Caoyuqin's Ancestral Origin Debate

Author: Liu Shide
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-03-01
Features: As the saying goes, "Dream of the Red Chamber is an endless story of the Red Chamber." In fact, its author, Cao Xueqin, is also an "endless Cao Xueqin." The study of "Dream of the Red Chamber" is known as "Red Studies." Correspondingly, the study of Cao Xueqin is also referred to as "Cao Studies." A work cannot exist without its author, and an author cannot exist without a work. Without a work, one cannot be considered an author. Without an author, a work cannot come into being. Can the study of "Dream of the Red Chamber" not be considered part of "Cao Studies"? Can the study of Cao Xueqin not be considered an object of "Red Studies"? Beijing, Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, and Liaoyang in Liaoning Province—these three places can all be called "the hometown of Cao Xueqin."