The first 6 sentences and the 红楼梦 HSK4 Explorer
Working through the 脂砚斋's preface with a 《红楼梦》-specific GPT... or maybe not.
OpenAI released GPT’s last week and I thought I’d try to set one up to support my efforts to read 红楼梦。
You can access and try the GPT via this link: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-j9j3gi3MC-hong-lou-meng-hsk4-explorer. It doesn’t yet work the way I’d like it to.
I could have spent all the time I spent setting up a GPT to make progress with my reading. Technology is distracting. The name is “ChatGPT” is tiresome and annoying, but it is a useful tool. Google Translate is dead.
The answers one gets depend heavily on how one sets the instructions. Iterating through trial and error works, but takes time.
Here’s a run through the first six sentences but without using my malfunctioning GPT. I think this gives an acceptable balance of HSK-4 level explanation (although it acts up sometimes) and translation.
脂砚斋重评石头记凡例, Sentences 1-6
《红楼梦》旨义 是书题名极多,一曰《红楼]梦》,是总其全部之名也;又曰《风月宝鉴》,是戒妄动风月之情;又曰《石头记》,是自譬石头所记之事也。此三名皆书中曾已点睛矣。如宝玉作梦,梦中有曲,名曰《红楼梦十二支》,此则《红楼梦》之点睛。又如贾瑞病,跛道人持一镜来,上面即錾“风月宝鉴”四字,此则《风月宝鉴》之点睛。又如道人亲眼见石上大书一篇故事,则系石头所记之往来,此则《石头记》之点睛处。然此书又名曰《金陵十二钗》,审其名,则必系金陵十二女子也;然通部细搜检去,上中下女子岂止十二人哉!若云其中自有十二个,则又未尝指明白系某某,及至“红楼梦”一回中,亦曾翻出金陵十二钗之簿籍,又有十二支曲可考。
《红楼梦》旨义
旨义 (zhǐ yì): 主旨和意义,即 "theme and meaning"。
"The theme and meaning of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'".
是书题名极多,一曰《红楼梦》
题名 (tí míng): 标题,即 "title"。
极多 (jí duō): 很多,即 "a lot"。
一曰 (yī yuē): 又叫做,即 "also called"。
"This book has many titles, one of which is 'Dream of the Red Chamber'".
是总其全部之名也;又曰《风月宝鉴》是戒妄动风月之情
是总其全部之名也 (shì zǒng qí quánbù zhī míng yě): "这是它的总称,也就是它的全部名字" (zhè shì tā de zǒng chēng, yě jiù shì tā de quánbù míngzi).
又曰 (yòu yuē): 再次提到,即 "also referred to as"。
《风月宝鉴》, 'The Precious Mirror of Love'".
是戒妄动风月之情 (shì jiè wàng dòng fēng yuè zhī qíng): "这是用来警告人们不要轻率地陷入情感纠葛" (zhè shì yòng lái jǐnggào rénmen bùyào qīngshuài dì xiànrù qínggǎn jiūgé).
又曰《石头记》是自譬石头所记之事也
"It is also called 'The Story of the Stone'".
是自譬石头所记之事也 (shì zì pì shítou suǒ jì zhī shì yě): 这是指石头自己记录的故事。
refers to the story as recorded by the stone itself, indicating a self-referential narrative or a story narrated by the stone.
此三名皆书中曾已点睛矣
点睛 (diǎn jīng): 点出精华,即 "highlight the essence"。
曾已 (céng yǐ): 已经,即 "already"。
"These three titles all highlight the essence of the book".
如宝玉作梦,梦中有曲,名曰《红楼梦 十二支》
作梦 (zuò mèng): 做梦,即 "to dream"。
"For example, when Baoyu dreams, there is a song in the dream called 'Twelve Beauties of Jinling'".
又如贾瑞病,跛道人持一镜来,上面即錾“风月宝鉴”四字
跛道人 (bǒ dào rén): 瘸腿的道士,即 "a lame Taoist priest"。
持 (chí): 拿着,即 "holding"。
即 (jí): 正是,即 "exactly"。
錾 (zàn): 雕刻,即 "engraved"。
"Another example is when Jia Rui is sick, a lame Taoist priest comes holding a mirror, on which 'The Precious Mirror of Love' is engraved".
又如道人亲眼见石上大书一篇故事,则系石头所记之往来
亲眼见 (qīn yǎn jiàn): 亲自看到,即 "personally sees"。
系 (xì): 关于,即 "concerns"。
"Also, when the Taoist priest personally sees a story written on the stone, it concerns the events recorded by the stone".
然此书又名曰《金陵十二钗】
然 (rán): 但是,即 "however"。
金陵十二钗 (Jīn líng shí èr chāi): 指小说中的十二位主要女性角色,即 "Twelve Beauties of Jinling"。
"However, this book is also called 'The Twelve Beauties of Jinling'".
审其名,则必系金陵十二女子也
审 (shěn): 检查,即 "examine"。
必 (bì): 一定,即 "certainly"。
"Upon examining this title, it certainly pertains to the twelve ladies of Jinling".
然通部细搜检去,上中下女子岂止十二人哉!
通部 (tōng bù): 整个作品,即 "the entire work"。
细搜检 (xì sōu jiǎn): 仔细检查,即 "carefully inspect"。
岂止 (qǐ zhǐ): 不仅仅,即 "not just"。
"However, upon carefully inspecting the entire work, aren't there more than just twelve women?"
若云其中自有十二个,则又未尝指明白系某某
若云 (ruò yún): 如果说,即 "if one says"。
未尝 (wèi cháng): 从未,即 "never"。
指明白 (zhǐ míng bái): 清楚指出,即 "clearly indicate"。
"If it is said that there are indeed twelve of them, it has never been clearly indicated who exactly they are".
及至“红楼梦”一回中,亦曾翻出金陵十二钗之簿籍,又有十二支曲可考
及至 (jí zhì): 直到,即 "until"。
一回 (yī huí): 一章,即 "one chapter"。
翻出 (fān chū): 揭露,即 "reveal"。
簿籍 (bù jí): 记录,即 "records"。
可考 (kě kǎo): 可以考证,即 "can be verified"。
"Only until the chapter titled 'Dream of the Red Chamber', the records of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling are revealed, along with twelve corresponding songs that can be verified".
This is the output, sometimes puzzling, sometimes incomplete. I had to double back and add things back in. For example, why not provide detail and translation for 曲 (qǔ)?
Overall, however, I think this gives a way of working through the book sentence by sentence. It’s not a bad way to relax and have some fun.