評論
打印
On the night of this day， the body had to be watched， and in the inner suite of apartments two companies of young players as well as jugglers entertained the relatives， friends and other visitors during the whole of the night. Mrs. Yu was still laid up in the inside room， so that the whole task of attending to and entertaining the company devolved upon lady Feng alone， who had to look after everything； for though there were， in the whole clan， many sisters-in-law， some there were too bashful to speak， others too timid to stand on their feet； while there were also those who were not accustomed to meeting company； and those likewise who were afraid of people of high estate and shy of officials. Of every kind there were， but the whole number of them could not come up to lady Feng's standard， whose deportment was correct and whose speech was according to rule. Hence it was that she did not even so much as heed any of that large company， but gave directions and issued orders， adopting any course of action which she fancied， just as if there were no bystander.
the whole night， the lanterns emitted a bright light and the fires brilliant rays； while guests were escorted on their way out and officials GREeted on their way in； but of this hundredfold bustle and stir nothing need， of course， be said.
the next morning at the dawn of day， and at a propitious moment， sixty-four persons， dressed all alike in blue， carried the coffin， preceded by a streamer with the record in large characters： Coffin of lady Ch'in， a lady of the fifth deGREe， （by marriage） of the Chia mansion， deceased at middle age， consort of the grandson of the Ning Kuo Duke with the first rank title of honour， （whose status is） a guard of the Imperial antechamber， charged with the protection of the Inner Palace and Roads in the Red Prohibited City.
the various paraphernalia and ornaments were all brand-new， hurriedly made for the present occasion， and the uniform lustrous brilliancy they shed was sufficient to dazzle the eyes.
Pao-chu， of course， observed the rites prescribed for unmarried daughters， and dashed the bowl and walked by the coffin， as she gave way to most bitter lamentations.
At that time， among the officials who escorted the funeral procession， were Niu Chi-tsung， the grandson of the Chen Kuo duke， who had now inherited the status of earl of the first deGREe； Liu Fang， the grandson of Liu Piao， duke of Li Kuo， who had recently inherited the rank of viscount of the first class； Ch'en Jui-wen， a grandson of Ch'en Yi， duke of Ch'i Kuo， who held the hereditary rank of general of the third degree， with the prefix of majestic authority； Ma Shang， the grandson of Ma K'uei， duke of Chih Kuo， by inheritance general of the third rank with the prefix of majesty afar； Hou Hsiao-keng， an hereditary viscount of the first degree， grandson of the duke of Hsiu Kuo， Hou Hsiao-ming by name； while the death of the consort of the duke of Shan Kuo had obliged his grandson Shih Kuang-chu to go into mourning so that he could not be present. These were the six families which had， along with the two households of Jung and Ning， been， at one time， designated the eight dukes.
Among the rest， there were besides the grandson of the Prince of Nan An； the grandson of the Prince of Hsi An； Shih Ting， marquis of Chung Ching； Chiang Tzu-ning， an hereditary baron of the second grade， grandson of the earl of P'ing Yuan； Hsieh K'un， an hereditary baron of the second order and Captain of the Metropolitan camp， grandson of the marquis of Ting Ch'ang： Hsi Chien-hui， an hereditary baron of the second rank， a grandson of the marquis of Nang Yang； Ch'in Liang， in command of the Five Cities， grandson of the marquis of Ching T'ien. The remainder were Wei Chi， the son of the earl of Chin Hsiang； Feng Tzu-ying， the son of a general， whose prefix was supernatural martial spirit； Ch'en Yeh-chuen， Wei Jo-lan and others， grandsons and sons of princes who could not be enumerated.
In the way of ladies， there were also in all about ten large official sedan chairs full of them， thirty or forty private chairs， and including the official and non-official chairs， and carriages containing inmates of the household， there must have been over a hundred and ten； so that with the various kinds of paraphernalia， articles of decoration and hundreds of nick-nacks， which preceded， the vast expanse of the cortege covered a continuous line extending over three or four li.
