Latest Chinese literature Podcast Episodes
Ep. 84: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 39 part 2
Rereading the Stone - April 06, 2024 18:00 - 51 minutesIn 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 lit...
Ep. 83: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 39 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - January 31, 2024 05:00 - 1 hourWe 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...
Ep. 82: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 4
Rereading the Stone - December 13, 2023 00:00 - 1 hourThe 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...
Episode 81: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 3
Rereading the Stone - September 28, 2023 04:00 - 44 minutesThe Chapter 38 poetry review continues! No poetic stone left unturned! Support the show
Ep. 80: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 2
Rereading the Stone - August 30, 2023 06:00 - 57 minutesThe 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 pai...
Episode 79: Rereading Hong lou meng Chapter 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 1
Rereading the Stone - July 15, 2023 04:00 - 1 hourAfter 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 show
Ep 78: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 37 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - March 05, 2023 06:00 - 57 minutesNew 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 show
Ep 78: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 37 part 2/4
Rereading the Stone - March 05, 2023 06:00 - 57 minutesNew 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…
Ep. 77: Hong lou meng chapter 37 part 1/4
Rereading the Stone - January 07, 2023 21:00 - 1 hour“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-f...
Ep. 77: Hong lou meng chapter 37 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - January 07, 2023 21:00 - 1 hour“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-f...
Ep. 76: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 36 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - November 23, 2022 07:00 - 43 minutesBaoyu 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 show
Ep. 75: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 36 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - October 05, 2022 06:00 - 1 hourTime 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 show
Ep. 74: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 35 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - August 26, 2022 05:00 - 42 minutesBaoyu 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 show
Ep. 73: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 35 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - August 09, 2022 01:00 - 51 minutesDaiyu 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 show
Ep 72: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 34 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - July 19, 2022 01:00 - 49 minutesIs 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 show
Ep. 71: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 34 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - July 07, 2022 05:00 - 44 minutesIn 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 con...
Ep. 70: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 33 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - June 15, 2022 19:00 - 29 minutesBaoyu 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 show
Ep. 69: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 33 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - May 25, 2022 05:00 - 32 minutesAn 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 show
Ep. 68: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 32 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - May 09, 2022 05:00 - 31 minutesThe 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 show
Ep 67: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 32 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - April 25, 2022 06:00 - 1 hourXiangyun 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 show
Ep 66: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 31 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - March 23, 2022 19:00 - 29 minutesA short Xiangyun 湘雲 episode! We attempt to decipher her thoughts on yinyang 陰陽 philosophy and how it relates to her relationship with her maid Kingfisher 翠縷. The metaphysics of golden qilin 麒麟 in Dream of the Red Chamber/ Story of the Stone (紅樓夢, 红楼梦) are also briefly addressed. Support the show
Ep. 65: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 31 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - March 07, 2022 17:00 - 50 minutesWhat are the ethics of using an object? Is it immoral to break something just for the sound of it? What social, political, and economic sacrifices are justified, when performed for those closest? DISCLAIMER: no fans were hurt in the recording of this episode. Support the show
Ep. 64: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 30 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - February 07, 2022 06:00 - 36 minutesWhat meaning could reside in a hairpin? When is a hairpin a pen, and which character is being written? Would a false Xi Shi 西施 dream of real roses? Part 2 of our discussion of Chapter 30 of "Dream of the Red Chamber" Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, "Story of the Stone" (石頭記). Support the show
Ep. 63: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 30 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - January 20, 2022 01:00 - 1 hourIn the space between dreaming and waking, what rules apply? What feelings are displaced in acts of judgment? Do those who dream us wish us well? A turning point in Dream of the Red Chamber (Story of the Stone 石頭記) (Hong lou meng, Hongloumeng) (紅樓夢, 红楼梦), the story of the ill-fated Golden 金釧. Su...
Ep 62: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 29 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - January 04, 2022 02:00 - 44 minutesPlays within plays, and a meta-cognitive dispute! Is every jade tear still a microcosm? Do two false representations make one shared reality? Part 2 of our discussion of Chapter 29 of Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢，红楼梦), Story of the Stone (石头记). Support the show
Ep 61: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 29 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - December 13, 2021 08:00 - 55 minutesIn Chapter 29 of Dream of the Red Chamber (Hongloumeng 紅樓夢, Story of the Stone 石頭記), the crew is out and about in full force. Even before the plays begin, a spitting is delegated, a collision is mitigated, and a famous jade is investigated. Support the show
Ep 60: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 28 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - November 27, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourThe poetry party, an artistic dream within a dream, continues! Readers of Dream of the Red Chamber (Story of the Stone 石頭記, Hongloumeng 紅樓夢) are here first introduced to the poetic stylings of Xue Pan 薛蟠, arguably the first postmodern brutalist poet in the classical Chinese literary tradition! ...
Ep. 59: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 28 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - November 12, 2021 19:00 - 1 hourBaoyu and Daiyu try to work through mutual misunderstanding, and matters of medicine reemerge. At Feng Ziying’s party, verses are improvised on the subject of female joys and sorrows, yet another poetic opportunity for red chamber dream projections. Support the show
Ep 58: Hong lou meng chapter 27 part 2/2
Rereading the Stone - November 03, 2021 23:00 - 40 minutesIn this episode we broach one of the most central questions of Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢 — why bury fallen flowers? Attempting to answer this question, we discuss cuckoos, mottled bamboo, the end of spring, cold pillows, inner chambers, and tears of blood. We also touch upon the relationship ...
Ep. 57: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 27 part 1/2
Rereading the Stone - October 23, 2021 00:00 - 51 minutesBaoyu seeks Daiyu, who is notably absent bemoaning the season. Baochai chases butterflies, and Crimson enumerates a bewildering array of ladies. Support the show
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