Dream of the Red Chamber

Author: Cao Xueqin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Dream of the Red Chamber is the pinnacle of human relationship novels since the Ming and Qing dynasties and also the peak of Chinese ancient novel art. From the moment it was published, it was beloved by readers, who fought to purchase this captivating novel at high prices, reaching the point where it was said, "If you don’t talk about Dream of the Red Chamber when you start a conversation, even if you read all the books in the world, it’s all in vain." In the history of Chinese novel art, Dream of the Red Chamber both marked the end of an era and ushered in a new one. At the same time, Dream of the Red Chamber is closely tied to Chinese national culture, and whenever people mention this masterpiece, they naturally think of Chinese national culture. The original title of Dream of the Red Chamber is The Story of the Stone, and it also has other names such as Twelve Beauties of Jinling. The entire book is set against the backdrop of the four great families—Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue—and follows the tragic love story between Bao and Dai as its main thread, narrating the intricate and complex relationships and conflicts between father and son, brothers, wives, concubines, masters, and servants in the Jia family’s prosperous and Ning branches in terms of marriage, morality, culture, education, and property. It truthfully and typically reflects the life of declining aristocracy in the feudal society, recreating a social landscape of the late feudal era: the darkness of politics, the corruption of the bureaucracy, the decline of social morals, and the corruption of the human heart. The entire book is like a prism, condensing a microcosm of the society at the time, hence it is hailed as an "encyclopedia" for understanding and recognizing various social phenomena of the late feudal society in China. The connotations of Dream of the Red Chamber are vast and profound, encompassing everything; its artistic excellence is flawless, leaving one in awe.