Odd Tablet
Encyclopedia
Odd Tablet or more literally, Elderly Maimed Tablet (畸笏叟), was a mysterious commentator of the 18th-century Chinese
novel Dream of the Red Chamber
. He sometimes signed himself as merely 畸笏 ("Maimed Tablet"). He and Rouge Inkstone
were the two foremost commentator of the Red Chamber manuscript, although his comments were less than those from Rouge Inkstone. He was apparently quite old and an elder as he signed himself as 叟, meaning "Elderly Man" (or he wished to be seen as such). His comments, like Rouge Inkstone's, were transcribed in red ink, so there are sometimes difficulties separating the two commentators' annotations.
His penname was 畸笏叟. 叟 means "Elderly Man", which reveals he should be an old man. 畸 can mean "maimed", "unevenly shaped", "abnormal" or "leftover". 笏 was a long, rectangular tablet that court officials used to bring to record matters when seeing the Chinese Emperor
. These emblematic tablets were made of jade
, ivory
, wood
or bamboo
.
Odd Tablet was as mysterious a commentator as Rouge Inkstone, and some experts see them possibly as the same person (albeit writing under a different penname). But noted Redologist Cai Yijiang 蔡义江 wrote an essay speculating that Odd Tablet should be Cao Xueqin's father. What is known for certain now is that Odd Tablet was a person of some authority over Cao Xueqin. He literally ordered Cao Xueqin to remove a passage detailing the incest
uous adultery
between Qin Keqing and her father-in-law from Xueqin's original text. Instead, Cao Xueqin resorted to using very oblique references when writing the sensitive passage. The incident appeared to be based on a household scandal occurring some time when Cao Yin (曹寅), Cao Xueqin's grandfather, was alive.
Odd Tablet also outlived Cao Xueqin, becoming the guardian of Cao's working manuscripts. He commented that some pages of the original manuscript were lost because someone had borrowed and mislaid them. Cao Xueqin died without putting together a cohesive, final version of his book for publication. What we do have is Cao Xueqin's extant first eighty chapters.
Odd Tablet appears to be some melancholic elder who had suffered through the catastrophe of the Cao family's downfall. He used frequent phrases like 嘆嘆! ("Alas!"), 哭 ("weep"), 傷哉！(an expression of deep grief) in Classical Chinese
, and seemed especially troubled by any references to the Cao family's sacking decades before. Cai concluded that Odd Tablet should be Cai Fu (曹頫), adopted son and paternal nephew of Cao Yin (曹寅). Cai supports the idea that Yin was Cao Xueqin's paternal grandfather (or, in terms of blood relations, paternal grand-uncle) through Cai Fu, Xueqin's father. Cao Fu was imprisoned for years by Emperor Yongzheng because he was the person in charge of the Cao Clan when the catastrophe began. Cai also speculates Fu was maimed during his imprisonment, hence his frequent use of the phrase 废人 ("useless/maimed person") and 畸 ("abnormal" or "maimed").
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
novel Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of...
. He sometimes signed himself as merely 畸笏 ("Maimed Tablet"). He and Rouge Inkstone
Rouge Inkstone
Rouge Inkstone or Red Inkstone is the pseudonym of an early, mysterious commentator of the 18th-century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber...
were the two foremost commentator of the Red Chamber manuscript, although his comments were less than those from Rouge Inkstone. He was apparently quite old and an elder as he signed himself as 叟, meaning "Elderly Man" (or he wished to be seen as such). His comments, like Rouge Inkstone's, were transcribed in red ink, so there are sometimes difficulties separating the two commentators' annotations.
His penname was 畸笏叟. 叟 means "Elderly Man", which reveals he should be an old man. 畸 can mean "maimed", "unevenly shaped", "abnormal" or "leftover". 笏 was a long, rectangular tablet that court officials used to bring to record matters when seeing the Chinese Emperor
Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...
. These emblematic tablets were made of jade
Jade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
, ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
or bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
.
Odd Tablet was as mysterious a commentator as Rouge Inkstone, and some experts see them possibly as the same person (albeit writing under a different penname). But noted Redologist Cai Yijiang 蔡义江 wrote an essay speculating that Odd Tablet should be Cao Xueqin's father. What is known for certain now is that Odd Tablet was a person of some authority over Cao Xueqin. He literally ordered Cao Xueqin to remove a passage detailing the incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
between Qin Keqing and her father-in-law from Xueqin's original text. Instead, Cao Xueqin resorted to using very oblique references when writing the sensitive passage. The incident appeared to be based on a household scandal occurring some time when Cao Yin (曹寅), Cao Xueqin's grandfather, was alive.
Odd Tablet also outlived Cao Xueqin, becoming the guardian of Cao's working manuscripts. He commented that some pages of the original manuscript were lost because someone had borrowed and mislaid them. Cao Xueqin died without putting together a cohesive, final version of his book for publication. What we do have is Cao Xueqin's extant first eighty chapters.
Odd Tablet appears to be some melancholic elder who had suffered through the catastrophe of the Cao family's downfall. He used frequent phrases like 嘆嘆! ("Alas!"), 哭 ("weep"), 傷哉！(an expression of deep grief) in Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
, and seemed especially troubled by any references to the Cao family's sacking decades before. Cai concluded that Odd Tablet should be Cai Fu (曹頫), adopted son and paternal nephew of Cao Yin (曹寅). Cai supports the idea that Yin was Cao Xueqin's paternal grandfather (or, in terms of blood relations, paternal grand-uncle) through Cai Fu, Xueqin's father. Cao Fu was imprisoned for years by Emperor Yongzheng because he was the person in charge of the Cao Clan when the catastrophe began. Cai also speculates Fu was maimed during his imprisonment, hence his frequent use of the phrase 废人 ("useless/maimed person") and 畸 ("abnormal" or "maimed").