Chapters 1-40

A monk and a Daoist pick up a magic stone. Zhen Shiyin loses his house and family, and wanders off with the Daoist.

Lin Daiyu visits her relatives the Jias’, meeting the household members including matriarch Lady Jia, famed boy Jia Baoyu, who immediately upsets her. The Xue family also move in, including Baochai, whose necklace resembles Baoyu’s precious jade. Daiyu soon receives news of her father’s death, and moves in permanently.

Baoyu is shown a register of destinies in a dream. He strikes up a friendship with Qin Zhong; they are both bullied at school, making Qin’s sister ill. She dies; his father dies suddenly of shame after Qin tries to seduce a nun’s disciple, and Qin dies soon after. Meanwhile, Xifeng has cruelly led an admirer on, and he dies after a period of delerium.

Baoyu’s sister Yuanchun, an Imperial concubine, visits. A new residence and garden are constructed in her honour. Baoyu provides some of the inscriptions for the garden, which she is delighted with and names Prospect Garden.

Baoyu’s maid Aroma gets ill; he, Daiyu and Baochai develop a bickering but friendly relationship. They argue at Baochai’s birthday party; he gets drunk and composes an emotional poem, which they tease him about in the morning. On Yuanchun’s orders, Baoyu and the girls move into the Garden together, and they get closer. Baoyu and Daiyu read romances and bury flowers together by a weir, and she is upset when he spends time alone with Baochai; he notices Daiyu’s standoffishness and finds her weeping by the flowers’ grave. They work out their misunderstandings, but tensions remain.

Meanwhile, Baoyu’s half brother Huan has scalded him after he flirts with Huan’s maid. Baoyu and Xifeng suffer strange, raving illnesses, and are cured by a monk. He meets actor Jiang Yuhan at a party. Baoyu and Daiyu continue to quarrel while concealing their true emotions after Baoyu picks up a trinket for his cousin Xiangyun, and Daiyu destroys a present she has made for him. Baochai’s testiness causes the awkwardness to resurface.

Daiyu is upset to hear Baoyu bond with Aroma and Xiangyun, and Baoyu blurts out an emotional speech intended for her to Aroma. A maid who Baoyu tried to seduce has killed herself, and Jiang Yuhan goes missing. Baoyu’s father Zheng beats him senseless, stopping only after Baoyu’s mother Lady Wang makes desperate remonstrances. Aroma and Baochai tend to him; Daiyu writes a poem after he sends her some handkerchiefs, and he recuperates playing in the Garden.

Cousin Tanchun proposes a poetry club. All are enthusiastic, and arrange regular meetings after the first competition. Xiangyun and Baochai arranges a very drunken crab and cassia party and poetry competition. Country cousin Grannie Liu arrives. Baoyu sends his page in search of a temple she talks about, but he can’t find it. Grannie Liu’s rustic and uncouth ways are soundly mocked at Xiangyun’s rowdy farewell party.

Chapter 40 - supercondensed

At Xiangyun’s farewell party, Grannie Liu is soundly mocked and is the subject of an extensive practical joke, causing much mirth. They watch the actresses from punts, move to Baochai’s bare apartment, and play drinking games.

Chapter 40

史太君两宴大观园

金鸳鸯三宣鸦牌令

Baoyu arrives at Grandmother Jia’s to find them already deeply discussing the arrangements for Xiangyun’s farewell party. Baoyu suggestion of an informal party is accepted. The next morning, Li Wan supervises the arrangements, which Grannie Liu interrupts; Xifeng dresses her up, causing laughter, as does Liu’s earnestness in expressing her delight at the garden and Xichun’s painting. The ladies are touring garden: Grannie Liu slips outside the Naiad’s House causing more mirth. Daiyu serves the party tea, and Grannie Liu is impressed, thinking it a man’s study. Grandmother Jia notices the gauze on the windows is faded, and they discuss gauze materials at length. They leave Daiyu and, as the punts are out, they punt across the lake and have lunch en masse at Tanchun’s.

Xifeng and Faithful continue mocking Grannie Liu, to Li Wan’s annoyance, and they have concocted a set of practical jokes. Faithful takes Liu aside to ‘brief’ her on mealtime decorum, as she is to sit with Grandmother Jia. As the food arrives delivers a comical grace with determination and, after a moment of silence, everyone is convulsed with laughter, which only continues as she attempts to eat pigeon’s eggs with extremely heavy chopsticks. Jia has already identified Xifeng as the culprit. Later, Xifeng and Faithful apologise, but Liu is sincere in her compliments regarding the family’s breeding and etiquette. Xifeng (as a married woman) and the maids then eat, with Liu present; there is an awful lot of food left over. They move to join the others in Tanchun’s stylish apartment; Liu disciplines the ever-bolder Baner for touching everything. They hear the actresses rehearsing, and summon them to play to them from across the water. They leave, and get in the punts; Xifeng insists on punting but struggles and hands over to one of the Suzhou boatwomen they have imported. Baoyu and Daiyu discuss poetry as they all head to Allspice Court. It is extremely fragrant, but Baochai’s apartment is stark and bare and Grandmother Jia asks Faithful to supply some ornaments before berating Xifeng, even though Baochai had wanted it this way. Grandmother Jia declaims on taste and girls, and insists that Faithful supply certain objects.

They move on to a drinking party, and Grandmother Jia suggests drinking games, with Faithful as MC. Grannie Liu tries to leave, but is compelled to stay. The game involves dominoes, poetry and rhyming. Baoyu notices Daiyu using lines from ‘the Western Chamber’. They all laugh at Grannie Liu’s attempts.

Chapter 39 - supercondensed

Patience joins the drinking with gusto. Grannie Liu has arrived; she takes tea with Lady Jia and has a bath before Baoyu probes some of her anecdotes, later sending Tealeaf off in search of a place she describes. He gets angry when he can’t find it.

Chapter 39

村老老是信口开河

情哥哥偏寻根究底

Patience has come to collect some crab for Xifeng; Li Wan makes her sit and drink while an old woman takes the crabs. Xifeng sends back some more food in return, along with a jokey message for Patience. She starts drinking with gusto, and Li Wan embraces, tickles and compliments her, and the others join in. They discuss how well-matched all the maids and mistresses are in turn. Li Wan starts getting emotional, and the party breaks up for them to call on Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang. Aroma and Patience discuss the late payment of their allowances – Patience tells her about Xifeng’s financial investments and offers to lend her some, which is refused. Patience finds Grannie Liu and Baner at Xifeng’s – they have come to offer the first fruits of a good harvest to the house. Zhou Rui reports that Grandmother Jia had heard of Grannie Liu’s arrival and had asked to talk to her; Grannie Liu is reluctant, but persuaded. On the way, Patience allows a page whose mother is ill to take the day off. Grannie Liu is intimidated by all the ladies when she enters for her interview. She and Grandmother Jia talk about old age, and Liu is invited to stay longer. They take tea and chat further with Baner plays with the pages. Later, Liu is given a bath (which she puts up with) and returns to the others, telling them about country life, and embellishing some of the anecdotes somewhat. The maids report that a fire has broken out in the stables, but is under control. After a brief drama, Baoyu questions Grannie Liu on some of the finer details, to no avail – she continues her stories. Baoyu is still unsatisfied, and discusses possibilities for Xiangyun’s leaving party with Tanchun. Daiyu teases him, making everyone laugh. Afterwards, Baoyu is able to corner Grannie Liu again, and tests her inventiveness. Eventually, she makes up details about the locations of the places described, and Baoyu, wanting to investigate further, sends Tealeaf off on an errand there related to her story about a wood thief. He returns very late, having found what he was looking for, but saying the directions were completely wrong; Baoyu puts this down to Grannie Liu’s age. He’s angry, though, that Tealeaf didn’t find the beautiful wood thief in the temple but an ugly plague god, hurting his feelings. He promises Tealeaf ample rewards if he can find the place described. Baoyu is summoned by one of Grandmother Jia’s maids.

Chapter 38 - supercondensed

Xiangyun and Baochai arrange a very drunken crab and cassia party, followed by a chrysanthemum-themed poetry competition, won by Daiyu. Inspired, they continue composing poetry.

Chapter 38

林潇湘魁夺菊花诗

薛蘅芜讽和螃蟹咏

Xiangyun invites the senior ladies to a cassia viewing at the Lotus pavilion, with Baochai’s help. Grandmother Jia reflects on a childhood accident in a similar pavilion, and Xifeng teases her – Lady Jia laughs at her cheekiness. They sit with the girls and Baoyu for some tea, and Xifeng prepares the crabs, refusing to let Xiangyun look after the guests – some of the maids are invited to eat while she prepares. When Xifeng attends to them, they make her down three cups of wine and banters with Faithful. In all the bantering, Patience ends up smearing crab all over Xifeng’s face, and the jollity spreads across the tables. The party breaks up and they get on with the poetry, pinning up the titles. Daiyu is fishing, maids drinking, as they gradually divide up and all twelve poems. Li Wan declares Daiyu the winner, and they admire each other’s verse at length. Baoyu declares himself to have come last again. The party continues and, inspired, Baoyu writes a quick poem on the subject of cassias and crabs; Daiyu criticises it and writes her own. She tears it up before Baoyu praises it, declaring it worse than his. Baochai writes one, which all agree is the definitive poem on the subject of eating crabs. Patience arrives back in the garden.