Dream of the Red Chamber

Dream of the Red Chamber

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Why Poetry Matters

Why we don't just skip over the poems

Daniel Evensen's avatar
Daniel Evensen
Apr 29, 2026
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Why Poetry Matters

Li Shangyin 李商隱

There’s a reason why I really wanted to dive deep into Dream of the Red Chamber. And there’s a reason why I keep complaining about the other English translations.

You see, the problem is that most people who translate this book skip over the literary references. And that’s like trying to eat your ice cream cone without any ice cream.

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