Six Records of a Floating Life, 3: Kanke Jichou (Section 5)

This is a sentence-by-sentence translation from the chapter 坎坷記愁 in Shen Fu’s 浮生六記 (Six Records of a Floating Life).

(See the index of Fu Sheng Liu Ji translations)

浮生六記 → 第六卷：坎坷記愁 → Section 5

余曰：「卿自情癡耳，此中人何情之有哉？ I said “You, my dear, were simply besotted, that’s all. What feelings could this mediocre person have?

卿 is a respectful term of endearment and intimacy (literally 'minister'). 情癡 is a binome meaning besotted, or having deep feelings. 中人 refers to a normal / mediocre person (i.e. 芸 is better than a 中人). 有 is like 有什么 here.

況錦衣玉食者，未必能安於荊釵布裙也，與其後悔，莫若無成。」 How much more so someone who leads a life of luxury, who would surely never be content with a modest existence? It’s better to fail now than to have regrets later.”

因撫慰之再三。 Accordingly, I comforted and consoled her repeatedly.

而芸終以受愚為恨，血疾大發，牀席支離，刀圭無效，時發時止，骨瘦形銷。 But to the end Yun regarded being duped as a cause for grief, and her blood illness flared up; the beds and mats were in disarray; the medicine had no effect; sometimes the disease flared up, sometimes it stopped, and she became greatly emaciated.

不數年而逋負日增，物議日起，老親又以盟妓一端，憎惡日甚，余則調停中立，已非生人之境矣。 Before a few years, our debts increased by the day, as did the gossip about us; because she had pledged an oath of sisterhood to a prostitute, my parents’ hatred for Yun also grew daily; I acted as a neutral mediator - certainly not way for a human being to live.

芸生一女名青君，時年十四，頗知書，且極賢能，質釵典服，幸賴辛勞。 Yun had given birth to a girl named Qingjun; when she was fourteen she was quite literate, and moreover was very capable; she sold hairpins and pawned clothes, and we were lucky to be able to rely on her toil.

子名逢森，時年十二，從師讀書。 Our son’s personal name was Fengsen; at that time he was twelve years old, and was learning literacy from a teacher.

余連年無館，設一書畫鋪於家門之內，三日所進，不敷一日所出，焦勞困苦，竭蹷時形。 I was without work for a few years, so I set up a calligraphy inside the entrance of our home; but the income of three days did not cover one day’s expenses; I was weary and distressed, and our destitution was frequently evident.

隆冬無裘，挺身而過，青君亦衣單股栗，猶強曰：「不寒。」 In the depth of winter I did not have a fur coat, but I had to brace myself and get through it; Qingjun also wore only one layer of clothing and shivered, but she bravely said “I’m not cold.”

Useful links

• The full Chinese text of 浮生六記 (Project Gutenberg)
• Six Records of a Floating Life (Penguin Classics) on Amazon (a much more idiomatic translation)