芳官十二优伶之一 · 33
Leaf 33 of the Red Chamber · 小优伶 Girl Actress of the Troupe
Fangguan 芳官
In Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢 (c. 1791) · in the Maids (丫鬟) · nicknamed 小优伶 “Girl Actress of the Troupe”
Bought as a child to sing at an imperial reception and set to carrying water, she answers every insult with noise, and the house answers by shaving her head.
The great deeds 大事記
- ch. 58
The Godmother's Wash and Blows
認親受虐When the troupe is disbanded the girls are attached as servants; Fangguan's own godmother, set over her, makes her wash the linen and strikes her, until Qingwen and Sheyue take the girl's side.
- ch. 60
The Slaps Answered on the Floor
芳官撒潑Lady Zhao, furious at a gift of powder she takes for an insult, slaps the girl twice; Fangguan flings herself at her, screaming and clawing on the floor until the servants pull the two apart.
- ch. 63
The Shared Bed at the Feast
夜宴同榻At the night banquet in the Happy Red Court the girls shut the doors and drink elbow to elbow; Fangguan, drunk, is put to bed in Baoyu's own — a familiarity that will be quoted against them both.
- ch. 77
Away with the Water-Moon Nun
斬情歸庵In Lady Wang's purge of the gardens the actresses are turned out and sent back to their families; Fangguan tears at her hair and refuses, and a nun of the Water-Moon nunnery carries her off.
結局 The ending
Turned out in Lady Wang's purge, she will not go back to the relatives who sold her; a nun of the Water-Moon nunnery takes her and puts the razor to her hair. Chapter 77's title calls it cutting off feeling. The text gives her no further scene — the scissors are the last thing we hear done to her.
The book itself: what happens, how long it is, which English version to read — The story · How long it is · Which translation · The lamp-oil night · The family tree · The first expulsion