She schemed and plotted, far too clever—
Yet in the end it cost her very life.
Her heart broke before death; her spirit roamed empty after.
Wealth and peace in the house—yet finally
The house falls, the family scatters, each goes their way.
In vain she spent half a lifetime of anxious scheming;
Like a dream drifting in the watches of the night.
With a crash—like a great mansion toppling down;
Dark and dismal—like a lamp about to die.
Ah! One moment's joy turns suddenly to grief.
Alas for this world—nothing can be fixed!
English titles, text, and notes are AI-assisted for reading only; for scholarship cite the Chinese and authoritative editions.
Annotation
This song concerns Wang Xifeng. Her cunning schemes and political machinations ultimately destroyed her. 'Great mansion toppling' symbolizes the Jia family's collapse; 'lamp about to die' represents Xifeng's exhaustion. The arc from 'wealth and peace' to 'family scatters' summarizes the Jia household's decline.
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