A clear moon is hard to find, bright clouds are quick to scatter.
Her heart aspired higher than the sky, yet her station was lowly.
Her charm and cleverness invited jealousy.
Her early death was largely caused by slander;
The passionate young lord could only grieve in vain.
Annotation
This verdict concerns Qingwen. 'Clear moon' (ji yue) alludes to 'qing' (clear), and 'bright clouds' (cai yun) to 'wen' (cloud patterns). Despite her lofty spirit, she was merely a maid. She was slandered and expelled from the garden, dying of grief. The 'passionate young lord' refers to Jia Baoyu.
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