You might be interested in Ling Hon Lam’s article, The Matriarch’s Private Ear. Lam makes some important observations about the role of Mudan ting as performance piece and private reading in this novel. I would also suggest reading Red Inkstone’s comments about the plays that Yuanchun has performed in Chapter 18, it may change how you interpret the plays that Xifeng orders in this chapter.
To say that Liu Mengmei revives Du Liniang through the portrait doesn’t seem to be an apt description. Liniang’s transformation to life begins when Mengmei promises her ghost that he will exhume and marry her. The process is complete when Mengmei gives her a dose of folk medicine, a decoction of wine mixed with the ashes of a patch from a man’s pants, representing masculine, life-giving yang energy. Admittedly, this detail does not matter to your argument. Happy reading!
You might be interested in Ling Hon Lam’s article, The Matriarch’s Private Ear. Lam makes some important observations about the role of Mudan ting as performance piece and private reading in this novel. I would also suggest reading Red Inkstone’s comments about the plays that Yuanchun has performed in Chapter 18, it may change how you interpret the plays that Xifeng orders in this chapter.
To say that Liu Mengmei revives Du Liniang through the portrait doesn’t seem to be an apt description. Liniang’s transformation to life begins when Mengmei promises her ghost that he will exhume and marry her. The process is complete when Mengmei gives her a dose of folk medicine, a decoction of wine mixed with the ashes of a patch from a man’s pants, representing masculine, life-giving yang energy. Admittedly, this detail does not matter to your argument. Happy reading!