Rereading the Stone

After our epic 4-parter dedicated to Chapter 5, the infinite dream of desire, we return with a light-hearted whole-chapter-as-one-episode discussion of Chapter 6 of Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, a chapter known for its comic relief, as well as its exploration of the dynamics of wealth and class. Briefly is discussed the material consequences of Chapter 5’s ideational waywardness. 

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In pt. 4 of 4 of our epic Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Ch. 5 “Dream Chapter” discussion, a leisurely jaunt through the lyrical Land of Illusion 太虛幻境, we learn what happens when one dreams within a dream, to find the bed being dreamt in already occupied by the dialectical synthesis of one’s two primary love interests. What is this danger lying at the edge of illusion? What are these monstrous beasts reaching out from the void, and what is the meaning of this wooden raft?

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In part three of four of our epic Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 5 “Dream Chapter” discussion, a leisurely jaunt through the lyrical Land of Illusion 太虛幻境, we give listen to a few prophetic songs singing the fates of Baoyu, Daiyu, Yuanchun, Tanchun, and Miaoyu.  Kevin demos a new translation of “Frowning Brows” 枉凝眉 and we discuss the possible historicity of metaphors and meaning. 

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We continue our exploration of the lyrical Land of Illusion 太虛幻境 showcased in one of the most famous chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Story of the Stone 石頭記), Chapter 5, the dream chapter! Do you commend the marriage rites of gold and jade, or do you still recall the bond of old by stone and flower made? (A blood bond, or blood covenant 盟, as discussed in this episode.) As for Qin Keqing, if “love was her sea, her sky,” why does Baoyu see depicted a beautiful girl hanging by her neck from a beam? Lots to discuss as we delve ever deeper into this wondrous and complex dreamscape. 

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Chapter 5 part 1 

It’s part one of Chapter 5, a return to the Land of Illusion 太虛幻境 in one of the most famous chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Story of the Stone 石頭記), the dream chapter! This is also one of the most complex chapters of the novel (so many allusions, so much art and imagery!), so we have broken up our treatment into several separate episodes. We begin working through some cryptic and surreal imagery and messaging, and discuss in some detail the psychological and psychoanalytical dynamics reflected in the dream material. Get ready for some strange otherworldly bureaucracies, famous poems and songs, and the emergence of desire in its infinite sensual and representational forms.

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The Bottle-gourd girl meets an unfortunate young man, and the Bottle-gourd monk settles a protracted law suit! In this episode things get "extremely real," as we experience the nitty gritty of Qing dynastic social reality, mainly through the eyes of Jia Yucun in his new role as district yamen. Re-readers can steal a glimpse at the entanglements of love, desire, money, and marriage as situated in historical time, accessing elements of reality that social science will fail to represent for years to come (Kevin "goes off" to this effect toward the end of the episode.) This is an extremely challenging chapter for modern readers to approach insightfully, but reading and rereading it should prove well worth the time and effort.

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Enter Jia Baoyu! In this episode of Rereading the Stone, covering Chapter 3 of the classic novel Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, we are finally introduced to the protagonist, Jia Baoyu 賈寶玉. Lin Daiyu is becoming acquainted with her new, luxurious home, her beautiful cousins, and an assortment of other female relatives, including the peerless “Peppercorn Feng“ 鳳辣子. If etiquette were a video game, would you be able to distinguish tea for mouth-washing from tea for drinking? We treat in some detail the surreal, unforgettable meeting (or is it a reunion?) of Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu. Kevin subjects Baoyu’s desire to be rid of the “precious jade” with which he was born, something that “none of the girls has,” to a kind of dialectical Freudian analysis, and critiques the critics who attempt to reduce the psychoanalytic treatment of Chinese literature to orientalism or chauvinism. 

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In this episode, we cover the entirety of chapter 2 of Hong lou meng 紅樓夢. We discuss Jia Yucun's twists of fate and his visiting a dilapidated (Lynchian?) monastery. Upon his meeting an old friend, the compelling histories of and rumors surrounding the two main branches of the Jia clan (i.e., the Rong and the Ning clans) are introduced. We are first introduced to our protagonist Jia Baoyu and become acquainted with his childhood theory of girls' being made of water and boys' being made of mud. Jia Yucun presents his own unique psychological/ metaphysical theory of the "three types of people," all the while engaging in one of the most epic namedropping exercises in all of global literature.

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In this episode, we finish the second part of chapter 1 of Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong lou meng 紅樓夢), discussing the representation of dreams and fantasy in literature, liminal spaces such as archways, liminal moments such as the "ides of January" (aka., the Lantern Festival), social dynamics and the etiquette of friendship, the layers of meanings embedded in the names of the characters in this novel, ill fortune and the vagaries of fate, the role of religious institutions in Qing China and the author's possible attitudes toward these institutions, and much more. 

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In this very first pilot episode, Kevin Wilson and William Jones give a general introduction to Qing dynastic history and the famous Chinese author Cao Xueqin (1715 or 1724 – 1763 or 1764) before delving into the first part of Chapter 1 of this world-famous novel. Topics discussed include Chinese mythology, the Chinese language and naming systems, Chinese characters and their semantics, parallels between Hong lou meng and Xi you ji (a.k.a., Journey to the West), Buddhist thinking and its influence on this novel, and much more. 

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