"Begonia is unscented, anchovy is thorny, and the Red Chamber is unfinished" means: although begonias are beautiful, they are unscented; anchovies are tasty but have too many bones to swallow; and the Dream of the Red Chamber novels are well-written, but not finished. It means that life is not as good as nine times out of ten, which means that time is seldom perfect.

This is the famous words of Eileen Chang in The Nightmare of Red Mansions:

"Some people have said that the 'three great hates' are 'one hates the anchovies with many thorns, the second hates the begonias with no fragrance', and the third one I don't remember, but maybe because I subconsciously feel that I should have a good time, I don't know what to say. Maybe because I subconsciously think it should be 'three hate red chamber dream unfinished'. When I was a child, I read Dream of Red Mansions and saw that after 80 times, each character had tasteless language, and their faces were repulsive, and I only complained, 'How come it's not good anymore? ...... long after I heard that the last forty times is a Gao Osprey continued. No wonder ......"

Expanded Information

The Begonia is unscented, the Yellowtail is thorny, and the Red Chamber is unfinished. From "The Nightmare of the Red Mansion" by Eileen Chang.

Zhang Eileen, a modern Chinese writer, originally from Tangshan City, Hebei Province, formerly known as Zhang Bui, was born on September 30, 1920, in the western district of Shanghai's public **** lease, a declining aristocratic mansion.

In 1944, Zhang Eileen met Hu Lancheng and dated him. 1973, Zhang Eileen settled in Los Angeles, September 8, 1995, coinciding with the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Eileen's landlord found that she died in her apartment on Rochester Avenue in Westwood, California, due to arteriosclerosis cardiovascular disease at the age of 75, when she was found to have been dead for a week. September 30, the living Friends held a memorial service for her, after which the ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Three Hateful Things in Life