Chinese Lantern Festival and "Dream of the Red Chamber" aka "Story of the Stone"
Details
Let's go to the Chinese Lantern Festival in Franklin Square! What could be better to pair this event with than reading one of China's greatest novels - "Dream of the Red Chamber." Let's plan to meet at 6:00pm for dinner and book discussion in Chinatown and then stroll over to Franklin Square in time to catch the first show.
FESTIVAL LOCATION: Franklin Square, Philadelphia http://historicphiladelphia.org/chineselanternfestival/
Historians believe that the Chinese first began making the now traditional lanterns during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220). There are a number of legends as to why the lanterns developed such cultural popularity in China. You can read about them here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantern_Festival In addition to the stunning lantern displays, the festival features a variety of Chinese entertainment and art, including contortion, acrobatics, face changing, martial arts, folk dancing and more. The first show of the night is at 7:30pm.
Tickets are $18 adults, $12 children (ages 3-12; 2 and under are free), $16 students (13-17 and with current student ID), $16 seniors (65+) and military (with ID). You will pay on your own at the event.
THE BOOK: "Dream of the Red Chamber"
Dream of the Red Chamber, also called The Story of the Stone, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was written some time in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing dynasty. Long considered a masterpiece of Chinese literature, the novel is generally acknowledged to be the pinnacle of Chinese fiction.
The first part of the story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, and his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents' choice of a wife for him, and the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing fortunes of the Jia family, this rich, magical work sets worldly events - love affairs, sibling rivalries, political intrigues, even murder - within the context of the Buddhist understanding that earthly existence is an illusion and karma determines the shape of our lives.
The Story of the Stone https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/BVJ/story-of-the-stone or on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RI9D1K/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
The discussion will focus on volume 1.
DINNER: Dim Sum Garden
http://www.dimsumgardenphilly.com/
Chef Shizhou Da, founder and head chef, specializes in making fresh, homemade Shanghai style dimsum. She is 5th generation to one of the original chefs who created the very first xiao long bao (soup dumpling) in China.