Top 10 works of Chinese literature
- By Elaine Duan
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E-mail China.org.cn, December 1, 2010
A Dream of Red Mansions (simplified Chinese: 红楼梦; pinyin: Hóng Lóu Mèng)
A Dream of Red Mansions, also referred to as The Story of the Stone, is another of the four great Chinese novels. Written by Cao Xueqin sometime in the middle of the 18th century, it is generally acknowledged to be the pinnacle of classical Chinese novels and has had a profound influence on later generations.
The masterpiece is comprised of 120 chapters, only the first 80 of which were written by Cao Xueqin. The work was completed by Gao E. A Dream of Red Mansions is believed to be semi-autobiographical, mirroring the fortunes of the author Cao Xueqin's own family. As the author explains in the first chapter, it is intended as a memorial to the women he knew in his youth: friends, relatives and servants.
The novel is remarkable not only for its huge cast of characters and psychological scope, but also for its precise and detailed observation of the life and social structures typical of the 18th-century Chinese upper class. It has generated a huge volume of scholarship, and has given rise to its own specialized field of study known in China as Redology. Probably the finest English translation is by the husband and wife team of Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang.
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