Awakening World Romance

Author: Xi Zhou Sheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-11-01
Features: In addition to the Four Great Classical Novels, there are other outstanding works from the Ming and Qing dynasties, among which A Dream of Red Mansions is worth reading. This book centers on family life, vividly revealing the collapse of feudal social order in the mid-Ming Dynasty, where homes turned chaotic and the world was upside down. A Dream of Red Mansions consistently intertwines family affairs with national matters, human emotions with folk customs, creating a dual narrative that authentically reflects the lives of all classes in the late feudal society. With its lively language and skillful satire, it has remained popular for centuries. During the Yongzheng era, the book had already spread to Japan. In the Republican period, poet Xu Zhimo hailed it as "one of the greatest novels within our top five." This book is part of the "Popular Readings in Chinese Classical Literature" series and is also known as A Wicked Affair. It consists of 100 chapters, written during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and is an important novel on marriage and family life that comes after The Golden Lotus and before Dream of the Red Chamber. The novel has a complete structure and a twisting plot. It features a large cast of characters with diverse backgrounds, from powerful eunuchs and officials to local scholars and gentry, from commoners to monks, Taoists, and courtesans, all vividly portrayed with rich detail. Additionally, the novel is written in Shandong dialect, with expressive and distinctive writing style.