Illustrated Chinese Classical Novel Series -- Qing Dynasty Illustrated Complete "Dream of the Red Chamber" (Complete Three Volumes)

Author: Cao Xueqin (Qing Dynasty) / Gao E (Qing Dynasty); Drawn by Sun Wen and Sun Yunmo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: The art of Chinese (picture scrolls) has existed since the Western Han Dynasty. It matured with the widespread use of lithography in the late Qing Dynasty. After the 1930s, influenced by the techniques of sound films, "living" —picture scrolls with speaking characters—began to appear in large numbers, with themes becoming increasingly diverse, appealing to a broad audience, including adults. Among these, the most influential works were those based on famous historical novels, especially those from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The artistic achievement of Dream of the Red Chamber’s language represents the pinnacle of classical Chinese novelistic language. The author often needed only a few words to sketch vivid characters with distinct personalities. Every typical character’s language in the novel possesses unique individuality, enabling readers to distinguish characters simply by their speech. The author’s narrative language also demonstrates exceptional artistic expression. The poetry, songs, and couplets in the novel not only blend seamlessly with the narrative but also serve to shape the characters’ personalities, achieving the ideal of "poetry reflecting the person." Due to these outstanding accomplishments, Dream of the Red Chamber has a fresh and original character, both in its ideological content and artistic techniques, possessing enduring artistic charm and standing firmly among the world’s literary masterpieces without falling short.
The illustrations in this book are selected from the complete Dream of the Red Chamber picture scroll drawn by Sun Wen and Sun Yunmo (Qing Dynasty) at the Lushun Museum. The original scroll contains 230 panels, with silk paintings measuring 43.3 cm in height and 76.6 cm in width. The scroll is bound in a fan-style format, consisting of 24 volumes, with one blank volume and the remaining 23 volumes each mounted with 10 paintings. The technique used is meticulous brushwork with colored pigments. The artists’ intention was to vividly depict the key scenes of Dream of the Red Chamber. The paintings bear inscriptions of "Seventy-three-year-old Runzai Sun Wen" and "Jianyang Sun Yunmo," as well as seals of "Jianyang Sun Wen," "Runzai," "Sun Yunmo," and "Xiaozhou."
It is puzzling that the style of the paintings depicting the last 40 chapters of the original Dream of the Red Chamber slightly differs from the first 80 chapters, mirroring the novel’s own inconsistencies. The last 40 chapters, which were "tacked on" by Gao E, have long been criticized by later scholars. The paintings’ "change in expression" adds another layer of mystery: was it intentional, or mere coincidence? Before being mounted into volumes, the 10 panels depicting chapters 103 to 108 were lost. With regret, while compiling illustrations for this book, we had to adopt a "transplanting flowers to fill gaps" approach to piece together six chapters, hoping for your understanding.