Rereading the Stone
Rereading the Stone is a weekly discussion of historical Chinese literature, philosophy, and poetry, currently focusing on the Qing dynastic Classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong lou meng 紅樓夢) also known as Story of the Stone (Shitou ji 石頭記).
Episodes
88 episodes
Ep. 88: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 41 part 1
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.
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Season 1
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Episode 88
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49:02
Ep. 87: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 40 part 3
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 ga...
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Season 1
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Episode 87
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1:15:15
Ep. 86: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 40 part 2
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 p...
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Season 1
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Episode 86
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54:14
Ep. 85: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 40 part 1
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 85
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1:06:34
Ep. 84: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 39 part 2
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 84
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51:14
Ep. 83: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 39 part 1/2
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 83
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1:01:31
Ep. 82: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 4
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 ri...
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Season 1
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Episode 82
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1:06:58
Episode 81: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 3
The Chapter 38 poetry review continues! No poetic stone left unturned!
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44:12
Ep. 80: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 2
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 co...
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Season 1
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Episode 80
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57:48
Episode 79: Rereading Hong lou meng Chapter 紅樓夢 Chapter 38 part 1
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.
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Season 1
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Episode 79
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1:23:06
Ep 78: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 37 part 2/2
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…
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Season 1
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Episode 78
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57:56
Ep. 77: Hong lou meng chapter 37 part 1/2
“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, th...
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Season 1
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Episode 77
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1:32:44
Ep. 76: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 36 part 2/2
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. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 76
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43:43
Ep. 75: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 36 part 1/2
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.
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Season 1
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Episode 75
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1:06:12
Ep. 74: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 35 part 2/2
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 thou...
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Season 1
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Episode 74
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42:16
Ep. 73: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 35 part 1/2
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 73
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51:47
Ep 72: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 34 part 2/2
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 72
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49:38
Ep. 71: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 34 part 1/2
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 71
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44:08
Ep. 70: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 33 part 2/2
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?
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Season 1
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Episode 70
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29:47
Ep. 69: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 33 part 1/2
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?
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Season 1
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Episode 69
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32:09
Ep. 68: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 32 part 2/2
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?
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Season 1
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Episode 68
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31:05
Ep 67: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 32 part 1/2
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 67
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1:09:41
Ep 66: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢 chapter 31 part 2/2
A 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...
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Season 1
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Episode 66
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29:57
Ep. 65: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 31 part 1/2
What 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 o...
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Season 1
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Episode 65
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50:34
Ep. 64: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 30 part 2/2
What 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 o...
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Season 1
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Episode 64
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36:05