黛玉跟宝玉有自己的国度
《蒋勋说红楼梦》（175）
一、林黛玉看到这两块手帕，爬起来磨墨、写诗，马上就觉得浑身火热，"走至镜台揭起锦袱一照"，古代的镜子，会用非常漂亮的锦套套着，叫锦袱。
1. When Lin Daiyu saw these two handkerchiefs, she rose to grind ink and write poetry, immediately feeling her whole body grow feverish. "She walked to the dressing table, lifted the brocade cover, and looked in the mirror." In ancient times, mirrors were covered with beautiful brocade cases called "brocade covers."
二、因为古代有一种迷信，觉得人不经意在镜子里看到自己会吓一跳，尤其是小孩子，不能照镜子，因为里面有个东西是魂魄。所以平常不照的时候，镜子要罩起来。
2. This was due to an ancient superstition that accidentally seeing oneself in a mirror could startle a person, especially children, who were forbidden to look in mirrors because it was believed the reflection contained one's soul. Therefore, when not in use, mirrors were kept covered.
三、黛玉此时也感觉到了自己生命的美，在少女动情的时候，脸色一定比桃花还要鲜艳，"却不知病由此萌"。这就有点像《维摩诘经》中所说的"从痴有爱，则我病生"。
3. At this moment, Daiyu also became aware of her own youthful beauty. When a young girl is stirred by emotion, her complexion must be more radiant than peach blossoms, yet "she didn't realize her illness sprouted from this." This somewhat resembles the line from the Vimalakirti Sutra: "From attachment arises affection, thus my illness is born."
四、黛玉跟宝玉有自己的国度，是别人无法进入的国度，《红楼梦》里最深的孤独就是黛玉的孤独，情到深处，别人根本无法理解。
4. Daiyu and Baoyu inhabited their own realm, one inaccessible to others. The deepest loneliness in "Dream of the Red Chamber" is Daiyu's loneliness—when affection reaches its depths, it becomes utterly incomprehensible to others.
五、在传统的儒家伦理当中，法律非常不严，可是有种奇怪的道德却是众口铄金的。大家都这样讲，最后事情就只能是这个样子了，我们自己有时候也可能扮演这样的角色。薛蟠当然不服，说："人人都说我杀了人，也就信了罢？"可是薛蟠这个话很没有说服力对不对？他之前真的杀过人，他的前科太多了，到最后就很难辩白。
5. In traditional Confucian ethics, the legal system wasn't very strict, yet there existed a peculiar morality where public opinion could melt metal. When everyone says something, it eventually becomes accepted as truth, and we ourselves might sometimes play such roles. Of course, Xue Pan protested, saying: "Just because everyone says I killed someone, you believe it?" But his words weren't very convincing, right? He had actually killed before—his criminal record was too extensive, making it ultimately difficult for him to plead innocence.
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