lit 127.1 paper stone

8/13/2019 Lit 127.1 Paper Stone

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Miguel Antonio Alfredo V. Luarca

Dr. Max Pulan

Lit 127.1 A

September 6, 2013

Grandmother Jias Kindness: Aristocratic Ideology in Chapter 29 of The Story of the Stone

In order to facilitate a discussion of the upper-class, aristocratic ideologies present in the

Chinese novel The Story of the Stoneby Cao Xueqin, I here choose to read and focus on the

rather mundanePro Viventibustrip of the Rongguo household and their visit to the Taoist temple

featured in Chapter 29, Volume 2 of the novel. Though not as dramatically eventful as the other

chapters, Chapter 29 affords us a detailed view of the different social strata involved in the status

quo that operates within the household, the relationships implied by the different characters

behavior, and perhaps an opportunity for one to discern how the intimate point-of-view which

the Narrator enjoys allows us, the Readers, to be aware of, and perhaps complicit to, the

aristocratic ideology that permits or forbids each maneuvering within this microcosm of Chinese

society (in so far as we grant that the Rongguo household is a representative example of Chinese

society as a whole, at least based on the reality represented in Cao Xueqins masterpiece). The

aim here is to try to expose this aristocratic ideology through an inductive reading of the

quotidian practices featured in this chapterrealizations which may lend perspective to the later

actions of the characters.

When the long procession comprised of Grandmother Jias palanquin, and the retinue of

relatives, maids, and duennas finally arrive at the Taoist temple, Xi-feng, one of Grandmother

Jias more important granddaughters,is accidentally hit by a young Taoist acolyte who wanted to


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hurriedly exit the premises, in concordance to the aristocratic belief that Taoist monks were

deemed socially inferior by the upper classes. The boy is hit on the face by Xi-feng and the other

women of the Rongguo retinue, but Grandmother Jia reproaches them, and orders for the poor

acolyte to be shown charity instead. In this instance, our modern sensibilities will have to

sympathize with the poor acolyte, equally admire the generosity and mercy he was dealt with by

Grandmother Jia, who is no less than the matriarch of the entire royal household, and admonish

the social backwardness exhibited by Xi-feng and the other ladies of the court.

Another scene that displays Grandmother Jias kindness and equanimity can be seen

when the Taoist abbot, Zhang, informs her of a most attractive young lady (1827) whom he

proposes as a viable wife for Bao-yu. Though the young lady cannot match Bao-yu in terms of

family wealth, Grandmother Jia welcomes the suggestion, stating that Money is no problem. Its

looks and character that count. (1828) Furthermore, the very fact that Abbot Zhang is welcome

to deal freely with the royal family, despite being a Taoist monk, especially because of his

familiarity with the matriarch, speaks of how the character of Grandmother Jia, despite being at

the top of this social structure (therefore is most expected to abide by, and protect the rules of the

social game, so to speak) exhibits the most frequent predilection towards softening the rigors of

this very hierarchy. Being at the crown of the social order, she is enabled by her stature to

implement social short-cuts (as when shed rather Bao-yu present himself to the Taoist monks to

show off the jade relic, instead of lending it to Abbot Zhang so that Bao-yu would need not be

bothered nor endure the heat and effluvia of the poor monks) and even blatant defiance of

unwritten laws between upper and lower class (very obvious when she orders her duennas to

treat the Taoist acolyte kindly, instead of punishing him for being in their presence).


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These shows of kindness are narrated in very intimate and detailed terms by the Narrator

of the novel. Grandmother Jias behavior lies in stark contrast to other aristocratic figures just

slightly below her, such as the cantankerous Cousin Zhen who is willing to humiliate his very

son in front of everyone just for presuming to be cool while [he, i.e. Cousin Zhen]

wassweating outside in the sun. (1825) Another is Bao-yu, who becomes angered at being put

on the spot by Abbot Zhengs marriage proposal, to a young lady of a poorer ilk. We can see

here that despite the middle echelon of the household being run by men and women of starker,

clearer aristocratic dispositionsexemplified by Xi-fengs admonishment of the acolyte, Cousin

Zhengs public humiliation of his son, the many political maneuverings done by the myriad

maids in search of higher positions within the household government at the top of it all is the

charitable spirit of Grandmother Jia, a sense of detachment from the stringency of social

hierarchies, a fine attunement to the needs and desires of individuals with little to no

consideration of their social background.

But there is something quite curious about how this very positive portrayal of

Grandmother Jia by the narrator is subtly compromised by what the narrator leaves out in the

novel.

One of the prime reasons for the suddentPro Viventibustrip to the Taoist temple is for

the viewing of the performance of religious plays. One of the plays selected for performance was

The South Branch by Tang Hsien-tsu. It is very interesting to note how Grandmother Jia

reacts to this bit of theatrical selection:

Grandmother Jia was silent. She knew that The South Branchlikens the world to

an ant-heap and tells a tale of power and glory which turns out in the end to havebeen a dream

Our record omits any description of that ceremony (1830)


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Now, this omission may very well be an innocent lapse in the narrators part, only in

order to further the plot without needlessly encumbering the story with quotidian details.

Besides, the mentioning of this play, to the original Chinese readers, would have served allusive

and evocative enough to complete its signification. But this silence on Grandmother Jias part is

very intriguing, especially when juxtaposed against the narrators surprising elaboration with

regard to the meaning of this specific play: power and glory which turns out in the end to have

been a dream.

It would be an endless discussion should one attempt to guess the contents of

Grandmother Jias pregnant pause. But perhaps this silence is a means for the narrator to lend

perspective to our understanding of Grandmother Jias character, and by extension, to our

apprehension of the latent social ideology to which she, as matriarch, serves as its metonymy.

Her very authority to create these social short-cuts, to dispel the rigors of the social hierarchy, are

by themselves parts of the very ideology that allows the likes of Cousin Zheng, Xhi-feng and

others to negotiate with the lower class in such a manner within the perimeters of the power-play

in the Rongguo household. Though the Taoist belief in the ephemerality of power and glory lies

at the heart of aristocratic philosophy (thus, in the aristocratic ideology), social status and

birthright must perforce hold sway if only because of societal exigencies such as social

positioning and privilege. It is thus very useful to remember that the narrative of the Jia

household is structured as to anticipate its eventual downfall. Grandmother Jias silence, then, is

a tense moment of self-reflection, self-awareness and perhaps of self-critiquingthe aristocratic

class is dumbfounded at its own transitory, ephemeral state. It preserves itself through power and

glory, while being very much aware of the implications of the adage,sic transit gloria mundi, all

the glories in the world must pass.

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