Dream of the Red Chamber: The Fall of the Second Part - Autumn in Maoling

Author: Gao Yang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: "The Fall of the Red Chamber" is a historical novel by Gao Yang that blends artistic imagination with academic research, depicting the rise and fall of the Cao and Li families from their opulent lives of wealth and luxury to their eventual decline and exile back to the capital. As the author puts it, it tells the "story of Cao Xueqin"—how Cao Xueqin "spend ten years of hard work" to create Jia Baoyu and "Dream of the Red Chamber." "Autumn in Maoling" is the second part. The downfall of the Li family is unstoppable, leading to a dreamlike prosperity turning into a broken home and scattered family. Together with "Spring in Muling," one spring and one autumn, they fully portray the inner thoughts of many characters in the Li family, capturing the coldness of the world after wealth and glory fade into memory. In less than two years, Li Xun, who could still compete with his nephews and grandnephews in horseback riding in the spring fields, has become an old man with white hair. This is due to a series of blows following the suicide of the grand dowager. In the sixtieth year of the Kangxi reign, he was severely scolded by the emperor upon arriving in the capital; his forehead was hit by a bruise in the brick pavement, but it did not change the emperor's mind. Once his favor waned, the officials in the Imperial Household Department, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works began to look down on him! What he deserved was not given to him, and he could not get away with it. There were two payments he had to make: one was a impeachment fine. This year, on March 18, the emperor's birthday, though not a whole-year celebration, no ceremonies were held because the emperor had reached the age of 60. Except for Li Xun, who was summoned, the other two textile officials...