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'''''Dream of the Red Chamber''''' ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 紅樓夢; [[pinyin]]: hóng lóu mèng) or '''''Chronicles of the Stone''''' (Chinese: 石頭記; pinyin: shí tóu jì), written by [[Cao Xueqin]], is one of the |
'''''Dream of the Red Chamber''''' ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 紅樓夢; [[pinyin]]: hóng lóu mèng) or '''''Chronicles of the Stone''''' (Chinese: 石頭記; pinyin: shí tóu jì), written by [[Cao Xueqin]], is one of the masterpieces of [[Chinese literature|Chinese fiction]] and is considered by many to be one of the greatest novels ever written. It was composed in the 18th century during the [[Qing Dynasty]]. |
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While the book has a riveting and intricate plot featuring over 400 characters, it can also be read as a study of 18th-century Chinese manners, or as a [[Buddhist]] [[allegory]]. A lengthy work, the first 80 chapters were written by Cao and the remaining 40 chapters attributed to a [[Gao E]], who published the combined version in [[1792]]. Gao E claimed to have completed the work based on a manuscript by the author. |
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The novel is usually grouped with other pre-modern Chinese works of fiction, collectively known as the [[four Classics]]. Chinese fiction developed much differently from the West's; literature in general was considered more to encompass philosophy and poetry rather than fiction (known is Chinese as "minor speech"). The essence of this novel was arguably more realized after having come under scrutiny by scholars everywhere ''after'' China began adopting Western methods of writing fiction; coinciding approximately with the [[May Fourth Movement]]. |
The novel is usually grouped with other pre-modern Chinese works of fiction, collectively known as the [[four Classics]]. Chinese fiction developed much differently from the West's; literature in general was considered more to encompass philosophy and poetry rather than fiction (known is Chinese as "minor speech"). The essence of this novel was arguably more realized after having come under scrutiny by scholars everywhere ''after'' China began adopting Western methods of writing fiction; coinciding approximately with the [[May Fourth Movement]]. |
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[[image:hongloumeng2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|A scene from the story, painted by Xu Bao (b.1810) <br> <center><small>[[:Image:hongloumeng3.jpg|Other scenes]]</small></center>]] |
[[image:hongloumeng2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|A scene from the story, painted by Xu Bao (b.1810) <br> <center><small>[[:Image:hongloumeng3.jpg|Other scenes]]</small></center>]] |
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==Sypnosis== |
==Sypnosis== |
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The novel is semi-autobiographical, mirroring the fortunes of Cao Xueqin's own family. Originally extremely wealthy, with a female member made an imperial [[concubine]], the family eventually fell into disfavour with the emperor, and had their mansions raided and confiscated. |
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The story orbits around a wealthy but declining family, the Jia clan, who occupies two large family compounds in the capital, [[Nanjing]]. The main characters are the powerful family matriarch [[Grandmother Jia]], the peculiar grandson [[Jia Baoyu]] (賈寶玉), who might actually be a stone brought to life, and his two female cousins, the socially graceful [[Xue Baochai]] (薛寶釵) and the temperamental, sickly and emotional [[Lin Daiyu]] (林黛玉). In fact, it would be more accurate to say the main character is the extended family itself: there are more than 400 named characters in the novel, including some 30 main characters, their servants, and various personalities who have interactions with the clan from all walks of life. Their mutual obligations and expectations, and the unfolding fate of each person are blended together in an episodic panaroma of eighteenth-century China. |
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It was also intended to be a memorial to women he knew in his youth; friends, relatives and servants. |
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The main character, [[Jia Baoyu]] (賈寶玉) is an adolescent boy, apparently the [[reincarnation]] of a stone. In that previous life he fell in love with a flower, who is incarnated now as Baoyu's sickly cousin, the emotional [[Lin Daiyu]] (林黛玉). However, he is predestined in this life, despite his love for Daiyu, to marry another cousin; [[Xue Baochai]] (薛寶釵). The novel follows this tragic love triangle against the backdrop of the family's declining fortunes. |
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Most scholars believe that the work is semi-[[autobiography|autobiographical]], based on Cao Xueqin's own family based in [[Nanjing]] before their decline. |
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== |
==Fiction / Reality== |
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Note that the name of the major clan "賈" (jiǎ) has the same pronunciation in [[Mandarin]] as another [[Chinese character]] "假", which means fake or sham. This is one of the innumerous wordplays and allusions that appear in this novel and might be lost on non-Chinese readers. The connection between the two characters is made clear with a poem in the novel that criticizes the four richest clans. |
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The name of the main family, "賈" looks similar to the author's surname and has the same pronunciation in [[Mandarin]] as another [[Chinese character]] "假", which means fake or sham. |
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{{spoiler}} |
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Thus Cao Xueqin suggests that the novel's family is both a version of his own family, and simultaneously fictional - or a "dream"-version of his family. (Confusingly, Baoyu occasionally dreams of another Baoyu, whose surname is "Zhen", which puns on "real"). |
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'''[[Jia Baoyu]]''' - The gifted, pampered young master of the Jia family, born with a jade in his mouth. He is also the protagonist of the novel. His relationships with the various characters of the book form the bulk of the novel. |
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The novel is normally called Hong Lou Meng (紅樓夢) - literally "Red Mansion Dream". "Red Mansion" was an idiom for the daughters of rich men; thus the title can be understood as a "dream of rich young women". It can also be understood as referring to a (wet) dream that Baoyu has - in a "Red Mansion" - at the beginning of the novel, where the deaths of many of the female characters are prophecized. "Red" also suggests the Buddhist idea that the whole world is "red dust" - merely illusory and to be shunned. Thus the novel fits in perfectly with [[Buddhist]] and [[Taoist]] beliefs that to find enlightenment, one must realize that the world is but a dream from which we must awake. |
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'''[[Lin Daiyu]]''' - Jia Baoyu's female cousin, who is brought to the Jia clan after her mother passed away. Moody, sickly, temperamental, but with a keen intellect, she is the key love interest of the book for Baoyu. |
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'''[[Xue Baochai]]''' - Jia Baoyu's other female cousin, daughter of Aunt Xue. She is the epitome of social grace and consciousness in the novel, well loved by the various characters of the book, often to the detriment of Lin Daiyu. She eventually marries Jia Baoyu. |
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==Textual Problems== |
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'''Grandmother Jia''' or '''Dowager Jia''' - the female matriach of the Jia clan, who adored and pampered all her grandchildren, in particular Jia Baoyu |
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Cao Xueqin revised his novel five times, and died before he had finished the fifth version. To compound this problem, a friend lost the latter chapters of the book, so we only have 80 chapters that are definitively written by the author. |
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'''[[Wang Xifeng]]''' - Wife to Jia Lian, who is Jia Baoyu's cousin. Pretty, clever and extremely competent, she runs the daily routines of the family, but can also be cunning and manipulative. |
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However, some versions of these eighty pages have comments written on them by members of Cao's family, which give some clues as to how the novel was originally going to end. Furthermore, the book brims with prophecies and dramatic ironies, which again give hints ss to how the book would continue. For example, it is obvious that Lin Daiyu would eventually die; that Baoyu would become a monk; various characters would suffer in the snow; and that the whole estate would finally be consumed by flames. |
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'''[[Jia Zheng]]''' - Younger son of Dowager Jia and Jia Baoyu's father, who is bestowed the rank of Assistant Secretary upon the death of his father. A strict Confucianist, he takes a very strict upbringing of his son Jia Baoyu. |
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In [[1792]], Chen Weiyuan and Gao E brought together a "complete" 120-chapter version of ''Dream'', claiming to have composed the ending based on the author's manuscripts. However, the ending neither wholly fits with the foreshadowings of the first 80 chapters, nor the knowledge of Cao's family. According to [[Hu Shi]], who first put forth the theory that the last 40 chapters were a forgery by Gao E, the ending of the novel does not coincide with the various foreshadowings of the chief characters' fates in the prophetic poetic lines. |
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'''[[Lady Wang]]''' - First wife to Jia Zheng and Jia Baoyu's mother. She is also the mother of Jia Zhu (deceased) and Yuan-chun. |
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| ⚫ | Scholars since then have argued the extent to which Gao E had revised Cao's original intentions, or whether he did have any access to the extant manuscripts of the author in the first place. Some scholars have contrary ideas, and feel very strongly that Gao E had at least a glimpse of Cao's rudimentary plans for the novel's last 40 chapters, or even that he was merely the acting editor for Cao's working papers. Others however think Chen Weiyuan and Gao E may have been duped into taking a forged continuation as the author's original work. |
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The [[novel]] is graced with different styles of foreshadowing. Through all, the author reveals the reality of life amidst the "red dust" -- the grasping, yearning, opulent, and ultimately futile life of both [[peasant]] and elite in 18th-century [[China]]. [[Taoist]] and [[Buddhist]] themes are woven deeply into the structure of the novel and one of Cao Xueqin's aims is to reveal the emptiness and beauty of the [[aristocrat]]ic society he unveils for us. |
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The book, is, nevertheless, normally published in Gao E's 120 chapter version. |
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==Who wrote the last 40 chapters of ''Dream''?== |
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== Family trees == |
== Family trees of the main characters== |
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=== The Jia clan === |
=== The Jia clan === |
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Revision as of 17:59, 10 June 2005
Dream of the Red Chamber (Chinese: 紅樓夢; pinyin: hóng lóu mèng) or Chronicles of the Stone (Chinese: 石頭記; pinyin: shí tóu jì), written by Cao Xueqin, is one of the masterpieces of Chinese fiction and is considered by many to be one of the greatest novels ever written. It was composed in the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty.
The novel is usually grouped with other pre-modern Chinese works of fiction, collectively known as the four Classics. Chinese fiction developed much differently from the West's; literature in general was considered more to encompass philosophy and poetry rather than fiction (known is Chinese as "minor speech"). The essence of this novel was arguably more realized after having come under scrutiny by scholars everywhere after China began adopting Western methods of writing fiction; coinciding approximately with the May Fourth Movement.
Sypnosis
The novel is semi-autobiographical, mirroring the fortunes of Cao Xueqin's own family. Originally extremely wealthy, with a female member made an imperial concubine, the family eventually fell into disfavour with the emperor, and had their mansions raided and confiscated.
It was also intended to be a memorial to women he knew in his youth; friends, relatives and servants.
The main character, Jia Baoyu (賈寶玉) is an adolescent boy, apparently the reincarnation of a stone. In that previous life he fell in love with a flower, who is incarnated now as Baoyu's sickly cousin, the emotional Lin Daiyu (林黛玉). However, he is predestined in this life, despite his love for Daiyu, to marry another cousin; Xue Baochai (薛寶釵). The novel follows this tragic love triangle against the backdrop of the family's declining fortunes.
Fiction / Reality
The name of the main family, "賈" looks similar to the author's surname and has the same pronunciation in Mandarin as another Chinese character "假", which means fake or sham. Thus Cao Xueqin suggests that the novel's family is both a version of his own family, and simultaneously fictional - or a "dream"-version of his family. (Confusingly, Baoyu occasionally dreams of another Baoyu, whose surname is "Zhen", which puns on "real").
The novel is normally called Hong Lou Meng (紅樓夢) - literally "Red Mansion Dream". "Red Mansion" was an idiom for the daughters of rich men; thus the title can be understood as a "dream of rich young women". It can also be understood as referring to a (wet) dream that Baoyu has - in a "Red Mansion" - at the beginning of the novel, where the deaths of many of the female characters are prophecized. "Red" also suggests the Buddhist idea that the whole world is "red dust" - merely illusory and to be shunned. Thus the novel fits in perfectly with Buddhist and Taoist beliefs that to find enlightenment, one must realize that the world is but a dream from which we must awake.
Textual Problems
Cao Xueqin revised his novel five times, and died before he had finished the fifth version. To compound this problem, a friend lost the latter chapters of the book, so we only have 80 chapters that are definitively written by the author.
However, some versions of these eighty pages have comments written on them by members of Cao's family, which give some clues as to how the novel was originally going to end. Furthermore, the book brims with prophecies and dramatic ironies, which again give hints ss to how the book would continue. For example, it is obvious that Lin Daiyu would eventually die; that Baoyu would become a monk; various characters would suffer in the snow; and that the whole estate would finally be consumed by flames.
In 1792, Chen Weiyuan and Gao E brought together a "complete" 120-chapter version of Dream, claiming to have composed the ending based on the author's manuscripts. However, the ending neither wholly fits with the foreshadowings of the first 80 chapters, nor the knowledge of Cao's family. According to Hu Shi, who first put forth the theory that the last 40 chapters were a forgery by Gao E, the ending of the novel does not coincide with the various foreshadowings of the chief characters' fates in the prophetic poetic lines.
Scholars since then have argued the extent to which Gao E had revised Cao's original intentions, or whether he did have any access to the extant manuscripts of the author in the first place. Some scholars have contrary ideas, and feel very strongly that Gao E had at least a glimpse of Cao's rudimentary plans for the novel's last 40 chapters, or even that he was merely the acting editor for Cao's working papers. Others however think Chen Weiyuan and Gao E may have been duped into taking a forged continuation as the author's original work.
The book, is, nevertheless, normally published in Gao E's 120 chapter version.
Family trees of the main characters
The Jia clan
common ancestor
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,-------------------------------------------+----------------------------.
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Jia Yan Jia Yuan
Duke of Ning-guo Duke of Rong-guo
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Jia Dai-hua Jia Dai-Shan === Grandmother Jia (née Shi)
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,------+-------. ,-------------------------------------+---+------------------------------------------.
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Jia Fu Jia Jing Jia She === Lady Xing Jia Zheng === Lady Wang Jia Min === Lin Ru-hai
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,------+-------. ,-----------. ,---------+-----+--+---------+----------. |
| | | | | | | | | |
You-shi === Cousin Zhen Xi-chun Wang Xi-feng === Jia Lian Ying-chun* Li Wan === Jia Zhu Yuan-chun Bao-yu Tan-chun* Jia Huan* Lin Dai-yu
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Jia Rong === Qin-shi Qiao-jie Jia Lan
('baby')
* denotes a child by a concubine
The Wang family
,--------------------+--------------+---------------------------------.
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Wang Xi-feng's father Wang Zi-teng Lady Wang === Jia Zheng Aunt Xue (née Wang)
| | |
,------+--. ,-----------+--+--------. ,----+---.
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Wang Ren Xi-feng === Jia Lian Jia Zhu === Li Wan Yuan-chun Bao-yu Xue Pan Bao-chai