Emperor Qianlong fought for years and spent a lot of money on military affairs. He traveled to Jiangnan six times, which was very extravagant and wasteful. Coupled with the corruption and waste of the following officials, the country is gradually weakening.

During this period, a novel called A Dream of Red Mansions circulated in Beijing. At first, people didn't know who the author was. Later, after textual research, they knew that the author of this book was Cao Xueqin.

Cao Xueqin turned out to be the son of a noble family. His great-grandfather Cao (sound xǐ) once won the favor of Emperor Kangxi and was sent to Jiangning in the south to be a weaver girl. Jiangning is a rich land in the south. Weaving is specially designed for the royal family. It is a money-saving job. After Cao died, Cao Xueqin's grandfather and father Cao? (sound fǔ) After taking over this job, the family worked as a weaving officer for about 60 or 70 years for three generations. Needless to say, family wealth is getting richer and richer, becoming a giant.

After Yong Zhengdi ascended the throne, Cao Cao was implicated in internal disputes among the royal family. Yong Zhengdi thought that Cao Cao opposed him and not only fired Cao Cao? Post also ordered a search of their home. At that time, Cao Xueqin was still a child of 10 years old and sensible. Seeing such a great disaster at home, his young mind was greatly hit.

My father lost his official position and couldn't stay in Jiangning, so he had to return to his hometown in Beijing. His life is getting poorer and poorer, and family disasters happen one after another. Later, Father Cao? Dead, too. Cao Xueqin's life was even worse, so he had to move to the western suburbs of Beijing and study in a few humble rooms. Sometimes there is not enough food, so we have to drink porridge to satisfy our hunger.

Cao Xueqin lives in the suburbs, the environment has changed, and he has contacted some poor people. When he thinks of the luxurious life at home when he was a child, he will inevitably have many feelings. Later, he decided to write a novel reflecting the social life at that time based on his personal experience, that is, A Dream of Red Mansions.

In A Dream of Red Mansions, Cao Xueqin wrote a story of a noble family Jia family from prosperity to decline. In that aristocratic family, most of them are parasites who squander pleasure and specialize in eating, drinking, lending and collecting rent. Some people are hypocritical on the surface and dirty and mean on the inside. The hero of the novel, Jia Baoyu, the son of the Jia family, and his cousin Lin Daiyu are a pair of young people who hate aristocratic habits and oppose feudal ethics. In that environment, they want to get rid of the shackles of the old ethics and have no way out. As a result, Lin Daiyu suffered discrimination and died. Jia Baoyu ran away from home; And that noble family, after enjoying all the splendor, collapsed like a decadent building.

Cao Xueqin wrote this pair of young men and women and some oppressed and humiliated handmaids in a very sympathetic tone, and angrily exposed the decay and evil of the feudal ruling class. There is a story of "protecting officials" in A Dream of Red Mansions, which specifically exposes how these bureaucrats and the rich collude to oppress the people.

The Jia family in the novel has a relative, the Xue family. Xue Pan, the son of the Xue family, killed someone for fighting for a maid. The victim's servant reported to Yingtianfu, and Jia Yucun, the magistrate, sent someone to Xue Family to catch the murderer. His valet hinted that he should not do so. After leaving the court, Jia Yucun left his servant and asked him why he stopped him from catching the murderer. The servant took out a piece of paper from his bag, on which was copied a popular folk song called "Official Protection".

Jia is real, the golden horse in the hall.

Epang Palace, 300 Li, can't live in Jinling Yishi.

The East China Sea is short of white jade beds, and the Dragon King came to invite King Jinling.

With so much snow in good years, pearls are as gold as iron.

Jia Yucun can't read it. As soon as the servant explained, I realized that there were four families in Nanjing: the Jia family was a relative of the country, and the historian and Wang family were both big bureaucrats in Jinling (that is, Nanjing); "Xue" and "Xue" are homonyms, referring to the local wealthy businessman Xue Jia. These four families are interrelated and colluded with each other, and their power is beyond words. If officials want to keep their official positions, they can't offend these four giants. The servant reminded Jia Yucun that the murderer of this murder was the son of the Xue family. If he offends them, he will not only lose his official position, but also lose his life.

Jia Yucun was shocked by the servant's words and immediately gave up the idea of catching the murderer. He also described that the person who was killed died of illness according to the plan provided by the servant. A murder ended in chaos.

Cao Xueqin spent ten years writing this novel in the western suburbs of Beijing. Hard work and illness made him very weak. When he finished writing eighty times, one of his beloved children fell ill and died. Cao Xueqin couldn't stand this blow, and finally put down his unfinished works and passed away.

After Cao Xueqin's death, his novel manuscript was copied by friends and gradually spread. Many people read this novel, which was both appreciated and moved. However, it is always a pity that such excellent works are not completed. Later, another writer, Gao E, continued to write for forty times, making A Dream of Red Mansions a novel with complete structure.

The novel A Dream of Red Mansions has been copied and republished again and again, and spread more and more widely. Until modern times, it has been recognized as the most outstanding novel in ancient China. People not only appreciate his superb artistic achievements, but also learn about the history and social situation of the decline of feudal society in China. Up to now, many scholars from home and all over the world have studied and verified this masterpiece. People call this knowledge "Dream of Red Mansions".