The third and final part of my series on Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin, if that is even his real name. I briefly cover the authorship question surrounding this work, and then move on to explore the philosophical foundation behind the conclusion to Baoyu’s story.

It is hard to say goodbye to this series, as I have spent a good four months or so preparing all these episodes, but I think this is a fitting send-off. Around three hours, as it turns out, is just enough time to say about 75% of what I would like to say about this book, the other 25% being perhaps impossible to put into words. I hope that this series inspires people to take a look at the book themselves, or think about the work more deeply if they have read it in the past.

Thanks for listening.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit balckwell.substack.com