Chapter 19 of Hung Lou Meng — Book I is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Hung Lou Meng — Book I is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
His Majesty shows magnanimous bounty. The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents. The happiness of a family gathering. Pao-yue displays his polished talents. But let us resume our story.
Chapter 19 of Hung Lou Meng — Book I is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or enlisting in the military
From this reading “His Majesty shows magnanimous bounty.”
keep company with; hang out with
From this reading “The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.”
plural of “display” — something intended to communicate a particular impression
From this reading “Pao-yue displays his polished talents.”
noble and generous in spirit
From this reading “His Majesty shows magnanimous bounty.”
plural of “pay” — something that remunerates
From this reading “The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.”
take up or begin anew
From this reading “But let us resume our story.”
plural of “talent” — natural abilities or qualities
From this reading “Pao-yue displays his polished talents.”
the basic unit of money in China
From this reading “The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or enlisting in the military
From this reading His Majesty shows magnanimous bounty.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But let us resume our story.
keep company with; hang out with
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
plural of “display” — something intended to communicate a particular impression
From this reading Pao-yue displays his polished talents.
a social unit living together
From this reading The happiness of a family gathering.
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading The happiness of a family gathering.
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
From this reading The happiness of a family gathering.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His Majesty shows magnanimous bounty.
relating to or associated with an empire
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading But let us resume our story.
noble and generous in spirit
From this reading His Majesty shows magnanimous bounty.
impressiveness in scale or proportion
From this reading His Majesty shows magnanimous bounty.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The happiness of a family gathering.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading But let us resume our story.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pao-yue displays his polished talents.
plural of “parent” — a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
plural of “pay” — something that remunerates
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
perfected or made shiny and smooth
From this reading Pao-yue displays his polished talents.
take up or begin anew
From this reading But let us resume our story.
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading His Majesty shows magnanimous bounty.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading But let us resume our story.
plural of “talent” — natural abilities or qualities
From this reading Pao-yue displays his polished talents.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But let us resume our story.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
the basic unit of money in China
From this reading The Imperial consort Yuan pays a visit to her parents.
Chapter 19 of Hung Lou Meng — Book I by Xueqin Cao holds 255 sentences, grouped into 51 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 19 holds 255 sentences of Hung Lou Meng — Book I, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Hung Lou Meng — Book I by Xueqin Cao exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 255 sentences, grouped into 51 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 19 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Hung Lou Meng — Book I by Xueqin Cao on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6073 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9603 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9603, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 506 minutes of reading across 1215 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hung Lou Meng — Book I section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Hung Lou Meng — Book I to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Hung Lou Meng — Book I, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
