Breaking The Narrative Rules

Cao Xueqin subverts expectations

Breaking The Narrative Rules

Cao Xueqin broke all the rules.

There are clear hints here that Jia Yucun isn’t a “real” member of the Jia family. And this is ironic, of course, considering the “假-真” (real-false) dynamic we’ve run into over and over again. If the Jia family itself represents things that are 假 or false, then it’s really a feat to be a fake member of the Jia family.

But the big question is why in the world Cao Xueqin would use a fake family member at the start of his book. Why not just take us into the Jia family?

And then there’s the bizarre short scene we saw earlier, where Jia Yucun spends a few minutes in a temple, finds a monk who can’t speak well, and leaves. He then goes on to gossip with Leng Zixing, and their conversation (which is pretty boring) lasts until the end of the chapter.

So what’s going on here? How could an undisputed, internationally recognized classic novel have a structure like this?