Dream of the Red Chamber

Dream of the Red Chamber

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Why Granny Liu Felt Embarrassed

A cultural note

Daniel Evensen's avatar
Daniel Evensen
Oct 01, 2025
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Why Granny Liu Felt Embarrassed

Over the past few translation posts, Granny Liu’s embarrassment at the situation she is in has been described numerous times.

Part of her embarrassment is obvious. She’s extremely poor and is not used to the elegant and imposing nature of the Jia household. She also clearly doesn’t know how she fits in.

But there’s another reason for her embarrassment.

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