Research on the Dream of the Red Chamber

Author: Yu Pingbo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Dream of the Red Chamber is one of the world-renowned great works and also one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. Later scholars developed the study of Dream of the Red Chamber (briefly referred to as Hongxue) to research this book. This book is a classic work of Hongxue research by the renowned Hongxue scholar Yu Pingbo and one of the representative works of the "New Hongxue School." It conducts extensive and in-depth explorations into fundamental Hongxue issues, such as the style of Dream of the Red Chamber and the original form of the last thirty chapters of the novel. It is an indispensable read for Dream of the Red Chamber enthusiasts and researchers. Yu Pingbo was a modern renowned scholar, litterateur, and Hongxue scholar. In 1923, he published the article On the Authenticity of the Later Chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber, which analyzed and argued from multiple perspectives and levels that the last thirty chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber did not belong to the original work by Cao Xueqin but were instead a spurious continuation by Gao E. The article also harshly criticized the last thirty chapters. Like Hu Shi's On the Red Chamber Dream, this article was a foundational work of the New Hongxue School, establishing its academic status. In September 1953, Yu Pingbo slightly revised his 30-year-old work On the Authenticity of the Later Chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber and republished it as Research on Dream of the Red Chamber. Unsurprisingly, this led to political controversy. As a result, the book holds an important and unique position in both the history of Hongxue and the history of Chinese literary studies. This edition is accompanied by 200 exquisite illustrations to help readers better appreciate the master's classic works.