The Stone Crypt of Dream of the Red Chamber: Hidden History of the Qing Court

Author: Su Bangsen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-17
Features: The story of Dream of the Red Chamber (The Story of the Stone), a work surrounded by much speculation and no definitive conclusion. The author examines the geographical orientation of Ning and Rong Mansions and the routes of characters in the novel, believing that the setting of Dream of the Red Chamber is the Qing imperial palace and inner courtyard during the reigns of Emperors Shunzhi and Kangxi. Further substantiating this with historical facts, the author concludes that the novel depicts the hidden history of the Qing court—the Jade Tablet of Spiritual Communication is the imperial seal of the nation. The Wilderness Heartstone (the original seal) alludes to Empress Xiaozhuang as the bloodline heir of the Yuan Emperor. The Jade Tablet of Spiritual Communication (the Qing Seal) alludes to Empress Xiaozhuang as the wife of Emperor Taizong of the Qing. Emperor Shunzhi is the divine envoy of the Void of Emptiness (the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Winter Palace, Beihai). The Crimson Pearl Grass alludes to all the revolutionary women in Emperor Shunzhi's harem, with Dong E's Imperial Noble Consort, who died young at the age of 22, as their leader. The Twelve Beauties of Jinling in the main register allude to the seven women in Emperor Shunzhi's harem.
1. Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (Yuanchun, Qin Keqing, Wang Xifeng).
2. Empress Xiaozhuang's posthumously honored Empress Xiaonian Duanjing (Xue Baochai).
3. Empress Xiaozhuang's posthumously honored Empress Xiaoxian Duanjing (Lin Daiyu).
4. The daughter of Dorgon (Jia Zheng, Jia Lian) and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (Wang Furen, Fengjie) (Tanchun and Qiaojie).
5. The daughter of Kong Youde and Empress Xiaozhuang's adopted daughter Kong Sizhen (Shi Xiangyun, Miaoyu, and Xichun).
6. The fourteenth daughter of Emperor Taizong (Yingchun).
7. Kang Fei Tongjia (Li Yun), the mother of Emperor Kangxi.
"The bones are piled like mountains, their names forgotten. None are but nobles and beauties"—this is the essence of The Story of the Stone. The Story of the Stone represents two peaks of Chinese civilization in both literature and history over five thousand years. In terms of literary art, it broke the mold of romantic tales of scholars and beauties, depicting the tragedy of human nature and love's destruction, proposing an ideal of equal social justice and free love. In historical scope, it surpassed the Zuo Zhuan of the Spring and Autumn period, faithfully recording the 50-year history of the Ming dynasty's fall and the Qing dynasty's rise, reflecting the struggles and integration of the Manchu, Mongol, and Han peoples, advocating for peace and reconciliation, national unity, and ethnic solidarity. It resolved the long-standing question of how China's multi-ethnic society should coexist, proposing the lofty ideals of national peace (Ningguo) and ethnic prosperity (Rongguo).
The author's ideas did not reach the revolutionary height of abolishing feudalism, but politically proposed a constitutional monarchy while economically introduced the new concept of production responsibility contracts (the Great Garden reforms). Zhen Shiyin alludes to the truth hidden in plain sight, while Jia Yucun alludes to the false words preserved in the hidden. As for the novel and history, Zhen Shiyin alludes to the truth hidden, while Jia Yucun alludes to the false ignorance preserved. As for the imperial bloodline, Zhen Shiyin alludes to the truth of the stone hidden, while Jia Yucun alludes to the false jade preserved. These aspects are summarized as—"False as true, true as false; where nothing exists, something appears; where something exists, nothing appears." The ending of The Story of the Stone is—"False leaves, true returns; true surpasses false; where nothing originally existed, something now does; where something originally existed, nothing now does." This represents the true ideal and dream the authors longed to restore. The author of The Story of the Stone believed that Zhen's family (Han) would be restored from the Void of Emptiness to the True Realm of Happiness. Jia's family (Manchu) would also see "the orchid return to its fragrance, and the family return to its original state." The Xue family (Wu Sangui) would repent and protect their descendants. The Feng family (Li Zicheng) would also have "the spring of the Han palace." The 50 years of war, the historical figures of both the winning and losing sides, were all tragic figures. Yet China's future was bright, moving toward unity, solidarity, and light through twists and turns.
"What is the essence of Dream of the Red Chamber?"—It is national peace (Ningguo) and national prosperity (Rongguo). The masses see "noble men and beauties," while historians interpret "white bones piled like mountains," greatly elevating the value of Dream of the Red Chamber, making it a "Mirror of Wind and Moon" that reflects both sides, a "political and historical novel," and a "comprehensive encyclopedia" of the late feudal society—a classical Chinese novel where "the truth is hidden, and the false remains." To acknowledge only the positive side of the "Mirror of Wind and Moon" while ignoring its negative side would greatly diminish the value of Dream of the Red Chamber—a love story with only one side, unable to attract Chinese scholars for three hundred years or earn Mao Zedong's praise of "at least reading it five times."
For three hundred years since its publication, only Mao Zedong truly understood its thematic essence. Standing at the height of politics, military strategy, history, philosophy, and literary art, he recognized that the love stories in Dream of the Red Chamber were "false words spoken in the village" (Jia Yucun), while the Manchu-Han ethnic war and court political struggles were "hidden truths" (Zhen Shiyin). Mao Zedong pointed out incisively: "Cao Xueqin hid the truth and wrote it in false words (Jia Yucun). The truth lies in political key points, which cannot be spoken, so love (playing with the eyes) is used to cover it." After the May Fourth Movement, with the rise of the two major red school scholars, Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi, the busy Mao Zedong, in his towering manner, watched the storms of red studies for a hundred years.
—The following article references Mao Zedong's Readings and Critiques of Five Classical Novels by Xu Zhongyuan (Huawen Press, January 1991 edition).
During his visit to the Soviet Union, Mao Zedong used the famous line from Lin Daiyu: "Either the east wind crushes the west wind, or the west wind crushes the east wind."—In my opinion, Mao Zedong summarized the relationship between the rise and fall of forces within a political camp and the rise and fall of forces between different political groups. This is historical materialism and dialectics of nature.
On March 1, 1957, at the highest state affairs conference, Mao Zedong used Wang Xifeng's line to Liu Laolao: "Greatness brings great difficulties." To illustrate that even great nations are not without challenges. Especially Wang Xifeng's famous line: "Willing to shed the skin, daring to pull down the emperor!"—In my opinion, whether it is Liu Laolao or Wang Xifeng, their words and actions are tied to the fate of a nation, even involving the overthrow of one dynasty by another in history.
On December 20, 1961, at the meeting of the central political bureau and the secretaries of the major regional committees, Mao Zedong said: "Dream of the Red Chamber depicts a very detailed social and historical picture. Not only should it be read as a novel, but also as history." Later, he added: "Dream of the Red Chamber contains extremely rich social historical materials." "I read Dream of the Red Chamber as history. At first, I read it as a story, then as history."—In my opinion, Mao Zedong's method of reading and studying Dream of the Red Chamber holds universal guidance for all lovers of the novel.
On August 18, 1964, at Beidaihe, Mao Zedong spoke with several philosophers, mentioning Dream of the Red Chamber: "I have read Dream of the Red Chamber at least five times." As for the most, he did not say. The author of this book believes that Mao Zedong is a truly knowledgeable red scholar and a connoisseur of Chinese traditional culture. In the past century, many red scholars or great writers have been influenced by Hu Shi or other foreign cultures, admiring the so-called "tragic beauty" and "tragic knot" of Europe and America. However, the tragic beauty and tragic knot of Europe and America are composed of twenty-six letters. Originally a vast Slavic or Germanic-speaking country, due to population movement, separated by mountains or rivers, different pronunciations led to different written forms, resulting in fragmentation, independence, smaller and smaller countries, being bullied by larger powers, and generations of families falling apart, leading to tragic beauty and tragic knot. China is a vast country unified by more than 80,000 pictographic characters, with diverse regional pronunciations, but written characters are completely unified across the world, resulting in the great integration, unity, and unification of the Chinese ethnic groups, ultimately forming the beauty of reunion and the reunion knot.
The author of The Code of the Story of the Stone—Hidden History of the Qing Court believes that the 120 chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber form a perfect whole, with the last 40 chapters being patches and continuations of the original manuscript, not Gao E's "dog's tail appending to a masterpiece." Professor Li Xianping of Fudan University's Department of Mathematics used computer research to prove that the writing styles of each chapter in Dream of the Red Chamber belong to different categories, and the different parts were actually written by different authors at different times. Dream of the Red Chamber is the crystallization of collective wisdom, as no single individual could possess such profound historical and literary knowledge. The authors were composed of three groups of literati ("mustache"). First, politicians, military strategists, and historians who participated in the 19-year anti-Qing armed struggle outside the imperial palace. Second, literati who refused to serve the Qing or had already served the Ming and Southern Ming dynasties. Third, former Ming officials serving in the imperial palace. They experienced the three dynasties of Chongde, Shunzhi, and Kangxi, respectively recording the historical stories of the ruling Manchu Qing court ("women").
The original manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber was initially The Story of the Stone and The Record of the Passionate Monk—the authors used the story of the Yuan Emperor abandoning the jade seal and the Qing Emperor Taizong transforming it into the Qing imperial seal to focus on the history of the Ming dynasty's fall and the Qing dynasty's rise ("Because after experiencing a dream, the truth is hidden, and the story is written using the 'Communication Jade' theory, hence the title 'Zhen Shiyin'."). Later, literati in Beijing and Jiangnan used social and historical materials to supplement and create a love story, becoming The Mirror of Wind and Moon and Dream of the Red Chamber, lamenting the vicissitudes of dynastic change ("But what events and people are recorded in the book? It is also said: 'Now, amidst the dust of the world, I have achieved nothing. Suddenly remembering the women I once had, I carefully examine them, and find that their actions, insights, and knowledge all surpass me. How can my dignified mustache compare to their women? I am full of shame, but regret is useless. There is no other way. At this time, I wish to compile a collection of the past, when I was favored by heaven and ancestors, wearing fine clothes and eating richly, forgetting the education of my parents and brothers, and neglecting the teachings of teachers and friends, to this day, I have achieved nothing, and my half-life has been in disarray. The crime is unavoidable, but the women of the inner quarters are indeed clear. It is not because I am unworthy that I should protect my shortcomings and let them all be forgotten. Although my current thatched cottage and wicker room, with morning and evening wind and dew, and the willows and flowers in the courtyard, do not hinder my spirit and writing, although I am unlearned and cannot write eloquently, what prevents me from using false words to depict a story, which can also make the women of the inner quarters known, and please the world, relieve people's sorrow, and is not that appropriate?" Hence the title "Jia Yucun.").
Later, the manuscript was handed over to literati in the imperial palace who verified, processed, and organized it for ten years, adding the tragic parts of the women in the harem, "I am not as close to these women I personally witnessed for half my life as the people in the previous generation of books. Although I dare not say they are stronger than all the people in the books of past generations, their deeds and origins can still relieve sorrow and break boredom. There are also a few crooked poems and colloquial sayings that can make people laugh and provide drinks. As for the separations, joys, sorrows, and rises and falls, I will follow the traces and dare not add embellishments, only to provide entertainment for people and lose the truth." This became The Twelve Beauties of Jinling.
The process of writing Dream of the Red Chamber can be said to be "one voice, two songs; one hand, two tablets," with one following the other, unprecedented and unparalleled. "A sea of madness, a handful of bitter tears! Everyone says the author is mad, who understands the meaning within?" History and the novel are wonderfully combined, forcing historical allusions through the form of a love story, so the timeline of the novel and the ages of the characters are contradictory and chaotic, full of what contemporary red scholars call "clumsy writing," "coincidences," and "dead knots." From the Void Walker to the Passionate Monk, from Kong Meixi and Wu Yufeng to Cao Xueqin, they overlooked it and did not change it for ten years. Because these "clumsy writing," "coincidences," and "dead knots" are the black box to solve Dream of the Red Chamber, not a single word can be changed—"Only with extensive reading, understanding of events, and the effort of knowing and investigating can one understand." The Void Walker, the Passionate Monk, Kong Meixi, Wu Yufeng, and Cao Xueqin are all pseudonyms of the author group of Dream of the Red Chamber.
After the 120 chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber were published as a love story, the strange phenomenon of "the more you study, the more confused you become" appeared, mainly because the historical background and the true identities of the characters in the novel were not clarified—Wang Mengyuan pointed out: "Among the hundreds of people, it is not necessary to assign every role, or to say this in place of that, or several people to play one role, or one person to play several roles, or to perform the latter half first and then the former half, or to use them in this scene and not ask about the next." Due to the involvement of multiple authors and multiple supplements and revisions, the historical figures alluded to by the actors kept changing and increasing, which determined the contradictions and chaos of the characters' ages and timeline—"The past and the future, do not say that the wise can break through; the cause and the effect, you must know that the close ones do not meet." After Hu Shi's "cutting theory" appeared, Dream of the Red Chamber became the true "labyrinth" and "nightmare" of Chinese literature.
The Code of the Story of the Stone—Hidden History of the Qing Court—is a bold attempt to solve the Red Chamber labyrinth, aiming to cast a stone to attract jade. The hidden history of the Qing court is only a small corner of the iceberg of Dream of the Red Chamber, and it is the submerged corner. The literary and artistic part of Dream of the Red Chamber is the of the high mountain. The fatal flaw of The Code of the Story of the Stone—Hidden History of the Qing Court is that it has no time to analyze the glorious achievements of Dream of the Red Chamber in literary art. It can only wait for the wise. But anyone who wants to analyze and study Dream of the Red Chamber to reach a high level must first clarify the "truth hidden" and the "false preserved." Otherwise, grabbing at straws, scratching the itch, and fishing in the air will only lead to "the more you study, the more confused you become."