后因曹雪芹于悼红轩中披阅十载，增删五次，纂成目录，分出章回，则题曰《金陵十二钗》．并题一绝云：

满纸荒唐言，一把辛酸泪！

都云作者痴，谁解其中味？

Later Cao Xueqin in his Mourning-the-red Studio pored over the book for ten years and rewrote it five times. He divided it into chapters, furnished headings for each, and renamed it The Tweleve Beauties of Jinling. He also inscribed on it this verse:

Pages full of fantastic talk

Penned with bitter tears;

All men call the author mad,

None his message hears.

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后因曹雪芹于悼红轩中
Later Cao Xueqin in his Mourning-the-red Studio

披阅十载
pored over the book for ten years

增删五次
rewrote it five times

纂成目录
He divided it into chapters

分出章回
furnished headings for each

则题曰《金陵十二钗》．
renamed it The Tweleve Beauties of Jinling

并题一绝云：
He also inscribed on it this verse

--------------------------------

满纸荒唐言，
Pages full of fantastic talk

一把辛酸泪！
Penned with bitter tears;

都云作者痴，
All men call the author mad,

谁解其中味？
None his message hears.