Correction of a Longstanding Text Error in Ancient Chinese Novel A Dream of Red Mansions

Abstract

Abstract:

In ancient Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions, Chapter Eighty-three, there is a puzzling word Kui Bi Hui Huang. The scholars have given it a disparity of interpretations and explanations. For example, Kui and Bi are two brilliant stars in Chinese mythology and here metaphor the emperor and empress respectively in a collated and annotated version of the book released by People’s literature Publishing House, while Kui Bi refers to the high wall or white wall of the emperor palace in another issued by Beijing Normal University Publishing Group, but it means the screen wall opposite the gate outside a classical courtyard in a dictionary, so different and so confusing. Having searched database of ancient Chinese books, the authors found that here it should be the word Jin Bi Hui Huang, meaning resplendent or splendid, a common usage in Ming and Qing Dynasties literatures, and character Kui was a shape false
of character Jin. Of course, all the published interpretations and explanations according to the false original text are wrong.

Key words: A Dream of Red Mansions, Star Kui, Star Bi, White wall, Screen wall

Wu Peilin, Yin Yujie. Correction of a Longstanding Text Error in Ancient Chinese Novel A Dream of Red Mansions[J]. LIBRARY JOURNAL.

References

[ 1 ] 曹雪芹, 高鹗. 红楼梦[M]. 北京: 北京图书馆出版社, 1992:2276-2277.

[ 2 ] 曹雪芹, 高鹗; 红楼梦研究所. 红楼梦[M]. 北京:人民文学出版社, 1982:1199; 1996:1175.

[ 3 ] 曹雪芹, 无名氏; 红楼梦研究所. 红楼梦[M]. 北京:人民文学出版社, 2008:1173.

[ 4 ] 曹雪芹, 高鹗; 裴效维. 红楼梦[M]. 北京: 中央编译出版社, 2011:967.

[ 5 ] 曹雪芹, 高鹗; 启功, 张俊, 等. 红楼梦[M]. 北京:中华书局, 2010:1000.

[ 6 ] 曹雪芹; 曲沐, 欧阳健. 红楼梦[M]. 贵阳: 贵州人民出版社, 2010:799.

[ 7 ] 曹雪芹; 俞平伯. 红楼梦[M]. 北京: 人民文学出版社, 1993:32.

[ 8 ] 梁启超. 中国历史研究法[M]. 北京: 中华书局,2009:88, 105.

[ 9 ] 冯其庸, 李希凡. 红楼梦大辞典(增订本)[M]. 北京:文化艺术出版社, 2010:88.

[10] 周汝昌. 红楼梦新证[ M ] . 上海: 棠棣出版社,1953:584.

[11] 周汝昌. 红楼梦辞典[M]. 广州: 广东人民出版社,1987:329.

[12] 孙逊. 红楼梦鉴赏辞典[M]. 上海: 汉语大词典出版社, 2005:412.

[13] 杨为珍, 郭荣光. 《红楼梦》辞典[M]. 济南: 山东文艺出版社, 1986:66.

[14] 李时珍; 刘衡如, 刘山永. 本草纲目[M]. 北京: 华夏出版社, 2011:1680-1681.

[15] 周定一. 红楼梦语言词典[M]. 北京: 商务印书馆,1995:1306.

[16] 吴承恩. 西游记[ M ] . 北京: 人民文学出版社,1980:40.

[17] 吴敬梓. 儒林外史[M]. 嘉庆八年(1803)卧闲草堂刻本;嘉庆咸丰间苏州潘氏抄本; 同治八年(1869)苏州群玉斋活字本等, 均作“金璧辉煌”.

[18] 魏秀仁. 绣像花月痕全传[M]. 民国十一年上海扫叶山房石印本.

[19] 魏秀仁. 花月痕[M]. 济南: 齐鲁书社, 1998:204.[20] 贪梦道人. 彭公案[M]. 清光绪琉璃厂藏版本, 卷二十二.

[21] 李桂玉. 榴花梦[M]. 北京: 中国文联出版公司,1998:1644.

[22] 陆深. 俨山集[M]. 清文渊阁四库全书补配清文津阁四库全书本, 卷四十八.

[23] 赵维寰. 雪庐焚余稿[M]. 焚余续草卷一, 明崇祯刻本.

[24] 钟庚起. (乾隆)甘州府志[M]. 清乾隆四十四年刊本, 卷十五.

[25] 黄一龙. (隆庆)潮阳县志[M]. 明隆庆刻本, 卷十五.

[26] 成瓘. (道光)济南府志[M]. 清道光二十年刻本,卷九.

[27] 吕正音. (乾隆)湘潭县志[M]. 清乾隆二十一年刻本, 卷二十四(上).

[28] 吴志绾. (乾隆)桂平县志[M]. 清乾隆三十三年刻本.

[29] 王兵. 三晋石刻大全(晋中市左权县卷)[M]. 太原:三晋出版社, 2010:296.

[30] 徐维淮. 辽中县志(第六册)[M]. 民国十九年铅印本, 异文传记诗歌卷二十九.

[31] 草书大字典[M]. 据上海扫叶山房石印本影印, 北京: 中国书店出版社, 1983:185,1488-1489.

[32] 吴澄渊. 新编中国书法大字典[M]. 北京: 世界图书出版公司, 2001:339, 1572-1573.