Tuomerei Dream of the Red Chamber Poetry Interpretation

Author: Tu Mo Re
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The author is a researcher of Ming and Qing Chinese history who delves into old documents, and poetry studies are not his forte. He should not have ventured into the specialized study of the poetry in Dream of the Red Chamber. However, a few years ago, he mistakenly engaged in some "nonsense" red studies, establishing what he calls the "Tu Mo Re Red Studies System," with the audacious goal of overthrowing a hundred years of orthodox red studies and two hundred years of Dream of the Red Chamber research. Whether this "insidious" purpose can be achieved is debatable, but the unexpected outcome was that it drew the attention of red scholars—both positive and negative. Regardless of the nature of the attention, it was attention, and that is what matters. Many academic elites today place great emphasis on the sensational effects of media hype, and it was this very hype that the author unexpectedly gained in his work "Incidental Blossoms." From then on, his research became like a glider—once launched into the sky, there was no choice but to glide with the wind. Whether it would land safely or be shattered to bits was uncertain, but he would let it be. Today, he reluctantly and stubbornly undertakes another sensational study of the poetry in Dream of the Red Chamber. While experts see the subtleties and laypeople see the spectacle, there are always limitations. Although the author is not a specialist in classical poetry, he has immersed himself in the study of Chinese history for decades, which can be considered a specialization in its own right. The Chinese academic tradition has always been one where literature and history are inseparable. Studying history inevitably involves delving into classical literature, so the author is quite familiar with the works of literary, historical, poetic, and dramatic masters from ancient times, especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This gives an unintended advantage to the study of Dream of the Red Chamber: when poetry, songs, rhymes, or quatrains appear in the book—whether imitated, plagiarized, quoted, borrowed, adapted, or misused—the author can at least recognize them, feel a sense of familiarity, identify their original sources and meanings before the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, and uncover aspects that contemporary red scholars fail to interpret clearly. Compared to renowned experts who rely on Dream of the Red Chamber poetry for their livelihood, this is a minor advantage for the author, who is in a "weak position."
To cut to the chase, this small book also studies the poetry in Dream of the Red Chamber, but from a different perspective, method, and content than the specialized works of famous red scholars, such as Interpretations of the Poetry in Dream of the Red Chamber or Annotations on the Poetry in Dream of the Red Chamber. This book examines the origins, evolution, original meanings, and implications of the poetry from a historical perspective. The methodology is not to annotate each poem in the order they appear in the book but to categorize and examine them based on their sources. The purpose is not to praise the brilliance of the poetry or the poetic talent of the author but to objectively and calmly state how the author of Dream of the Red Chamber correctly or incorrectly used these poems—not to blindly flatter the ancients.
As for the masters of red studies, there is no need for them to be angry, because the Dream of the Red Chamber author mentioned here is not the "infinite revered and admired" Cao Xueqin but Hong Ri Fang Si, who is far from glorious and even somewhat disloyal, ungrateful, and flawed. Whether the author holds Hong Ri Fang Si in respect or not seems irrelevant to traditional red studies. Previously, the author, like the blind man in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, had read the annotations of a few renowned scholars on the poetry in Dream of the Red Chamber. He found that these interpretations followed a basic pattern: they began with "rectifying the heart and mind," cultivating ample and rich "feelings" for Cao Xueqin, and during the interpretation, they adhered to the fine tradition of "concealing the faults of the respected," describing all the poems in the book—whether round or square, fragrant or foul—as "beautiful as peach blossoms and sweet as cream." The conclusion, of course, was that Cao Xueqin was a "genius" or even a "super-genius" in poetry. The author believes that such interpretations are unnecessary. Setting aside how absurd it is to use the poetry in Dream of the Red Chamber to prove Cao Xueqin's poetic talent, even the poems themselves do not warrant blind praise. The poetry in the novel is created by the characters within it, whose cultural backgrounds vary greatly. If all the poems were exceptionally brilliant, how could the character portrayals in the novel be so poor? It would be impossible to imagine a newly learned poet like Xiangling composing the third poem about the moon that "does not see the moon" on the first try, or for the foolish Xue to sing the poignant and emotionally resonant "Red Bean Song" along with Baoyu.
In this book's research, the author generally avoids making ideological or artistic evaluations of the poetry in Dream of the Red Chamber or elevating or diminishing the poetic talent of the author. Instead, he points out the origins of the poems and explains their original meanings based on the context of the characters in the book. The poetry in the novel does not represent the author's poetic skill or ability but rather his talent for depicting scenes and characters. For the sake of characterization, the author even deliberately composes ridiculous and clumsy poems or songs. Xue's "a mosquito buzzes, buzzes, buzzes" is utterly terrible as poetry, but perfectly fitting as part of the novel. This is not to say that the author of Dream of the Red Chamber cannot write brilliant poems; these "clumsy poems and bad songs" actually prove the author's skillful writing!
The poetic talent of the Dream of the Red Chamber author Hong Ri Fang Si is discussed in detail in the postscript of this book. At the very least, he was a first-class poet and writer in the early Qing dynasty. This is not proven by using Dream of the Red Chamber and its poetry to support his case. Hong Ri Fang Si left behind a vast body of works. His poetry collection Bai Qi Ji is still sold in bookstores today, and his opera The Long Life Chamber is still performed on stage. There is no need for the author to elaborate further.