What kind of book is Dream of the Red Chamber? Why is Dream of the Red Chamber also called The Story of the Stone?

We have been exposed to "Dream of Red Mansions" through television since we were very young. As one of the four great masterpieces of China, its writing and creation have left us with endless literary value. Since the 20th century, the academic community has developed a special discipline based on "Dream of Red Mansions" due to its outstanding artistic achievements and rich and profound ideological background. Many friends are curious about why the author named this book "The Story of the Stone"? This world-recognized classical novel of human feelings expresses the idea that we should treat everything in the world with emotion and judge people with emotion.

Contents of this article

1. What kind of book is Dream of the Red Chamber?

2. Why is Dream of the Red Chamber called The Story of the Stone?

3. What does Dream of Red Mansions tell us?

What kind of book is Dream of the Red Chamber?

1. A Dream of Red Mansions is a human-interest novel with global influence, universally recognized as the pinnacle of Chinese classical novels, an encyclopedia of Chinese feudal society, and a culmination of traditional culture;

2. The novel is set against the backdrop of the rise and fall of the four great families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue, with the family affairs and boudoir leisure as the context, and the love and marriage story of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai as the main line. It depicts the beauty of humanity and tragedy of the two lovers, good and evil, centered on Jia Baoyu and the Twelve Beauties of Jinling. Through the family tragedy, the tragedy of the daughters, and the life tragedy of the protagonist, it reveals the crisis of the end of feudalism;

3. "A Dream of Red Mansions" talks about love with a general purpose, records the facts to encourage itself, only follows its own facts and logic, breaks away from the old patterns, is fresh and unique, and has achieved extraordinary artistic achievements. The special writing style of hiding the real events and using false words and village talk has opened up the minds of readers in later generations, and speculations have increased over time.

Why is Dream of Red Mansions called The Story of the Stone?

The Dream of Red Mansions is called The Story of the Stone because it begins with a mythical introduction to the origin of the work. Jia Baoyu's predecessor was a piece of stone left over from when Nuwa repaired the sky. In essence, Jia Baoyu is a piece of stone, and his body is just one of his identities, so it is called The Story of the Stone. The Dream of Red Mansions is one of the four great classical Chinese novels.

Why is A Dream of Red Mansions called The Story of the Stone?

The reason why "Dream of Red Mansions" is called "The Story of the Stone" is related to the opening of this novel. In the opening of "Dream of Red Mansions", the origin of the work is introduced in the form of mythology, which tells that when Nuwa repaired the sky, there was a piece of stone left that was useless and was abandoned under the boundless Qinggeng Peak in the Great Wilderness Mountain. This stone is the predecessor of Jia Baoyu.

This stubborn stone was later brought to the illusory world and became the attendant of the god Ying. The attendant of the god Ying wanted to enter the mortal world and experience the mundane world, so Baoyu was born with the jade. In essence, Jia Baoyu is actually a stone. His body in the human world is just an identity, which is the story of a stone experiencing the mundane world.

What does Dream of Red Mansions tell us?

The idea expressed in Dream of Red Mansions is to judge the world and people with emotion, that is, to treat everything in the world with human care, whether it is living or non-living. The Dream of Red Mansions takes the love and marriage tragedy between Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai as the main line, describes the rise and fall of the four major families represented by the Jia family, reveals the various intricate contradictions of the feudal family, and tortuously reflects the historical trend of the inevitable collapse and decline of that society.

The work also praises the aristocratic rebels and the love that violates the feudal ethics, reflects the initial democratic thought of pursuing individual freedom, and profoundly and comprehensively reveals the social roots of the love and marriage tragedy between Jia, Lin, and Xue. However, due to historical limitations, the author also reveals regret and sentimentality while writing about the decline of the feudal family, which is tinged with fatalism and nihilism.