From painted beams at spring's end, fragrant dust descends.
Those who flaunt passion and boast beauty
Are the very root of a family's ruin.
The decline from ancestral ways all started with Jing;
The destruction of the household's first guilt lies in Ning.
All past sins stem from desire.
English titles, text, and notes are AI-assisted for reading only; for scholarship cite the Chinese and authoritative editions.
Annotation
This song concerns Qin Keqing while also summarizing the Ningguo Mansion's guilt. 'Fragrant dust falling from painted beams' symbolizes both Keqing's death and Ning's decline. 'Started with Jing' refers to Jia Jing abandoning his duties for Taoism, leaving his descendants unrestrained. 'First guilt lies in Ning' declares the Ningguo Mansion as the root cause of the Jia family's downfall.
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