Dream of the Red Chamber 红楼梦 |
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![]() "The Story of the Stone" redirects here. For Barry Hughart's fantasy novel on ancient China, see The Story of the Stone (Barry Hughart). Dream of the Red Chamber, The Red Chamber Dreams or A Dream of Red Mansions (红楼梦Hónglóu mèng), also known as The Story of the Stone (石头记Shítóu jì) is one of the masterpieces of Chinese fiction and one of the Chinese Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed sometime in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is attributed to Cáo Xuěqín (Cao Zhan). ![]() The novel is remarkable not only for its huge cast of characters (most of them female) and psychological scope, but also for its precise and detailed observation of the life and social structures typical of 18th-century Chinese aristocracy. Plot summary A scene from the story, painted by Xu Bao (born 1810). Other scenes.The novel provides a detailed, episodic record of the two branches of the Jia Clan, the Ning-guo and Rong-guo Houses, who reside in two large adjacent family compounds in the capital. Their ancestors were made Dukes, and as the novel begins the two houses remain among the most illustrious families in the capital. The novel describes the Jias' wealth and influence in great naturalistic detail, and charts the Jias' fall from the height of their prestige, following some thirty main characters and over four hundred minor ones. Eventually the Jia Clan falls into disfavor with the Emperor, and their mansions are raided and confiscated. ![]() The story's preface has supernatural Taoist and Buddhist overtones. A sentient Stone, abandoned by the Goddess Nüwa when she mended the heavens aeons ago, begs a Taoist priest and Buddhist monk to bring it to see the world, falls in love with a Crimson Pearl Flower, and then enters the mortal realm. The main character, Jia Baoyu, is the adolescent heir of the family, possibly a reincarnation of the Stone (although in the most reliable Jiaxu manuscript the Stone and Jia Baoyu are separate while related). The Crimson Pearl Flower is incarnated now as Baoyu's sickly cousin, the emotional Lin Daiyu. Baoyu is predestined in this life to marry another cousin, Xue Baochai. This love triangle against the backdrop of the family's declining fortunes forms the most well-known plot line in the novel. Themes ![]() The novel is normally called Hong Lou Meng or Hung Lou Meng (红楼梦), literally "Red Mansion Dream." "Red Mansion" was an idiom for the sheltered chambers where the daughters of wealthy families lived. It can also be understood as referring to a dream that Baoyu has, set in a "Red Mansion," where the fates of many of the female characters are foreshadowed. "Red" also suggests the Buddhist idea that the whole world is "red dust" (红尘), merely illusory and to be shunned. Thus the novel fits in perfectly with Buddhist (佛) and Taoist (道) beliefs that to find enlightenment, one must realize that the world is but a dream from which we must awake. The Masters and Mistresses Jia Baoyu (贾宝玉): the main ![]() Lin Daiyu (林黛玉): Jia Baoyu's first cousin and love interest. She is the daughter of Lin Ruhai (林如海), a Yangzhou scholar-official, and Lady Jia Min (贾敏), Baoyu's paternal aunt. The novel ![]() Xue Baochai (薛宝钗): Jia Baoyu's other first cousin. The only daughter of Aunt Xue (薛姨媽), ![]() Jia Yuanchun (贾元春): Baoyu's elder sister by about a decade. Originally one of the ladies-in- ![]() Jia Tanchun (贾探春): Baoyu's younger half-sister, by ![]() Shi Xiangyun (史湘云): Jia Baoyu's second cousin, Grandmother Jia's grand-niece. Orphaned in infancy, she grows up under her wealthy maternal uncle and aunt who use her unkindly. In spite of this Xiangyun is openhearted and cheerful. A co ![]() Wang Xifeng (王熙凤), alias Sister Feng (凤姐) - Baoyu's elder Cousin-in-law, young wife to Jia Lian (who is Baoyu's paternal first cousin), niece to Lady Wang. Xifeng is hence related to Baoyu both by blood and marriage. An extremely handsome woman, Xifeng is capable, clever, amusing and at times, vicious and cruel. Undeniably the most worldly of the women in the novel, Xifeng is in charge of the daily running of the Rongguo household and wields remarkable economic as well as political power within the family. Being a favorite niece of Lady Wang, Xifeng keeps both Lady Wang and Grandmother Jia entertained w ![]() The maids and bond servants The names of the maids and bondservants are given in the original pinyin and in David Hawkes' translation. Ping'er (平儿, Patience) - Xifeng's chief maid and personal confidante; ![]() Xiren (袭人, "Invading Fragrance", Aroma) - Baoyu's principle maid and his unofficial concubine. ![]() Qingwen (晴雯, Skybright) - Baoyu's other handmaiden. Brash, haughty and the most beautiful maid in the household, Qingwen is said to resemble Daiyu very strongly. Of all of ![]() Textual controversy The textual problems of the novel are extremely complex and have been the subject of much critical scrutiny, debate and conjecture in modern times. Cao did not live to publish his novel, and only hand-copied manuscripts survived after his death until 1791, when the first printed ![]() Early versions The novel, published up till the 20th century, was anonymous. Since the twentieth century, after Hu Shi's analyses, it is generally agreed Cao Xueqin wrote the first 80 chapters of the novel. Up until 1791, the novel circulated merely in scribal transcripts. These early hand-copied versions end abruptly at the latest at the 80th chapter. The earlier ones furthermore contain transcribed comments and annotations from unknown commentators in red ink. These commentators' remarks reveal much about the author in person, and it is now believed some may even be members of Cao Xueqin's own family. The most prominent commentator is Rouge Inkstone (胭脂斋), who revealed much of the interior structuring of the work and the original MS ending, now lost. These MS are the most textually reliable versions, known amongst scholars as "Rouge versions" (脂本). Even ![]() According to novel's first chapter, Cao Xueqin revised his novel five times and died before he had finished the fifth version. To compound this problem, parts of the latter chapters of the book were lost, so we only have 80 chapters that are definitively written by the author. The early 80 chapters brim with prophecies and dramatic foreshadowings which also give hints as to how the book would continue. For example, it is obvious that Lin Daiyu will eventually die in the course of the novel; that Baoyu and Baochai will marry; that Baoyu will become a monk; various characters will suffer in the snow; and that the whole estate will finally be consumed by flames. Most modern critical editions have the first 80 chapters based on the Rouge versions.
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