Dream of the Red Chamber (Volume 1, 2, and 3) (Gift Disc)

Author: Cao Xueqin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Movie Companion Chinese Literature Collection. The author, Cao Xueqin (approximately 1715-1763 or 1764), was a Qing Dynasty novelist. His name was Zhan, style name Mengruan, and sobriquets Xueqin, Qinpu, and Qinxi. He was a Manchu Zhengbaiqiliao (servant) person. Starting from his great-grandfather, three generations served as Jiangning Zizao (textile manufacturing official), and his grandfather, Cao Yin, was highly favored by Emperor Kangxi. He experienced a prosperous life in a feudal aristocratic family in his early years but later fell into poverty due to declining family fortunes. In his later years, he moved to the western suburbs of Beijing and died of poverty and illness. Cao Xueqin was proud, fond of wine, and eloquent, possessing profound cultural refinement and outstanding artistic talent. To vent his emotions after enduring hardships and to realize his talent, he spent ten years writing Dream of the Red Chamber (also known as The Story of the Stone). The work reflects the author's own family and personal background, as well as his deep insights into life. It is said that he revised and edited it five times, but he died without completing the full work. The current popular edition has 120 chapters, with the last 40 chapters generally believed to have been by Gao E.