Story Of The Stone Chapter 3

Chapter 3 from The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin introduces the grandness of the Rongguo House and those who reside in the Rongguo House through the perspective of Lin Daiyu. Through Daiyu, the readers grasp a sense of the luxuries and life the aristocrats, specifically the Jia family, had in the 18th century before the West invaded. Lin Ruhai, Daiyu’s father, sends Daiyu to live at Rongguo House after she is summoned by her Grandmother Jia, the matriarch of the family and from there, she navigates through her family and greets each family member while visiting their residences. Xueqin thoroughly fleshes out the environment of The Story of the Stone through the usage of diction and imagery of the settings and customs to make this extravagant

Daiyu notes that all of the servants that she has interacted with during her journey from the capital to the Jia mansion are “out of the ordinary.” This helps to draw readers in because it is contrasting to what has been portrayed in other works of literature and/or films. In modern day media domestic workers are often mistreated and seen as inferior by their superiors but in the world of The Story of the Stone, the maids ate, dressed and conversed with sophistication. This concerns Daiyu because she believed that she would be scorned and mocked if her actions and words were not up to the standard of her relatives. As the story continues, Xueqin describes the western entrance of the Rongguo House where she first enters. She passes through “the ornamental gate into a courtyard

This is the first time that Daiyu is breaking away from the Confucian Philosophy of filial piety when she disrespects her elders by calling her uncouth. This is also interesting to readers because it is an unfamiliar concept to the West as Confucius’s philosophy greatly influenced Chinese culture and differs from the western philosophers’ teachings. Previously, she would kowtow(taken from the mandarin word of lowering the head) to each family member as a symbol of an act of respect and reverence through kneeling and bowing. Through the kowtows, readers are able to further understand the customs and societal norms of 18th century China. Contrary to Daiyu’s expectations, she is immediately drawn to the dazzling and graceful aura Wang Xifeng possesses. Wang Xiefeng is described in a poem with “eyes like a painted phoenix, eyebrows like willow-leaves”(Xueqin 549) and wearing a “chignon enclosed in a circlet of gold filigree and clustered pearls. It was fastened with a pin embellished with flying phoenixes, from whose beaks pearls were suspended on tiny chains” (Xueqin, 549). The poem used to describe Wang Xifeng’s face paints a picture of a gentle beauty and contrasts the behavior of Wang Xifeng. It makes the readers feel as if she is really ethereal and the comparisons