Best 紅樓夢 Podcasts (2025)

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Ep. 93: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 43 part 2 41:05

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10h ago41:05

41:05

It’s time for part 2 (earth 土) of Chapter 43 of Dream of the Red Chamber (Story of the Stone, Hongloumeng 紅樓夢), where Baoyu performs a non-performative ritual observance of the death of Golden. We discuss Baoyuean theories of language as use, while also discussing the poetry of Cao Zhi 曹植 (192 – 232), including one “cutting edge” translation. Suppo…

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Ep. 92: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 43 part 1 39:44

1M ago39:44

39:44

This chapter (of Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢) admits of dualities? So here in part 1 we cover the first half (gold 金), which involves some extensive bickering over money (including an eyebrow-raising subscription scheme to collect funds for Xifeng’s birthday…) Next episode will cover the second half of the chapter (earth 土). Support the show…

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Ep. 91: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 42 part 2 37:14

3M ago37:14

37:14

Daiyu and Baochai exchange literary intimacies, and meta-literary musings! Is reading bad, actually? Or, is it Baochai who is kind of a fascist? Would Baochai reframe from reading her own book? Or is it Daiyu who should be “called out” for her classist joke? “Grannie Liu, more like Grannie Locust?, amirite?” 他是那一門子的姥姥？直叫他是個『母蝗蟲』就是了！ -Daiyu Support …

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Ep. 90: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 42 part 1 49:37

4M ago49:37

49:37

Suppose your child were born on the seventh day of the seventh month, what would you do? If you saw an immortal soul falling into the well of mortal existence, would you intervene and save them? Suppose you were facing a lifetime of strangely illiquid “tear debt,” would you seek solace in historical novels and plays that serve no clear moral or dog…

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Ep. 89: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 41 part 2 47:10

6M ago47:10

47:10

One of our favorite sections of the text — Grannie Liu takes Baoyu’s bed for a spin, dreaming her own dream of red chambers! A full sensory experience, we compare it to Bayou’s dream from Qin Keqing’s bed. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep. 88: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 41 part 1 49:02

8M ago49:02

49:02

Granny Liu’s choice of cups (wood is good!) figures prominently in this installment. A wide-ranging discussion of social class and constructed value, as the real and unreal reveal themselves to be deeply interwoven. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep. 87: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 40 part 3 1:15:15

9M ago1:15:15

1:15:15

This part of chapter 40 of Dream of the Red Chamber (Story of the Stone, Hongloumeng) is a lot of poetic fun, but is it purely fun and games? What kind of symbolism and foreshadowing lie within, and will illicit references catch the censor’s gaze? How will Baochai escape the dialectical logic of “takes one to know one”? Is gaming a kind of waking d…

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Ep. 86: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 40 part 2 54:14

1y ago54:14

54:14

More excellent Granny Liu content, as we travel deeper into the garden, soon by means of pleasure craft, with Xifeng at the helm. When withered lotus petals are observed on the surface of the water, Daiyu famously discusses the poetry of Tang poet Li Shangyin. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep. 85: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 40 part 1 1:06:34

1+ y ago1:06:34

1:06:34

It's Chapter 40 of Dream of the Red Chamber (Story of the Stone, Hongloumeng), and we're accompanying Grannie Liu on her tour of Prospect Garden. In what ways is the garden reflective of, and in dialogue with, Grannie’s Liu’s dreams and desires? What does Grannie Liu accurately perceive on her tour, and where does she project? And what about the “c…

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Ep. 84: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 39 part 2 51:14

1+ y ago51:14

51:14

In this episode, we puzzle over Grannie Liu’s arithmetic while questioning how age and social class more broadly inform her interactions with Grandmother Jia. A continuation of our discussion of chapter 39 of Dream of the Red Chamber (Story of the Stone), a classic work of historical Chinese literature. Support the show! https://www.buzzsprout.com/…

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Ep. 83: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 39 part 1/2 1:01:31

2y ago1:01:31

1:01:31

We treat the first part of Chapter 39 of Dream of the Red Chamber (Story of the Stone, Hongloumeng), as Li Wan and friends wax philosophical on the importance of having good servants to dissipate loneliness... our discussion turns toward issues of social value, and the paradoxes of hierarchy and intimacy. Support the show…

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Ep. 82: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 4 1:06:58

2y ago1:06:58

1:06:58

The end (or is it beginning?) of our Chapter 38 review! (This was originally intended to be the first episode we’d release, but it was the last to be recorded, and we forgot to rearrange them.) The final part of our foray into this dense and rich chapter of Dream of the Red Chamber (Story of the Stone). Support the show…

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Episode 81: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 3 44:12

2y ago44:12

44:12

The Chapter 38 poetry review continues! No poetic stone left unturned! Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Stories for Kate Episode 3: Not quite Persuasion, but the best company 1:16:28

2y ago1:16:28

1:16:28

We didn't quite manage to chat at length about Persuasion as we had planned, but we definitely shared a few stories for Kate! Original grapes Eily, Jen, Yazmin, and Eileen were back, but a few of Kate's favorite Lowellians also joined us: Tina, Ona, Ned, and Howard! We gave Howard a bit of grief for not having seen us in so long (and we gave him a …

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#ReadingTheStone Season 3 - Stories For Kate Episode 2: Valley Girl, like totally 55:06

2y ago55:06

55:06

The grapes return for another episode of 'Stories for Kate.' This time we do a deep dive into Martha Coolidge's 1983 indie classic Valley Girl, starring a young Deborah Foreman and Nicholas Cage. We talked about aspects of the film that we still love (eileen: still the way NC kisses, swoon; Jen: the storytelling; Yaz: the character of Julie), and a…

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#ReadingTheStone Season 3: Stories for Kate! Ep 1 Preamble: Foundational Romances 36:37

2y ago36:37

36:37

#ReadingTheStone Season 3: We have ventured a bit far afield from Story of the Stone and 18th century Chinese mansions for now, as Season 3 will be stories for (and about) Kate - in which we talk about her favorite books and films and men - and eagerly await her emendations and rebuttals. Episode 1 Our Foundational College-era Romances, from Room w…

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Ep. 80: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 2 57:48

2y ago57:48

57:48

The Chapter 38 poetry review of Hong lou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber, Story of the Stone) continues! Note: as indicated in the episode, some “creative” post-production editing was performed in order to improve upon and to correct elements of our original commentary. Also note: The Greek painter whose name escapes Kevin in the episode is Parrhasi…

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Episode 79: Rereading Hong lou meng Chapter 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 1 1:23:06

2+ y ago1:23:06

1:23:06

After a brief but productive hiatus, in which considerable Hong lou meng’ing was happening “behind the scenes,” Rereading returns, with a poetry-pilled perusal of Chapter 38! This is the first part of our exploration of this chapter. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 10 Fellowship of The Stone: our post-120 wrap-up chat 59:55

2+ y ago59:55

59:55

[Originally recorded on March 25, 2023] "The Fellowship of the Stone" (thank you to one of the episode guests for our new sobriquet!) reconvened for a post #ReadingTheStone wrap-up episode. We welcomed a panoply of new-to-the-group friends - all Hongloumeng scholars and teachers - Paola Zamperini, Canaan Morse, I-Hsien Wu, Carlos Rojas, Emily Wu, S…

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 9 On Baoyu's Farewell, and Ours - Reaching Chapter 120 1:03:00

2+ y ago1:03:00

1:03:00

[Originally recorded on 3-11-2023] We recorded our first #ReadingTheStone Saturday chat on April 2, 2022, and now nearly 12 months later, we say farewell to Story of the Stone, as we reach Chapter 120 together. In this episode we explore the various 'happy endings' presented at the end of the fiction, and wonder how and if they responded to the que…

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 8: On Haunted Near Endings - the Penultimate Episode of the Jias 1:00:47

2+ y ago1:00:47

1:00:47

[Originally recorded on 3-4-23] “Before one disaster is over, here’s another!” Pretty much sums up all the chapters lately. - Dani Our heroic trio Waiyee, Ann, and Eileen are reunited (thank you Shelly!) for the penultimate episode discussing Chapters 110-115, alongside the rest of our #ReadingTheStone community. A wide-ranging conversation today f…

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 7 On Justice and Retribution, and Sea Otter Pelts 56:57

2+ y ago56:57

56:57

[Originally recorded on 2-25-2023] Waiyee and Eileen had other commitments this week, but Ann led the #ReadingTheStone group in a rich discussion of Chapters 105-109, on the dual plot strands of Baoyu's marriage and also of the Fall of the House of Jia, and whether, even for those with power and money and connections like the Jia family, there migh…

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Ep 78: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 37 part 2/2 57:56

2+ y ago57:56

57:56

New poetry club “The Crab-flower Club” 海棠社 just dropped, and Daiyu is sweeping up sunsets. Meanwhile Baoyu can’t seem to keep on-prompt… Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 6: On the Postlapsarian, and also surprisingly, Jia Zheng 52:10

2+ y ago52:10

52:10

[Originally recorded on 2-18-23] As #ReadingTheStone enters its final dozen chapters, we find ourselves ruminating over the postlapsarian state of things: the scattering and banishment of most everyone from Grand Prospect Garden, Xifeng's decline and Baochai seemingly being groomed to be the next Xifeng, the ethics of appeasement in a large social …

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 5: On Love and Death in the House of Jia 57:42

3y ago57:42

57:42

[Originally recorded on 2-11-2023] The theme of this morning's #ReadingTheStone live chat began earlier, with Kate's Twitter poll on where readers fell on The Baoyu-Daiyu-Baochai ship, and whether Daiyu's quiet off-stage demise in the midst of a wedding was unbefitting the exit of a central character. Some other forked paths of conversation centere…

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#ReadingTheStone S1 Episode 11: On Goethe v. Proust, Private v. Public Reading, and Hexes 55:46

3y ago55:46

55:46

[Originally recorded on July 2, 2022] After a lovely first #ReadingTheStone (virtual) face-to-face meetup as part of the Duke APSI Book Club in late June, we returned to our Twitter Spaces live chats in early July, and also dove back into reading the text proper. Eileen revisited one of her favorite moments of multimodal reading at the end of Chapt…

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 4: On Daiyu's Near Demise and Recovery, and Zen Koans 1:03:40

3y ago1:03:40

1:03:40

[Originally recorded on 2-4-23] #ReadingTheStone discussion centered around Chapters 91-95, though we began the conversation where we left off the previous Saturday, on Daiyu willing her own demise by refusing to eat. The group discussed how Daiyu is absolutely the main character of the final 40 chapters, and whether this is yet another element tha…

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#ReadingTheStone S1 Episode 10: On Poetry in the Garden, Gaokao exam questions, and is Baoyu a F-boy? 1:01:33

3y ago1:01:33

1:01:33

[Originally recorded on 6-11-2022] Episode 10 saw us ranging widely, though we nominally discussed Chapters 17 to 21. First, we chatted about all the buzz over the 2022 PRC college entrance examination (gaokao) essay question on Dream of the Red Chamber - over tweets and in our live chat this week, we discussed a) whether one needed any knowledge o…

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#ReadingTheStone S1 Episode 9 On Embedded Refrains and Incipient Desire in Hongloumeng 57:09

3y ago57:09

57:09

[Conversation originally recorded on 6/4/22] Our 9th week of #ReadingTheStone was lively and wide-ranging both on Twitter and during our Saturday live conversation . Now that the imperial consort's visit has concluded, Chapter 19 seems like a narrative refrain, in showing us the maid Aroma's return visit to an albeit far humbler natal home. We talk…

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#ReadingTheStone S1 Episode 8 On Grand Prospect Garden, and The Functions of Naming 59:35

3y ago59:35

59:35

[Conversation originally recorded on 5/28/22] Our eighth #ReadingTheStone conversation took us into the construction and naming of every nook and cranny inside Grand Prospect Garden, aka 大觀園 Daguanyuan, the future home of Baoyu, Daiyu, and all the young people in the story. We talked about naming as possession and naming as care, temporal fluidity …

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 3: On Tragedy, Failure, and Creativity - and Daiyu, of course 55:06

3y ago55:06

55:06

In last week's episode we agreed that the last 40 "Story of the Stone" chapters were giving final season wrap-up-all-the-loose-threads vibes, but perhaps our #ReadingTheStone chats now do that too. We circled back to the topic of one of our first conversations - on failure as generative of creativity, a theme that begins this novel and also structu…

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#ReadingTheStone S2 Episode 2: On Daiyu's Anguished Dream, and Final Season Vibes 46:17

3y ago46:17

46:17

The #ReadingTheStone community forged ahead into Chapters 81-85 today, and we encountered so many callbacks to earlier moments to the point that some of us felt that they were giving final-season wrap-up vibes. Many threads and characters' fates are resurfaced, in anticipation of all coming to a head: Baoyu's return to studying for examinations, fu…

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#ReadingTheStone Returns! S2 Episode 1 Our First Eighty Chapters of Reading Together 56:05

3y ago56:05

56:05

#ReadingTheStone had our first Saturday chat of the new year, on January 14, 2023. Last we left off, we had read up to Chapter 80 - and in this first session of the new year, we discussed the textual history of Story of the Stone, how readers and scholars have differentiated between the first 80 chapters (understood to be definitively penned by Cao…

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Ep. 77: Hong lou meng chapter 37 part 1/2 1:32:44

3y ago1:32:44

1:32:44

“Why should the founding of poetry clubs be the sole prerogative of the whiskered male, and female versificators allowed a voice in the tunable concert of the muses only when some enlightened patriarch sees fit to invite them? Will you come, then, and rhyme with us?” New poetry club “The Crab-flower Club” 海棠社 just dropped! The latest installation o…

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Ep. 76: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 36 part 2/2 43:43

3y ago43:43

43:43

Baoyu expounds upon one of his favorite topics, his notion of the ideal death, linking it to idle visions shared by his soulmate. He then goes off in search of a song, only to find the baleful laments of a caged bird in a hall of mirrors. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep. 75: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 36 part 1/2 1:06:12

3y ago1:06:12

1:06:12

Time to choose: do you believe in the marriage of gold and jade, or do you believe in the marriage of stone and flower? Check out part 1 of our discussion of chapter 36 of Dream of the Red Chamber, or The Story of the Stone. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep. 74: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 35 part 2/2 42:16

3y ago42:16

42:16

Baoyu is poorly regarded by visitors, and Baochai sends subtle signals to Aroma. We discuss families and fortunes. Note: I’ve preserved a weird audio effect at the end of the episode for a behind-the-scenes feel, and because I thought it was funny. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep. 73: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 35 part 1/2 51:47

3+ y ago51:47

51:47

Daiyu is expertly trolled by a bird, and Baoyu tries to charm Silver. Baoyu tries to get Grandmother Jia to praise Daiyu, but she praises Baochai instead. Meanwhile we attempt to ascertain the social-hierarchical significance of who serves whom, and who sits when. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep 72: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 34 part 2/2 49:38

3+ y ago49:38

49:38

Is love disgusting? Why wouldn’t it be? If your love is not reaching toward some infinite embrace, the quality of being unqualified, is it love? After a discussion of the handkerchief verses, we discuss Xue Pan and the “dark social alchemy” of violence and quantification. Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep. 71: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 34 part 1/2 44:08

3+ y ago44:08

44:08

In the aftermath of the beating, who really cares and who is putting on appearances? What pain can more tears rebalance? A stained handkerchief can be a symbol, and a medium for artistic response. There is mutual understanding developing in the garden, but does falsity fatally ruin the whole concept of meta-cognition? Support the show…

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Ep. 70: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 33 part 2/2 29:47

3+ y ago29:47

29:47

Baoyu is beaten! How does the ideology of filial piety inform this scene, when it is intra-familial conflict that, in part, brings it in being? Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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#ReadingTheStone S1 Episode 7: On Baoyu - no, Xifeng's - Education 50:51

3+ y ago50:51

50:51

#ReadingTheStone Episode 7 was supposed to be a continuation of our discussion of the education of Baoyu, the young scion of the Jia family - but Waiyee, Ann, and Eileen were diverted by questions about the 'creation' of the extraordinary Jia daughter-in-law Wang Xifeng. From her keen knowledge of maths and household economy, to her minimal literac…

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Ep. 69: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 33 part 1/2 32:09

3+ y ago32:09

32:09

An actor, the female impersonator Jiang Yuhan, has exited the Prince of Zhongshun’s stage, his gifted sash contradicting Baoyu’s claims of ignorance. Which path of fate is being depicted, and why must extreme violence befall Baoyu? Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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#ReadingTheStone S1 Episode 6: On Mirrors and Misguided Readers 47:05

3+ y ago47:05

47:05

#ReadingTheStone Saturday live chats are back after a week's hiatus, and in this episode Waiyee and Eileen discuss the history of interlinear & eyebrow commentary in Chinese fiction and possible resonances with 21st century online fanfiction community practices; crossover fic potential with Pride and Prejudice; fiction as pedagogy - what is a bad r…

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#ReadingTheStone S1 Episode 5: On Entering New Narrative Spaces 51:30

3+ y ago51:30

51:30

Our fifth Saturday chat continues the past week's conversation on Baoyu's sexual initiation - both in dreamland at the end of Chapter 5, and in the 'real world' at the beginning of the following chapter. Waiyee, Ann, and Eileen chat about Granny Liu 劉姥姥, narrative spaces as seen by outsiders and interlopers, and reader/writerly identifications. Tha…

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Ep. 68: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 32 part 2/2 31:05

3+ y ago31:05

31:05

The death of Golden 金釧! Who is at fault for her premature demise? Is there any agency in, and meaning to one’s actions, when symbols prefigure, and fate seems fixed? Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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Ep 67: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 32 part 1/2 1:09:41

3+ y ago1:09:41

1:09:41

Xiangyun 湘雲 is here, and she comes bearing gifts and opinions. What’s the meaning of a gift? Do duplicates double in value? For Baoyu, is the value of linen dependent upon the familiarity of the hand crafting it? And what’s the use in a message that reaches the wrong recipient? Support the showBy Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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#ReadingTheStone S1 Episode 4: On Dreams and Illusion - and Chapter 5 49:10

3+ y ago49:10

49:10

Eileen, Waiyee, and Ann dive into Chapter 5 of Hongloumeng - and respond to #ReadingTheStone questions about the role of dreams in Chinese literature, translating xian as immortal or fairy, the author's invention of a supernatural pantheon, the illusion of knowledge and the novelistic form, and musical structure as a way of thinking about Chapter 5…