New Here? This is Chapter 22 of Dream of the Red Chamber, China's greatest novel, translated into modern English one scene at a time. Start with the Start Here guide, or meet the family on the Characters page.
The plays are over, and Grandmother Jia wants to meet the two youngest actors.
Previously: Baochai recited her favorite aria, and Baoyu loved it. (See Stark Naked Came I)
Everyone has had a good time at Baochai’s birthday party. Then Wang Xifeng notices that one of the child actors looks just like somebody, and dares the room to say who. Some people know better than to answer. One person doesn’t.
Who’s here: Jia Baoyu · Lin Daiyu · Shi Xiangyun · Xue Baochai · Wang Xifeng · Hua Xiren · Zijuan · Cuilü · Grandmother Jia (All the characters)
Zhuangzi, Again. Baoyu has been reading the Zhuangzi since the last chapter, and tonight two lines from it come back to him. One of them isn’t in the Zhuangzi at all. Below, I explain where each one comes from, and why David Hawkes turned a Daoist philosopher’s prose into a rhyming verse.
Tomorrow's podcast episode is a short guide to Chinese lantern riddles, a week before this family starts writing their own. Free subscribers hear the first part. Subscribe and it comes straight to your inbox.
