英语翻译此开卷第一回也.作者自云:因曾历过一番梦幻之后,故将真事隐去,而借"通灵"之说,撰此一书也.故曰"甄士隐"云云.

英语翻译
此开卷第一回也.作者自云:因曾历过一番梦幻之后,故将真事隐去,而借"通灵"之说,撰
此一书也.故曰"甄士隐"云云.但书中所记何事何人?自又云:"今风尘碌碌,一事无
成,忽念及当日所有之女子,一一细考较去,觉其行止见识,皆出于我之上.何我堂堂须眉,诚不
若彼裙钗哉?实愧则有余,悔又无益之大无可如何之日也!当此,则自欲将已往所赖天恩祖德,
锦衣纨э之时,饫甘餍肥之日,背父兄教育之恩,负师友规谈之德,以至今日一技无成,半生潦
倒之罪,编述一集,以告天下人:我之罪固不免,然闺阁中本自历历有人,万不可因我之不肖,自
护己短,一并使其泯灭也.虽今日之茅椽蓬牖,瓦灶绳床,其晨夕风露,阶柳庭花,亦未有妨我之
襟怀笔墨者.虽我未学,下笔无文,又何妨用假语村言,敷演出一段故事来,亦可使闺阁昭传,复
可悦世之目,破人愁闷,不亦宜乎?"故曰"贾雨村"云云.求直译成英文,不求多准确,能翻译出大致意思即可.

以下是非常准确的翻译,我曾在国外做过国学研究,所以有国学经典著作的英译本：
This is the openingsection; this the first chapter.Subsequent to the visions of a dream which hehad,on some previous occasion,experienced,the writer personally relates,hedesignedly concealed the true circumstances,and borrowed the attributes ofperception and spirituality to relate this story of the Record of the Stone.With this purpose,he made use of such designations as Chen Shih-yin (truthunder the garb of fiction) and the like.What are,however,the eventsrecordedin this work?Who are the dramatis personae?
Wearied with the drudgery experienced of late in the world,the author speaking for himself,goes on to explain,with the lack of success which attended every single concern,I suddenly bethought myself of the womankind of past ages.Passing one by one under a minute scrutiny,I felt that in action and in lore,one and all were far above me; that in spite of the majesty of my manliness,I could not,in point of fact,compare with these characters of the gentle sex.And my shame forsooth then knew no bounds; while regret,on the other hand,was of no avail,as there was not even a remote possibility of a day of remedy.On this very day it was that I became desirous to compile,in a connected form,for publication throughout the world,with a view to (universal) information,how that I bear inexorable and manifold retribution; inasmuch as what time,by the sustenance of the benevolence of Heaven,and the virtue of my ancestors,my apparel was rich and fine,and as what days my fare was savory and sumptuous,I disregarded the bounty of education and nurture of father and mother,and paid no heed to the virtue of precept and injunction of teachers and friends,with the result that I incurred the punishment,of failure recently in the least trifle,and the reckless waste of half my lifetime.There have been meanwhile,generation after generation,those in the inner chambers,the whole mass of whom could not,on any account,be,through my influence,allowed to fall into extinction,in order that I,unfilial as I have been,may have the means to screen my own shortcomings.Hence it is that the thatched shed,with bamboo mat windows,the bed of tow and the stove of brick,which are at present my share,are not sufficient to deter me from carrying out the fixed purpose of my mind.And could I,furthermore,confront the morning breeze,the evening moon,the willows by the steps and the flowers in the courtyard,methinks these would moisten to a greater degree my mortal pen with ink; but though I lack culture and erudition,what harm is there,however,in employing fiction and unrecondite language to give utterance to the merits of these characters?And were I also able to induce the inmates of the inner chamber to understand and diffuse them,could I besides break the weariness of even so much as a single moment,or could I open the eyes of my contemporaries,will it not forsooth prove a boon?This consideration has led to the usage of such names as Chia Yü-ts'un and other similar appellations.