Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
Granny Liu Visits the Grand View Garden
刘姥姥进大观园
Granny Liu Visits the Grand View Garden (刘姥姥进大观园, Liú lǎolao jìn Dàguānyuán) is a story from the Chinese classic by Cao Xueqin, retold in simple Mandarin as a 6-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 4 (Upper intermediate).
Retold from Cao Xueqin's classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber: a poor country granny visits the grandest family in the city, and her honest laugh wins over everyone, from a sharp-tongued lady to a grand old matriarch.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — The warm storyteller who sets the scene.
- Granny Liu · 刘姥姥 — A poor, quick-witted country granny who charms the grandest family in the city.
- Gouer · 狗儿 — Granny Liu's worried son-in-law, a poor farmer.
- Xifeng · 凤姐 — The sharp, witty young lady who runs the Jia household.
- Grandmother Jia · 贾母 — The kind, cheerful matriarch of the Jia family.
- Baoyu · 宝玉 — Grandmother Jia's favorite grandson, a curious, gentle boy.
- Yuanyang · 鸳鸯 — Grandmother Jia's clever, playful head maid.
- Xiren · 袭人 — Baoyu's gentle, sensible maid.
- Little Maid · 小丫头 — A young maid who worries that Granny Liu will get lost.
- Zhou Rui's Wife · 周瑞家的 — A servant of the Jia house who knows Granny Liu of old.
6 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: Nothing to Eat
没饭吃
A freezing winter, an empty rice jar, and one stubborn old woman with a plan. Granny Liu knocks on the door of the richest family she knows.
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Chapter 2: Melons and a Story
瓜和故事
Granny Liu keeps her promise and returns with the biggest melons in the village. Then she tells a story that leaves the whole Jia family begging for the ending.
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Chapter 3: A Feast for a Clown
开心的午饭
Xifeng and Yuanyang plan a joke for lunch, but Granny Liu is already in on it. Then a pigeon egg rolls across the table, and nobody can stop laughing.
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Chapter 4: The Ten-Chicken Eggplant
十只鸡的茄子
A boat ride on the lotus pond, a dish that tastes like nothing Granny Liu has ever eaten, and one cup of wine too many.
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Chapter 5: Lost in the Garden
迷路了
Tipsy Granny Liu strolls off alone into the huge garden. She takes a wrong turn, greets a strange old woman, and finds a very soft bed.
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Chapter 6: Baoyu's Bed
宝玉的床
Xiren finds a snoring stranger in Baoyu's bed, and Granny Liu must decide whether to hide what she did or tell the truth.
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Key words in Granny Liu Visits the Grand View Garden
Behind the story
This story is retold from the great Chinese novel 红楼梦 (Dream of the Red Chamber), written by Cao Xueqin in the eighteenth century. It follows the rise and fall of the rich Jia family, and Chinese readers know it as one of the four classic novels, often taught in school and studied for a lifetime.
Granny Liu is the book's warmest comic character. A poor country woman among silk and jade, she plays the fool on purpose, and she leaves with silver, laughter and the family's real affection. Her two visits to the 大观园 (Grand View Garden) are among the most loved scenes in Chinese literature, and 刘姥姥 has become a nickname for anyone who is amazed by a very grand place.
Did you know?
- The novel is also called 石头记 (The Story of the Stone), and the study of it even has its own name, 红学 ("Redology").
- The Grand View Garden was built for a visit by an imperial concubine, and it has lakes, bridges, bamboo groves and small courtyards.
- Real Chinese readers still quote Granny Liu's funny remarks, and the expression "刘姥姥进大观园" means someone seeing a very grand place for the first time.