为何不让自家妻妾生？
“If they want kids, why not have their own wives bear them?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
以后就与那些香客金主再无瓜葛了 想生孩子
“After that, they have nothing to do with those patrons ever again. If they want kids, why not have their own wives bear them?”
为何不让 自家妻妾生？
“If they want kids, why not have their own wives bear them?”
为了能让孩子 在特定的吉时生下来
“To make the child be born at an auspicious hour,”
“It makes no sense to involve outsiders when he has wives and concubines of his own—what is he hiding?”
In pre-modern China, taking concubines primarily served to produce male heirs; seeking children outside this sanctioned domestic sphere was considered irregular and highly suspicious.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
wives and concubines
Refers specifically to the polygamous household structure in pre-modern China.
why not...?
A rhetorical or questioning structure with slightly higher formality than '为什么不'.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“That is not what a wife should do.”
“we really ought to seek Madam Yulan's consent first.”
“So Mother will just let me be divorced by Prince Cheng?”
“He's your husband. What's wrong with that?”
“you can't even spare a glance for your wife?”
“Even an old woman like me?”