Grassroots Redology Miscellany

Author: Deng Suifu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: This book is a collection of the author's research papers and casual essays on Dream of the Red Chamber and Cao Xueqin over more than two decades. It contains a wealth of content, nearly covering all aspects of Red Studies, and the viewpoints presented are personal insights carefully considered and expressed. The writing style is lively and engaging, appealing to both scholars and general readers. However, overall, the book retains a distinct grassroots cultural flavor, differing from mainstream Red Studies academic works. This collection includes 40 papers and essays written by the author between 1979 and 2003, ranging from research papers and critiques to inscriptions and notes. The content is rich, covering nearly every aspect of Red Studies: the viewpoints are not mere repetitions of others' ideas but personal opinions arrived at after deep reflection; the writing style is vivid and accessible to both scholars and lay readers. To meet the requests of some readers and netizens, I have compiled my research papers and casual essays on Dream of the Red Chamber and Cao Xueqin over the past two decades into this small book for publication. However, I impulsively titled it Grassroots Red Studies Miscellany. The label "grassroots" was not chosen for novelty but rather because it fits the description perfectly. Of course, there is another layer of meaning behind it. In recent years, factionalism and the exclusion of dissenters have escalated in the field of Red Studies. On one hand, I deeply feel that getting entangled in this conflict would be difficult to handle; on the other hand, I am unwilling to give up and leave the field of Red Studies forever. Therefore, I have decided to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Zhou Ruchang and deliberately distance myself from the declining and unfair group, joining a broader and freer camp that truly belongs to me. In fact, this camp has always been vibrant, attracting many followers. Fundamentally, since I entered the field of Red Studies, I have always been a member of this camp. The only difference is that its members have never had a unifying banner or rallying point. But it must be admitted that the number of non-mainstream, non-traditional, and non-professional researchers or enthusiasts who still insist on "fighting their own battles" in the field of Red Studies is as large, their potential as great, and their influence as wide as that of the small "regular army" controlled by those who consider themselves "mainstream." On the other hand, mainstream scholars have never ceased to disdain, look down upon, exclude, and suppress such researchers. The weaker ones have had no choice but to lay down their arms and avoid confrontation; those like me, a bit more stubborn, continue to fight on my own terms but cannot help but be cautious, much like Mr. Zhou Ruchang's former need to "stand sideways" to guard against behind-the-scenes attacks. The fact that the contemporary Red Studies master Mr. Zhou Ruchang furiously declared his "withdrawal from the field of Red Studies" is a clear example, as is the recent cold shoulder and ridicule faced by the renowned writer Liu Xinwu, who has devoted significant effort to Red Studies.