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Thread: The Deer and The Cauldron

  1. #1921
    Senior Member Ace High's Avatar
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    Nobody outside Ping Xi Wang's Mansion has seen Wu Sangui after he was attacked by the assassin. It is possible he was faking it.

    Furthermore, WXB real relationship with the Mu Palace more or less was exposed to the Wus.
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

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    Senior Member crazee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ace High View Post
    Nobody outside Ping Xi Wang's Mansion has seen Wu Sangui after he was attacked by the assassin. It is possible he was faking it.
    Yeah.... for Ah Ke to hurt Wu San Gui in his Mansion....unless It's WXB with his bags of tricks and luck, I doubt anyone can even so much as scratch him...let alone seriously hurt him to the point of death. Changing of the supposedly assassin already more or less tells us of a plot within a plot...."aiyo" it's making me crazy...too complex for a simpleton like me......

    Oh...BTW, Happy belated Valentine's day to all...hope you people all had a loving day ( Not Lusty day )
    I love Foxs and all you ppl for making this forum so interesting... " love is in the air...."
    cheerio..

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ace High View Post
    Nobody outside Ping Xi Wang's Mansion has seen Wu Sangui after he was attacked by the assassin. It is possible he was faking it.

    Furthermore, WXB real relationship with the Mu Palace more or less was exposed to the Wus.
    I am ali derhamy and i approve this message
    Ali Derhamy

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ace High View Post
    Nobody outside Ping Xi Wang's Mansion has seen Wu Sangui after he was attacked by the assassin. It is possible he was faking it.

    Furthermore, WXB real relationship with the Mu Palace more or less was exposed to the Wus.
    No one in Ping Xi Wang's administration knows the true identity of Mu Jianping. Xia Guoxiang just deduced that they already knew each other, that is all. It is convenient for Wu Sangui to feign injury.

  5. #1925
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    Quote Originally Posted by CFT View Post
    No one in Ping Xi Wang's administration knows the true identity of Mu Jianping. Xia Guoxiang just deduced that they already knew each other, that is all. It is convenient for Wu Sangui to feign injury.
    Have you ever wondered how Mu Jianping and the rest of Mu Palace people were captured in the first place?

    “The night before last,” Mu Jianping told him, “The place where we stayed was suddenly surrounded by Wu Sangui’s guards. There were so many of them, there were more than twenty among them with superior martial art skill. We were only a few, and were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Ao Shige was killed on the spot. My Gege, Liu Shifu and I were captured by them.”
    This shows that the attack was well planned and not just by a coincidence. The force used clearly indicated this is not an attack against some insignificant rebels. This indicate that Wu Sangui knew with whom he's dealing with.

    Wei Xiaobao had a nagging feeling in his heart that something was wrong; clearly he had fallen into Xia Guoxiang’s big trap, but as for what actually went wrong, he could not say.
    Wu Sangui is a renown general, and as such well versed in tactics and stratagems. WXB knew a rebel is nothing of value, but WXB knew and in good relationship with the sister of a high ranking rebel is another matter. As a high ranking official of the Qing Court, it is next to impossible any important rebel leaders will want to be in good terms with WXB unless there is something else.
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

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    Finally caught up with the translation. Been so busy at work and dead tired at home. Thank you for sending the files, foxs! Greatly appreciate it.

    Quote Originally Posted by foxs View Post
    Wei Xiaobao shook his head. “Not right, not right,” he said, “Young beauty is the source of trouble; I have heard the storytellers said the same thing, that Daji[3], Yang Guifei, were responsible for causing the harm of the nation. Actually, if there was no wretched man, no wretched emperor in the world, even if the woman was more beautiful, she can’t possibly bring the harm to the country. Everybody said that for the sake of Chen Yuanyuan, Ping Xi Wang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. In my opinion, if Wu Sangui was really loyal to the Ming Dynasty, eighteen Chen Yuanyuan would not make his granny Wu Sangui surrenders to the Qing Dynasty.”
    I think of all the things that WXB have said so far, this statement is the most insightful and heartfelt.

  7. #1927
    Senior Member foxs's Avatar
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    Default Chapter 32 - Part 2

    Sky, isn't that what we usually do? Find somebody or something else to blame. Crazee, Athlon, Smurf, I did not have any problem during the weekend, but some other times, yes ... Looks like it's random. Sablemagi, yep. Ali, you need to put your official stamp, otherwise, it does not count. Now, now, Gubrak, control yourself ... Ace, CFT, good observation; it was not because you have read the original, was it? Tweety, you are welcome.


    The beautiful woman stood up, gracefully kneeled down and bowed respectfully to him and said, “Thank you Wei Daren for seeing clearly, for distinguishing the unredressed injustice that plagued jian qie[4] for all eternity.”

    Wei Xiaobao hurriedly returned the propriety. He wondered out loud, “You … you … Ah … aiyo, that’s right, I am indeed a complete muddle head. If you are not Chen Yuanyuan, where in the world would there be such … such … a beautiful woman like you? It’s just that, ay, I am more and more confused; aren’t you Ping Xi Wang’s Wangfei [wife of the king]? Why are you here living a pious life? How can Ah Ke Shijie be … be your daughter?”

    The beautiful woman stood up and said, “Jianqie is indeed Chen Yuanyuan. The story behind it is complicated and not easy to express succinctly; but first, Jianqie needs help from Wei Daren, hence I do not dare to conceal anything; second, I have just heard how Wei Daren is able to recognize Jianqie’s unredressed injustice, in my heart I am very grateful. For more than twenty years Jianqie has suffered enough insult from the people all over the world, they put the blame of the fall of our country on Jianqie’s head. At the present age, only two gifted scholars understand that Jianqie has received unjust treatment. One is the great poet Wu Meicun, Wu Caizi [gifted scholar]. The other is precisely Wei Daren.”

    Actually, Wei Xiaobao was completely ignorant and did not have any knowledge of national affair, he did not have any clue if Chen Yuanyuan was wronged or not. It’s just that he saw how in her frightened state she did not lose her graceful appearance; he admired her greatly. Plus he utterly detested Wu Sangui, and she was Ah Ke’s mother. Even if she had a thousand shortcomings, committed ten thousand mistakes, it was not a mistake at all. In his mind, not even half of it was not Wu Sangui’s fault.

    Listening to her praising him as a gifted scholar, he was self-conscious; he waved his hand and hastily said, “I don’t know a single character as big as a watermelon. If you want to call me a gifted scholar, you might as well add two characters ‘dog fart’ in front of it, then it will become ‘dog fart gifted scholar’ Wei Xiaobao.”

    Chen Yuanyuan smiled and said, “Being able to write verses and literary works will make you no more than little gifted scholar; having knowledge and experience, having responsibility, will put you into the great gifted scholar category.”

    Hearing these few words of flattery, Wei Xiaobao could not stop the bones in his entire body from going soft; he thought, “She is the world’s number one beauty, yet unexpectedly she said I am a big gifted scholar. Ha ha … turns out laozi’s talent is really not low. Damn it, ever since I came out of my mother’s womb, this is the first time I have ever heard this.”

    Chen Yuanyuan stood up. “Would Daren step inside?” she asked, “Let Xiao Nuzi relates everything to you.”

    “Yes,” Wei Xiaobao replied. He followed her along a gravel pathway in the garden, toward a small room.

    The room was bare, no table, no chair, but there were two putuan [meditation mat] on the floor. A scroll of calligraphy hung on the wall, it looked densely populated with a lot of characters. Next to the scroll hung a pipa [Chinese lute].

    Daren please sit down,” Chen Yuanyuan said.

    She waited until Wei Xiaobao was seated on one of the putuan before she walked over to the wall and took the pipa down, carried it in her arms, and sat down on the other putuan. Pointing to the calligraphy scroll on the wall she said softly, “This is the long poem the Great Gifted Scholar Wu Meicun wrote for Jianqie. It is called ‘Yuanyuan Song’ [yuan literally means circle/round]. Today we are brought together by fate, I’d like to play and sing for Daren, but the grime will be clearly heard.”

    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. “Wonderful, wonderful,” he said, “But when you sing several verses, you must explain it to me, I am a dog fart gifted scholar, my learning is very much so-so.”

    Chen Yuanyuan smiled. “Daren is too modest,” she said. Thereupon she tuned the pipa, ‘ding ding dong dong’, she plucked the strings several times, and then said, “I have not played for a long time, please don’t blame me for being rusty.”

    “There is no need to be polite,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Even if you played wrong, I would not know.”

    He heard she lightly and slowly twirled her fingers and plucked several notes, and sang in a drawn-out voice[5], “At that time when the emperor abandoned the human world, Wu crushed the enemy and captured the capital, bearing down from Jade Pass. The six armies, wailing and grieving, were uniformly clad in the white of mourning. One wave of headgear-lifting anger propelled him, all for the sake of the fair-faced one.”

    Singing these four lines, she said, “It is talking about the time Chong Zhen, the Son of Heaven returned to the heaven, Ping Xi Wang and the Manchurian Qing joined arms, defeating Li Zicheng and advancing into Beijing. The officers and soldiers were all wearing mourning apparel for the Emperor. Hence Ping Xi Wang sent his troops, it was actually for me, this unlucky woman.”

    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, “You are such a beautiful woman, Wu Sangui surrendered to the Great Qing for your sake, I can’t really blame him. If it were me, Wei Xiaobao, I would surrender as well.”

    Chen Yuanyuan rolled her beautiful eyes; she thought, “You are just a baby, yet you are also teasing me.” However, when she looked at him, she saw his solemn expression and knew that he was being sincere; she could not help but was touched by the friendship shown. She continued to sing, “The fair-faced one, drifting and fallen, was not what I longed for. The offending bandits, smote by heaven, wallowed in wanton pleasures. Lightning swept the Yellow Turban, the Black Mountain troops were quelled. Having wailed for ruler and kin, I met her again.”

    She explained, “Here he was talking about Wangye defeating Li Zicheng. The poem says: Li Zicheng’s endeavor failed because he himself was no good, after he reached Beijing, his conduct was preposterous. When Wangye saw this verse, he was very unhappy.”

    “That’s right,” Wei Xiaobao said, “The song obviously says that the defeat of Li Zicheng was not his merit at all.”

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “The later section of this song tells the story of Jianqie’s life.” She sang, “Meeting for the first time going through the field of Dou Family, the singing and dancing of the nobleman’ gate was like flower. Allowing the display of konghou [Chinese harp] craft in the midst of grief, waiting to fetch the General in lacquered carriage. In the Huan Hua [lit. washing/rinsing flower] of hometown Suzhou, little girl Yuanyuan as delicate as openwork silk gauze. Dreaming to roam the Fu Cha’s[6] park, the palace beauty supports the rise of the sovereign king. In the front was a lotus picking person, in front of the door was a strip of pond.”

    The melody tender and charming, winding and turning, the sound of pipa was undulating slowly, just as a breeze rising and falling, or a gently ripple of the water of the lotus pond.

    Chen Yuanyuan said in a low voice, “Here the poem is comparing Jianqie to Xi Shi; it’s rather overpraised.”

    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, “Incorrect comparison, incorrect comparison!”

    Chen Yuanyuan was slightly startled. Wei Xiaobao continued, “How can Xi Shi be superior to you?”

    A slight blush appeared on Chen Yuanyuan’s face. “Wei Daren is making fun of me,” she said.

    “I am not making fun of you at all,” Wei Xiaobao replied, “I have a strong reason. I heard people say that Xi Shi was from Zhuji [county level city] of Shaoxing [prefecture], Zhejiang [province]; although she was beautiful, Shaoxing people speak ‘niang ge jian tai ta ta jiao[7]’, how can they compare to you, Suzhou people who speaks coyly and string all words together?”

    Chen Yuanyuan laughed sweetly, “Turns out there is that reason,” she said, “Come to think about it, King Wu Fu Cha [see previous note] was also a Suzhou native, how could he like Xi Shi?”

    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head and said, “That King Wu Fu Cha’s ears were not too clear, so it was possible.”

    Chen Yuanyuan covered her mouth as she squealed, her face blushed profusely, her glance was graceful, her cherry lips were trembling slightly, her anxious look lasted for a while, yet her overall appearance seemed sweet and charming. Wei Xiaobao only felt comfortably warm, as if he was drunk, and in his confused mind he did not know where he was.

    He heard she continued singing, “A pair of oars flying on the surface of the strip of pond, where could the heroic family return to? How could they know that there were not born under an unlucky star? Right now, only tears wetting the clothes. The scent of sweet-smelling grass links the apartments of the Palace, nobody pities the beautiful woman [orig. bright eyes and white teeth]. Insisting on returning home, the Eternal Alley was closed to respectable families, it only leans to let the new sound of guests to enter.”

    Singing to this point, she sighed gently, and said, “Jianqie came from the windblown dust [i.e. prostitution], I don’t need to conceal my origin …”

    “What do you mean coming from the windblown dust?” Wei Xiaobao asked, “Please don’t speak in literary terms with me, I don’t know anything about literary terms.”

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “Xiao Nuzi was originally a Suzhou house’s prostitute …”

    Wei Xiaobao slapped his knee and called out, “Wonderful!”

    Chen Yuanyuan’s face looked hurt, she said in a low voice, “That is Jianqie’s unkind fate.”

    Wei Xiaobao was happy and excited. “You and I are kindred spirits,” he said, “I also came from the windblown dust.”

    Chen Yuanyuan opened wide her pair of as-clear-as-water phoenix eyes, she started blankly at him, while saying in her heart, “Obviously he does not understand the meaning of ‘coming from the windblown dust’.”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “You came from a brothel, I also came from a brothel; only you are from Suzhou, I am from Yangzhou. My Mama is a prostitute at the Lovely Spring Courtyard of Yangzhou. Only her appearance cannot be compared to you; one is heavenly, the other is down to earth.”

    Chen Yuanyuan was greatly surprised; she asked in a tender voice, “You are not joking?”

    “Why would I joke with you?” Wei Xiaobao said, “Ay, I was just too busy. I should have sent people to fetch Mama, I should not let her be a prostitute anymore. But I saw that at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, she was living a cheerful life, bustling with noise and excitement; if I brought her to Beijing, I am afraid she would be in low spirit.”

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “A hero is not afraid of low family background. Wei Daren is open and candid, you do not refuse to talk about it, it is precisely the natural quality of a hero.”

    “I only told it to you,” Wei Xiaobao said, “I have never told it to anybody else; otherwise, people would point their fingers at me and call me a wh0re’s b@stard. I can’t take it. In front of Ah Ke, you must not mention it even more. She is already looking down at me; if she found out about it, she would never pay any attention to me forever.”

    “Wei Daren, don’t worry,” Chen Yuanyuan said, “Jianqie won’t talk too much. Actually, Ah Ke, she … her own Mama is not any wise and virtuous woman from a well-known family.”

    “It would be best if you do not mention it,” Wei Xiaobao said, “She hates prostitutes the most, she said that this kind of woman is extremely bad.”

    Chen Yuanyuan hung down her head and said in a low voice, “She … she said that brothel’s women are … are extremely bad?”

    Wei Xiaobao hastily said, “Please don’t feel sad, she was not talking about you.”

    Chen Yuanyuan was low-spirited. “Naturally she was not talking about me,” she said, “Ah Ke did not even know that I am her Mama.”

    Wei Xiaobao was surprised, “How can she not know?” he asked.

    Chen Yuanyuan shook her head and said, “She does not know.”

    Cocking her head sideways, she was lost in thought for a moment before slowly said, “The Empress Dowager of the Son of Heaven Chong Zhen was surnamed Zhou, she was also Suzhou native. Son of Heaven Chong Zhen doted on Concubine Tian. The fight between the Empress Dowager and Concubine Tian was very fierce. The Empress Dowager’s father Jia Dingbo bought me out of the brothel and sent me into the Palace, hoping to take away the favor from Concubine Tian …”

    “That was a great idea,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Concubine Tian would be in big trouble.”

    “It was not such a big trouble,” Chen Yuanyuan said, “Son of Heaven Chong Zhen worried about the affairs of the nation, he was not interested in women. I haven’t lived in the Palace for a while when the Emperor ordered the Empress Dowager to send me out of the Palace.”

    “Strange, strange!” Wei Xiaobao loudly exclaimed, “I heard that Emperor Chong Zhen had eyes but failed to see; he only believed treacherous officials but had Yuan Chonghuan, a greatly loyal minister, killed. Turned out he did not have any foresight toward men, but he did not have any foresight toward women even more, that he did not want a woman like you. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.” He shook his head repeatedly, thinking that among the strange things in the world, nothing was more strange than this.

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “Some men like scholarly honor [in imperial exams] and the riches that come with it. Some like gold, silver and jewels. As the Emperor, he had to think about how to solve the country’s problems. Not everybody loves good-looking women.”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “I want scholarly honor and riches, I also want gold, silver and jewels. I want good-looking women even more. One thing I don’t want is being the Emperor; even if it given to me, I won’t do it. Aha! In this city of Kunming, there is a dear friend of mine who is the number one high-ranking official under the heavens, he has become the richest old man in the world, he married the number one beauty in the world, unexpectedly he still toys with the idea of becoming the Emperor.”

    Chen Yuanyuan’s countenance changed slightly. “Are you talking about Ping Xi Wang?” she asked.


    [4] Lit. lowly concubine; it can also mean ‘I, your servant’ (deprecatory self-reference for women).

    [5] I found partial translation in The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, Vol. 2, edited by Kang-I Sun Chang and Stephen Owen, copyright Cambridge University Press 2010. Unfortunately, I can’t find the rest. Therefore, as you see the shift from highly polished sentences to crude, literal translation, you know where the real translator’s work ends and the half-baked translator work starts.

    [6] 夫差, I am not sure what it is, a friend says that it was government official, like governor or deputy.

    [7] 娘个贱胎踏踏叫, again, I don’t know what it is. Perhaps a saying or an idiom.

    Folks, I am really struggling with the song. I wonder if any of you are willing to help, or perhaps you can find a complete translation somewhere, and send it to me. Thanks.
    Last edited by foxs; 02-15-12 at 10:50 PM.

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    Thanks Foxs

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    Wow...Thanks Foxs.

    This round is really very different.... I supposed with such a beautiful woman singing most man would melt...
    I'm surprised XB is not baffles with the complexity of the verses...but again he's trained by the story tellers I suppose.
    Sad beautiful woman....so sad..
    cheerio..

  10. #1930
    Senior Member Ace High's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foxs View Post
    Ace, CFT, good observation; it was not because you have read the original, was it?
    I'm chinese illiterate...
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

  11. #1931
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    It is very clear from Ah Ke's parentage that she will never be accepted by the Taiwanese royal family - simply with one parent being former prostitute which everyone blames the fall of the dynasty on. Its funny sad that WXB thinks that makes them (him and Ah Ke) closer in background.

    I still miss Shuang'er but now I really want WXB to go visit his mom. He's one of the very very very few protagonists in wuxia with a living mother during the height of the story.

    Thanks Foxs!

  12. #1932
    Senior Member SkyWalker's Avatar
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    Thanks foxs.

    It nice to see WXB being so honest with CYY. In front of her, he's not ashamed of his background. Looks like WXB and Ah Ke already have one thing in common, both their mothers were prostitutes!

  13. #1933
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    Quote Originally Posted by smurf120 View Post
    It is very clear from Ah Ke's parentage that she will never be accepted by the Taiwanese royal family - simply with one parent being former prostitute which everyone blames the fall of the dynasty on. Its funny sad that WXB thinks that makes them (him and Ah Ke) closer in background.

    I still miss Shuang'er but now I really want WXB to go visit his mom. He's one of the very very very few protagonists in wuxia with a living mother during the height of the story.

    Thanks Foxs!
    I simply hate such culture...the culture of class or caste.
    We read and hear so much of such discrimination and sadly to this day the practice still continues...for some.
    I suppose it's all because everyone wants the best for their children.
    Had a crazy friend who always boast that his is from superior stock....both parents are rich well to do and we used to make fun of him - sigh and he's a young man...

    Oh Shuang er whither art thou.....I thought she would have joined XB dressed as his Guard. How can XB just leave her aside for so long ??
    cheerio..

  14. #1934
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    Quote Originally Posted by smurf120 View Post
    It is very clear from Ah Ke's parentage that she will never be accepted by the Taiwanese royal family - simply with one parent being former prostitute which everyone blames the fall of the dynasty on. Its funny sad that WXB thinks that makes them (him and Ah Ke) closer in background.

    I still miss Shuang'er but now I really want WXB to go visit his mom. He's one of the very very very few protagonists in wuxia with a living mother during the height of the story.

    Thanks Foxs!
    I don't really understand why CYY was blamed. True, WSG opened the gate of Sanhai Pass and allowed Qing's army to march through. However, by then the Ming was already destroyed by the Shun. WSG also faced threat at two fronts, one from the Qing and another from the Shun, and WSG chosed to throw his lot with the Qing.

    Or are the masses felt okay with the Shun because Li Zicheng was a Han while hated the Qing because they were Manchus?
    Last edited by Ace High; 02-17-12 at 12:10 AM.
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ace High View Post
    I don't really understand why CYY was blamed. True, WSG opened the gate of Sanhai Pass and allowed Qing's army to march through. However, by then the Ming was already destroyed by the Shun. WSG also faced threat at two fronts, one from the Qing and another from the Shun, and WSG chosed to throw his lot with the Qing.

    Or are the masses felt okay with the Shun because Li Zicheng was a Han while hated the Qing because they were Manchus?
    In ancient times, they always blame the women for everything that went wrong. In this case, it's easier to blame CYY than to face the fact that the previous Emperor was an incompetent idiot who killed Yuan Chonghuan and in the process, sealed his country's fate.

    Li Zicheng had a lot of support from the common people not just because he was Han but also because they felt like he was fighting for them. And even if they didn't all feel like that, I believe they would rather have him as king than the Manchus anyway.

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    Dear Foxs,

    I don't know if this was already asked (since I skipped some posts...) but which version are you translating? Is it the 3rd Edition?

    Thank you for translating this story!

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    Default Chapter 32 - Part 3

    Anh, you are welcome. Crazee, I am baffled with the complexity of the verses ... Ace, me too. But you are superior to me in that you have knowledge of Chinese history. Smurf, Sky, I thought there were many influential women in ancient China who were originally courtesans. Wes, my primary source is online text, which I believe is the second edition, but I actively compare it to the book that I have, which is the 3rd edition. I did note it when there is any difference, which, I must say, not much.



    “I won’t mention any names,” Wei Xiaobao said, “In short, it is not you, Chen Yuanyuan, and it is not me, Wei Xiaobao.”

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “The next part of the song talks about how I met Ping Xi Wang. After he asked for me from Jia Dingbo, he left for Shanhai Pass to guard the border, leaving me behind at his house in Beijing. Not long afterwards, Li … Li … Li Chuang[8] attacked the Capital.”

    She sang, “The sitting guest flies the goblet toward the red sunset, the sorrowful song of string, to whom would it complain to? The youngest of Marquis Bai Xitong, looking back, time and again the flowering branch was chosen. The morning brings the frail bird out of the cage, when will it cross the Milky Way? The end of the military document ordering hateful killing was extremely urgent, hurting the people who must be painstakingly left behind. Wanting to meet deep kindness, wanting to see each other is difficult, the dynasty’s ant thieves crowd Chang’an. With pity thinking about the willow at the front of the women’s storied building, looking at the horizon as white cotton wadding.” Singing to this point, the pipa stopped, she stared blankly at the wall, lost in thought.

    Wei Xiaobao thought the song had reached its end, he clapped and cheered, “Are you done?” he asked, “You sing well, your singing is wonderful, your singing is top-notch.”

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “If I died at that time, the song would naturally end here.”

    Wei Xiaobao’s face turned deep red; he thought, “Damn it, laozi is uneducated. Li Chuang broke into Beijing, my Shifu’s father Emperor Chong Zhen’s song has come to an end. But Chen Yuanyuan’s song has not ended.”

    Chen Yuanyuan said in a low voice, “Li Chuang seized me away. Afterwards, Ping Xi Wang snatched me back. I was not a human, I am only an object; whoever is stronger, he can take me away.” She sang, “Searching everywhere the green pearl is encircled in the inside, the powerful call of golden eagle coming out of purple-red tree fence. Were it not for the brave soldier achieving complete victory, would the beautiful woman return on a horse? The woman on the horseback called, the silver hair on the temples stood in fright. The candle flame forge ahead to the battlefield, streak of tears left red marks of makeup across her face. Dreary beating of the drums on a personal expedition toward Sichuan, thousands of riders and chariots heading toward Jinniu [lit. golden ox, district of Chengdu, Sichuan]. Sloping valley going deep above the cloud in the painting on the multi-story building, vanishing beyond the pass toward the sunset as seen through the vanity mirror. The incoming news filling the rivers and villages, red Tallow tree [sapium sebiferum] has gone through ten seasons of frost. The master who teaches singing still has pity, taking the gauze-silk (female) companion down memory lane. Old nest shared by clay swallows, flying to the tip of the branch, they transformed into a pair of phoenix, constantly conveying their deep grief to the respected senior generations; some men arrogate to themselves the marquis king position.”

    When singing about ‘arrogating to themselves the marquis king position’, she seemed to be entranced. This time Wei Xiaobao did not dare to ask whether she had finished singing or not; he had made up his mind, “Unless she says that she is finished singing, I am not going to ask too much, so that I won’t make a fool of myself.”

    He heard she said grimly, “I came with Ping Xi Wang when he invaded Sichuan, where he was conferred the title ‘King’. When the news reached Suzhou, all my former sisters of the courtyard were envious, saying that my luck was good. They still have to do that kind of shady business in the courtyard until they are old.”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “When I was at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, I often heard they say something like ‘every night there is someone new in the bridal room’, ‘freshness is exciting’, nothing wrong with that.”

    Chen Yuanyuan cast him a glance; seeing that he did not seem to be sarcastic, she gently sighed and said, “Daren, you are still young, you don’t understand this kind of distress.”

    Plucking her pipa, she sang, “At that time receiving reputation by association, noble grief causing famous warrior prolonged struggle. One piece of jewel ten thousand pieces of anxiety, slender waist wandering along the fortresses and mountains along the Great Wall. Misplaced blame like a gale made the flowers fall, colors of spring without boundary covering the heaven and the earth. Taste and smell of the demise of the nation coming from everywhere, turning-over envoy minister received notoriety. How could a wife consent to shut down such a matter of paramount importance? Reluctant hero is full of affection. The bones of the entire family turn to dust, a generation of festive female clothing reflecting youthful perspiration.”

    With eyes brimming in tears she stopped her pipa. “Gifted Scholar Wu Meicun knew that although my fame spread all over the world, my heart was in pain,” she said while sobbing, “Common people scolded me as the young beauty who brings disaster to the water, harming the Great Ming’s rivers and mountains. Gifted Scholar Wu knew that I was a mere young girl, what can I possibly do? Be it good or bad, it’s the men who did all these things.”

    “That’s right,” Wei Xiaobao said, “When the Great Qing’s troops and horses attacked by the thousands and tens of thousands, you are only a delicate and pretty young woman, how could you possibly stop them?” He thought, “She could play and tell stories this well, just like the mister storyteller at Suzhou singing ballad with pipa accompaniment. I could banter with her several sentences, or provide vocal accompaniment to her singing, I can be the assistant to the mister storyteller. If the two of us going to Yangzhou and open a business at the teahouse, I guarantee we will cause a sensation within the Yangzhou city walls, so much so that the teahouse will burst at its seam. I will hold the signage over her head, naturally I would also enjoy the limelight.”

    While he was feeling very pleased with himself, he heard she continued singing, “The lord did not see, when the baby first rose in the hall, it was like the mandarin ducks lodging for the night. One will never be satisfied to look at the flowery Yue maiden, the cry of bird arose from the fragrant dusty footpath, the wooden shoes were lined with green moss. A thousand li of worry moved out of the Palace, pearl song, green jade dance, out of ancient Liang prefecture. For the sake of the lord, do not sing the Wu Palace song, to the southeast day and night the Han River flows.”

    When she sang the word ‘flow’, she held the last note long, seemingly unending, while the pipa climbed higher and higher, gradually drowning the singing voice. After a moment, the pipa gradually slowing and softer, like the water trickling down a distant creek, until it finally died down.

    Chen Yuanyuan heaved a deep sigh, tears streaming down her face, with a choking voice she said, “I am displaying a disgraceful performance.”

    Standing up, she hung the pipa on the wall, and then walked back to the putuan and sat down. She said, “The last part of the song was talking about King Wu Fu Cha perishing for the country. I did not understand it in the past, the song was talking about my life’s story, why did it mention the Wu Palace? Even if it was comparing me to Xi Shi, it is already mentioned in the front. Wu Palace, Wu Palace, could it be that it is talking about Ping Xi Wang’s Imperial Palace? In recent years I started to understand. Wangye drilled the troops and trained the horses extravagantly, I am afraid … I am afraid … ay, I exhorted him several times, but he was offended and was very angry. I left home in this San Sheng An [three sages nunnery], wearing my hair leading a pious life, repenting of my whole life’s sin, hoping that everybody will live in peace and harmony, spending the rest of my life in here. Who would have thought … who would have thought Ah Ke … Ah Ke …” Speaking to here, she broke into a noiseless sob.

    After listening to her song for half a day, Wei Xiaobao was enchanted by her beautiful voice, by the melody of the song, which was very pleasant to listen to, so much so that he completely forgot the purpose of his visit. As soon as he heard her mentioning Ah Ke, he sprang up and asked, “What actually happened to Ah Ke? Did she really assassinate Ping Xi Wang? She is your daughter; that makes her Wangye’s Junzhu [princess, see last chapter, Xiao Junzhu]. Aiyo, it’s bad, it’s bad.”

    Chen Yuanyuan was startled. “What’s bad?” she asked.

    Wei Xiaobao’s mind was in turmoil, “No … nothing,” he casually replied. Actually, he suddenly realized that since Ah Ke had already looked down on him, now that she was Ping Xi Wang’s princess, the distant between she and this son of a prostitute was even farther away.

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “When Ah Ke was two years old, she suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night. Wangye sent people to search everywhere in the city, but there was no trace of her. I suspected … suspected …” Suddenly she blushed and turned her face away from him.

    “What did you suspect?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “I suspected it was Wangye’s personal enemy who kidnapped this girl, perhaps to threaten him, or to blackmail him.”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “There are so many martial art experts working as bodyguards and military officers in the Palace, unexpectedly someone was able to sneak in [orig. ‘the gods did not know, the ghosts are not aware’] and stole Ah Ke Shijie away. That person’s ability must be very high.”

    “That’s right,” Chen Yuanyuan said, “At that time Wangye was so angry, he had two bodyguard chiefs executed; he also had the Tidu [provincial commander] and Zhifu [prefectural magistrate] envoy of the City of Kunming removed. After searching for several days without finding any clue, Wangye was about to kill more people. Finally I managed to calm him down. For the last dozen of years, I have not heard any news about Ah Ke. I thought … I thought she had already died.”

    “No wonder Ah Ke says that her surname is Chen,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Turns out she is taking your surname.”

    Chen Yuanyuan leaned sideways. “She … she said her surname is Chen?” her voice quivering, “How did she know?”

    Wei Xiaobao had a sudden inspiration, “Day and night the old traitor is always afraid that someone would come to assassinate him, the security around him must be very strict,” he mused, “Perhaps kidnapping a baby out of the Palace is more difficult than assassinating him. In this world, other than Shifu Jiu Nan, I am afraid there is nobody else.” He said, “Most likely the person who kidnapped her told her that.”

    Chen Yuanyuan slowly nodded and said, “That’s right. But … but why didn’t he say that her surname was … was …”

    “That her surname was Wu?” Wei Xiaobao said, “Humph, there is nothing necessarily radiant with Ping Xi Wang’s surname.”

    Chen Yuanyuan was gazing out the window, she was staring blankly as if she did not hear him. Wei Xiaobao asked, “And then what happened?”

    “I thought about her a lot,” Chen Yuanyuan said, “I hoped the Heaven would pity me; as long as she did not die, I hoped one day I can see her again. Yesterday afternoon I received news from the Palace, saying that Wangye has been attacked by an assassin, and was seriously injured. I hurriedly went to the Palace to see him. Wangye was indeed attacked by an assassin, but he was not injured.”

    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. “So he was only pretending to be seriously injured?” his voice was quivering.

    Wangye said,” Chen Yuanyuan continued, “He pretends to be seriously injured so that the adversary would act blindly without thinking, and thus he could catch everything in one net.”

    Wei Xiaobao was greatly taken aback. “He is indeed pretending,” he mumbled, “I … I am such a big fool, I should have guessed early on.” He said in his heart, “The big traitor is indeed very suspicious of me.”

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “I asked him what kind of person was the assassin. Wangye did not say anything, but he took me to a side room. On the bed sat a young woman, her hands and feet were shackled. I did not need to take a second look, I knew she was my daughter. She looked exactly like me when I was her age. As soon as she saw me, she stared at me blankly, and then asked, ‘Are you my Mama?’ I nodded; and then pointing to Wangye, I said, ‘Greet your father[9]’. Ah Ke angrily said, ‘He is the big traitor to China, he is not my father. He killed my father, I want to avenge father.’ Wangye asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ Ah Ke replied, ‘I don’t know. Shifu told me that when I see my Ma, Ma will tell me’. Wangye asked her who her Shifu was, she was unwilling to talk. But eventually she revealed that she had received her Shifu’s order to assassinate Wangye.”

    Listening to here, Wei Xiaobao understood about 70, 80% of the story. He presumed his Shifu Jiu Nan hated Wu Sangui to the bones; killing him alone was not enough to vent her anger, hence she kidnapped her daughter, taught her martial art, and sent her to assassinate her own father [orig. fuqin, formal]. He stood up, went to the window, and thought, “That’s right, Shifu has never liked Ah Ke. Although she taught her martial art styles, she did not pass on the least bit of internal energy cultivation. Although Ah Ke’s style is indeed brilliant, it is actually a big mess; it encompasses different martial art styles from all kinds of school and sect. Old Monk Cheng Guan has such profound knowledge, yet he could not figure out her school. Um, Shifu did not let her enter the Tie Jian [Iron Sword] School; I, Wei Xiaobao, am actually the first disciple of Tie Jian School.” Thinking about the viciousness of Jiu Nan’s revenge, he could not help but shiver with fright.

    Chen Yuanyuan said, “Her Shifu has deep plans and distant thoughts, he hated Wangye so much that he set up this stratagem. If Ah Ke succeeded in assassinating Wangye, his big enmity would be avenged. If the assassination failed, Wangye would still find out that the assassin who was trying to take his life was his own flesh and blood daughter; needless to say, his heart must be grieved.”





    [8] Li Zicheng, the Roaming King (Chuang Wang), see also Chapter 27, note 1.


    [9] Orig. ‘die die’ (pronounced dee-eh), daddy, informal form of father. Also in subsequent sentences.

  18. #1938
    Moderator CrazyT's Avatar
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    Thanks foxs! I just finished reading the complete translation of White-Hair Demoness by you and FaQ and you're a translation guru. Thanks for contributing to us non-reading Chinese population.
    I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code.

  19. #1939
    Senior Member crazee's Avatar
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    Phew....that was a long story within a story.
    I can emphatise with CYY. From the way she narrated the story I suspect there's more to it then meets the eye.
    Poor Ah Ke... had she been together with PingXi Wang, I suppose she'd be a real nasty princess and a killer one too.
    Now what can XB do ? I suppose the old fox outfoxed him. right from the start. Its going to be interesting to see how he unravels this situation to his favour.

    Thanks Foxs, hope you had or are having a nice weekend.
    Over here it starting to rain..... well I don't know it's a relief or a hindrance. It's cooling, yes, I can sleep better but imaging trying to get around with the sky pouring down. The best part is when you are out it pours and when you're comfortably dry...it stops, Shucks, It's my luck I suppose.
    cheerio..

  20. #1940
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    Quote Originally Posted by SkyWalker View Post
    In ancient times, they always blame the women for everything that went wrong. In this case, it's easier to blame CYY than to face the fact that the previous Emperor was an incompetent idiot who killed Yuan Chonghuan and in the process, sealed his country's fate.
    I think its all about political reasons.

    They tried to sweep under the carpet the all real reasons why the Ming Dynasty fell and pushed all the blame to a single woman, Chen Yuanyuan. If they actually own up to the real reasons, then the rebellion to restore the Ming no longer has any reasons to do so.

    Quote Originally Posted by SkyWalker View Post
    Li Zicheng had a lot of support from the common people not just because he was Han but also because they felt like he was fighting for them. And even if they didn't all feel like that, I believe they would rather have him as king than the Manchus anyway.
    I’m of opinion they just didn’t want to be ruled by ‘barbarians’, despite no matter good the barbarian ruled and would rather be ruled by an incompetent Han.
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

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