Dear Friends,

There were 24 live #ReadingTheStone Saturday chats in 2022. Alas, Twitter erased all Spaces archives (!) so I’ve had to scrounge to upload from various backups. It will take a while, but we’ll get there! 

I’ll be posting them as “Season 1” episodes on our various platforms. As we’ve said previously, these are the unedited recordings of our live chats each Saturday we met – so apologies in advance for audio quality and some random interjections (sounds of cats, children, a cough here and there – ). But I hope this will allow for those of us who are reading at different tempos to listen in!

In late May and early June our discussions ranged widely, but the conversation kept its main reading focus from Chapters 17-23. Lots of lively conversation on Twitter, too, on David Hawkes’ translational choices (and youthful handsomeness!), how to render a poetic qin 芹 (our watercress discussion!), and Xifeng’s managerial prowess.

Season 1 Episode 8 On Grand Prospect Garden, and The Functions of Naming (originally recorded May 28, 2022)

Season 1 Episode 9 On Embedded Refrains and Incipient Desire in Hongloumeng (originally recorded June 4, 2022)