Dream of the Red Chamber

Dream of the Red Chamber

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Why The Interlude

Diving into a short and odd passage

Daniel Evensen's avatar
Daniel Evensen
Oct 13, 2025
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Why The Interlude

I wrote a few days ago about Cao Xueqin’s brilliance in narrative structure.

However, Cao Xueqin is also brilliant at creating odd interludes that add a sense of mystery to the story.

We can tell that something important is happening and that there’s something we ought to pay attention to. However, it’s not readily clear precisely why this particular short segment is important.

I’ll try to shed a little bit of light.

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