"Pages full of fantastic talk Penned with bitter tears; All men call the author mad, None his message hears."

"'He gave me sweet dew,' said Vermilion Pearl, 'but I've no water to repay his kindness. If he's going down to the wor…"

"Resentment at a low official rank May lead to fetters and a felon's shame."

"Who can guess the outcome of a game of chess?"

"Only at the end of the road does one think of turning on to the right track."

"On his first birthday Jia Zheng tested [Baoyu's] disposition by setting all sorts of different objects before him to …"

"Girls are made of water, men of mud."

"A grasp of mundane affairs is genuine knowledge, Understanding of worldly wisdom is true learning."

"Gone with the clouds spring's dream, Flowers drift away on the stream. Young lovers all, be warned by me, Cease court…"

"In this busy, dusty world, having accomplished nothing, I suddenly recalled all the girls I had known, considering ea…"