Jin ling shi er chai zheng ce "Yu jie he ceng jie" 金陵十二釵正册 "欲洁何曾洁"
by Cao Xueqin 曹雪芹 (ca. 1715–ca. 1763)
Dynasty: Qing 清 (1644–1911)
Included in: Cao Xueqin 曹雪芹. Gao E 高鶚 (ed.). Hongloumeng 红楼梦 Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1973. 57.
Translations
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David Hawkes (1923–2007): Jinling, Twelve Beauties of, Main Register: "For all your would-be spotlessness"
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in: Hawkes, David. The Story of the Stone: Volume 1: The Golden Days. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1978. p. 134. -
Yang Gladys 戴乃迭 (1919–1999) and Yang Xianyi 杨宪益 (1915–2009): First Register of Twelve Beauties of Chinling: "Chastity is her wish"
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in: Yang Gladys 戴乃迭 and Yang Xianyi 杨宪益. A Dream of Red Mansions: Volume 1. Peking: Foreign Language Press, 1978. p. 75.
欲洁何曾洁，云空未必空； 可怜金玉质，終陷淖泥中。