Odd Tablet

Jihusou (畸笏叟, Odd Tablet in David Hawkes's translation of the pen name, or more literally, Elderly Maimed Tablet) is one of the main commentators of the book Dream of the Red Chamber, and the second most prominent commentator in Zhiyanzhai's handwritten copies with commentaries. Quotes 秦可卿淫喪天香樓」，作者用史筆也。老朽因有魂托鳳姐賈家後事二件，的是安富尊榮坐享人不能想得到處。其事雖未行，其言其意則令人悲切感服，姑赦之，因命芹溪刪去。 That "Qin Keqing dies in the Celestial Fragrance Pavilion because of her adultery" indicates the author's use of a historiographical style. The two episodes of her soul's appearance to Phoenix and her prophecy concerning the later developments of the Jia household are matters that people secure in the enjoyment of their wealth can indeed think of. Even without revealing her [incestuous?] affair, her words and their meaning can move people to deep grief and admiration. For these reasons, this old codger had left her off the hook and ordered Xueqin and Meixi to delete [the incident of incest?]. Odd Tablet's comment at the end of chapter 13 in the 1754 jiaxu (甲戌) manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber, saying that he "ordered" Cao Xueqin to "delete" a passage describing Qin Keqing (秦可卿)'s death, as quoted and translated by Anthony C. Yu in Rereading the Stone: Desire and the Making of Fiction in Dream of the Red Chamber (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997), p. 11 偏於極熱鬧處寫出大不得意之文，卻無絲毫牽強，且有許多令人笑不了、哭不了、嘆不了、悔不了，唯以大白酬我作者。 Of all the times, the author chose this most exciting moment to write about something very unpleasant. Yet there is nothing unnatural about it. Moreover, there are numerous [other moments in the story when] we can neither laugh nor cry nor sigh nor feel sorry. The only thing we can do is to reward our author with a big cup of wine. Marginal comment, dated late spring of 1762 (壬午季春) and signed by Jihu (畸笏), in chapter 16 of the 1754 jiaxu (甲戌) manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber, as quoted and reported by John C. Y. Wang in "The Chih-yen-chai Commentary and the Dream of the Red Chamber: A Literary Study", in Chinese Approaches to Literature, ed. Adele Austin Rickett (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978), p. 201 鳳姐點戲，脂硯執筆事，今知者寥寥矣，不怨夫？ Re Xi-feng choosing plays, Red Inkstone doing the writing, etc.: not many of us still left who know about this. Alas! Marginal comment on a passage in chapter 22 of the 1760 gengchen (庚辰) manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber, where Wang Xifeng is shown selecting plays, as quoted by David Hawkes in The Story of the Stone, Vol. 1: 'The Golden Days' (Penguin Books, 1973), Introduction, p. 36 Compare: 前批「知者寥寥」，今丁亥夏只剩朽物一枚，寧不悲乎！ Last time I read through this section I wrote "not many of us still left who know about this". Now—Summer, ding-hai (1767)—this Old Crock is the only one surviving. A painful thought! Odd Tablet's marginal comment upon re-reading his earlier annotation in chapter 22 of the 1760 gengchen (庚辰) manuscript, as quoted by David Hawkes in The Story of the Stone, Vol. 1: 'The Golden Days' (Penguin Books, 1973), Introduction, p. 36 Quotes about Jihusou [Zhiyanzhai and Jihusou] shared a particularly close relationship with the author [of Dream of the Red Chamber]. They not only provided evaluations of the novel but also played a role in influencing the writing process. They engaged in discussions about the work's creation and wrote commentaries. Judging by his tone, it is evident that Ji Hou Zi held a senior position compared to Cao Xueqin. He was the one who proposed the complete removal of the section depicting Qin Keqing's affair and subsequent suicide in the Tianxiang Tower. The length of each chapter in Dream of the Red Chamber is about the same, so after deleting this section, the respective chapter became relatively short. The question arises: Why was this chapter deleted? In Jihusou's commentary, he expresses concern that this character might have a real-life counterpart, and narrating Qin Keqing's demise in this manner could lead people to draw connections between the fictional character and the actual individual, resulting in negative implications and potential harm. Hence, he recommends the author eliminate this portion. Luo Yuming (骆玉明), "A Deep Dive into the Characters of Dream of the Red Chamber", in Ten Lectures on the Cultural Legacy of Dream of the Red Chamber (Singapore: Springer Nature, 2025), p. 74 See also Cao Xueqin Zhiyanzhai Gao E Dream of the Red Chamber A Dream of Red Mansions External links Category:Authors from China Category:Dream of the Red Chamber