenweixiajian.风流灵巧招人怨.寿夭多因毁谤生,多情公子空牵念.
A clear moon is rarely met with, Bright clouds are easily scattered; Her heart is loftier than the sky, but her person is of low degree; Her charm and wit give rise to jealousy, Her early death is caused by calumny, In vain her loving master’s grief must be.



袭人——枉自温柔和顺,空云似桂如兰, 堪羡优伶有福, 谁知公子无缘.

Nothing avail her gentleness and compliance, Osmanthus and orchid with her fragrance vie; But this prize is borne off by an actor, and luck passes the young master by.

 

 

香菱——根并荷花一茎香,平生遭际实堪伤. 自从两地生孤木,致使香魂返故乡.

Sweet is she as the lotus in flower, yet none so sorely oppressed; After the growth of a lonely tree in two soils, her sweet soul will be dispatched to its final rest.

 

1 黛玉宝钗——可叹停机德,堪怜咏絮才. 玉带林中挂, 金簪雪里埋.
Alas for her wifely virtue, Her wit to sing of willow-down, poor maid!
Buried in snow the broken golden hairpin, and hanging in the wood the belt of jade.


2 元春——二十年来辨是非,榴花开处照宫闱. 三春争及初春景,虎兕相逢大梦归.
For twenty years she arbitrates, where pomegranates blaze by palace gates;
How can the late spring equal the spring’s start?
When Hare and Tiger meet, from this great dream of life she must depart.



3 探春——才自精明志自高,生于末世运偏消. 清明涕送江边望,千里东风一梦遥.
So talented and high-minded, she is born too late for luck to come her way;
Through tears she watched the stream on the Clear and Bright Day;
A thousand li the east wind blows, but her home in her dreams is far away.



4 湘云——富贵又何为,襁褓之间父母违. 展眼吊斜晖, 湘江水逝楚云飞.
Nought avail her rank and riches, while yet in swaddling clothes an orphan lone;
In a flash she morns the setting sun, the River Xiang runs dry, the clouds over Chu have flown.



5 妙玉——欲洁何曾洁,云空未必空. 可怜金玉质,终陷淖泥中.
Chastity is her wish, seclusion her desire;
Alas, though fine as gold or jade, she sinks at last in the mire.


6 迎春——子系中山狼,得志便猖狂. 金闺花柳质,一载赴黄粱.
For husband she will have a mountain wolf, his object gained he ruthlessly berates her;
Fair bloom, sweet willow in a golden bower, too soon a rude awakening awaits her!



7 惜春——勘破三春景不长,缁衣顿改昔年妆. 可怜绣户侯门女,独卧青灯古佛旁.

She sees through the transience of spring, Dark Buddhist’s robes replace her garments fine;
Pity this child of a wealthy noble house, who now sleeps alone by the dimly lit old shrine.

8 熙凤——凡鸟偏从末世来,都知爱慕此生才. 一从二令三人木, 哭向金陵事更哀.

This bird appears when the world falls on evil times, none but admires her talents and her skill;
First she complies, then commands, then is dismissed; departing in tears to Jinling more retched still.


9 巧姐——势败休云贵,家亡莫论亲. 偶因济刘氏,巧得遇恩人.

When fortune frowns, nobility means nothing; when a house is ruined, kinsmen turn unkind;
Because of help given by chance to Granny Liu, in time of need she is lucky a friend to find.



10 李纨——桃李春风结子完,到头谁似一盆兰. 如冰水好空相妒,枉与他人作笑谈.

Peach and plum in spring winds finish seeding, who can bloom like the orchid at last?
Pure as ice and water she arouse envy, vain the groundless taunts that are cast.


11 可卿——情天情海幻情身,情既相逢必主淫. 漫言不肖皆荣出,造衅开端实在宁.

Love boundless as sea and sky is but illusion, when lovers meet, lust must be king;
Say not all the evil comes from the Rong Mansion, truly, disaster originates from the Ning.

1）< <红楼梦引子>>开辟鸿蒙,谁为情种?都只为风月情浓.趁着这奈何天,伤怀日, 寂寥时,试遣愚衷.因此上, 演出这怀金悼玉的<<红楼梦>>.

Prologue to the dream of red mansions
At the dawn of creation, who sowed the seeds of love? From the strong passion of breeze and moonlight they came. So in this world of sweet longing, on a day of distress, in an hour of loneliness, fain would I impart my senseless grief, by singing this Dream of Red Mansions, to mourn the Gold and the Jade.

2）[终身误]都道是金玉良姻, 俺只念木石前盟.空对着,山中高士晶莹雪,终不忘, 世外仙姝寂寞林.叹人间,美中不足今方信.纵然是齐眉举案,到底意难平.

A life misspent
Well matched, all say, the gold and the jade; I alone recall the pledge between plant and stone. Vainly facing the hermit in sparkling snow-clad hills, I forget not the fairy in lone woods beyond the world. I sign, learning that no man’s happiness is complete: even a pair thought well matched, may find disappointment.


3）[枉凝眉]一个是阆苑仙葩,一个是美玉无瑕.若说没奇缘,今生偏又遇着他,若说有奇缘,如何心事终虚化?一个枉自嗟呀,一个空劳牵挂.一个是水中月, 一个是镜中花.想眼中能有多少泪珠儿,怎经得秋流到冬尽,春流到夏!

Vain Longing
One is an immortal flower of fairyland, the other fair flawless jade, and were it not predestined, why should they meet again in this existence? Yet, if predestined, why does their love come to nothing? One signs to no purpose, the other yearns in vain; one is the moon reflected in the water, the other but a flower in the mirror. How many tears can well from her eyes? Can they flow on from autumn till winter, from spring till summer?


4）[恨无常]喜荣华正好,恨无常又到.眼睁睁,把万事全抛.荡悠悠,把芳魂消耗.望家乡,路远山高.故向爹娘梦里相寻告:儿命已入黄泉,天伦呵,须要退步抽身早!

The Transience of Life
At the height of honor and splendor, death comes for her; open-eyed, she has to leave everything behind as her gentle soul passes away. So far her home beyond the distant mountains that in a dream she finds and tells her parents: Your child has gone now to the Yellow Spring; you must find a retreat before it is too late.



5）[分骨肉]一帆风雨路三千,把骨肉家园齐来抛闪.恐哭损残年,告爹娘,休把儿悬念.自古穷通皆有定,离合岂无缘?从今分两地,各自保平安.奴去也,莫牵连.

Separation from Dear Ones
Three thousand li she must sail through wind and rain, giving up her home and her own fresh and blood; but afraid to distress their declining years with tears, she tells her parents: don’t grieve for your child. From of old good luck and bad have been predestined, partings and reunions are decreed by fate; although from now on we shall dwell far apart, let us still live at peace; don’t worry over your unworthy daughter.



6）[乐中悲]襁褓中,父母叹双亡.纵居那绮罗丛,谁知娇养?幸生来,英豪阔大宽宏量,从未将儿女私情略萦心上.好一似,霁月光风耀玉堂.厮配得才貌仙郎,博得个地久天长,准折得幼年时坎坷形状.终久是云散高唐,水涸湘江.这是尘寰中消长数应当,何必枉悲伤!

Sorrow amidst Joy
She is still in her cradle when her parents die, although living in luxury，who will dote on her? Happily she is born too courageous and open- hearted ever to take a love affair to heart. Like bright moon and fresh breeze in a hall of jade she is matched with a talented and handsome husband; may she live with him for long years to make up for her wretched childhood! But over the Gaotang tower the clouds disperse, the River Xiang runs dry. This is the common fate of mortal men, useless it is to repine.

7)[世难容]气质美如兰,才华阜比仙.天生成孤癖人皆罕.你道是啖肉食腥膻,视绮罗俗厌,却不知太高人愈妒,过洁世同嫌.可叹这,青灯古殿人将老,辜负了,红粉朱楼春色阑.到头来,依旧是风尘肮脏违心愿.好一似,无瑕白玉遭泥陷,又何须,王孙公子叹无缘.

Spurned by the World
By nature fair as an orchid, with talents to match an immortal; yet so eccentric that all marvel at her. To her, rich food stinks, silken raiment is vulgar and loathsome; she knows not that superiority fosters hatred, for the world despises too much purity. By the dim light of an old shrine she will fade away, her powder and red chamber, her youth and beauty wasted, to end, despite herself, defiled on the dusty road-even as flawless white jade dropped in the mud. In vain young scions of noble houses will sign for her.


8)[喜冤家]中山狼,无情兽,全不念当日根由.一味的骄奢淫荡贪还构.觑着那,侯门艳质同蒲柳,作践的,公府千金似下流.叹芳魂艳魄,一载荡悠悠.

Union of Enemies
A mountain wolf, a savage ruthless beast, mindless of past obligations, gives himself up to pride, luxury and license, holding cheap the charms of a noble family’s daughter, trampling on the precious chi

9）[虚花悟]将那三春看破,桃红柳绿待如何?把这韶华打灭,觅那清淡天和.说什么,天上夭桃盛,云中杏蕊多.到头来,谁把秋捱过?则看那,白杨村里人呜咽,青枫林下鬼吟哦.更兼着,连天衰草遮坟墓.这的是,昨贫今富人劳碌,春荣秋谢花折磨.似这般,生关死劫谁能躲?闻说道, 西方宝树唤婆娑,上结着长生果.

Perception of the Transience of Flowers
She will see through the three springs, and set no store by the red of peach-blossom, the green of willows, stamping out the fire of youthful splendor, to savour the limpid peace a clear sky. Though the peach runs riot against the sky, though the clouds teemed with apricot blossom, who has seen any flower that can win safely through autumn? Even now mourners are lamenting by gloves of poplars, ghosts are wailing below green maples, and the weeds above their graves stretch to the skyline. Truly, changes in fortune are the cause of men’s toil, spring blooming and autumn withering the fate of flowers. who can escape the gate of birth, the fate of death? Yet in the west they say, grows the sal tree, which bears the fruit of immortality.



10）[聪明累]机关算尽太聪明,反算了卿卿性命.生前心已碎,死后性空灵.家富人宁,终有个家亡人散各奔腾.枉费了,意悬悬半世心,好一似,荡悠悠三更梦.忽喇喇似大厦倾,昏惨惨似灯将尽.呀!一场欢喜忽悲辛.叹人世,终难定!

Ruined by Cunning
Too much cunning in plotting and scheming is the cause of her own undoing; while yet living her heart is broken, and after death all her subtlety comes to nothing. A rich house, all its members at peace, is ruined at last and scattered; in vain her anxious thought for half a life time, for like a disturbing dream at dead of night, like the thunderous collapse of a great mansion, or the flickering of a lamp that gutters out, mirth is suddenly changed into sorrow. Ah, nothing is certain in the world of man.


11）[留余庆]留余庆,留余庆,忽遇恩人,幸娘亲,幸娘亲,积得阴功.劝人生,济困扶穷,休似俺那爱银钱忘骨肉的狠舅奸兄!正是乘除加减,上有苍穹.

A Little Act of Kindness
Thanks to one small act of kindness, she meets by chance a great friend; fortunate that her mother has done some unnoticed good. Men should rescue the distressed and aid the poor, be not like her heartless uncle or treacherous cousin who for love of money forget their own fresh and blood. Truly, rewards and punishments are meted out by Heaven.


12) [晚韶华]镜里恩情,更那堪梦里功名!那美韶华去之何迅!再休提锈帐鸳衾.只这带珠冠,披凤袄,也抵不了无常性命.虽说是,人生莫受老来贫,也须要阴骘积儿孙.气昂昂头戴簪缨,气昂昂头戴簪缨,光灿灿胸悬金印,威赫赫爵禄高登,威赫赫爵禄高登,昏惨惨黄泉路近.问古来将相可还存?也只是虚名儿与后人钦敬.

Splendor comes too late
Love is only the reflection in a mirror, worse still, rank and fame are nothing but a dream, so quickly youth and beauty fade away. Say no more of embroidered curtains and love-bird quilts, nor can a pearl tiara and phoenix jacket stave off for long Death’s summons. Though it is said that old age should be free from want, this depends on the unknown merits laid by for one’s children.
Jubilant in official headdress, and glittering with a gold seal of high office, a man maybe awe-inspiring and exalted, but the gloomy way to the yellow spring is near. What remains of the generals and statesmen of old? Nothing but an empty name admired by posterity.



13)[好事终]画梁春尽落香尘.擅风情,秉月貌,便是败家的根本.箕裘颓堕皆从敬,家事消亡首罪宁.宿孽总因情.

Good Things Come to an End
Fragrant dust falls from painted beams at the close of spring; by nature passionate and fair as the moon, the true root is she of the family’s destruction. The decline of the old tradition starts with Jing, the chief blame of the House’s ruin rests with Ning. All their sins come about through Love.


14)[收尾.飞鸟各投林]为官的,家业凋零,富贵的,金银散尽,有恩的,死里逃生,无情的,分明报应.欠命的,命已还,欠泪的,泪已尽.冤冤相报实非轻,分离聚合皆前定.欲知命短问前生,老来富贵也真侥幸.看破的,遁入空门,痴迷的,枉送了性命.好一似食尽鸟投林,落了片白茫茫大地真干净!

The Birds Scatter to the Wood
An official household declines; rich noble’s wealth is spent. She who did good escapes the jaws of death, the heartless meet with certain retribution. Those who took a life have paid with their own lives; the tears one owed have all been requited in kind. Not light the retribution or sins against others. All are predestined, partings and reunions. Seek the cause of untimely death in a part existence, lucky she who enjoys rank and riches in old age; those who see through the world escape from the world, while foolish lovers forfeit their lives for nothing. When the food is gone, the birds return to the wood; all that’s left is emptiness and a great void.

1 身后有余忘缩手，眼前无路想回头。(智通寺对联)
Though plenty was left after death, he forgot to hold his hand back
Only at the end of the road does one think of turning on to the right side.

2 座上珠玑昭日月，堂前黼黻焕烟霞。（荣禧堂对联）
Pearls on the dais outshine the sun and moon
Insignia of honor in the hall blaze like iridescent clouds.


3 世事洞明皆学问，人情练达即文章。（可卿安排宝玉午睡的上房对联）
A grasp of mundane affairs is genuine knowledge
Understanding of worldly wisdom is true learning.


4 嫩寒锁梦因春冷，芳气袭人是酒香。（可卿卧室对联）
Coolness wraps her dream, for spring is chill
A fragrance assails men, the aroma of wine.

5 假作真时真亦假，无为有处有还无。（太虚幻境对联）
When false is taken for true, true becomes false;
If nonbeing turns into being, being becomes nonbeing.

6 孽海情天
厚地高天，堪叹古今情不尽；痴男怨女，可怜风月债难偿。
Sea of Grieve and Heaven of Love
Firm as earth and lofty as heaven, passion from time immemorial knows no end;
Pity silly lads and plaintive maids hard put into it to requite debts of breeze and moonlight.


7 薄命司
春恨秋悲皆自惹，花容月貌为谁妍？
Board of the Ill-fated
They brought on themselves spring grief and autumn anguish;
Wasted, their beauty fairs as flowers and moon.



8 曲径通幽处 A winding path leads to a secluded retreat.

9 绕堤柳借三篙翠，隔岸花分一脉香。（沁芳亭对联）
Willows on the dyke lend their verdancy to three punts;
Flowers on the further shore spare a breath of fragrance.


10 有凤来仪
宝鼎茶闲烟尚绿，幽窗棋罢指犹凉（潇湘馆匾额对联）
Where the Phoenix Alights
Still green the smoke from tea brewed in a rare tripod;
Yet cold the fingers from chess played by quiet window.


11 杏帘在望
新涨绿添浣葛处，好云香护采芹人。（稻香村匾额对联）
Approach to Apricot Tavern
The green tide fills the creek where clothes are washed;
Clouds of fragrance surround the girls plucking water-cress.


12 蘅芷清芬
吟成豆蔻才犹艳，睡足酴醾梦也香。（蘅芜院匾额对联）
Pure Scent of Alpinia and Iris
Singing on cardamoms makes lovely poetry;
Sleeping beneath roses includes sweet dreams.


13 体仁沐德（元春更衣处匾额）
Fraught with Favor, Basking in Kindness.


14 顾恩思义
天地启宏慈，赤子苍头同感戴；
古今垂旷典，九州万国被恩荣。（正殿匾额对联）
Recalling Imperial Favor, Mindful of Duty
Compassion vast as the universe extends to old and young;
Grace unknown before honors every state and land.

15 怡红快绿（怡红院匾额）
Happy Red and Delightful Green

16 梨花春雨
Pear Blossom in Spring Rain


17 桐剪秋风（秋爽斋匾额）
Plane Trees in Autumn Wind

18 狄芦夜雪
Artemisia in Evening Snow


19 旷性怡情（迎春作诗的匾额）
Refreshing the Heart


20 万象争辉（探春作诗的匾额）
All Things Via in Splendor


21 文章造化（惜春作诗的匾额）
Refinement in Creation


22 文采风流（李纨作诗的匾额）
Fair and Fine


23 凝辉钟瑞（宝钗作诗的匾额）
Concentrated Splendor, Bestowed Felicity


24 世外仙源（黛玉作诗的匾额）
A Fairyland Far from the World of Men