Rereading the Stone

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.

We continue exploring Yuanchun’s new social standing in this episode. What does it mean to live in a gilded cage, a shimmering space of ritual and power? How does her new position affect her relationship with her family? Meanwhile poet-rockstar Daiyu feels that her talents are going to waste, Baochai plays the teacher, and Baoyu cheats on the test.

An episode not to be missed — enter the garden! This leisurely stroll through Prospect Garden 大觀園, a location of central significance for Hong lou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber), doubles as a feat of poetic strength. Can Baoyu’s “wayward talent” mitigate his father’s skepticism and dismissiveness? We foreground a number of themes already emphasized on the podcast, in particular aesthetics and philosophies of beauty and art. Is beauty a reflection of nature, or does it rely on upon artistic vision and will?

The final part of our first garden tour, can you handle this assault on the senses? Can you process this profusion of effusive allusions? Will it prompt your weary soul to dream fragrant dreams? Where’s the line between free play and plagiarism? Are you at home with homage, or do you rectify all references, towing the literal interpretative line? Our battle of literary minds reaches a fever pitch!

The garden gives and gives, and the tension between Baoyu and Jia Zheng is heightening! As one penetrates art and artifice ever more deeply, fiction becomes reality, and reality becomes hyperreality. The mock village here tucked away would have pulled at Marie Antoinette’s heartstrings, so is it any surprise that Jia Zheng likes it? Baoyu goes off and unleashes an extended critique, and is met with verbal abuse. What is the meaning of nature and the natural (tianran 天然), and how does it relate to art and meaning? Also the fragrance of gardens is foregrounded in this episode; gardens aren’t just for the eyes!