DAIYU BURIES FALLEN FLOWERS

小嫣

Daiyu, who had lost her mother and father and gone to live under the roof of relatives, met with frustrations in her love for her cousin Baoyu. In her pent - up sorrow, with no parents, no friends to unbosom her thoughts to, she developed an unsociable and self - pitying disposition. She would often sit moodily frowning or sighing over nothing at all or for no apparent reason, would give way to long spells of weeping or illness. One late spring day, she lamented the fallen blossoms, gathered them up and buried them in a Tomb of Flowers. While she was thus engaged, Baoyu chanced upon her and overheard her singing: As blossoms fade and fly across the sky, Who pities the faded red, the scent that has been? … Men laugh at my folly in burying fallen flowers, But who will bury me when dead I lie? … The day that spring takes wing and beauty fades, Who will care for the fallen blossom on dead maid? * This is not merely a lament from a young, broken heart, a sigh of the depressed, but also an accusation against feudal society. The image of Daiyu carrying a basket and hoe with which to bury the fallen flowers, has been a popular theme for decorations on porcelain pieces, notably vases, as well as for paintings and works of sculpture. * Quoted from English version of A Dream of Red Mansions, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing.