The Story of the Stone: Decoding the Hidden History of the Qing Court

Author: Su Bangsen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: A Dream of the Red Chamber (The Story of the Stone), a work surrounded by much debate and no definitive conclusion. The author examines the geographical orientation of Ning and Rong Mansions and the routes of characters in the novel, concluding that the setting of Dream of the Red Chamber is the Qing imperial palace and inner courtyard during the reigns of Kangxi and Shunzhi. Further substantiating this with historical facts, the author asserts that the novel depicts the hidden history of the Qing court—the Jade of Spiritual Communication is the imperial seal of the nation. The Wildland Rubble Stone (Yuan Seal) alludes to Empress Xiaozhuang as the bloodline inheritor of the Yuan Emperor. The Jade of Spiritual Communication (Qing Seal) alludes to Empress Xiaozhuang as the wife of Emperor Taizong of the Qing. Emperor Shunzhi is the divine messenger of the Void of Emptiness (Qianqing Palace and Winter Palace Beihai), the Qing emperor after the conquest of the Central Plains. The Crimson Pearl Grass alludes to all the revolutionary women in the imperial harem of Emperor Shunzhi, with Dong E's Imperial Noble Consort, who died young at the age of 22, as the foremost example. The Twelve Beauties of Jinling in the main register allude to the seven women in Emperor Shunzhi's harem. The first is Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (Yuanchun, Qin Keqing, Wang Xifeng). The second is the deposed empress Jingfei (Xue Baochai). The third is the posthumously honored Empress Xiaoxian Duanjing (Lin Daiyu). The fourth is the daughter of Dorgon (Jia Zheng, Jia Lian) and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (Wang Furen, Fengjie) (Tanchun and Qiaojie). The fifth is the daughter of Kong Youde and Empress Xiaozhuang's adopted daughter Kong Sizhen (Shi Xiangyun, Miaoyu, and Xichun). The sixth is the fourteenth daughter of Emperor Taizong (Yingchun). The seventh is Kangfei Tongjia (Li Yun), the mother of Emperor Kangxi. "Bones like mountains, names forgotten. None but the gents and ladies"—this is a concise summary of the profound meaning of The Story of the Stone. The Story of the Stone represents two peaks of Chinese civilization in both literature and history over five thousand years. In terms of literary art, it broke the mold of romantic tales of scholars and beauties, depicting the tragedy of human nature and love's destruction, and proposing an ideal of humanism that advocates equality and freedom of love. Within the historical context, it surpasses the Zuo Zhuan of the Spring and Autumn period, faithfully recording the 50-year history of the Ming dynasty's fall and the Qing dynasty's rise, reflecting the struggles and integration of the Manchu, Mongol, and Han ethnic groups, as well as their conflicts and tolerance. It advocates turning swords into plowshares, national unity, and ethnic solidarity. It solves the long-standing problem of how China's multi-ethnic society should coexist, proposing the noble ideals of national peace (Ning Guo) and ethnic prosperity (Rong Guo). The author's thinking has not yet reached the revolutionary height of completely overthrowing the feudal system, but politically advocates constitutional monarchy while economically proposes the new concept of production responsibility (the Guan Garden Reform). Zhen Shiyin alludes to the truth (Zhen Shi) hidden behind the name, while Jia Yucun alludes to the false words (Jia Yu) preserved in the name—regarding the novel and history. Zhen Shiyin alludes to the truth (Zhen Shi) hidden behind the name, while Jia Yucun alludes to the false ignorance (Jia Yu) preserved in the name—regarding Han and Manchu scholars. Zhen Shiyin alludes to the truth (Zhen Shi) hidden behind the name, while Jia Yucun alludes to the false jade (Jia Yu) preserved in the name—regarding the imperial bloodline. All of these aspects can be summarized as—"When false appears as true, true also appears as false; where nothing exists, something appears; where something exists, nothing appears." The ending of The Story of the Stone is—"When false departs and true arrives, true surpasses false; where nothing originally existed, something arises; where something originally existed, nothing arises." This reflects the true ideals and dreams the authors longed for for the restoration. The author of The Story of the Stone believes that Zhen's family (Han) will be restored from the Void of Emptiness to the True Paradise. Jia's family (Manchu) will also see "the orchid return to its fragrance, and the family return to its original state." The Xue family (Wu Sangui) will awaken and protect their descendants. The Feng family (Li Zicheng) will also have "the spring of the Han palace." The 50 years of war, the historical figures of both the winning and losing sides, are all tragic figures. Yet China's future is bright, moving toward unity, solidarity, and light through twists and turns. "What is the essence of Dream of the Red Chamber?"—It is national peace (Ning Guo) and national prosperity (Rong Guo). The masses see "gentlemen and ladies," while historians interpret "bones like mountains," greatly enhancing the value of Dream of the Red Chamber, making it a "Mirror of Wind and Moon" that reflects both sides, a "political and historical novel," and a "comprehensive encyclopedia" of the late feudal society—a classical Chinese novel where "the truth is hidden, and the false remains." Only to recognize the front side of the "Mirror of Wind and Moon" and not the back will greatly reduce the value of Dream of the Red Chamber—a love story with only one side, unable to attract Chinese scholars for three hundred years or make Mao Zedong say "at least read it five times." In the three hundred years since Dream of the Red Chamber's publication, only Chairman Mao Zedong truly understood its thematic essence. Standing at the height of politics, military, history, philosophy, and literary art, he saw that the love stories in Dream of the Red Chamber were "false words" (Jia Yucun), while the Manchu-Han ethnic war and court political struggles were "hidden truths" (Zhen Shiyin). Chairman Mao Zedong pointed out incisively: "Cao Xueqin hid the truth and wrote it with false words (Jia Yucun). The truth is the political key, which cannot be spoken, so it is covered with flirting (love)." After the May Fourth Movement, with the formation of the two major Red Schools by Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi, the busy Chairman Mao Zedong, in the towering posture of a giant, watched the storms of Red Studies for a hundred years.
—The following article references Mao Zedong's Reading and Criticism of Five Classical Novels by Xu Zhongyuan (Huawen Press, January 1991 edition)
Chairman Mao Zedong used the famous line from Lin Daiyu—"Either the east wind will suppress the west wind, or the west wind will suppress the east wind"—during his visit to the Soviet Union.
—In my opinion, Chairman Mao Zedong summarized the relationship between the rise and fall of forces within a political camp and the rise and fall of forces between different political groups. This is historical materialism and dialectics of nature.
Chairman Mao Zedong used Wang Xifeng's line to Liu Laolao—"Greatness brings great difficulties"—to explain that even big countries are not easy to manage. Especially Wang Xifeng's famous line: "Willing to shed the skin, dare to pull down the emperor!"
—In my opinion, whether it is Liu Laolao or Wang Xifeng, their words and deeds are related to the fate of a nation, even involving the overthrow of one dynasty by another in history.
Chairman Mao Zedong said at the March 1, 1957 meeting of the highest state affairs conference: "Dream of the Red Chamber depicts a very detailed social and historical picture. Not only should it be read as a novel, but also as history." Later he said: "Dream of the Red Chamber contains extremely rich social historical materials." "I read Dream of the Red Chamber as history. At first, I read it as a story, then as history."
—In my opinion, Chairman Mao Zedong's method of reading and studying Dream of the Red Chamber has universal guiding significance for all lovers of the novel.
Chairman Mao Zedong said in a conversation with several philosophers at Beidaihe on August 18, 1964: "I have read Dream of the Red Chamber at least five times." As for the most, he did not say. The author of this book believes that Chairman Mao is a truly knowledgeable red scholar and an appreciator of Chinese traditional culture. In the past century, many red scholars or great writers have been influenced by Hu Shi or other foreign cultures, admiring the so-called "tragic beauty" and "tragic knot" of Europe and America. However, the tragic beauty and tragic knot of Europe and America are composed of twenty-three letters. Originally a vast country of the Slavic or Germanic language system, due to population movement, separated by mountains or rivers, with different pronunciations, the written characters differ, leading to division, independence, smaller and smaller countries, being bullied by larger powers, and generations of families being ruined and couples being separated, thus forming tragic beauty and tragic knot. China is a vast country unified by more than 80,000 pictographic characters, with thousands of different pronunciations across regions, written as characters, completely unified at home and abroad, and written and rewritten, resulting in the great integration, unity, and unification of the Chinese ethnic groups, eventually forming the beauty of reunion and the reunion knot.
The author of The Code of the Story of the Stone—Hidden History of the Qing Court believes that the 120 chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber is a perfect whole, and the last 40 chapters are the supplementary and connected fragments of the original manuscript, not Gao E's "dog's tail appending the rotten root." Professor Li Xianping of Fudan University's Department of Mathematics used computer research to prove that the writing styles of each chapter in Dream of the Red Chamber belong to different categories, and the different parts were actually written by different authors at different times. Dream of the Red Chamber is the crystallization of collective wisdom, as no single individual could possess such profound historical and literary knowledge. The authors consist of three groups of literati ("mustache"). The first are statesmen, military strategists, and historians who participated in the 19-year anti-Qing armed struggle outside the imperial palace. The second are literati who refused to serve the Qing dynasty and those who had already served it, from the Ming and Southern Ming dynasties. The third are former Ming dynasty personnel serving in the imperial palace. They experienced the three dynasties of Chongde, Shunzhi, and Kangxi, respectively recording the historical stories of the ruling Manchu Qing dynasty (the "women").
The original manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber was The Story of the Stone and The Record of the Passionate Monk—the authors used the story of the Yuan Emperor abandoning the jade seal and transforming it into the Qing imperial seal, focusing on the history of the Ming dynasty's fall and the Qing dynasty's rise ("Because after experiencing a dream, the truth is hidden and the story is written with the 'Communication of the Spiritual Jade,' it is said that 'Zhen Shiyin' and so on."). Later, literati in Beijing and Jiangnan used social and historical materials to supplement and create a love story, becoming The Mirror of Wind and Moon and Dream of the Red Chamber, lamenting the vicissitudes of dynastic change ("But what events and people are recorded in the book? It is also said: 'Now, amidst the dust of the world, I have achieved nothing. Suddenly remembering the women I once had, I carefully examine them, and find that their actions, knowledge, and insights are all superior to mine. How can my dignified 'mustache' be inferior to their 'women'? I am full of shame, but regret is useless, and there is nothing I can do. At this time, I want to compile a collection of the past, when I was favored by heaven and ancestors, wearing fine clothes and luxurious robes, indulging in sweet food and days, forgetting the education of my parents and brothers, and violating the teachings of my teachers and friends, to this day, I have no skills and half a life of misfortune. I will compile a collection to tell the world: my faults are inevitable, but the women in the secluded rooms are indeed clear. I cannot because of my incompetence to protect my own shortcomings and let them all be lost. Although my current thatch-roofed and wicker-walled cottage, with its morning and evening winds and dew, and its courtyard willows and flowers, do not hinder my spirit and writing, although I am unlearned and cannot write, what prevents me from using false words (Jia Yucun) to depict a story, which can also make the secluded rooms known, and please the world, relieve people's worries, and is not it appropriate?" Therefore, it is said that "Jia Yucun" and so on.
Later, the manuscript was handed over to literati in the imperial palace who verified, processed, and organized it for ten years, adding the tragic parts of the women in the imperial harem, "It is not as good as half a lifetime of personal observation and hearing of these women. Although I dare not say they are stronger than all the people in the books of past generations, their deeds and origins can also relieve sorrow and break boredom. There are also a few crooked poems and familiar sayings that can make people laugh and serve wine. As for the separations, joys, sorrows, and the rise and fall of fate, they follow the traces and dare not add embellishments, only to serve as a spectacle for people's eyes and lose the true tradition." becoming The Twelve Beauties of Jinling.
The process of writing Dream of the Red Chamber can be said to be "one voice, two songs; one hand, two scrolls," with one following the other, unprecedented and unparalleled.
"Words of chaos, tears of sorrow! Everyone says the author is mad, who understands the taste within?" History and the novel are wonderfully combined, forcing the concealment of history through the form of a love story, so the timeline and characters' ages in the novel are contradictory and chaotic, full of what contemporary red scholars call "clumsy writing," "coincidences," and "dead knots." From the Void Walker to the Passionate Monk, from Kong Meixi and Wu Yufeng to Cao Xueqin, they overlooked it and did not change it for ten years. Because these "clumsy writing," "coincidences," and "dead knots" are the black box to solve Dream of the Red Chamber, not a single word can be changed—"If it were not for reading extensively, understanding things, and the effort of gaining knowledge and investigating things, as well as the power of understanding the Dao and practicing the mystery, one could not know." The Void Walker, the Passionate Monk, Kong Meixi, Wu Yufeng, and Cao Xueqin are all pseudonyms of the author group of Dream of the Red Chamber.
After the 120 chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber were published as a love story, the strange phenomenon of "the more you study, the more confused you become" appeared, mainly because the historical background and the true identities of the characters in the novel were not clarified—Wang Mengyuan pointed out: "Among the hundreds of people, it is not necessary to assign every role, or to speak of this with that, or to have several people play one role, or to play the latter half first and then the former half, or to use them in this scene and not ask about the next." Due to the participation of many authors and multiple supplements and revisions, the historical figures alluded to by the actors kept changing and increasing, which determined the contradictions and chaos of the characters' ages and timeline in the novel—"The past and the future, do not say that the wise can break through; the cause and the effect, you must know that the close ones do not meet." After Hu Shi's "cutting theory" appeared, Dream of the Red Chamber became the true "labyrinth" and "nightmare" of Chinese literature.
The Code of the Story of the Stone—Hidden History of the Qing Court—is a bold attempt to solve the Red Chamber labyrinth, aiming to cast a stone to draw jade. The hidden history of the Qing court is only one corner of the iceberg of Dream of the Red Chamber, and it is the submerged corner. The literary and artistic part of Dream of the Red Chamber is the of the high mountain. The fatal flaw of The Code of the Story of the Stone—Hidden History of the Qing Court is that it has no time to analyze the brilliant achievements of Dream of the Red Chamber in literary art. It can only wait for the wise. But anyone who wants to analyze and study Dream of the Red Chamber to reach a high level must first clarify the "truth is hidden" and the "false remains." Otherwise, grabbing at straws, it will be like scratching an itch through the boot, chasing the wind and catching the moon, and "the more you study, the more confused you become."