Dream of Tao'an: Dreams of West Lake

Author: (Ming) Zhang Dai, Shi Nianlin, Liu Tongjun, Zhong Ruiling
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: A Dream of the Red Chamber and A Journey to the West, written by Zhang Dai, a late Ming prose master. Zhang Dai (1597—1679), styled Zongzi and also known as Shigong, styled Tao'an and Die'an, was a native of Shanyin (now Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province). He was a scion of a scholarly family and spent his early life in the romantic and extravagant lifestyle of a feudal scholar-official, as he wrote in his self-composed epitaph: "In my youth, I was a carefree young man, deeply fond of luxury, admiring fine residences, beautiful maids, young boys, exquisite clothes, sumptuous food, fine horses, splendid lanterns, firecrackers, opera, music, antiques, flowers, and birds. I was also a tea enthusiast and a victim of citrus, a bookworm and a poetry mania. I toiled for half a lifetime, all of which turned into a dream." In his later years, when recalling his past, he still felt deep regret and self-reproach. He had a strong affinity for Buddhist thought but was not a devout follower of Buddhism. He was born into a family that valued poetry, calligraphy, rites, and etiquette, yet his thoughts were free and unconventional. However, he had a strong sense of national identity. After the Qing army's southward advance, he deeply felt the sorrow and indignation of the fall of his country and the destruction of his home. He "shaved his head and entered the mountains," expressing his dissatisfaction and protest against the Qing rulers. Despite living as a commoner, eating vegetarian food, and even facing "starvation," he never regretted it. Looking back at the present and reflecting on the past, he felt a strong sense of "fifty years have passed, all of it a dream." Thus, he wrote A Dream of the Red Chamber and A Journey to the West, as well as The Stone Cistern Book, recording the history of the Ming Dynasty, to express his longing for his homeland.
A Dream of the Red Chamber is an eight-volume work and one of Zhang Dai's most famous surviving works. The stories it records are mostly based on the author's personal experiences, presenting various aspects of life to the readers. It depicts scenes such as teahouses and taverns, storytelling and performances, cockfighting and bird breeding, lantern festivals and temple fairs, as well as landscapes, handicrafts, and calligraphy and painting, forming a folk art scroll of Ming Dynasty social life. It can be particularly described as an exquisite "River Scene at Qingming Festival" of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. While it reflects the leisurely and romantic life of aristocratic youth, it more profoundly captures the social life and customs of the time.
A Journey to the West is a five-volume work that recalls the past beauty of West Lake, expressing the grief of Ming loyalists and their longing for their homeland. Although it borrows some passages from Tian Rucheng's A Journey to West Lake, Zhang Dai's perspective on West Lake's scenic beauty surpasses A Journey to West Lake in many ways. The author provides a comprehensive description of important landscapes, Buddhist temples, and shrines in Hangzhou, arranged in the order of general introduction, northern route, western route, central route, southern route, and outer scenes, presenting the ancient and modern aspects of Hangzhou to the readers. What is particularly important is that the author selects several poems or essays by scholars and contemporaries after each entry, further enhancing the charm of the landscapes. These collected poems and essays form a selection of West Lake literature. Among the seventy-two entries, many concern the rise and fall of temples, providing rich material for the study of Buddhism.
From the perspective of prose writing, Zhang Dai lived during the late Ming period and was deeply influenced by the Gong'an School and the Jingling School. However, he also drew on the strengths of various schools, forming his own unique style. In the preface to his Collection of Poems from the Lanhuan Garden, he wrote: "In my youth, I admired Wen Chang and thus studied his poetry. Because Wen Chang admired Wen Zhonglang, I also studied Wen Zhonglang's poetry. Before Wen Chang and Wen Zhonglang, I had no such studies. Later, I admired Zhong Xing and Tan Yuanchun and wanted to study their poetry, but I was too busy. Then I realized my regret and burned all the works that resembled Wen Chang's, cleansing my mind and stomach. Without Zhong Xing and Tan Yuanchun, I dared not put pen to paper. After ten years of hard work, the works I had studied from Zhong Xing and Tan Yuanchun no longer resembled them." The Gong'an School advocated "expressing one's own spirit freely without adhering to rigid conventions, refusing to write unless the words flowed from the heart," while Zhong Xing and Tan Yuanchun of the Jingling School emphasized "subtle emotions and solitary pursuits," meaning that works should possess a profound and reserved beauty, reflecting the author's individual spirit. Zhang Dai combined the strengths of both schools in his writing, making him one of the most outstanding prose masters of the late Ming period. His prose is fresh, elegant, and full of charm, meticulously crafted yet without any trace of artificiality, like a natural beauty emerging from clear water. For example, the over one hundred short essays in A Dream of the Red Chamber, ranging from a few hundred to over a thousand words, are vivid, lively, and each unique. Works such as Watching Snow at Lake Heart Pavilion, West Lake in July, West Lake Fragrance Market, Liu Jingting's Storytelling, and Yan Yu Pavilion have all become famous and exquisite masterpieces.