Rereading the Stone Kevin Wilson, William Jones

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 “country bumpkin” role that Grannie Liu is compelled to occupy? Is there any method to the maddening interplay of truth and fiction in the garden?Sup...

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/1269965/supporters/newSupport the Show.

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.

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.

The Chapter 38 poetry review continues! No poetic stone left unturned!Support the Show.

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 Parrhasius!Final note: The Leonard Cohen song briefly in question is "Tower of Song."Support the Show.