Dream of the red chamber

Cao xueqin, a member of an eminent family that had served the qing dynasty emperors but whose fortunes had begun to decline, began composing dream of the red chamber during the 1740s. The monitory vision fairy expounds, in ballads, the dream of the red chamber. Old goody liu pays a visit to the jung kuo mansion. Dream of the red chamber original title is considered one of the four great classics of chinese literature, along with water margin, journey to the west and romance of the three kingdoms. Why you should read chinas vast, 18th century novel. The story of the dream of the red chamber moves in a background that is strange to western readers. It is a story about the tragic love of jia baoyu and lin daiyu, and the prosperity and. Dream of the red chamber, chinese pinyin hongloumeng or wadegiles romanization hungloumeng, novel written by cao zhan in the 18th century that is generally considered to be the greatest of all chinese novels and among the greatest in world literature. Dream of the red chamber all the tropes wiki fandom. Authored by one cao xueqin, the book is claimed by some scholars to. At the beginning of the story, nuwa, an elder goddess of the.

This 63page guide for dream of the red chamber by cao xueqin includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 26 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Record of the stone, is thought to be a great work of chinese literature and. Red chamber is the story of the chia clan, a large and very rich mandarin family, racing headlong into financial and moral ruin, which is redeemed by the youngest son of the house, the spoiled and effeminate pao yu. China history qing dynasty, 16441912 fiction subject. But for a person just looking for a diverting read, not so much. Chichen wangs translation is skillful and accurate.

Pdf the dream of the red chamber book by cao xueqin free. Dream of the red chamber audiobook by cao xuiqin, christine. Hung lou meng, or, the dream of the red chamber, a chinese novel, book i language. We see the inferior status of concubines manifest in the behavior and the treatment of concubine zhao zhao yiniang, the mother of tanchun and jia huan. Daiyu is beautiful and talented, very sensitive, and physically fragile.

Dream of the red chamber, released in 1987, was a television series produced by cctv adapted from the classic chinese novel dream of the red chamber. Ritual in the dream of the red chamber posted on 03022018 by stephenjones. This is counted among chinas four great classical novels, composed in the 18th century during the qing dynasty. Learn the red chamber dream from national taiwan university. Authored by one cao xueqin, the book is claimed by some scholars to be based on the authors own family.

Free download or read online the dream of the red chamber pdf epub book. In red chamber, a love triangle for the ages before most chinese readers learned of romeo and juliet, they fell for dream of the red chamber. There is a story that it had been censored because eminent people it. Chichen wang the chia family experiences a decline in fortune during the ching dynasty. Dream of the red chamber simple english wikipedia, the. The novel was written by cao xueqin in the 18th century.

The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 352 pages and is available in paperback format. Dream of the red chamber, written in the 18th century in china, is a book for people who have a particular interest in chinese culture. The first edition of the novel was published in 1791, and was written by cao xueqin. It details the decline of the jia family as it blends realism and romance, psychological motivation and fate, and daily life and supernatural occurrences. Dream of the red chamber or the hung lou meng is the greatest of all chinese novels and the first of its kind to break completely with the past. Chia paoyu reaps his first experience in licentious love. In chapter 9, jia zheng, bao yus father, questioned li gui, a servant, about what bao yu had been learning in class, and spoke of punishing him for allowing bao yu to neglect his studies. But the simpleton, who seeks no gains, with belly full, he wanders free as drifting boat upon the sea. It details the decline of the jia family as it blends realism and romance, psychological motivation and. I have read it bit by bit in my study, in railway trains, in hotel rooms. The red chamber is an expression used to describe the sheltered area where the daughters of wealthy chinese families lived. For more than a century and a half, dream of the red chamber has been recognized in china as the greatest of its novels, a chinese romeoandjuliet love story and a portrait of one of the worlds great civilizations. These 40 chapters are problematic because their origin is unknownthey dont belong to cao xueqin but also cant fully belong to anyone else. We have based this set of notes on the threevolume original novel, feeling that the richness of the original work is too important to ignore.

Dream of the red chamber may be a great novel in its original mandarin chinese, but i gave up reading it about onethird of the way through. Honglou meng, originally the story of the stone simplified chinese. One of chinas greatest classical novelsas famous in china as romeo and juliet is in the westrecounts the love triangle between a young nobleman and two very different women. Dream of the red chamber wikisource, the free online library. Believed to be based on the authors own life and intended as a memorial to the women that he knew in his youth, the dream of the red chamber is a multilayered story that offers up key insights into chinese culture. It was written sometime in the middle of the 18th century during the qing dynasty. There is a story that it had been censored because eminent people it satirised had. This apparently is a great translation by the late professor wang and. The series follows the plot of cao xueqin s novel dream of the red chamber. Languages and literatures of eastern asia, africa, oceania. As such, the social and economic relationships between various characters illuminate a larger system of social hierarchy and a broader understanding of the eastern.

Almost 40 main characters and some 500 minor characters. Ritual in the dream of the red chamber stephen jones. The dream of the red chamber community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Dream of the red chamber was written in the 1750s by a great artist with his very lifeblood, said hawkes.

Presentation of artificial flowers made in the palace. To me the idea of authorship often seems associated with the concept of ownership, as is the case with the controversy over the last 40 chapters of dream of the red chamber. Dream of the red chamber is one of the great classic chinese novels, along with three kingdoms warfare, water margin and journey to the west. It gained enormous popularity with its superb music, cast, and plot adaptation. Social hierarchy and class one function of story of the stone is its capacity to shed light on chinese customs, value systems, and social hierarchies during this period in chinese history. Dream of the red chamber simple english wikipedia, the free. A short introduction of the dream of the red chamber youtube. Hung lou meng, or, the dream of the red chamber, a chinese. Yet dream of the red chamber, written in the mid18th century, is the fullest immersion one could hope for into late imperial china, the best access to the minds, hearts and habits of that period. Dream of the red chamber is an 18thcentury novel written by cao zhan that is generally considered to be the greatest novel of chinese literature.

The dream of the red chamberstory of the stone is unlike any work in the western canon yet it fits into the western tradition of great literature in a way few other examples of classic chinese writing are able to, offering an engrossive narrative and a real feel for both character and place. The setting of the story is based on the political, social and cultural environment of the ming dynasty 68 1644, the final stage of the classic chinese civilisation. Dream of the red chamber s textual history is involved and complex, and has long been a subject of critical scrutiny, debate, and conjecture. Dream of the red chamber was finally published in print in 1791, but the text is still surrounded by controversy. Nov 10, 2016 background introduction about the famous classical novel the dream of the red chamber. Dream of the red chamber tv series 19871987 the movie. Dream of the red chamber contains examples of abhorrent admirer. The novel is most often titled hong lou meng, literally red chamber dream. Chichen wangs translation is skillful, accurate and fascinating. The main characters of this classics, fiction story are baoyu, daiyu. Why you should read chinas vast, 18th century novel, dream. Chichen wang, dream of the red chamber 1958, introduction, p.

Background introduction about the famous classical novel the dream of the red chamber. The series begins with the motherless child, lin daiyu whose beauty and intelligence surpasses all moving into the family compound of her maternal grandmother in the capital. Dream of the red chamber, also called the story of the stone and a dream of red mansions, composed by cao xueqin, is one of chinas four great classical novels. Apr 18, 2018 yet dream of the red chamber, written in the mid18th century, is the fullest immersion one could hope for into late imperial china, the best access to the minds, hearts and habits of that period. It was composed sometime in the middle of the 18th century during the qing dynasty. With jie deng, fenqiang ouyang, xiaoxu chen, ting li. Dream of the red chamber also red chamber dream, hung lou meng or a dream of red mansions simplified chinese. The basic storyline of a dream of red mansions focuses primarily on the chia family. The dream of the red chamber also known as the story of the stone is one of the four great classical novels of china, and considered the greatest of them all. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Full text of the dream of the red chamber hung lou meng. Like a chorus of golden pages and jade maidens came onto the stage, fairy streamers fluttering and flags aloft, to reveal in their midst a gorgeously attired lady, her head draped in black, her costume shimmering with.

Xueqin cao quotes author of dream of the red chamber. Based on the mideighteenth century novel by cao xueqin, beijings cctvs version of a dream in red mansions aka dream of the red chamber is known by many to be the ultimate and best adaptation of the story either on tv or film. Dream of the red chamber is a onevolume adaptation of a much longer, threevolume work, sometimes translated into english as a dream of red mansions. Also known as hung lou menga, red chamber dream, and a dream of red mansions, a chinese novel in two parts by cao xueqin. Why is chinas greatest novel virtually unknown in the west. The dream of the red chamber story of the stone is unlike any work in the western canon yet it fits into the western tradition of great literature in a way few other examples of classic chinese writing are able to, offering an engrossive narrative and a real feel for both character and place. Translated and adapted from the chinese by chichen wang, with a preface by arthur walcy. Written in the mid18th century by cao xueqin, it tells the story of the slow fall from grace of a rich family, the jia household. Chinese architecture provides for the mass of the population low, onestory buildings. Why is chinas greatest novel virtually unknown in the. Jan 01, 2006 hung lou meng, or, the dream of the red chamber, a chinese novel, book i language. Jul 15, 2012 in red chamber, a love triangle for the ages before most chinese readers learned of romeo and juliet, they fell for dream of the red chamber. Because of the huge numbers of characters and difficulty of remembering all the chinese names, i was getting little out of the book.

For those of thus who do, we are grateful to have it available. Xifeng, the target of his obsession, was not impressed. Dream of the red chamber one of chinas greatest classical novelsas famous in china as romeo and juliet is in the westrecounts the love triangle between a young nobleman and two very different women. Jul 26, 2017 dream of the red chamber, also called the story of the stone and a dream of red mansions, composed by cao xueqin, is one of chinas four great classical novels. Then it was translated into cantonese, shanghainese, and other languages and aired in the rest of china. Dream of the red chamber is widely regarded as the greatest novel of classical china. Dream of the red chamber paperback october 20, 1958.

Baoyu has always believed that he will marry his childhood sweetheart, daiyu. Record of the stone, is thought to be a great work of chinese literature and is. Dream of the red chamber, also called the story of the stone, composed by cao xueqin, is one of chinas four great classical novels. There are two dukes in the family duke ningkuo and duke jungkuo. Jia huan is in no way treated as an equal to his halfbrother baoyu, and he is, as a result, quite jealous. Librivox recording of the dream of the red chamber book i by xueqin cao. It is a huge shock to him when he learns that his parents instead want him to marry baochai, a healthy and considerate girl. Dream of the red chamber is one of the chinese noble classics. Almost 40 main characters and some 500 minor characters tell the fortunes of the chia family. Feb 12, 2016 dream of the red chamber was finally published in print in 1791, but the text is still surrounded by controversy.