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.
Xue Baochai has her fifteenth birthday, and Grandmother Jia is paying for the party.
Previously: Grandmother Jia put up twenty ounces of silver for the birthday, and Wang Xifeng jokingly told her to her face that it wasn’t enough. (See Twenty Moldy Ounces.)
There’s a stage in the courtyard and a new troupe of young actors, and at a party like this, the guests pick the plays. Who picks first, who picks what, and who has to wait their turn tells you a lot about this family. And one person isn’t in the mood for a party at all.
Who’s here: Xue Baochai · Lin Daiyu · Jia Baoyu · Wang Xifeng · Shi Xiangyun · Grandmother Jia (All the characters)
What Are Kunqu and Yiyang? The troupe can sing in two styles, and both Hawkes and the Yangs name them. Neither one tells you what they are, and the scene doesn’t make much sense without them. I explain both below, along with every play members of the family pick.
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