In the summer of 1954, Chou Ju-ch'ang was observing a brewing storm when a dragon-shaped lightening bolt thundered through his room, flashing by his left ear only a few feet away.

"I did not faint, but felt my head was about to burst and my heart was ready to leap out. I staggered and struggled to steady myself. I probably became deaf because of this," Chou recalls in a book.

The year 1954 was particularly memorable for Chou also because a greater storm was gathering over Dream of the Red Chamber, a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) novel that many regard as one of China's most famous books. Chou would soon come to devote his entire life to studying this work.

In October that year, a letter from Chairman Mao Zedong to central government leaders sparked a national discussion about the revolutionary functions of ancient literary works.

Mao read various versions of Dream of the Red Chamber and critiqued researchers' books on the novel. His remark, "one must read the novel five times before one has a say on it", has been quoted by numerous fans.

Ever since the novel appeared in the mid-18th century, people have been arguing about the identity of its author Cao Xueqin and what he was really driving at with this epic work, which includes at least 600 colorful characters.

In 1947, Chou found a poem collection with precious clews about Cao Xueqin who died in dire poverty at age 40. His findings caught the attention of Hu Shi (1891-1962), then-president of Peking University, who wrote about the novel in the 1920s. Hu lent him a rare 16-chapter copy of the novel known as the Jiaxu edition.

In New Evidence on Dream of the Red Chamber (1953), Chou declared that Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1735-95) supported Gao E and Cheng Weiyuan to change some wording in Cao's first 80 chapters and complete the novel. The 40 chapters they added degraded the loftiness of the thrust of the story by turning it into a sordid "love triangle", in which Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai vie for the love of Jia Baoyu.

"I swear to discard the bad edition. We should collate a best version that is the closest to Cao's original work -- the greatest of all ancient Chinese novels," Chou says.

This turned out to be a very difficult mission. In 1964, the manuscripts that Chou and his brother Chou Huchang had been working on for more than 10 years were confiscated as "anti-revolutionary proofs". In 1969, Chou was sent to rural Hubei Province in Central China for "re-education".

Thanks to Premier Zhou Enlai, the sojourn ended within a year, but it wouldn't be until 2004 and 2006 that Chou could finally publish two collated versions featuring a careful comparison of 11 valuable editions along with reasons why he prefers particular wordings.

In a memoir, Chou recalls getting up at 4 am to plant vegetables in Hubei. All alone under the starry night, he would sing a Peking Opera aria about a woman named Su San being wrongly sentenced.

"She alone wanders and reminisces; this woman caught in misfortunes dominates the stage, singing a world of poetry, painting a scroll of poetry.

"Surrounded by huge mosquitoes in the darkness, I looked to the east and saw rosy clouds, rays of sunlight, morning mists, a clear daybreak Carefree and content, I forgot everything."

Throughout his life, Chou has often endured loneliness. Whether being separated from family and friends, finding few academic supporters or suffering from failing hearing and eyesight, Chou has found great satisfaction in exploring traditional Chinese culture.

More than 200 years ago, Cao Xueqin also had to endure a few years of isolation starting from the age about 15. His family feared that his rapport with Peking Opera actors -- who were at the bottom of society -- would incur political disaster, says Chou in a biography of Cao.

Confined to a shabby room, Cao started writing about the extraordinary women he had met. At that time, it was a heretical theme that no novelists had dared touch or taken seriously. Moreover, he pondered over the question of how people should treat each other and raised a new ideal called "qing" -- a completely selfless way of thinking.

"Cao Xueqin has his own philosophy and superior wisdom, and I have taken great enjoyment from this," Chou says.

In recent years, the controversy surrounding Dream of the Red Chamber has intensified, especially with the casting call for leading roles in a new TV adaptation which ended Saturday.

"The debate is not a bad thing. The novel's real influence lies with the common people. No research would be meaningful if people lost interest in it," says Chou, who gave lectures to the crew in the 1987 TV adaptation, which was a huge hit. When Chen Xiaoxu, who played Lin Daiyu in the older version, died of cancer last month, Chou composed a poem expressing deep grief.

Two weeks ago, novelist Liu Xinwu sparked greater debate on a tour to promote his new book about the novel, espousing theories that a minor role named Qin Keqing was actually a princess whose death was crucial to the family's downfall.

Chou supported Liu's exploration, even though their ideas differ on many aspects, and they seldom meet or call each other.

"He has such power in creation, such richness in mind and such depth in perception; you must admit he is a great writer," says Chou of Liu. "If after the first Liu Xinwu, the second and the third Liu Xinwu emerged with ever-greater talents and determination to finish the novel from the 80th chapter against all criticisms, there'd be a ray of hope."

Though many researchers regard the 120 chapters as part of a whole, Chou believes Cao had finished 108 chapters corresponding with 108 female roles in the novel, mirroring the 108 heroes of Outlaws of the Marsh, another Chinese classic.

Based on extensive research, Chou has put forward many astounding theories in recent years, such as Jia Baoyu's true love was not Lin Daiyu, but another cousin named Shi Xiangyun. Zhiyan (Red Ink Stone), a mysterious person who commented on Cao's novel, was Cao's second wife and the prototype of Shi Xiangyun, Chou says.

"Chou is like an outsider - he doesn't seem to belong to any group," says Ronald Gray, an American scholar who has worked with his wife Sue and several friends to translate Chou's biography for Cao Xueqin.

"I consider Chou my teacher," says Gray, who met Chou in 2002 when Chou gave English lectures on the novel to foreigners in Beijing. "He is a remarkable individual - a great scholar who is also quite accessible and wonderfully modest. In many ways, he is a living example of the traditional Confucian notion of a gentleman and a scholar."

In a simple apartment stuffed with books, the retired researcher with the Chinese Academy of Art spends every minute exploring the labyrinth of treasures Cao created.

After his brother and wife, Mao Shuren, passed away in 1993 and 2002 respectively, his children have continued the mission, shouting into his deafened ears and sorting out his dictations and notes.

"As I lie there resting or sit there at breakfast, my mind never stops thinking. There are many questions that I haven't found an answer to. As long as I still have energy, I will illuminate," said Chou, 90, who often chuckles at himself and leans close to the listener to discern their reply.

In Dream of the Red Chamber, Jia Baoyu was born with jade in his mouth and Lin Daiyu is nicknamed Xiangfei - "Queen of Bamboo". Both jade and bamboo symbolize ancient Chinese scholars' noblest virtues.

Chou carries a number of small jade-ware pieces in his gray old coat pocket and fondles one when he speaks. It's a habit he's had since childhood. On his narrow balcony, the bamboo that his wife planted rustles in the summer breeze.

(China Daily June 11, 2007)