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Dream of the Red Chamber (Honglou meng)

Cao Xueqin, c. 1760 (trans. David Hawkes and John Minford as The Story of the Stone, Penguin Classics, 1973–1986)

Description

One of the four great classical Chinese novels. The Nine Linked Rings appears as a pastime of Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu — a literary testament to the puzzle's place in the material culture of the Qing elite.

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Contributed

The Academy · May 27, 2026

Discussion

What does this material reveal? Where else does it lead?