Feasts, Food and Fall of the Aristocratic Jia Family in Honglou meng

Abstract

Drawing upon food studies, this paper undertakes an analysis of the narrative functions of feasts and food in the novel Honglou meng (A Dream of Red Mansions, or The Story of the Stone). These alimentary elements play a vital role in the social bonds between the Jia family and other elite groups, disclosing the complex distribution of power within the Jia household and displaying internal financial issues and the external threats that have exacerbated the fall of this aristocratic family, manifesting the familial and dynastical trajectories from glory to crisis within the novel.