Reed Snow Cottage: A Contest of Linked Poems on the Scene; Warm Fragrance Lodge: Elegant Spring Lantern Riddles

Baochai said, “We still have to decide on an order. Let me write it out.” She had everyone draw lots to determine the order. It happened that Li Wan was first, and then the rest were called out one by one. Xifeng said, “Since that’s how it is, I’ll add a line at the top too.” Everyone laughed and said, “Even better.” Baochai then wrote “Feng” above “Old Farmer of Rice Fragrance.” Li Wan explained the rules to her. Xifeng thought for a long time, then laughed and said, “Don’t laugh at me. I have only one crude line, and after that I know nothing.” Everyone laughed and said, “The cruder the better. Say it, and then you can go about your business.” Xifeng laughed and said, “I thought that if it snows, there must be a north wind. Last night I heard the north wind blowing all night, and I got a line: ‘All night the north wind blew hard.’ Would that do?” Everyone looked at one another and laughed. “It is crude, but since we cannot see what comes after, this is exactly how a poem should begin. Not only is it good, but it leaves plenty of room for those who follow. Use it as the first line. Old Farmer of Rice Fragrance, write it down quickly and continue.” Xifeng, Aunt Li, and Pinger drank two more cups of wine and then left. Li Wan wrote:

“All night the north wind blew hard,”

Then she herself linked:

“At dawn the door opens—snow still drifts.
Into the mud, pity its whiteness,”

Xiangling said:

“Over the ground, cherish the jade flakes.
With purpose it revives withered grass,”

Tanchun said:

“Uncaring, it decks the faded reed.
When village wine is brewed, it sells high;”

Li Qi said:

“In a good year the granary has grain in plenty.
The reed moves; ash flies from the pitch-pipe;”

Li Wen said:

“Yang returns; the Dipper’s handle turns.
Cold hills have lost their green;”

Xiuyan said:

“Frozen shores hear no tide.
Easy to hang on sparse willow branches;”

Xiangyun said:

“Hard to pile on broken banana leaves.
Musk-soot melts in the precious censer;”

Baoqin said:

“Silk sleeves are lined with golden sable.
Its light outshines the mirror by the window;”

Daiyu said:

“Its scent clings to pepper on the wall.
The slanting wind still blows and blows;”

Baoyu said:

“Clear dreams grow faint and few.
Where is the plum-blossom flute?”

Baochai said:

“Whose house has the jade-green flute?
The sea-turtle fears the earth-axis will sink;”

Li Wan laughed and said, “I’ll go watch the hot wine for you.” Baochai told Baoqin to continue. Xiangyun stood up and said:

“Dragon combat ends; battle clouds disperse.
On the wild bank a lone boat turns back;”

Baoqin also stood and said:

“An ‘humming’ whip points to Ba Bridge.
Granted a fur cloak, pity the frontier guard;”

Xiangyun would not yield to anyone. Besides, no one else was as quick as she was. Everyone watched as she raised her brows, threw out her chest, and said:

“Adding floss, remember the laborer’s corvée.
In hollows and mounds, test safe and dangerous ground;”

Baochai praised her again and again, and then linked:

“Branches and twigs fear being shaken.
White and bright, it follows light footsteps;”

Daiyu quickly linked:

“Snip-snip, it dances with the waist.
Boiled taro becomes a new delight;”

As she spoke, she pushed Baoyu and told him to link. Baoyu was watching Baochai, Baoqin, and Daiyu all battling Xiangyun together, which he found extremely amusing, and he had no attention left for linking verse. Only when Daiyu pushed him did he link:

“Sprinkling salt is an old tale.
In a reed rain-cape, one still moors and fishes;”

Xiangyun laughed and said, “Get down. You’re no good, and you’re delaying me.” Then Baoqin linked:

“No woodcutter’s axe is heard in the woods.
Crouching elephants—a thousand peaks jut;”

Xiangyun quickly linked:

“Coiling snakes—a single path stretches far.
Flowers gather because of the cold;”

Baochai and the others praised her again. Tanchun then linked:

“How could color fear frost’s withering?
In deep courtyards, cold sparrows startle;”

Xiangyun was thirsty and hurriedly drank tea, but Xiuyan had already said:

“On empty hills, old owls cry.
On steps and terrace, it rises and falls;”

Xiangyun threw down her teacup and quickly linked:

“On pond water, it drifts at will.
Shining at clear dawn;”

Daiyu linked:

“Flurrying through the long night.
Truly forgetting the cold three feet deep;”

Xiangyun quickly laughed and linked:

“Auspicious snow releases ninefold anxiety.
Who asks after one lying frozen?”

Baoqin also quickly laughed and linked:

“Wild travelers gladly invite one another.
Heaven’s loom snaps its white silk belt;”

Xiangyun again quickly said:

“The sea market loses its shark-silk.”

Daiyu, not letting her finish, immediately continued:

“Lonely, facing the terrace and pavilion;”

Xiangyun quickly linked:

“Poor and pure, cherishing the basket and gourd.”

Baoqin, also unwilling to yield, quickly said:

“Boiling tea, the ice slowly seethes;”

Xiangyun saw how much fun this was, laughed, and quickly linked:

“Heating wine, the leaves are hard to burn.”

Daiyu also laughed and said:

“A mountain monk sweeps without a broom;”

Baoqin also laughed and said:

“A child digs out a buried lute.”

Xiangyun laughed until she was bent double, then hurriedly recited a line. Everyone asked, “What exactly did she say?” Xiangyun cried:

“On the stone tower, a crane sleeps at ease;”

Daiyu laughed so hard she clutched her chest and shouted:

“Under embroidered rugs, a cat nestles warm.”

Baoqin also quickly laughed and said:

“In the moon cave, silver waves roll;”

Xiangyun quickly linked:

“In the sunset city, red banners are hidden.”

Daiyu quickly laughed and said:

“Plum fragrance steeped in snow can be chewed;”

Baochai laughed and praised it, then quickly linked:

“Bamboo soaked by rain is drunk and tunable.”

Baoqin also quickly said:

“Sometimes it wets the mandarin-duck sash;”

Xiangyun quickly linked:

“Sometimes it freezes on kingfisher hairpins.”

Daiyu again quickly said:

“Without wind, still softly falling;”

Baoqin again quickly laughed and linked:

“Without rain, still pattering.”

Xiangyun had collapsed and was laughing too hard to continue. Everyone watched the three of them fighting over the lines and no longer cared about making poems themselves; they only watched and laughed. Daiyu still pushed her to continue, saying, “You too have a time when your talent runs out. Let me hear what else you have to chew on with your tongue.” Xiangyun only lay in Baochai’s arms, laughing without stopping. Baochai pushed her up and said, “If you have the ability to use up all the rhymes in the ‘xiao’ category, then I’ll admire you.” Xiangyun got up and laughed, “I’m not making poetry—I’m racing for my life.” Everyone laughed and said, “You say it then.” Tanchun had already guessed that there would be no more lines for her, so she had written it out early, and said, “It still hasn’t been closed.” Li Wan heard this, took it, and linked one line:

“To record the joy of today,”

Li Qi closed with:

“With this poem, wish long life to Shun and Yao.”

Li Wan said, “Enough, enough. Although we did not finish all the rhymes, forcing in the leftover words would not be good.” Then everyone came to carefully comment on it. Xiangyun had the most lines, and they all laughed and said, “This is all thanks to that piece of deer meat.” Li Wan laughed and said, “Judging line by line, it all holds together, but Baoyu has come in last again.” Baoyu laughed and said, “I never could do linked verse, so you will have to excuse me.” Li Wan laughed and said, “We cannot excuse you at every meeting. First you say the rhymes are difficult, then you say you were disturbed, then you say you cannot do linked verse. Today you must be punished. I have just seen that the red plum at Green Lattice Hermitage is interesting, and I want to break off a branch to put in a vase. But Miaoyu’s manner is hateful, so I will not ask her. Now I punish you to go and fetch a branch.” Everyone said, “This punishment is elegant and amusing.” Baoyu was happy to do it and agreed at once, about to go. Xiangyun and Daiyu said together, “It is very cold outside. Drink a cup of hot wine before you go.” Xiangyun already held up the pot, and Daiyu handed over a large cup and filled it to the brim. Xiangyun laughed and said, “If you drink our wine and do not bring it back, your punishment will be doubled.” Baoyu quickly drank a cup and went out into the snow. Li Wan told someone to follow him carefully, but Daiyu quickly stopped her, saying, “There is no need. If someone goes with him, it will not work.” Li Wan nodded and agreed. She told a maid to bring a beauty’s shoulder-shaped vase and fill it with water, ready for the plum. Then she laughed again and said, “When he returns, we should write poems on the red plum.” Xiangyun quickly said, “I will write one first.” Baochai quickly said, “Today you absolutely may not write another. You have snatched all the lines, and everyone else has nothing to do, which is no fun. When he returns, we will punish Baoyu again. He said he cannot do linked verse, so now we will make him compose by himself.” Daiyu laughed and said, “That is very good. I have another idea. Just now the linked verse was not enough, so why not have those who linked the fewest write on the red plum?” Baochai laughed and said, “Exactly. Just now the Xing and Li sisters were thwarted, and they are guests. Qin, Daiyu, and Xiangyun have already snatched many lines. We should all not write, and let the three of them do it.” Li Wan then said, “Qi is not very good at it either, so let Qin do it.” Baochai had to agree. She also said, “Use the three characters ‘red plum blossom’ as the rhymes, one seven-character regulated verse each. Sister Xing will take ‘red,’ Sister Li will take ‘plum,’ and Qin will take ‘flower.’” Li Wan said, “If Baoyu is let off, I will not accept it.” Xiangyun quickly said, “There is a good title for him.” Everyone asked what title. Xiangyun said, “Make him write ‘Visiting Miaoyu to Beg for Red Plum.’ Is that not amusing?” Everyone laughed and said, “Amusing.” Before she finished speaking, Baoyu came in laughing with a branch of red plum. The maids hurried to take it and put it in the vase. Everyone laughed and thanked him. Baoyu laughed and said, “Enjoy it now. You do not know how much effort it cost me.” As he spoke, Tanchun handed him a cup of warm wine. The maids came up to take his rain-cape and hat and brush off the snow. Maids from each room brought extra clothes. Xiren also sent someone with an old fox-fur jacket. Li Wan ordered a plate of steamed large taro and two plates of red oranges, yellow oranges, olives, and other things to be sent to Xiren. Xiangyun told Baoyu the poem topic and urged him to write quickly. Baoyu said, “Good sisters, let me use my own rhymes. Do not limit the rhymes.” Everyone said, “Write as you like.” As they spoke, everyone looked at the plum. It was only about two feet tall, with a side branch stretching out five or six feet. Its smaller branches divided in different ways: some like coiling dragons, some like stiff worms, some alone and sharp like a brush, some dense like a forest. The flowers spat out rouge, and their fragrance outdid orchids. Everyone praised it. Who would have thought that Xing Xiuyan, Li Wen, and Xue Baoqin had already finished and written out their poems? Everyone looked in the order of the three characters “red plum blossom.” They wrote:

Red Plum Blossom, Using the Rhyme “Red” — Xing Xiuyan

Peaches are not yet fragrant, apricots not yet red;
Braving the cold, it already smiles at the east wind.
Its soul flies to Mount Yu, where spring is hard to tell;
Clouds bar Mount Luofu, and dreams cannot pass through.
Green calyxes add adornment, melting precious torches;
A white-robed immortal, drunk, crosses the fading rainbow.
Look—how could this be an ordinary color?
Let it be deep or pale amid ice and snow.

Red Plum Blossom, Using the Rhyme “Plum” — Li Wen

Too lazy to write of white plum, I write of red plum;
Flouting beauty, it opens first to meet drunken eyes.
On its frozen face the marks are all blood;
Its sour heart, though without grievance, turns to ash.
By mistake it swallowed elixir and changed its true bones;
Secretly it descended from Jade Pool and shed its old form.
North and south of the river spring blazes bright;
Tell the bees and butterflies not to doubt or guess.

Red Plum Blossom, Using the Rhyme “Flower” — Xue Baoqin

Sparse are the branches, brilliant the flowers;
Girls in spring dress compete in luxury.
In quiet courtyards and winding rails no snow remains;
By flowing water and empty hills, sunset clouds fall.
A cold, secluded dream follows the red-sleeved flute;
A wandering immortal’s scent floats on the crimson-river raft.
Its former self must have been planted on Jade Terrace;
No longer doubt that its color and form differ.

Everyone read them and praised them for a while, then pointed to the last one and said it was better. Baoyu saw that Baoqin was the youngest and yet quick and clever, and he marveled greatly. Daiyu and Xiangyun poured a small cup of wine and together congratulated Baoqin. Baochai laughed and said, “All three are good in their own ways. You two tease me every day until I am tired of it, and now you have turned to teasing him.” Li Wan asked Baoyu again, “Do you have yours?” Baoyu quickly said, “I did have it, but as soon as I saw those three poems, I was frightened and forgot it. Let me think again.” Xiangyun, hearing this, took a copper fire-chopstick and struck the hand-warmer, saying, “I am beating the drum. If the drum stops and you are not finished, you will be punished again.” Baoyu laughed and said, “I have it.” Daiyu picked up a brush and said, “Say it, and I will write.” Xiangyun struck once and laughed, “One drumbeat done.” Baoyu laughed and said, “I have it. Write.” Everyone heard him recite:

“The wine is not yet broached, the verse not yet shaped,”

Daiyu wrote it and shook her head, laughing, “The opening is ordinary.” Xiangyun again said, “Hurry.” Baoyu laughed:

“Seeking spring, inquiring of winter, I came to Penglai.”

Daiyu and Xiangyun both nodded and laughed, “There is some meaning now.” Baoyu continued:

“I do not ask the Great One for dew from her vase,
But beg of Chang’e the plum beyond the threshold.”

Daiyu wrote it and shook her head again, saying, “It only happens to fit.” Xiangyun hurried him with the second drum. Baoyu laughed again:

“Entering the world, I coldly carry off red snow;
Leaving the dust, I cut fragrant purple clouds to bring back.
Who pities the poet’s thin shoulders on the crooked branches?
On my clothes still clings the moss of the Buddhist court.”

When Daiyu finished writing, Xiangyun and the others were just about to comment when several maids ran in and reported, “The old lady is coming.” Everyone hurried out to meet her. They laughed and said, “How happy you are.” As they spoke, they saw Grandmother Jia in the distance, wrapped in a large cloak and wearing a gray-squirrel hood, sitting in a small bamboo sedan, under a blue silk oil umbrella. Yuanyang, Hupo, and five or six other maids each held an umbrella and surrounded the sedan as it came. Li Wan and the others hurried forward to meet her. Grandmother Jia ordered them to stop and said, “Just stand there.” When she came near, Grandmother Jia laughed and said, “I slipped away from your mother and Xifeng. In this deep snow, it is no trouble for me to ride; there is no need to make them come and tramp through the snow.” Everyone hurried forward to take her cloak and help her, while answering her. When Grandmother Jia entered the room, she first laughed and said, “What fine plum! You know how to enjoy yourselves. I came at the right time.” As she spoke, Li Wan had already ordered a large wolf-skin rug to be spread in the middle. Grandmother Jia sat down and laughed, “Just go on as before, playing and eating and drinking. Because the days are short, I dared not take a nap. I played cards for a while, thought of you, and came to join the fun.” Li Wan had already brought a hand-warmer. Tanchun brought another set of cups and chopsticks, poured warm wine herself, and offered it to Grandmother Jia. Grandmother Jia drank a sip and asked, “What is in that dish?” Everyone hurriedly brought it over and answered, “Pickled quail.” Grandmother Jia said, “That will do. Tear off a bit of leg.” Li Wan hurriedly agreed, asked for water to wash her hands, and tore it herself. Grandmother Jia also said, “You all sit down again and talk and laugh so I can listen.” She also told Li Wan, “You sit down too, just as if I were not here. Otherwise, I will leave.” Hearing this, everyone sat down in order, and Li Wan moved to the very bottom. Grandmother Jia asked what they were doing, and everyone said they were writing poems. Grandmother Jia said, “If you are writing poems, it would be better to make lantern riddles, so we can enjoy them in the first month.” Everyone agreed. They talked and laughed for a while. Grandmother Jia then said, “It is damp here. Do not sit too long, or you will catch a chill.” She said, “Your Fourth Sister’s place is warm. Let us go there and look at her painting. Will it be ready by New Year?” Everyone laughed and said, “How could it be ready by New Year? I am afraid it will be ready by Dragon Boat Festival next year.” Grandmother Jia said, “That is too much! She is taking more time than building this garden.” As she spoke, she still sat in the bamboo sedan, and everyone followed around her. They passed Lotus Fragrance Pavilion and entered a passage. On both east and west sides there were overhead doors. The gatehouse had stone tablets inside and out. Now they entered the west gate. The tablet facing outward was carved with the words “Piercing Clouds,” and the one facing inward with “Crossing the Moon.” When they reached the hall, they entered the south-facing main door. Grandmother Jia got down from the sedan, and Xichun came out to meet her. Passing through the covered corridor inside, they came to Xichun’s bedroom. Above the door was written “Warm Fragrance Lodge.” Several people had already raised the scarlet felt curtains, and they felt warm fragrance brush their faces. Everyone entered the room. Grandmother Jia did not sit down, but only asked, “Where is the painting?” Xichun smiled and replied, “The weather is cold, and the glue has all frozen and is not smooth. If I paint, I am afraid it will not look good, so I have put it away.” Grandmother Jia laughed and said, “I want it by New Year. Do not be lazy. Bring it out quickly and paint it for me.” Before she finished speaking, Xifeng suddenly appeared wearing a purple goat’s-wool jacket, laughing as she came in, saying, “Old Ancestor, today you did not tell anyone and slipped away by yourself. I had a hard time finding you.” When Grandmother Jia saw her, she was delighted and said, “I was afraid you would be cold, so I would not let anyone tell you. You really are a clever little imp—you found me after all. Really, filial devotion is not shown in this.” Xifeng laughed, “I did not come looking for you out of filial devotion. When I got to your place, it was silent as a graveyard. I asked the little maids, but they would not let me come find you in the garden. I was just wondering when two or three nuns came, and then I understood. Those nuns must have come to deliver New Year prayers or collect the annual incense money. Old Ancestor has many New Year affairs, so you must have been hiding from creditors. Now I have come to report: the creditors have gone, so there is no need to hide. I have already prepared tender pheasant. Please come to supper, or it will get old.” As she spoke, everyone laughed. Xifeng did not wait for Grandmother Jia to speak, but ordered the sedan to be brought. Grandmother Jia laughed, took Xifeng’s hand, got on the sedan again, and with everyone following, laughing and talking, went out the east gate of the passage. They saw the whole scene powdered in silver and piled with snow. Suddenly they saw Baoqin, wearing a wild-duck-down cloak, standing on the slope waiting from afar, with a maid behind her holding a vase of red plum. Everyone laughed and said, “We were missing two people, but she is waiting here. She has been getting plum too.” Grandmother Jia was delighted and quickly laughed, “Look at her on the slope, with her looks and that clothing, and the plum behind her—what does it look like?” Everyone laughed and said, “It looks like the ‘Beautiful Snow’ painting by Qiu Shizhou hanging in your room, Old Ancestor.” Grandmother Jia shook her head and laughed, “That painting does not have such clothing, and the person could not be so fine.” Before she finished speaking, they saw someone in a big red felt cloak come out from behind Baoqin. Grandmother Jia said, “Which girl is that?” Everyone laughed, “We are all here. That is Baoyu.” Grandmother Jia laughed, “My eyes are failing more and more.” As they spoke, the person came near—it was indeed Baoyu and Baoqin. Baoyu smiled at Baochai, Daiyu, and the others, “I went to Green Lattice Hermitage again. Miaoyu sends each of you a branch of plum. I have already had them sent over.” Everyone laughed and said, “Thank you for your trouble.” As they spoke, they had already left the garden and come to Grandmother Jia’s rooms. After dinner, everyone talked and laughed for a while. Suddenly Aunt Xue also came and said, “What a heavy snow! I did not come to visit you all day. Are you displeased today, Old Ancestor? You should be enjoying the snow.” Grandmother Jia laughed, “When was I displeased? I went to find the girls and played with them for a while.” Aunt Xue laughed, “Last night I was thinking that today I would borrow your garden for a day and set two plain tables of wine to invite you to enjoy the snow. But I saw you had gone to rest early. I heard my daughter say you were not feeling well, so I did not dare disturb you today. Had I known, I should have invited you.” Grandmother Jia laughed, “This is only the first snow of the tenth month. There will be many snowy days ahead. It will not be too late to spend then.” Aunt Xue laughed, “If that is so, count my filial devotion as sincere.” Xifeng laughed, “Aunt, be careful not to forget. Weigh out fifty taels of silver now and give it to me to keep. When it snows, I will prepare the wine. You need not worry, and you will not forget.” Grandmother Jia laughed, “If you say so, Aunt, give her fifty taels. She and I will split twenty-five each. On snowy days, I will pretend to be unhappy and let it pass. Aunt need not worry, and Xifeng and I will get the benefit.” Xifeng clapped her hands and laughed, “Wonderful! That is exactly my idea.” Everyone laughed. Grandmother Jia laughed, “Bah, shameless! You climb up along the pole. You should say that Aunt is a guest, suffering humiliation in our house, and that we should invite her. How could there be any reason to spend Aunt’s money? If you did not say that, how could you have the face to ask for fifty taels first? You really have no shame.” Xifeng laughed, “Our Old Ancestor is most discerning. I was testing you. If Aunt were loose, she would take out fifty taels and split it with me. But now you estimate that it will not work, so you turn on me and use me as an example, saying these generous things. Now I will not ask Aunt for silver. Instead, I will pay for the wine myself, invite you to drink, and then separately seal up fifty taels to honor you, as a fine for meddling in idle affairs. Is that good?” Before she finished, everyone had laughed until they collapsed on the kang. Grandmother Jia then mentioned again how Baoqin picking plum in the snow was better than a painting, and asked in detail about her age, birth date, and family circumstances. Aunt Xue guessed that she probably meant to propose her for Baoyu. Aunt Xue herself was willing, but Baoqin had already been promised to the Mei family. Since Grandmother Jia had not said it openly, she could not speak directly, so she half revealed it: “It is a pity this child has no good fortune. Her father died the year before last. She has seen much of the world since childhood and traveled with her parents over the Four Mountains and Five Peaks. Her father loved pleasure. Wherever he had business, he took the family along. They would spend a year in one province, and half a year in another the next year. So they traveled five or six tenths of the empire. That year here, she was promised to the son of Hanlin Mei. But the next year her father died. Now her mother has a phlegm illness.” Before she finished, Xifeng stamped her foot and cried, “What bad luck! I was just about to be a matchmaker, and she is already promised to someone.” Grandmother Jia laughed, “Whom would you match?” Xifeng said, “Do not ask, Old Ancestor. I had my eye on a pair. Now that she is promised, it is no use talking. Better not to speak of it.” Grandmother Jia also understood what Xifeng meant, and hearing that Baoqin was already promised, she dropped the matter. Everyone chatted idly for a while and then dispersed. There was no more talk that night.

The next day the snow cleared. After breakfast, Grandmother Jia again personally instructed Xichun: “No matter whether it is cold or warm, just paint. If you truly cannot finish by New Year, then let it be. But first, be sure to add yesterday’s Qin and the maid with the plum, exactly as it was, without one mistake. Hurry and add it.” Xichun, though she found it difficult, had to agree. After a while, everyone came to see how she was painting. Xichun was simply lost in thought. Li Wan laughed and said to everyone, “Let her think by herself. Let us talk. Yesterday the old lady only asked for lantern riddles. Last night I could not sleep with Qi and Wen, so I made two from the Four Books. They each made two as well.” Everyone laughed, “This is what should be done. Tell us first, and we will guess.” Li Wan laughed, “‘Guanyin has no hereditary biography’—guess a line from the Four Books.” Xiangyun immediately said, “‘Rest in the highest excellence.’” Baochai laughed, “Think about the meaning of the words ‘hereditary biography’ before you guess.” Li Wan laughed, “Think again.” Daiyu laughed, “Oh, it is ‘Though good, no evidence.’” Everyone laughed, “That is the one.” Li Wan again said, “‘A pool of green grass—what is the grass called?’” Xiangyun again quickly said, “It must be ‘bulrushes and reeds.’ If not, it cannot be.” Li Wan laughed, “That was hard for you to guess. Wen’s is ‘Water flowing by the stone comes out cold’—guess an ancient person’s name.” Tanchun laughed and asked, “Could it be Shan Tao?” Li Wen laughed, “Yes.” Li Wan again said, “Qi’s is the character ‘firefly’—guess a character.” Everyone guessed for a long time. Baoqin laughed, “This meaning is deep. Could it be the character ‘flower’?” Li Qi laughed, “Exactly.” Everyone said, “What has firefly to do with flower?” Daiyu laughed, “Very clever! Is not a firefly transformed from grass?” Everyone understood and laughed, saying it was good. Baochai said, “These are good, but they do not suit the old lady’s idea. It would be better to make some simple ones about common things, so that both refined and common people can enjoy them.” Everyone said, “We should also make some simple, common ones.” Xiangyun thought for a moment, then laughed, “I made a ‘Dian Jiang Chun,’ and it is truly a common thing. Guess it.” As she spoke, she recited:

“Stream and valley are parted;
In the red dust it plays.
What real joy?
Fame and gain are vain;
What comes after is hard to continue.”

Everyone did not understand. They thought for a long time. Some guessed a monk, some a Daoist, some a puppet. Baoyu laughed for a long time, then said, “None of those. I have guessed it—it must be a performing monkey.” Xiangyun laughed, “That is exactly it.” Everyone said, “The first part is fine, but how do you explain the last line?” Xiangyun said, “Every performing monkey has its tail chopped off.” Everyone laughed and said, “Even her riddles are crotchety and strange.” Li Wan said, “Yesterday Aunt said that Qin has seen much of the world and traveled many roads. You should make riddles; this is just the time to use that. Your poems are good too. Why not make a few for us to guess?” Baoqin, hearing this, nodded and smiled, and went off to think. Baochai also had one, and recited:

“Carved from sandalwood and catalpa, layer on layer,
How could it be merely piled up by a skilled craftsman?
Though half the sky has passed through wind and rain,
When did one ever hear a Buddhist bell from it?
Guess an object.”

While everyone was guessing, Baoyu also had one and recited:

“Heaven above and the world of men are both dim and vast;
When the bamboo festival passes, be careful and on guard.
Messages from phoenix and crane must be watched for intently;
Better to answer Heaven with sighs and sobs.”

Daiyu also had one, and recited:

“What need to bind it with a purple cord?
Racing through cities and moats, it shows a fierce look.
At its master’s command, wind and thunder stir;
On the back of the turtle, the three mountains stand alone in fame.”

Tanchun also had one. She was just about to recite it when Baoqin came over and laughed, “Since childhood I have traveled many places and seen many ancient sites. Now I have chosen ten ancient sites and made ten poems on them. The poems are crude, but they recall past events, and each secretly hints at a common object. Sisters, please guess.” Everyone laughed, “This is clever. Why not write them out for us to see?” If you want to know what happened next, read the next chapter.