You only need one gourd to drink out of three thousand weak water. This sentence comes from the mouth of Jia Baoyu in Dream of Red Mansions. What he actually said was: No matter how weak the water is, I will only take one gourd to drink. ?This is the confession of love between him and Lin Daiyu, and it is also a love commitment from Jia Baoyu to Lin Daiyu.
Weak water refers to the kind of rapid river. The ancients believed that rivers that cannot carry boats are called weak water. Weak water is also used to describe dangerous and distant rivers. The original meaning of Jia Baoyu's sentence is that although there are many rivers, I only drink water from one river. In fact, the translation is: Although there are many beauties in the Grand View Garden, I only like you, Lin Daiyu.
Weak water is not in a fixed place. It refers to a river with a very fast current but cannot carry boats. Such rivers may be everywhere. Tang Monk in Journey to the West once said: The world of eight hundred quicksands is three thousand deep. Tang Seng traveled westward and encountered many difficulties and obstacles, so Tang Seng used the depth of three thousand water to describe the turbulence of the water where they went.
Later, the weak water was gradually compared to the lake waves symbolizing love. The ancients believed that the weak water symbolizing love was in Penglai, which is now Hainan Island. In fact, the ancients only used Penglai to describe the distance of weak water, which is as beautiful and distant as love.
Nowadays, when people express their love, they often use the phrase "three thousand weak water, only take one scoop to drink" to describe their loyalty to love. Although it is easy to say it, it is another matter to actually do it. Just like when Jia Baoyu finished speaking, Lin Daiyu asked him: "What can I do if I am floating in the water?" ?The superficial meaning of this sentence is to ask, what if your ladle floats away along the current? What I'm actually saying is, what if your mind is changed by someone else?
Jia Baoyu replied: It’s not a ladle that floats water, water flows by itself, and a ladle floats by itself. ?The translation is, a ladle is a ladle, water is water, others are others, and I am me. So Lin Daiyu said again: What can I do if the water stops and the beads sink? The translation is, what if I die? Jia Baoyu replied, "You are going to die. My heart is like catkins covered with mud and cannot fly."