Dream of the Red Chamber

Author: Cao Xueqin (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Dream of the Red Chamber depicts the tragic love and marriage of the feudal aristocratic youth Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai, and centers on the rise and fall of the four major families—Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue—representative of the era, with the Jia family being the focal point. It exposes the darkness and evils of the late feudal society, as well as its irreconcilable internal contradictions, delivering a powerful critique of the decadent feudal ruling class and the collapsing feudal system, leaving readers with a sense of its inevitable downfall. This book is a great work of both high ideological depth and high artistic achievement. From the ideological perspective it reflects, the author demonstrates preliminary democratic thoughts, critically examining the darkness of the real society, including the courts and officialdom, the corruption of the feudal aristocratic class and their families, the feudal imperial examination system, marriage system, servant system, and hierarchical system, as well as the corresponding social ruling ideology—Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism—as well as social moral concepts. The author also proposes faint yet preliminary democratic ideals and proposals. These ideals and proposals are a subtle reflection of the budding factors of capitalist economic development at the time.