Introduction to "A Dream of Red Mansions":
In "A Dream of Red Mansions", the titles of the books mentioned in the article include "The Story of the Stone", "The Record of the Love Monk", "Feng Yue Bao Jian", "Jinling Ten" "Two Hairpins". In the 49th year of Qianlong's reign (1784), the preface of Mengjue Master was officially titled "A Dream of Red Mansions". Before that, the book was usually titled "The Story of the Stone". After that, "A Dream of the Red Mansions" replaced "The Story of the Stone" and became the popular one. The title of the book. Written in the mid-Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (Jiaxu, 1754), it is considered to be China's most literary achievement of classical novels, the pinnacle of Chinese novel creation, and the first of the "Four Great Masterpieces" of Chinese classical novels. Its influence has transcended eras and national boundaries, and it is a shining pearl in the history of world literature. It has even given rise to a modern discipline "Redology" with the theme of studying the Dream of Red Mansions.
In the early 20th century, the question "Who is the author of Dream of Red Mansions?" once caused a debate in Chinese academic circles, and this debate still exists today. It can be roughly divided into two theories: first, the Dream of Red Mansions was written by Cao Xueqin; second, the author of Dream of Red Mansions was someone else.
As for the Dream of Red Mansions itself, it is said in the first chapter: The real author of this story is no longer known. It was copied, reviewed, added and deleted several times by Cao Xueqin. Generally speaking, it is a mainstream view that Cao Xueqin is the author of this book.
"A Dream of Red Mansions" was originally circulated in manuscript form. In 1792, Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E said in Cheng Yi's "Introduction to a Dream of Red Mansions": "The first 80 chapters of the book were copied and circulated by bibliophiles for several thirty years." It can be seen that the circulation of "Dream of Red Mansions" in the society began in 1763 or 1764, that is, shortly after Cao Xueqin's death, this book spread in the society. Some of these manuscripts named this book "The Story of the Stone". It is generally believed that the first eighty chapters of "The Story of the Stone" or "A Dream of Red Mansions" were written by Cao Xueqin, but these eighty chapters did not form a complete book. Therefore, many people appeared in later generations to continue writing "Dream of Red Mansions". Among them, the most widely circulated version is the 120-chapter version compiled and published by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E in 1792, commonly known as Cheng Yi version.
The manuscripts of "A Dream of Red Mansions" that have been handed down to this day include:
Jiaxu version: named "Zhiyanzhai's Commentary on Stones", preserved in chapters 1-8, 13-16, 25-28 , ***16 chapters, divided into 4 volumes, 4 chapters in one volume. The first chapter contains a sentence that is not found in other books: Zhizhi Yanzhai Jiaxu copied and re-evaluated it and still wrote it in stone. Hence the name. Jiaxu, 1754. There are more than a thousand comments in this book, which is called "Zhi Biao".
Yimao version: Named "Zhiyanzhai's Commentary on Stones", which contains 1 to 20 chapters, 31 to 40 chapters, 55 chapters (the second half), 56, 57, 58, and 59 chapters. (First half), 61-63, 65, 66, 68-70 chapters. On the contents page of volumes 31 to 40, there are six words "Yimao Dongyue Dingben", so it is called Jimao edition. Ji Mao, 1759.
Genchen version: Named "Zhi Yanzhai's Re-evaluation of Stone Records". 78 chapters saved, 1-80, 64 missing, 67 chapters. Packed into 8 volumes. 10 chapters in one volume. The content pages of the last four volumes have the words "Gengchen Qiuyue Final Version", hence the name. Gengchen, 1760.
Prince's Mansion Edition: Named Shitouji, found in a Mongolian prince's palace in the Qing Dynasty, hence the name. 120 times.
Qi Xuben (lithographic version, Shanghai version, Nanjing version): It is named Shitouji, and has the preface of Qi Polygonum, hence the name. 80 times.
Yang Ben: also known as "Dream Manuscript", 120 chapters. It was once collected by Yang Jizhen, hence the name.
Shu's preface: "A Dream of Red Mansions". Deposit 1-40 times. There is a preface by Shu Yuanwei in 1789 (Jiyou), hence the name.
Russian version: Existing Institute of Oriental Studies, Petersburg, Russia. 78 times saved, 5 or 6 times missing. There is no overall title. Except for a few chapters called "Dream of Red Mansions", all chapters are called "The Story of Stones". The text is wrong in more than one place, but this one is correct. The best example is the second sentence of Daiyu's eyebrows, which is originally: a pair of eyes that look like weeping but not weeping. It is a perfect match to the first sentence, "The eyebrows look like they are frowning but not frowning". It's much inferior. This sentence should be Xue Qin's original pen. Photocopies are available.
The Preface to the Master of Mengjue (Jiachen Edition): It is called "A Dream of Red Mansions" and has the preface to the Master of Mengjue. 80 times.
Zheng Zangben: 23 and 24 chapters saved. It was once collected by Zheng Zhenduo, hence the name.
The above editions are also called Zhi editions because of the comments by Zhi Yanzhai. These manuscripts have now been published in photocopied editions (except the Shanghai edition and the Nanjing edition). Later, there were movable type printed editions:
Cheng Jia edition (1791): A movable type printed edition published by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E in 1791, with 120 chapters.
Cheng Yiben (1792): A movable type printed version published by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E in 1792, with 120 chapters. Many modifications have been made to Cheng Jiaben.
The relationship between books
The relationship between these books is an interesting research topic. One commentator believes that these manuscripts are all from the same handed down manuscript by Cao Xueqin. The differences between the manuscripts were formed in the process of copying. Xueqin did not have multiple manuscripts handed down to the world. He used a statistical table of the same and different versions of the Chinese version and some other arguments to prove that all manuscripts are supplementary manuscripts (including the Jimao version and the Gengchen version). Therefore, the study of version relationships cannot be based on the "version" unit. , should be in "return" as the unit. Sometimes, we have to go deep into the interior of a chapter.
Continuation of the last 40 chapters
The original manuscript of Dream of Red Mansions was lost after 80 chapters. Some people believe that Cheng Weiyuan commissioned Gao E to continue writing the last 40 chapters. The general view is that the sequel is far different from Cao Xueqin's first eighty chapters in terms of literary value, and also very different from Cao Xueqin in terms of purpose. However, it generally preserves the story structure of the original work, and has contributed a lot to the wide spread of Dream of Red Mansions. Some people also believe that the last 40 chapters were written by others, and Gao was just a organizer.
Relationship table of the main characters
"A Dream of Red Mansions" has written dozens of lifelike characters. As for the appearance of the whole book There are no fewer than hundreds of characters in it, making it the best novel in the world. The many characters in the book leave a deep impression on people.
Main characters
Jia Baoyu - generally considered to be the male protagonist of the book Dream of Red Mansions. The plot in the book mainly centers on him. The story starts from his past life. It is almost a description of his journey to enlightenment throughout his life. Zhi Yanzhai used the word "qingbuqing" when commenting on Jia Baoyu, referring to Jia Baoyu's profound humanistic thoughts and his ability to bestow his own feelings on people, things and things that have no feelings.
Lin Daiyu--it is generally believed that she is the heroine of the book "Dream of Red Mansions". She contrasts with Jia Baoyu and is a typical spiritual image in Chinese classical literature. Zhi Yanzhai used the word "qingqing" when commenting on Lin Daiyu, referring to Lin Daiyu's ability to bestow her feelings on the people she loves.
Xue Baochai--
Shi Xiangyun
Wang Xifeng--is generally considered to be the most vivid character in Dream of Red Mansions, with a strong secular flavor.
Li Wan
Jia Yuanchun
Jia Yingchun
Jia Tanchun
Jia Xichun
Qin Keqing - the only character among the Twelve Beauties of Jinling written by Cao Xueqin. She appeared in the fifth episode and died in the thirteenth episode. At the same time, Zhiyanzhai's comment pointed out that the original section "Qin Keqing mourned in Tianxiang Tower" was later deleted.
Miaoyu
Jia Mu
Grandma Liu
Xi Ren
Qingwen
Zicuckoo
Yuanyang
Ping'er
Secondary characters
You Erjie, You Sanjie, Xiaohong, Jia Yun, Ni Er, Qin Zhong, Liu Xianglian, Xue Pan, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Xiang Ling, Siqi, Jin Chuan, Yu Chuan, Fangguan, Jia Huan, Aunt Zhao, Ming Yan, Xing Madam, Madam Wang
Theme
Since this masterpiece is composed of several major themes interspersed with many small stories, there is no unified theme of "A Dream of Red Mansions" so far. theory, but the most important one is the love triangle between Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. Some people think that this masterpiece is describing the corruption of aristocratic life in the feudal era. There are many thoughts about Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism in the book. , is rich in mythological color, and reflects the political etiquette, social life, economic system and cultural development at the time when the work was written, as well as clothing, food and medicine, building pavilions, boats, carriages and sedan chairs, etc.
Adaptations for film, television and other performances
The TV series "Dream of Red Mansions" was first broadcast on China Central Television
"Yue Opera Dream of Red Mansions"
"Huangmei Opera: A Dream of Red Mansions"
"Kunqu Opera: A Dream of Red Mansions"
Movie: Eryou of the Red Mansions (Peking Opera)
"TV Series: A Dream of Red Mansions" Produced by Taiwan China Television Company , which was broadcast from November 1996 to October 1997; it is a feature that the script is not adapted from the most widely circulated version of the novel.
Modern Dance: A Dream of Red Mansions is a choreography commemorating the 10th anniversary of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. It was choreographed by Lin Hwai-min in 1983 and was released in a boxed package in the spring of 2005. The biggest difference from other performance methods is that the modern dance of Dream of Red Mansions does not emphasize the role of the Twelve Golden Hairpins. Instead, the dancers’ costumes allow the audience to freely imagine, and the stage scenery and lighting are used to create the alternation of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, showing the grand view garden. The process of prosperity and decline.