Dream of the Red Chamber - New Curriculum Recommended Reading - Qingpingguo Teenager's Must-Read Classics

Author: Cao Xueqin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Cao Xueqin (1715-1763), also known as Zhan and Mengruan by name and title, was known by the sobriquets Qingpu and Xueqin. His grandfather, Cao Yin, was highly favored by the Kangxi Emperor but later confiscated by the Yongzheng Emperor. After the family's decline, Cao Xueqin's life grew increasingly difficult. In this harsh and impoverished state, he poured all his heart and soul into the work, "reading and reviewing for ten years" and revising it five times to create the masterpiece of world realist literature, Dream of the Red Chamber (the first 80 chapters). The latter part was written by Gao E. Gao E (1753?–1815), known by the courtesy name Lanzhu, gained fame for《》 (continuing Dream of the Red Chamber), also known as The Outer History of the Red Chamber. Although his continuation cannot be compared to the original, it remains one of the most authentic among all. The novel depicts the Ningguo Mansion and Rongguo Mansion, a "glorious and prosperous family that lasted nearly a century," serving as the backbone and core of feudal society. With vivid and meticulous brushwork, the author dissects every aspect of life in a feudal family, revealing its various contradictions and crises, thereby giving readers a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental nature of feudal society at the time. It enables readers to recognize the inevitable fate of feudal society's impending collapse.