《紅樓夢》中秦可卿因何而死，多年來一直是有爭議的問題。《甲戌本》十三回 之「脂批」顯示書中原有「秦可卿淫喪天香樓」一節，為「畸勿叟」命「芹溪」刪去。此說 同為多人所信，然而疑問頗多，本文從討論秦可卿死期之矛盾問題，天香樓故事之問題，和 秦可卿之死因，可得十三回原來並無「秦可卿淫喪天香樓」故事的結論。顯與「脂批」有出 入。因此，進一步來檢討「脂批」的正確性及其意義。 本研究探討批語有關的一些問題，發現「脂批」常意見不一，某些「脂批」對小說的了 解程度有限而有誤解。 以為只存在於「早期稿本」的「淫喪天香樓」故事， 由《甲戌本》 十三回中幾條特殊的「旁批」，可知很可能是後來人看到該回相關眉批及總評之後才添上， 而非舊有。因知所謂「脂批」中問題很多，應是數位意見不同者在不同時期所為，有些可能 出現很晚。據之研究《紅樓夢》應先加辨別，免為所誤。

　　　　　The cause of death of Ch'in K'o-ch'ing has long been open to arguement in the study of Dream of the Red Chamber. In chapter 13 of the Chia-hsu version, a commentary indicated that the story in the manuscript, of the death of Chin K'o-ching due to adulterous affairs, had been deleted due to a suggestion by Chi-hu-so. This point is generally accepted, but there is still room for doubt. In the present study, from the controversy on the season of death, questions about the location and the usage of the T'ien-hsiang Building, and the cause of Ch'in's death, it is concluded that there is no such story in the original manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber. Consequently, the credibility and the meaning of "Chih-p'i" (commentaries by Chih-yen-chai and those with similar viewpoints) should be reconsidered. From examination of the commentaries, it has been found that some were inconsistent with one another, and in certain cases the commentators did have misunderstandings about contents of the novel. Moreover, several "side commentaries" about the death of Ch'in K'o-ch'ing in chapter 13 of tte Chia-hsu version were likely later work which followed the statement about the "adulterous affairs" by earlier commentators. This cautions us to pay close attention if we are going to employ "Chih-p'i" to the study of Dream of the Red Chamber.