雙語故事:紅樓夢故事:元妃省親

【英文譯文】

Homecoming by an Imperial Concubine

摘要：《紅樓門》中的故事。賈政生日那天，正在熱鬧之際，忽然傳賈政入朝。全家老小不知出了什麼事，心情不定地等了好一陣子，才見管家報信說，賈政的大女兒賈元春被封爲貴妃娘娘了……

This is an episode from the novel A Dream of Red Mansions. Just as the whole family was busy prepasring the birthday ceremony for Jia Zheng， Jia was summoned to report to the imperial court. His family did not know why and felt uneasy about it. The family members waited for quite a while before the butler came back to say that Jia Yuangchun（Jia Zheng's eldest daughter） was conferred the title of highest-ranking imperial emperor had granted that Yuangchun would pay a visit to her parents at the upcoming Lantern Festival. The Jia family relaxed after hearing the news. In order to welcome the homecoming imperial concubine， the Jia family became busier and built a garden of grand views for the occasion.

On the day of the Lantern Festival， Jia Zheng's mother led all members of her clan to wait by the main entrance to the garden. Accompanied by a swarm of imperial maids， Yuanchun came back on a sedan chair which was draped with an embroidery of a phoenix and tiny gold bells. Eight men carried the sedan chair on their shoulders. The imperial concubine was shown around the garden， in which there were pavilions with gorgeouslypainted beams and pilars. There were also patches of bamboos and strangely-shaped stones. The trees in the garden were decorated with flowers made of silk cloth while lanterns made of conches and clams were placed aside a pond. The garden was decorated so majestically that even Yuanchun thought it to be too luxurious.

After Yuanchun was seated， Jia Zheng's mother and Madam Wang （Yuangchun's grandmother and mother）met with her. Ther faced one another in silence：the mother and grandmother couldn't speak a word； they just sobbed. Yuanchun finally said："It is not easy for me to come back from a place where I can see no family members. But now that I'm back， you just sob away and have nothing to say to me. I'd better return to the palace. I don't know when I will be allowed to come home again." After that，all continued to cry.

After the banquet was ready， Yuanchun was marshaled to her seat. The imperial concubine invited her sisters and Bao Yu to recite poems， and she bestowed gifts to everyone at the bable. When the time came to leave， Yuanchun held the hands of her grandmothed that they not squander noney on her next homecoming， if there was one imperial concubine then turned away from her parents and left mournfully.

【中文原文】

《紅樓門》中的故事。賈政生日那天，正在熱鬧之際，忽然傳賈政入朝。全家老小不知出了什麼事，心情不定地等了好一陣子，才見管家報信說，賈政的大女兒賈元春被封爲貴妃娘娘了，皇上恩准明年元宵節回家省親，這時全家人才放下心來。爲迎接元妃省親，賈府上下開邕忙碌，還專修了一座大觀園。元宵節那天，賈母率榮寧兩府土穰細流和，一清早就在大門口迎侯。元春坐八人擡繡風鑾大轎，由宮女們呼擁進大觀園，在園內轉了一圈。只見園內雕樑畫棟金碧輝煌，佳木怪石竹林掩映，樹上掛滿各種絹花，池中有螺蚌製成的彩燈。貴妃看後覺得“太奢華糜費了”。元春落座，賈母、王夫人等相見。大家相對無言，只是抽泣，最後還是元春強說：“當初送我到那不得人的地方，好不容易纔回家，大家不說笑只顧哭，我回去了，不知地才能再見……”說着又哭起來。宴會齊備，請貴妃入席。貴妃請姐妹們與寶玉詠詩。元春對每個都有賞賜，臨走時，拉住賈母、王夫人的手，要她們保重身體，並叮囑，如下次省親，切不可浪費，說完悲悲切切地轉身而去。