Redology Master — The Life of Zhou Ruchang

Author: Liang Guizhi
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: This is a biography of the renowned redology expert, Professor Liang Guizhi, who spent three years writing it for the redology master, Mr. Zhou Ruchang. Mr. Zhou Ruchang, a famous scholar in China, is a representative figure who bridged the old and new eras of redology. He was a celebrated classical literature scholar, calligrapher, and poet. During his studies at the Department of Foreign Languages of Yanjing University, he published an academic paper on Dream of the Red Chamber, which caught the attention of the great scholar Hu Shi, leading to a rare and meaningful connection in redology between the two. Mr. Zhou Ruchang's New Evidence for the Red Chamber Dream was published in 1953 and was hailed as an "epoch-making work in redology." He was specially transferred back to Beijing for work by the central authorities. Subsequently, he withstood several critiques of redological thought, always steadfast in his academic beliefs. After the Cultural Revolution, he published over ten redological monographs covering various aspects of the field, attracting attention from academic circles both at home and abroad. This book takes Mr. Zhou Ruchang's research on Dream of the Red Chamber as its main thread, documenting the major events in the life of the subject, including his personal experiences, scholarly works, and social interactions. From the perspective of a redology expert, the author outlines the eighty-plus years of Mr. Zhou Ruchang's life, reflecting the fate of a generation of scholars and showcasing the tumultuous history of redological studies over the past century. The book focuses on revealing the inner cultural spirit of Mr. Zhou Ruchang—a scholar who dedicated his life to embodying the essence of traditional Chinese poetry, literary theory, calligraphy, Zen Buddhism, opera, folk customs, and demonstrating the grandeur of Chinese culture.