One is a fairy flower from the Celestial Garden,
The other a flawless piece of precious jade.
If there were no predestined bond, why did they meet in this life?
If there is a bond, why must all heart's hopes turn to nothing?
One sighs in vain,
The other worries to no avail.
One is the moon reflected in water,
The other a flower mirrored in glass.
How many tears can fill those eyes?
How can they flow from autumn to winter's end, from spring to summer's close!
English titles, text, and notes are AI-assisted for reading only; for scholarship cite the Chinese and authoritative editions.
Annotation
This song depicts the tragic love between Daiyu and Baoyu. 'Fairy flower from the celestial garden' is Daiyu (the Crimson Pearl Flower); 'flawless jade' is Baoyu. 'Moon in water' and 'flower in mirror' signify their love as ultimately illusory. The 'tears' allude to Daiyu's predestined mission to repay the Divine Attendant's kindness with a lifetime of tears.
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