Romance of the Western Chamber · chapter 11 of 21
Wait for the Moon
待月西厢下
A letter lands beside Yingying's mirror, and the answer she sends back means one thing to Hongniang and something else entirely to Zhang Sheng.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 那天上午，红娘拿着信，回到了西厢。
Nà tiān shàngwǔ, Hóngniáng názhe xìn, huí dào le Xīxiāng.
Later that morning, Hongniang came back to the Western Chamber with the letter.
- Hongniang 我把信放在小姐的镜子旁边，看她怎么说。
Wǒ bǎ xìn fàng zài xiǎojiě de jìngzi pángbiān, kàn tā zěnme shuō.
I'll put the letter beside Miss's mirror and see what she says.
- Cui Yingying 镜子旁边怎么有一封信？是谁的？
Jìngzi pángbiān zěnme yǒu yì fēng xìn? Shì shéi de?
Why is there a letter beside my mirror? Whose is it?
Chapter 11 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of Romance of the Western Chamber (chapters 1–5) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Cui Yingying 红娘！谁让你拿来的？我是相国的女儿，谁敢给我写这样的信？
Hóngniáng! Shéi ràng nǐ ná lái de? Wǒ shì xiàngguó de nǚ'ér, shéi gǎn gěi wǒ xiě zhèyàng de xìn?
Hongniang! Who told you to bring this? I'm a Chief Minister's daughter. Who dares write me a letter like this?
- Cui Yingying 我要告诉我娘！
Wǒ yào gàosu wǒ niáng!
I'm going to tell my mother!
- Hongniang 好啊。小姐别去了，我自己拿给老夫人看。
Hǎo a. Xiǎojiě bié qù le, wǒ zìjǐ ná gěi Lǎo fūrén kàn.
Fine. Don't trouble yourself, Miss. I'll take it to Madam myself.
- Cui Yingying 别去！我是跟你开玩笑的。
Bié qù! Wǒ shì gēn nǐ kāi wánxiào de.
Don't go! I was only joking.
- Hongniang 开玩笑？那小姐的脸，怎么红了？
Kāi wánxiào? Nà xiǎojiě de liǎn, zěnme hóng le?
Joking? Then why has Miss gone red in the face?
- Cui Yingying 谁脸红了？是这里太热了。
Shéi liǎn hóng le? Shì zhèlǐ tài rè le.
Who's red in the face? It's just too warm in here.
- Cui Yingying 我写一封信给他，让他以后别再这样了。
Wǒ xiě yì fēng xìn gěi tā, ràng tā yǐhòu bié zài zhèyàng le.
I'll write him a letter, so he never does this again.
- Cui Yingying 拿去！告诉张生，以后别再写了。
Ná qù! Gàosu Zhāng Shēng, yǐhòu bié zài xiě le.
Take it! Tell Zhang Sheng not to write again.
- Hongniang 小姐生气了。傻书生，这次你要哭了。
Xiǎojiě shēngqì le. Shǎ shūshēng, zhè cì nǐ yào kū le.
Miss is angry. Silly scholar, this time you'll be in tears.
- Narrator 中午，红娘又到了书房。
Zhōngwǔ, Hóngniáng yòu dào le shūfáng.
At noon, Hongniang went to the study again.
- Hongniang 张生，小姐的信。你先别高兴，她很生气。
Zhāng Shēng, xiǎojiě de xìn. Nǐ xiān bié gāoxìng, tā hěn shēngqì.
Zhang Sheng, a letter from Miss. Don't celebrate yet. She's very angry.
- Zhang Sheng 生气？红娘，你不懂，小姐没有生气！
Shēngqì? Hóngniáng, nǐ bù dǒng, xiǎojiě méiyǒu shēngqì!
Angry? Hongniang, you don't understand. The young lady isn't angry at all!
- Zhang Sheng 我要给小姐拜三拜！
Wǒ yào gěi xiǎojiě bài sān bài!
I must bow to the young lady three times!
- Hongniang 她不是让你别再写了吗？
Tā bú shì ràng nǐ bié zài xiě le ma?
Didn't she tell you to stop writing?
- Zhang Sheng 这是一首诗！你听：“待月西厢下，迎风户半开。隔墙花影动，疑是玉人来。”
Zhè shì yì shǒu shī! Nǐ tīng: “Dài yuè Xīxiāng xià, yíngfēng hù bàn kāi. Géqiáng huāyǐng dòng, yí shì yùrén lái.”
It's a poem! Listen: “Wait for the moon by the Western Chamber; the door stands half open to the breeze. When flower shadows stir across the wall, it may be my dear one coming.”
- Hongniang 这是什么意思？我一句也不懂。
Zhè shì shénme yìsi? Wǒ yí jù yě bù dǒng.
What does that mean? I don't understand a single line.
- Zhang Sheng 你别急，我一句一句说给你听。
Nǐ bié jí, wǒ yí jù yí jù shuō gěi nǐ tīng.
Don't worry, I'll explain it one line at a time.
- Zhang Sheng “待月西厢下”，就是等月亮出来，到西厢来。
“Dài yuè Xīxiāng xià”, jiù shì děng yuèliang chūlai, dào Xīxiāng lái.
“Wait for the moon by the Western Chamber” means: when the moon comes out, come to the Western Chamber.
- Zhang Sheng “迎风户半开”，就是门会开着！
“Yíngfēng hù bàn kāi”, jiù shì mén huì kāizhe!
“The door stands half open to the breeze”: the door will be open!
- Zhang Sheng “隔墙花影动，疑是玉人来”：她要我跳过墙去！
“Géqiáng huāyǐng dòng, yí shì yùrén lái”: tā yào wǒ tiào guò qiáng qù!
“When flower shadows stir across the wall, it may be my dear one coming”: she wants me to jump over the wall!
- Hongniang 跳过墙？你一个读书人，会跳吗？
Tiào guò qiáng? Nǐ yí gè dúshūrén, huì tiào ma?
Jump over the wall? A bookish man like you, can you even jump?
- Zhang Sheng 小姐叫我跳，我就跳！
Xiǎojiě jiào wǒ tiào, wǒ jiù tiào!
If the young lady tells me to jump, I jump!
- Hongniang 小姐天天晚上烧香，都带着我。她给你写了诗，一个字也没告诉我！
Xiǎojiě tiāntiān wǎnshang shāoxiāng, dōu dàizhe wǒ. Tā gěi nǐ xiě le shī, yí gè zì yě méi gàosu wǒ!
Every night Miss takes me along to burn incense. She wrote you a poem and didn't say a word to me!
- Zhang Sheng 红娘，别难过。等我们结婚，第一杯酒给你喝！
Hóngniáng, bié nánguò. Děng wǒmen jiéhūn, dì yī bēi jiǔ gěi nǐ hē!
Hongniang, don't be sad. When we marry, the first cup of wine is yours!
- Hongniang 先别想喝酒了。你看，太阳还这么高呢。
Xiān bié xiǎng hē jiǔ le. Nǐ kàn, tàiyáng hái zhème gāo ne.
Forget the wine for now. Look, the sun is still this high.
- Zhang Sheng 寺里的钟怎么还不响？太阳啊，你快下山吧！
Sì li de zhōng zěnme hái bù xiǎng? Tàiyáng a, nǐ kuài xià shān ba!
Why won't the temple bell ring yet? Sun, hurry up and go down!
- Zhang Sheng 今天晚上，我要跳过那道墙！
Jīntiān wǎnshang, wǒ yào tiào guò nà dào qiáng!
Tonight, I'm jumping over that wall!
- Hongniang 跳吧。我们看看，小姐会怎么说。
Tiào ba. Wǒmen kànkan, xiǎojiě huì zěnme shuō.
Jump, then. We'll see what Miss says.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Where does Hongniang leave Zhang Sheng's letter?
“我把信放在小姐的镜子旁边”
- What does Yingying first say she will do about the letter?
“我要告诉我娘”
- What does Yingying say when Hongniang offers to take the letter to Madam Cui?
“别去！我是跟你开玩笑的”
- What does Zhang Sheng say “the door stands half open” means?
“迎风户半开”，就是门会开着
- Why is Hongniang hurt?
“她给你写了诗，一个字也没告诉我”