Dream of the Red Chamber

Author: (Ming) Xizhou Sheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Dream of the Red Chamber is a long novel of one hundred chapters written by a person who called himself "Xizhou Sheng" from Shandong during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. It is a novel heavily colored with fatalism. Perhaps the author felt unable to solve or explain various problems in marriage, so finally could only attribute them to past grievances and karmic retribution. Hu Shi said, "This is a realistic novel from the 17th century," which can portray the broad social life, including family life, and "is a rich and detailed cultural historical material." He predicted that scholars studying the social customs, education, and economic history of 17th-century China, as well as those studying political corruption, people's suffering, and religious life in 17th-century China, would definitely have to study this book. The great poet Xu Zhimo gave an artistic interpretation to the author's "realistic mastery": "You see, his brush is like a new film—not only vivid but also full of sound and color." "He has extracted the marrow of all kinds of people from the lower and middle classes for our appreciation, yet he never shows a trace of exhaustion or desperation; he is always calm and leisurely." "He has thoroughly understood human affairs. His material is all ordinary and even foul, but once he works his magic, it all becomes magical." "His paintings are almost as broad as the face of life." Dream of the Red Chamber is also known as Evil, with one hundred chapters, written at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. It is an important novel on marriage and family life, written after Gold Bottle Melody and before Dream of the Red Chamber. The novel has a complete structure and a twisting plot. It involves a large number of characters with diverse identities, from powerful eunuchs and officials to local scholars and gentry, from common citizens to monks, Taoists, and courtesans, all of whom are well-represented. Most of the characters are vivid and lifelike. Additionally, the novel is written in Shandong dialect, with expressive and distinctive writing.