Six Records of a Floating Life, 3: Kanke Jichou (Section 8)
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 8
時余有表兄王藎臣一子名韞石，願得青君為媳婦。 At that time my cousin Wang Jinchen had a son named Yunshi, and wanted Qingjun to be his daughter-in-law.
表兄 is binome meaning ‘older male cousin’. 王藎臣 is a name: Wang Jinchen. 韞石 likewise: Yunshi. 媳婦 is a binome meaning ‘daughter-in-law’. A more idiomatic translation might indicate more clearly that Wang Jinchen wants Qingjun to marry his son.芸曰：「聞王郎懦弱無能，不過守成之子，而王又無成可守。 Yun said “I heard young Wang is timid, weak and incompetent; whilst he is a son who will preserve the accomplishments of previous generations, the Wangs do not have many accomplishments to preserve.
幸詩禮之家，且又獨子，許之可也。」 Fortunately they are a cultured family, and moreover have only one soon, so betrothing him would be fine.
Literally, Yun describes them as “a family of the Book of Songs” (詩禮). The son is an only-child (獨子) so he will inherit everything. 許 here means ‘betroth’.余謂藎臣曰：「吾父與君有渭陽之誼，欲媳青君，諒無不允。 I said to Jinchen: “My father and you have the friendship of Weiyang, so if you want Qingjun as a daughter-in-law, I imagine it will be permitted.
渭陽 refers to a story from ancient China about two very close friends, and could be translated as ’legendary friendship’. 諒 here is like ‘suppose’, for dealing with a delicate issue. 無不允 is literally ’not have no permission’, so ‘have permission’.但待長而嫁，勢所不能。 But it’s necessary to wait until she has grown up and then marry her, and in the current circumstances that is not possible.
勢 generally means ‘force’ or ‘power’, but here has the sense of ‘force of circumstances’.余夫婦往錫山後，君即稟知堂上，先為童媳，何如？」 After my wife and I have gone to Xishan, you would then notify my father that first she will be your child daughter-in-law; how about that?”
藎臣喜曰：「謹如命」。 Jinchen gladly said “I will respectfully abide by your instructions.”
謹如命 is a set phrase for consenting to instructions.逢森亦托友人夏揖山轉薦學貿易。 Fengsen was also entrusted to a friend, Xia Yishan, who would in turn introduce him to the study of trade.
夏揖山 is a name: Xia Yishan.安頓已定，華舟適至，時庚申之臘二十五日也。 As soon as this was settled, it happened that the Hua’s boat arrived. It was the 25th day of the 12th month of 1800.
適 means “just at that moment” or “it so happened”.芸曰：「孑然出門，不惟招鄰里笑，且西人之項無著，恐亦不放，必於明日五鼓悄然而去。」 Yun said “If we leave the house alone, not only will we provoke the laughter of the neighbours, but also there’s that issue of the Westerner not being repaid; I’m afraid that he won’t let us go. We must leave quietly tomorrow at 5 o’clock.”
余曰：「卿病中能冒曉寒耶？」 I said “My darling, in the middle of your illness can you stand the morning cold?”
芸曰：「死生有命，無多慮也。」 Yun said “Life and death are fated, I don’t have much concern.”
密稟吾父，亦以為然。 I secretly informed my father, and he agreed to it.
The translation ought to include “informed my father [of the plan]” but this isn’t actually included in the Chinese.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)