the confines of the Great Void. I preside over the voluptuous affections and sensual debts among the mortal race, and supervise in the dusty world, the envies of women and the lusts of man. It's because I've recently come to hear that the retribution for voluptuousness extends up to this place, that I betake myself here in order to find suitable opportunities of disseminating mutual affections. My encounter with you now is also not a matter of accident! This spot is not distant from my confines. I have nothing much there besides a cup of the tender buds of tea plucked by my own hands, and a pitcher of luscious wine, fermented by me as well as several spritelike singing and dancing maidens of great proficiency, and twelve ballads of spiritual song, recently completed, on the Dream of the Red Chamber; but won't you come along with me for a stroll?'
Pao-yue, at this proposal, felt elated to such an extraordinary degree that he could skip from joy, and there and then discarding from his mind all idea of where Mrs. Ch'in was, he readily followed the Fairy.
They reached some spot, where there was a stone tablet, put up in a horizontal position, on which were visible the four large characters: 'The confines of the Great Void,' on either side of which was one of a pair of scrolls, with the two antithetical sentences:
When falsehood stands for truth, truth likewise becomes false;
When naught be made to aught, aught changes into naught!
Past the Portal stood the door of a Palace, and horizontally, above this door, were the four large characters: 'The Sea of Retribution, the Heaven of Love.' There were also a pair of scrolls, with the inscription in large characters:
Passion, alas! thick as the earth, and lofty as the skies, from ages
past to the present hath held incessant sway;
How pitiful your lot! ye lustful men and women envious, that your
voluptuous debts should be so hard to pay!
Pao-yue, after perusal, communed with his own heart. 'Is it really so!' he thought, 'but I wonder what implies the passion from old till now, and what are the voluptuous debts! Henceforward, I must enlighten myself!'
Pao-yue was bent upon this train of thoughts when he unwittingly attracted several evil spirits into his heart, and with speedy step he followed in the track of the fairy, and entered two rows of doors when he perceived that the Lateral Halls were, on both sides, full of tablets and scrolls, the number of which he could not in one moment ascertain. He however discriminated in numerous places the inscriptions: The Board of Lustful Love; the Board of contracted grudges; The Board of Matutinal sobs; the Board of nocturnal tears; the Board of vernal affections; and the Board of autumnal anguish.
After he had perused these inscriptions, he felt impelled to turn round and address the Fairy. 'May I venture to trouble my Fairy,' he said, 'to take me along for a turn into the interior of each of these Boards? May I be allowed, I wonder, to do so?'
'Inside each of these Boards,' explained the Fairy, 'are accumulated the registers with the records of all women of the whole world; of those who have passed away, as well as of those who have not as yet come into it, and you, with your mortal eyes and human body, could not possibly be allowed to know anything in anticipation.'
But would Pao-yue, upon hearing these words, submit to this decree? He went on to implore her permission again and again, until the Fairy casting her eye upon the tablet of the board in front of her observed, 'Well, all right! you may go into this board and reap some transient pleasure.'
Pao-yue was indescribably joyous, and, as he raised his head, he perceived that the text on the tablet consisted of the three characters: the Board of Ill-fated lives; and that on each side was a scroll with the inscription:
Upon one's self are mainly brought regrets in spring and autumn gloom;
A face, flowerlike may be and moonlike too; but beauty all for whom?
Upon perusal of the scroll Pao-yue was, at once, the more stirred with admiration; and, as he crossed the door, and reached the interior, the only things that struck his eye were about ten large presses, the whole number of which were sealed with paper slips; on every one of these slips, he perceived that there were phrases peculiar to each province.
Pao-yue was in his mind merely bent upon discerning, from the rest, the slip referring to his own native village, when he espied, on the other side, a slip with the large characters: 'the Principal Record of the Twelve Maidens of Chin Ling.'
'What is the meaning,' therefore inquired Pao-yue, 'of the Principal Record of the Twelve Maidens of Chin Ling?'
'As this is the record,' explained the Fairy, 'of the most excellent and prominent girls in your honourable province, it is, for this reason, called the Principal Record.'
'I've often heard people say,' observed Pao-yue, 'that Chin Ling is of vast extent; and how can there only be twelve maidens in it! why, at present, in our own family alone, there are more or less several hundreds of young girls!'
The Fairy gave a faint smile. 'Through there be,' she rejoined, 'so large a number of girls in your honourable province, those only of any note have been selected and entered in this record. The two presses, on the two sides, contain those who are second best; while, for all who remain, as they are of the ordinary run, there are, consequently, no registers to make any entry of them in.'
Pao-yue upon looking at the press below, perceived the inscription: 'Secondary Record of the twelve girls of Chin Ling;' while again in another press was inscribed: 'Supplementary Secondary Record of the Twelve girls of Chin Ling.' Forthwith stretching out his hand, Pao-yue opened first the doors of the press, containing the 'supplementary secondary Record,' extracted a volume of the registers, and opened it. When he came to examine it, he saw on the front page a representation of something, which, though bearing no resemblance to a human being, presented, at the same time, no similitude to scenery; consisting simply of huge blotches made with ink. The whole paper was full of nothing else but black clouds and turbid mists, after which appeared the traces of a few characters, explaining that-
A cloudless moon is rare forsooth to see,
And pretty clouds so soon scatter and flee!
Thy heart is deeper than the heavens are high,
Thy frame consists of base ignominy!
Thy looks and clever mind resentment will provoke,
And thine untimely death vile slander will evoke!
A loving noble youth in vain for love will yearn.
After reading these lines, Pao-yue looked below, where was pictured a bouquet of fresh flowers and a bed covered with tattered matting. There were also several distiches running as follows:
Thy self-esteem for kindly gentleness is but a fancy vain!
Thy charms that they can match the olea or orchid, but thoughts inane!
While an actor will, envious lot! with fortune's smiles be born,
A youth of noble birth will, strange to say, be luckless and forlorn.
Pao-yue perused these sentences, but could not unfold their meaning, so, at once discarding this press, he went over and opened the door of the press of the 'Secondary Records' and took out a book, in which, on examination, he found a representation of a twig of Olea fragrans. Below, was a pond, the water of which was parched up and the mud dry, the lotus flowers decayed, and even the roots dead. At the back were these lines:
The lotus root and flower but one fragrance will give;
How deep alas! the wounds of thy life's span will be;
What time a desolate tree in two places will live,
Back to its native home the fragrant ghost will flee!
Pao-yue read these lines, but failed to understand what they meant. He then went and fetched the 'Principal Record,' and set to looking it over. He saw on the first page a picture of two rotten trees, while on these trees was suspended a jade girdle. There was also a heap of snow, and under this snow was a golden hair-pin. There were in addition these four lines in verse:
Bitter thy cup will be, e'en were the virtue thine to stop the loom,
