The Dream of Red Mansions Period Interview Translation

Image received from a friend.

Translation starts from the paragraph in the red box.

In these two years (since joining the Red Mansion group), all YY read, thought, and considered were BaoYu: “his most important traits are treating people equally, respecting individual personalities, hating and despising typical male (perspectives) in the society at that time. On the contrary, he’d spontaneously get to know and respect females who are at an inferior social status or situation/circumstances. This is  the part that’s most similar to myself.” <-- this was quoting YY’s own words.

During the days in the group, those who spent the most time with the girls are big (older) and small (younger) BaoYus. Yu XiaoTong, who played the role of small (younger) BaoYu, especially liked to play tricks on the girls. He was given the nickname of “Demon King.” Whenever the girls were tricked to a point that they didn’t know if they should cry or laugh, or even got mad, YY would stood up for them (the girls), protect them, and came up with ideas for them to “punish” Yu XiaoTong. “Over time, I became the mediator in their eyes. Whenever they had anything unpleasant, they came to share their complaints with me.” <-- this was also quoting YY’s own words.

*** Before continuing to translate the paragraphs after the red box in the 2nd image, here is some background info. In the original novel, Lin DaiYu (played by Jiang MengJie) was supposed to be thin and weak, while Xue BaoChai (played by Li Qin) was supposed to be more round/meatier😅 One of the most criticized points of this Red Mansion production was that Lin DaiYu looked too fat and Cue BaoChai looked too thin (based on the impression from the original novel). Many people said the two actresses should exchange their roles. OK, translation continues below.

After the Dream of Red Mansions aired, quite a few people complained about "Dai(Yu) fat (Bao)Chai thin", and pointed the arrow at Jiang MengJie who played the role of Lin DaiYu. YY, who was protective of the girls, immediately stood up for Jiang MengJei and said: "Since we joined the group, Jiang MengJie has been very concerned about her baby fat. She tried dieting, exercising, even wrapping herself up entirely with plastic wrap in the hot summer.... she tried everything. In order to capture the 'weak like a thin willow swaying in the winds' feeling, Jiang MengJie ate only a small piece of chocolate and drank water everyday. Later on, she saw all the criticism on the internet. She became even more worried and gave up even the small piece of chocolate. She thought maybe the 'weak like a thin willow' feeling would show naturally if she starved herself to the point that she had no energy at all. Only until one day when she fainted during shooting due to huger and the director scolded her severely did she started eating again."

The shooting of this drama that took as long as two years gave YY the pride and experience most people of his age could not have experienced. He also had the sense of accomplishment that he had never felt before. But from his perspective: "This opportunity was purely by chance, just like many of my classmates jokingly said 'a BaoYu brother fell from the sky.' Right now, I am still a piece of white paper. So, whether I received compliments or criticisms at the end, I can accept without any hesitation."