Story of the Stone - the Chinese Novel

Brandon Layton

December 17, 2009

The Garden

The Story of the Stone is a classic Chinese novel that depicts the life of a young aristocratic boy growing up in the Qing Dynasty or the middle of the 18th century. Written by Cao Xue Qin, it has been said to be semi-autobiographical. The main character in the book is the boy Baoyu, who was born with a piece of jade in his mouth. The story dives deep into his life and displays all aspects from his life, from his romantic relationships to his religious experiences such as dreams. Although this book is said to be about the story of this "Baoyu," there are also many instances in the story where the book is trying to contrast and almost show a different view into the Chinese culture at that time. Furthermore, there are several interpretations for the use of the garden in this story. The purpose of this essay is to show the reader that The Story of the Stone could be read as being a criticism of the Qing Dynasty way of life and also interpret the use of the garden within the story.

Written into the setting of the story, there is a place where certain "unwritten" laws do not stand, and where if one is lucky enough, they can be free from the corruption from the outside world. This place is the Garden. The garden was built around Chapter 17 of the novel, and it was built as a place that Jia Yuenchun, the imperial concubine and also Boayu's older sister, could go and visit her family in. After being chosen as royal concubine because of her wisdom and virtue, the imperial government made it lawful for her to visit her family once a month. So, the Jia family needed a place, both clean and pure, that she could stay in when she comes to visit. Therefore, the quality of the work and intricacy of the construction of it was fit for royalty. Furthermore, because it was only necessary for an imperial concubine to visit her family only once a month, they considered it a waste of beauty and decided it would be a perfect home for Baoyu and the rest of the girls in the Jia family. However, this happens to go against popular practice of the time. Baoyu, a boy at that age, was not supposed to be living alone with those girls. Popular practice at the time was largely influenced by Confucianism. Confucianism is also made up of many other topics such as feudalistic orders in society such as people honoring their positions in society, virtue, honor, etc…

The garden is an elaborate building built by the Jia family in order to house the newly appointed imperial concubine, which happens to be Baoyu's older sister. The construction of this garden was very meticulous and there was a lot of effort put into creating it. Therefore, after the sister Yuanchun's visit, she decreed that the garden should not be wasted,