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CHAPTER 5
The spirit of Bao-yu wanders about in the Phantom Realm of the Great
Void. The Fairy of Fearful Awakening vainly interprets for him in
songs the Dream of the Red Chamber.
VERY SOON BLACK JADE HAD BECOME THE AVOWED FAVORITE OF THE Princess Ancestress, and was put before the other grandchildren in every respect, just like Bao-yu. These two had become as closely at- tached to each other as glue and lacquer and were now an inseparable pair. In the daytime they sat side by side and went about hand in hand ; in the evening they stood taking a long and affectionate leave of one another and slept wall to wall.
Now this new cousin had suddenly come to the house. Although not much older than the other cousins, Precious Clasp was so polished in her manners and of such charming appearance that according to the general verdict even Black Jade was not her equal. Besides, she knew how to win the hearts of all, even the servants, by her friendly, com- passionate ways, whereas Black Jade was a solitary individual and went around with her head in the air. With secret annoyance in her heart, Black Jade felt herself displaced in the general popularity by her new cousin, and her annoyance turned to resentment when she perceived that even Bao-yu was not untouched by her charm.
Bao-yu was still too x immature to discriminate tactfully between an old privileged friendship and a new acquaintance; for him one cousin was the same as another. In short, Black Jade felt offended whenever he said a friendly word too much to Precious Clasp, and this led to many scenes of jealousy in the course of which she would rush weeping to her room, and in the end forgive the faithless one again and again when he would come running after her with bowed head and apologize to her with youthful impetuosity.
One day at the time of the plum blossoms Prince and Princess Chen had invited the near-by relatives to visit them in the Ningkuo palace. After the company had walked about for a while in the Garden of Assembled Perfumes, which was shimmering in the full splendor of blossomtime, they all sat down at one great table to the usual family feast, about which there is nothing special to say.
At the end of the meal Bao-yu felt sleepy and expressed the wish to lie down for a while. Mistress Yung, the beautiful young daughter-in- law of Prince Chen, undertook to conduct him herself to a room which she thought seemed suitable for a midday nap. It was a small, beautifully and comfortably furnished guestroom, but two mottoes which decorated one of the walls caused the boy obvious discomfort. For when he read:
For knowledge of nature and the world Do not neglect the sciences.
For knowledge of the human heart Devote yourself to the study of history
he turned petulantly back and said: "Let us get out quickly!" His beautiful companion thereupon laughingly offered to give him her own bedroom.
"But, Mistress, the uncle cannot well sleep in the niece's bed; that would be contrary to all good form," objected a chamberwoman, who was in attendance.
"Ah, why be so prudish? The uncle is after all still a boy," replied the young woman, laughing, and leading Bao-yu, who in kinship was in fact her uncle but in age could well be her nephew, into her bedroom. As he entered he was met by a wave of delightful perfume which intoxicated his senses and melted his bones.
"Oh, it smells nice here!" he remarked with pleasure, and his pleasure increased when he saw a painting by Master T'ang Pei Hu representing someone sleeping beneath begonia branches in early spring, and read the following words written to the right and left of it:
Gentle coolness surrounds the dreamer early spring! The breezes which caress him fragrant as wine!
In silent admiration Bao-yu let his eyes wander round the splendid furnishings of the room. Here on the dressing table was a bronze mirror which would have done honor to the mirror palace of the Empress Wu of the T'ang dynasty. There was a magnificent flat golden dish on which the celebrated dancer "Flying Swallow ' might once have danced be- fore her Imperial lord. That splendid jewel-studded couch on a raised dais would have been worthy to adorn the bedroom of Princess Shou Yang iii the Han Chang palace. The strings of pearls which hung around the couch might have been fastened there by the hand of Princess Tung Chang.
"What a beautiful room!" cried Bao-yu, enraptured. "Yes, isn't it? Even spirits and genii could feel happy here," remarked his niece, smiling.
Saying this, she threw off the blossom-white bedcover with her own hand, and arranged the soft pillow embroidered with mandarin ducks, which the "Red Maiden'* might once have clasped to her bosom as she yearned for her lover. The swarm of waiting maids and chamberwomen helped Bao-yu to undress and put him to bed on the couch; and then they all withdrew noiselessly. Pearl and three other chambermaids had to keep watch outside the bedroom door.
"Take good care that the cats do not start fighting under the window and disturb your master's rest!" Mistress Yung impressed upon them thoughtfully.
Hardly had Bao-yu shut his eyes than he felt himself carried away into a land of dreams. His beautiful niece seemed to hover in front of him and lead him to a fairy palace with walls of jasper and pillars and balustrades of ruby, surrounded by the rustling of treetops and the murmur of silver brooks.
"It's good to be here," he sighed happily in his dream. "I much prefer being here to being at home, where I am always watched and always expecting blame and scoldings from Father and Mother." His guide had disappeared in the meantime. He listened. From somewhere or other beautiful celestial singing like a woman's voice resounded in his ears. Immediately afterwards he saw a most lovely fairy appearing from behind a hill and gently floating towards him. Bao-yu raised his hands to his breast in greeting and said to her, bowing: "Sister fairy, I have lost my way. Would you be so kind as to direct me, and tell me who you are?"
The fairy replied: "I am the Fairy of Fearful Awakening. I live not far from here, in the Phantom Realm of the Great Void, in the Sphere of Banished Suffering, behind the Drenching Sea of Trouble, on the Heights of Liberated Spring, in the Grottoes of Everlasting Perfumes. I judge the Play of Wind and Clouds between human beings and settle the unbalanced debts of love between unhappy maidens and languishing youths. It is not chance but destiny which leads me to you today. I shall lead you to my kingdom and entertain you in my palace with a bowl of celestial tea plucked by myself and a goblet of magic wine which I have brewed. My maids shall entertain you with their magic dances and sing to you the twelve new spirit songs from 'The Dream of the Red Chamber.' Will you follow me?"
"I will," agreed Bao-yu joyfully and followed the fairy. It was not long until the fairy led him through a high stone arch, over which he read the inscription : Phantom Realm of the Great Void. On the pillars to the right and left was written :
When seeming is taken for being, being becomes seeming,
Where nothing is taken for something, something becomes nothing.
Very shortly they passed through a palace gateway, over which was written in big letters: Sea of Lover's Grief and Heaven of the Passions, while to right and left stood written:
Passions without end, old and new,
Swell broad as the earth, wide as the sky.
Too late, amorous youth, languishing maid, is your repentance,
Ah, to atone for the guilt of wind- and moon-play costs pain !
That's true, thought Bao-yu to himself, in his innocence. If only I knew what is meant by "passions old and new" and by "to atone for the guilt of wind- and moon-play." I must certainly find out through personal experience.
In making this resolution he had unconsciously invited the wicked demons of sensual agitation to come into his body and take up their abode between his heart and his diaphragm.
After passing through another gateway, they came to a row of apartments, on the closed doors of which he read strange inscriptions such as Department of Love's Folly, Department of Jealousy, Depart- ment of Morning Tears, Department of Night Sighs, Department of Spring Grief, Department of Autumn Suffering.
Bao-yu asked if he might view the different chambers. The fairy shook her head. In the apartments, she said, there were registers of the memorable destinies of numerous women and girls, of whom some had already lived and others were yet to live. To a human being like himself, with his profane eyes and his body of dust, it was not to be granted to glance into the future. "Follow me," she said. "I have something far more beautiful to show you than these tiresome registers."
Bao-yu followed the fairy farther into the interior of the palace, until they came to a glittering hall. His eyes were quite dazzled by the splendors which appeared before him here: walls of jasper, floors of gold mosaic, glistening panes of glass, purple curtains in front of red doors, luminous colored pillars, artistically carved roof beams, and all ( around gardens full of spirit plants, and marvellous flowers, and rare perfumes. While Bao-yu was still sunk in amazed contemplation, he heard the fairy call in to the hall: "Come out and greet your worthy guest!" Immediately four elves appeared at the entrance. They wore light feather garments, lotus leaves hung from their shoulders as sleeves, their stride was a dance, their walk was a glide, a gentle radiance like autumn moonlight enveloped them. When they noticed Bao-yu, a look of disappointment crossed their flower faces, and they said reproach- fully to the fairy: "We thought you were bringing Purple Pearl, for whom we have waited so long, to visit us. Why do you bring this dirty creature here instead, and allow him to soil and profane by his presence this dwelling of pure maidens?"
Bao-yu heard this with shame, and he would have liked to run away at once. He was well aware of the fact that they were right, and that in the presence of these pure beings he really seemed an insufferably dirty person. But the fairy took him kindly by the hand and said to the elves with a smile: "You do not know the why and the wherefore of my action. I really wanted to go to the Yungkuo palace today, as I had promised you, to fetch your sister, Purple Pearl. But as I was pass- ing by the Ningkuo palace on my way there, I met the ghosts of the two ancestors of the Yungkuo and Ningkuo palaces. They implored me to take charge of their descendant Bao-yu. After a hundred years of fame and splendor their families are threatened with ruin, and among their many great-grandchildren Bao-yu is the only one who is capable of perpetuating the race in honor. It is true that he is of a somewhat peculiar and frivolous disposition, but his intellect and talents justify the greatest hopes. All he lacks is the right guidance. Therefore, they earnestly asked me to warn him of the dangers of foolishly trifling with love and following the instincts without restraint, to guard him against pitfalls and allurements and direct him on the right path. They would be grateful to me forever if I do this.
"Moved with pity, I have brought him here in order to have him learn and realize the folly of earthly sensual indulgence. Perhaps it will be possible to awaken him, so that he will take my warnings to heart for his future life, and so become proof against dangers."
When she had finished speaking she led Bao-yu into the hall. Inside, a wave of indescribably sweet perfume, such as he had never smelled before, assailed his nostrils. When he asked what the perfume came from, the fairy informed him, smiling: "In your world of dust this aromatic mixture is quite unknown. It is distilled from the manifold juices of precious young plants and rare trees which grow on holy mountains. It is called the Marrow of Gathered Perfumes."
They sat down at the table and drank a most wonderful tea, such as Bao-yu had never before tasted.
"What is the name of this kind of tea?" he asked.
"A thousand red drops in one mouthful," replied the fairy. "The shrub grows near the Grottoes of Everlasting Perfumes on the Heights of Liberated Spring, and its leaves are boiled in the morning dew of magic flowers and plants."
"It is a wonderful tea!" said Bao-yu approvingly, nodding his head. He looked around the room once more. His glance fell on jewel-studded lutes, precious tripods, incense vessels, old paintings, new mottoes on the walls. Nothing required for the equipment of a comfortable living room was lacking. There were even velvet dusters hanging under the windows to wipe away the dust from time to time. Then he asked the names of the elves. The fairy introduced them: Elf of Amorous Dreams, Great Mistress of Passion, Golden Maiden of Sorrowful Longing, Bodhisattva of Avenged Lovers' Rancor.
Meantime young maidservants had laid the table. They now carried in a sumptuous meal and filled amber goblets with a choice golden wine from crystal jugs.
"What is this wonderful wine?" asked Bao-yu.
"It is prepared from the pollen of a hundred flowers, the juices of a thousand plants, the marrow of unicorns, and the milk of the phoenix, and it is called A Thousand Delights in One Goblet."
Bao-yu did not weary of drinking the wine freely and praising it fervently. Meantime twelve dancing maidens had appeared and taken up positions in front of the table.
"To what text shall we dance?" they asked the fairy.
"To the twelve new spirit songs from 'The Dream of the Red Chamber'!" the fairy ordered.
The dancers bowed obediently and began to sing and dance to the gentle music of their twelve-stringed silver lutes and the measure of their sandalwood castanets. In order that he might understand it bet- ter, the fairy ordered a servant to hand her guest the written text of the twelve songs, and now he sat and tried to understand the meaning of the performance, listening to the music while his eyes followed the text. Yet his efforts were in vain. True,' he could not escape the effect of the music, but what the text, with its many cryptic sayings and hidden allusions, might mean remained a complete mystery to him. But the melody was so exquisite and charming and so superbly performed as to bewitch the mind and intoxicate the senses, and he asked no troublesome questions in the intervals, but only listened to the music while just reading the text mechanically.
At last the girls had finished the long performance of the twelve ings. Actually, they were about to continue with a last refrain, but the fairy, who had noticed the sleepy indifference of her guest, signed to them to go away.
"It was all in vain," she sighed. "The fool has remained unawakened."
Bao-yu was glad that the fairy stopped the performance, and he himself hurriedly called out to the girls not to sing any more. He felt ex- hausted and sleepy from the meal and the abundance of wine, and asked if he might lie down for a while.
The fairy gave orders to clear away, and had Bao-yu led into one of the women's chambers. He thought he had never in his life seen such luxurious furnishings as he saw here. But a still greater surprise awaited him. He found in the room a young girl who resembled his cousin Precious Clasp in form and beauty but in expression and demeanor was the image of his cousin Black Jade. While he was still feeling quite dazed, he heard the fairy say: "Ah, how many green-windowed inner chambers in the houses of the rich and aristocratic of this world of dust are misused by frivolous youth for sinful amorous play! The reason that I take such a kindly interest in you is that you are the most inveterate amorous profligate of all time."
Bao-yu stammered, abashed: "Sister fairy, you are mistaken. It may be that I am lazy at lessons and have brought on myself deserved parental rebuke. But I am not aware that I am an amorous profligate. After all, I am still too young and I do not know what it is to be profligate in love."
"There are two kinds of amorous profligates, the carnal and the intellectual ones. The first strives only for physical possession; he is insatiable in his sensual desires, and regrets he cannot have all the beautiful women and girls under heaven as prey for his lusts. You do not belong to that category, but to the second. Your dissolute desire seeks the intellectual company of girls, therefore you would have been quite a suitable mate for the women's apartments of our spirit kingdom; whereas in the world of dust you will not be understood; there you will become an object of mockery and contempt. Touched by the pleadings of your two ancestors, I have led you into my kingdom, welcomed you with magic tea and fairy wine, and tried to awaken you with spirit songs. Now I present to you my younger sister, Ko Ching, so that she may share your couch tonight. The hour for your union is favorable. The joys of this bridal couch in our Phantom Realm will enable you to form an estimate of the delights of the bridal chamber in your world of dust. From today on wake up and change your former ways! Direct your mind to the wise teachings of the Masters Confucius and Mencius and resolutely tread the path of common sense."
When she had finished speaking she confided to him some further intimate information regarding the practice of the "Play of Cloud and Rain." Then she shut him into the chamber. Still quite confused and stupefied, Bao-yu followed her instructions and carried out with Ko Ching that time-honored practice of which an exhaustive description would no doubt be superfluous.
The two found so much delight in each other and had so many caressing and affectionate words to say to one another that they did not want to part the next morning. Hand in hand, they walked out of the palace and got lost wandering about. They were so engrossed in each other that they did not notice the road at all. Suddenly they found themselves in a wilderness of thorn bushes and thick brushwood and saw that wolves and tigers were their travelling companions. Then the road suddenly came to an end. They were standing on the bank of a dark rushing stream, over which no bridge led. While they were still hesitating as to where they should flee from the wild beasts which were pursuing them, they heard the warning voice of the fairy behind them, crying: "Stop! Do not go farther! Turn back!"
"Where are we?" asked Bao-yu.
"At the Witches' River," cried the fairy. "It is a thousand fathoms deep and runs a thousand li in zigzag windings. No boat and no boat- man can find the way through this labyrinthine stream. Only the old ferryman Mu Ku Chi would be able to take you across in his raft. But he does not do this for gold or silver; he does it only if Destiny commands him. If he does not help you, then you are lost, and all my trouble will have been in vain. . . ." She had not finished speaking when a sound like a peal of thunder came from the Witches' River, and a swarm of night demons and river devils rose up from the river with a roaring sound and came fluttering up to Bao-yu shrieking terribly, to seize him and drag him into the depths of the river. Cold sweat dripped from his body like rain, and in his terror he cried out: "Ko Ching, save me!"
Thereupon he woke up from his dream. The maid Pearl was sitting on the bed with the three other maids, and she clasped him tenderly to her with comforting words: "Do not be afraid, Bao-yu! We are here!''
Bao-yu had cried out so loudly in his dream that his cry was heard outside by his niece, the beautiful Mistress Yung. "No one in the whole house knows my childhood name," she said to herself surprised. "How is it that he called me by my childhood name in his dream?"
She was not able to explain it, but she did not dare to ask the dreamer.
© 2010 David Bordelon
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