first part

In spring, peony petals are everywhere. Shi Xiangyun used that scarf to wrap peony flowers as pillows. She was drunk, on a stone bench, she was resting on a peony pillow, and she fell asleep, so naive. This scene was painted. As soon as the car runs in the street, Shi Xiangyun runs all over the street. This is how A Dream of Red Mansions penetrated into the people at that time.

Lecture 1: Pursuing a Dream of Red Mansions (I) (1)

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (1) (2)

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (1) (3)

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (I) (4)

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (I) (5)

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (I) (6)

Lecture 2 Pursuing a Dream of Red Mansions (II) (1)

Lecture 2: Pursuing a Dream of Red Mansions (Part Two)

The second lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (2) (3)

The second lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (2) (4)

The second lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (2) (5)

The second talk about the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (2) (6)

The third lecture on Jia's marriage mystery (1)

The third lecture Jia Fu marriage mystery (2)

The third lecture Jia Fu marriage mystery (3)

The third lecture Jia Fu marriage mystery (4)

The third lecture Jia Fu marriage mystery (5)

The third lecture Jia Fu marriage mystery (6)

the second part

Cao Xueqin's writing is very strange. He said that Qin Ye went to Yangshengtang to adopt a child because he had no children. Let's think about it. In the society where Qin Ye lives, according to the general rules of the game, if he is a 50-year-old man with no children, the first measure to solve the problem of children is to marry a second wife. If your wife dies, you will marry another person. If the married wife has no children, then you should marry a concubine. Polygamy was practised at that time. Marrying a little wife is allowed by society, isn't it?

The fourth lecture on the mystery of adoption in Qin Keqing (1)

The fourth lecture Qin Keqing adoption mystery (2)

The fourth lecture Qin Keqing adoption mystery (3)

The fourth lecture Qin Keqing adoption mystery (4)

The fourth lecture Qin Keqing adoption mystery (5)

The fourth lecture Qin Keqing adoption mystery (6)

The fifth lecture on the mystery of Qin Keqing's existence (1)

The fifth lecture Qin Keqing survival mystery (2)

The fifth lecture Qin Keqing survival mystery (3)

The fifth lecture Qin Keqing survival mystery (4)

The fifth lecture Qin Keqing survival mystery (5)

The fifth lecture Qin Keqing survival mystery (6)

Lecture 6 The Mystery of Qin Keqing's Birth (1)

Lecture 6 The Mystery of the Origin of Qin Keqing (2)

The sixth lecture on the mystery of the origin of Qin Keqing (3)

The sixth lecture on the mystery of the origin of Qin Keqing (4)

The sixth lecture on the mystery of the origin of Qin Keqing (5)

The sixth lecture on the mystery of the origin of Qin Keqing (6)

The sixth lecture on the mystery of the origin of Qin Keqing (7)

the third part

At the end of my last speech, I came to the conclusion that my background was not only poor, but even higher than Jia's. It's higher than Jia Fu. Think about it, Jia Fu is already a nobleman in the frenzy, which means she may be a member of the royal family. So we're going to find her in the royal family of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Dynasties to see if there is a prototype of Qin Keqing's life.

Lecture 7 The Mystery of Night Police in Zhangdian (1)

The seventh lecture Zhangdian night police mystery (2)

The seventh lecture Zhangdian night police mystery (3)

The seventh lecture tent temple night police mystery (4)

The seventh lecture tent temple night police mystery (5)

The seventh lecture Zhangdian night police mystery (6)

The seventh lecture tent temple night police mystery (7)

Lecture 8 on the mystery of the rise and fall of Cao family (1)

Lecture 8 The Mystery of the Rise and Fall of Cao Family (2)

Lecture 8 The Mystery of the Rise and Fall of Cao Family (3)

Lecture 8 The Mystery of the Rise and Fall of Cao Family (4)

Lecture 8 The Mystery of the Rise and Fall of Cao Family (5)

Lecture 8 The Mystery of the Rise and Fall of Cao Family (6)

Lecture 9 The Mystery of Sun and Moon Hanging (1)

The ninth lecture on the mystery of the sun and the moon hanging double (2)

The ninth lecture on the mystery of the sun and the moon hanging double (3)

The ninth lecture on the mystery of the sun and the moon hanging double (4)

The ninth lecture on the mystery of the sun and the moon hanging double (5)

The ninth lecture on the mystery of the sun and the moon hanging double (6)

The ninth lecture on the mystery of the sun and the moon hanging double (7)

part four

I started in Qin Keqing, and I didn't just study this role. I'm not engaged in personality theory or Qin Keqing's monograph. I started by exploring the prototype of Qin Keqing's life, aiming to find a window, a door, look through that window and cross that threshold, so as to better grasp the background of A Dream of Red Mansions and Cao Xueqin's creative situation and psychology.

Lecture 10 The Mystery of Jiang Yuhan (1)

Lecture 10 The Mystery of Jiang Yuhan (2)

Lecture 10 The Mystery of Jiang Yuhan (3)

Lecture 10 The Mystery of Jiang Yuhan (4)

Lecture 10 The Mystery of Jiang Yuhan (5)

Lecture 11 The Mystery of King Jing of Beijing (1)

Lecture 11 The Mystery of King Jing of Beijing (2)

Lecture 11 The Mystery of King Jing of Beijing (3)

Lecture 11 The Mystery of King Jing of Beijing (4)

Lecture 11 The Mystery of King Jing of Beijing (5)

Lecture 11 The Mystery of King Jing of Beijing (6)

Lecture 12 The Great Secret of Qin Keqing Prototype (1)

The twelfth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret classic (2)

The twelfth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret classic (3)

The twelfth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret classic (4)

The twelfth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret classic (5)

The twelfth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret classic (6)

The twelfth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret classic (7)

The twelfth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret classic (8)

The fifth part

It is an indisputable fact that A Dream of Red Mansions is an edited work. The author Cao Xueqin and his collaborator Zhi Yanzhai have repeatedly disclosed that in the creation of A Dream of Red Mansions, the content was deleted for some unclear reasons, which is actually a non-artistic consideration.

Lesson 13 The Secret of Qin Keqing Prototype (1)

The 13th lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret (2)

The thirteenth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret (3)

The thirteenth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret (4)

The 13th lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret (5)

The 13th lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret (6)

The thirteenth lecture Qin Keqing prototype big secret (7)

Lecture 14 The Mystery of Qin Keqing's Accusation (1)

The fourteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (2)

The fourteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (3)

The fourteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (4)

The fourteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (5)

The fourteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (6)

Lecture 15 The Mystery of Qin Keqing's Accusation (1)

The fifteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (2)

The fifteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (3)

The fifteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (4)

The fifteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (5)

The fifteenth lecture Qin Keqing accused mystery (6)

Part VI

Did you notice that the image of Jia Yuanchun in A Dream of Red Mansions really surfaced in the sixteenth time? Although this character was mentioned earlier, he was mentioned in Leng Zixing's Speech in Guo Rong Fu, but this person didn't come into play until after Qin Keqing's death.

Lecture 16 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Prototype (1)

Lecture 16 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun Prototype (2)

Lecture 16 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Prototype (3)

Lecture 16 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Prototype (4)

Lecture 16 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Prototype (5)

Lecture 16 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Prototype (6)

Lecture 17 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun Trial (1)

Lecture 17 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Trial (2)

The 17th lecture Jia Yuanchun trial mystery (3)

Lecture 17 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Trial (4)

The 17th lecture Jia Yuanchun trial mystery (5)

The 17th lecture Jia Yuanchun trial mystery (6)

Lecture 17 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Trial (7) New

Lecture 18 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Death (1) New

Lecture 18 The Mystery of Jia Yuanchun's Death (2) New

Lecture 18 The mystery of Jia Yuanchun's death (3) New

Lecture 18 The mystery of Jia Yuanchun's death (4) New

Lecture 18 The mystery of Jia Yuanchun's death (5) New

Lecture 18 The mystery of Jia Yuanchun's death (6) New

Lecture 1: Pursuing a Dream of Red Mansions (I) (1)

At the end of Qing Dynasty, there was a man named Zhu Changding, who was a scholar. One day, he was sitting in the room reading a book when a friend came. This friend saw him reading there, looking like he was studying, and asked him, "Dude, what are you studying?" Do you study Confucian classics? "In the past, people divided all books into classics, history, books and collections, and classics were the most sacred. The book of sages, the book of Confucius and Mencius, the four books and the five classics are all classics, and Confucian classics are considered the most sacred. So most people think that a scholar is studying classics there.

Zhu Changding is an interesting person. As soon as he heard this question, he replied, by the way, I studied Confucian classics, but this Confucian classic I studied is a little different from yours. What is the difference? My classics is to remove the one with three folds, that is, three bends. The friend thought, why is the Confucian classics he learned so strange? As we all know, in the past, the word "Jing" in traditional Chinese characters had a twisted line on the left, a horizontal line on the right, then three bends or folds, and the word "I" at the bottom. The word "Jing" and the word "Jing" in traditional Chinese characters have been removed, so there is only one word "I" on the right. A twisted wire and an I-character. What's this word? It's red. Oh, this friend said, long time no see. Are you studying A Dream of Red Mansions? Although this is a joke, it also shows that A Dream of Red Mansions has been deeply rooted in people's hearts at that time, and such literati have appeared. They regard reading and studying A Dream of Red Mansions as a serious matter and as a good thing as studying other classics. This fully shows that the study of A Dream of Red Mansions formed a special kind of knowledge at a very early age.

During Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty, a man named Deshuoting wrote a string of grass beads, also called "Kyoto Zhi Zhu Ci". There are two sentences in one of the poems: "It's no use talking about a dream of red mansions." It can be seen that talking about A Dream of Red Mansions was a social fashion a long time ago.

Learning Qiushi, like Deshuo Pavilion, is probably full. Learning Qiushi is probably a stage name and a pen name. While studying Qiushi's Poem Xu Du Men Zhi Zhu, we found a very interesting Zhi Zhu Ci. Now I have read all four sentences. Listen, if you think about it, it's very tasty-it says that A Dream of Red Mansions conveys a lot of information. "A Dream of Red Mansions has been completed" means that people understood at that time that the movable type version of A Dream of Red Mansions they saw included two parts: one part was originally written by a person and was incomplete; The other part is that others continue, but completely continue. This is a very important message. At the time of Jiaqing, those people may not know who the original author of A Dream of Red Mansions is and who the sequel is. But they have clearly understood that the 120 story of A Dream of Red Mansions was not written by one person from beginning to end, but a book that has never been fully developed to completion. This is a very important message. After the spread of A Dream of Red Mansions, it not only spread in the form of words, but also quickly transformed into other art forms, such as pictures. The second sentence of this Zhuzhi Ci tells us that A Dream of Red Mansions is not only for people to read Ci. "Wan Qi painted banners", that is, banners hung at home, that is, some paintings such as four screens, were all painted in A Dream of Red Mansions. Wan Qi used fans last summer. There are many kinds of fans. Besides folding fans, there is another kind of fan called Wanfan, which is made of silk stretched on a frame, so that you can enjoy the painting while fanning the fan. At this time, the picture of A Dream of Red Mansions has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. You can see them on banners hanging at home and fans that people fan. How influential do you think a dream of red mansions is! More interestingly, he said, "Look at the window of the hot train. Xiangyun is still drunk and sleepy." What kind of car was the Qing Dynasty? As we all know, the cars that ordinary citizens take are mule cars. A mule cart is a mule pulling a shaft, and there is a carriage behind it, just like a sedan chair, but it may be arched and round. This car is a hot car in winter. Why? Because of the climate in Beijing, we all know that it is very cold in winter, and there will be door curtains and curtains in the car, which will be warmer and form a warm little space. And as we all know, when someone rode a mule cart in the past, the heating tools of that era might be a copper stove and a copper bowl filled with charcoal, which was a small heating stove. A Dream of Red Mansions also describes this thing. What is painted on the curtain of this car? It's already winter, and we need to find a way to keep warm, but the curtain is still painted with the scene of spring, which is the plot in A Dream of Red Mansions, that is, "Shi Xiangyun is drunk with peony". That's one of the most beautiful pictures in A Dream of Red Mansions, remember? In spring, peony petals are everywhere. Shi Xiangyun used that scarf to wrap peony flowers as pillows. She was drunk, on a stone bench, she was resting on a peony pillow, and she fell asleep, so naive. This scene was painted. As soon as the car runs in the street, Shi Xiangyun runs all over the street. This is how A Dream of Red Mansions penetrated into the people at that time.

、

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (1) (2)

Of course, A Dream of Red Mansions was later transformed into more diverse art forms, such as New Year pictures, comic books, clay sculptures, porcelain carvings, folk art vocals, traditional operas, dramas, ballet, movies and TV series ... Now China people always know some characters and story lines of A Dream of Red Mansions from other art forms, even if they haven't read the original.

However, what happened in the circulation of A Dream of Red Mansions can be said to be very bumpy and tortuous.

Now we see the popular book A Dream of Red Mansions with the names of Cao Xueqin and Gao E printed on the cover. There are too many examples of two or more people writing a book at all times and in all countries. This is not uncommon. The question is, if two people sign a joint name, will they at least get to know each other first? Acquaintance, this is the first; Second, we should not only know each other, but also discuss how to write this book together, and then divide the work. For example, if you write the first draft, I will write the second draft, or if you write this part, I will write that part, or to put it bluntly, a person is in poor health or old age and will soon die. He told another person, I haven't finished, you can continue to do it.

My research starts here. Are Cao Xueqin and Gao E collaborators? Did they jointly create A Dream of Red Mansions? When the information is wrong, these two people have nothing to do with each other and don't know each other at all. Their life paths have never crossed and have nothing to do with each other. The year of Cao Xueqin's birth and death is controversial in academic circles, especially when he was born. Some scholars think it is not easy to understand. There is a debate about which year, but this debate is only one to two years, whether it is 1763 or 1764. According to the year at that time, whether the trunk is a non-noon year or a famine year is just a few arguments. Therefore, Cao Xueqin's date of birth and death is controversial, but it can still be found out in general, and the information can also be found out. Gao E is almost ten or twenty years younger than Cao Xueqin, or even twenty years younger. It doesn't matter if you are younger. Old people and young people can also publish a book together, but they don't know each other at all. And when did Gao E come to continue A Dream of Red Mansions? This information is accurate. It's been 179 1 year, that is to say, it's almost 30 years since Cao Xueqin died, and it will be nearly 30 years before Gao E continues the story of A Dream of Red Mansions. Gao E cooperated with a bookseller named Cheng Weiyuan, and finally published A Dream of Red Mansions with 120 chapters, adding 80 chapters of Cao Xueqin's original works to their 40 chapters. According to the research of many redology experts, these forty times were continued by Gao E, or mainly by him.

Therefore, Gao E and Cao Xueqin were not collaborators at all. His sequel to A Dream of Red Mansions was a long time after the eighty chapters of A Dream of Red Mansions-thirty years was a long time at that time, and now it's not too short to think about it. So from the perspective of copyright, how can the copyright of a book print the names of these two people together? A Dream of Red Mansions, Cao Xueqin and Gao E, it seems that the two of them have collaborated on a new book, and they have cooperated from the first to the one hundred and twenty. In fact, this is not the case at all, so my research is not unreasonable. In fact, A Dream of Red Mansions has been studied for a long time, but no matter what the conclusion of A Dream of Red Mansions is, what puzzles me is that the Dream of Red Mansions that people often buy up to now is still printed in this way, and I doubt it. I suggest that when the publishing house prints again in the future, you can still print 120 copies, but at least Cao Xueqin and Gao E should be printed on the cover, which is meaningful. According to the truth, don't put them together at all. Cao Xueqin's dream of red mansions is Cao Xueqin's dream of red mansions. Who wants to see a sequel? The sequel is actually more than a Gao E. You can publish a Dream of Red Mansions by Gao E for forty times. This completely distinguishes copyright, which is very important.

As the saying goes, everyone has his own taste. Now some people say that the last forty rounds are very good, and there are extreme opinions that the last forty rounds are better than the first eighty rounds; I respect his personal opinion, but I am honest about my feelings. The last forty times were very bad, very bad. How bad is it? Simply say two!

The first one is A Dream of Red Mansions written by Cao Xueqin, which has been clearly stated in the first eighty chapters, and the implication is very clear. Remind readers again and again that it will be a great tragedy in the end. Watch it for the fifth time. The fifth time, in his sleep, Jia Baoyu turned over the pages of the twelve women's books, and the police phantom nun asked the singer to sing the twelve poems of A Dream of Red Mansions to Jia Baoyu. How did they sing? It's too clear in here. The ending of Jia's family should be "the family is gone, people are scattered, suddenly the building falls down and the lights go out", and its ending should be "as good as eating birds and throwing the forest, the land is so clean"! This is not very clear, it is such an ending. But it is wrong for you to see the continuation of Gao E's Forty Chapters, so don't wait for it to come. When he returned to the eighty-first time, his first reply was very strange. It's called "fishing and swimming in Wang Xiang Simei, strictly speaking, I entered the school twice." We know that over 70 times, people have written that the upcoming events cast a shadow over them. Think about it, the Jia family copied it by themselves, but they didn't copy it from the outside, so they copied the Grand View Garden, died, and someone killed them. Qingwen, a lovely girl, wasn't she kicked out? Didn't he later die of persecution? Isn't it? In the 1980s, it was written that Jia Yingchun married Sun Shaozu, and she was also facing the fate of death. Isn't this already hinted at? A vicious wolf pounced on a beautiful woman, and the secret was revealed in the fantasy fairy tale of police and bandits. Jia Baoyu's album and paintings have been drawn. It's been written 80 times. She's married and the situation is very dangerous. Why did everything suddenly calm down for the eighty-first time? "Take advantage of four beauties to catch fish", leisurely and carefree. And as you can see in the first eighty times, Cao Xueqin is against superstition. Malik poured money on Yan, Xi-feng and Baoyu, and he hated it. How can he write these beautiful women at the back? He thinks that people made of water go fishing to get rich and go to divination?

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (1) (3)

What's more, "In the town, Bao Yu has a dusty relationship, and Huang Muen treats Jia Jia and Yan Shize", which is even more inconsistent with the hints of the first eighty times. In Gao E's works, Jia Fu copied from his family, but in the end the emperor was very kind to them and everything was restored. Even if Jia Baoyu became a monk, it would be very strange. Mr. Lu Xun pointed this out. You have left home. Why did you suddenly run to the river to say goodbye to your father Jia Zheng? Jia Zheng was originally his least favorite person, and there was a fierce conflict between father and son, remember? "All kinds of unscrupulous people are greatly criticized." Who hit who? Fight to the death, right? Jia Baoyu saw through the worldly hypocrisy and filth, "pulled back from the brink" and broke with feudal parents, but Gao E wrote that he left home to worship Jia Zheng, and

The monk who became a monk is very strange, wearing a cloak of red orangutan felt. The cloak with red gorilla felt is very luxurious, and it is a relic of that noble family. It is not written correctly. Cao Xueqin himself warned you in front that it would be a complete tragedy in the end. How can it end in such a comedy scene? This is not right.

In addition, the more you write the protagonist Jia Baoyu, the more wrong it is.

We felt the role of Jia Baoyu in the first 80 times. He is a man who is incompatible with the feudal mainstream society. He called those who went to study Confucian classics and took the imperial examinations "traitors" and "Lu Wei", and he hated those bureaucrats. But under Gao E's pen, how could Jia Baoyu suddenly become a good boy, listen to Jia Zheng, go to school twice and concentrate on reading sage books? Do you remember the last forty times, one day Jia Baoyu met Qiao Jie, and Jia Baoyu's writing was so strange. Jia Baoyu heard that Qiaojie had read the Book of Women's Filial Piety and thought it was very good, so he told her the Biography of Women and talked about feudal morality in a long article. Is this Jia Baoyu? Cao Xueqin has written clearly in the front. Jia Baoyu is "down and out, ignorant and afraid of reading articles". He is a man who has a headache as soon as he hears about going to school. He used to go to school to make friends with Qin Zhong, and he didn't study hard. He is not such a person at all, so Gao E distorted the image.

Of course, I also admit that Gao E's forty chapters have played a certain role in the overall spread of A Dream of Red Mansions, making Cao Xueqin's eighty chapters spread all over the world as a complete story, so I can understand why books are printed more. However, understanding belongs to understanding, but Gao E's sequel is wrong to express our opinions on the study of A Dream of Red Mansions. Of course, many people say that Gao E wrote "Lin Daiyu burned the manuscript and broke her infatuation", which should be good, right? That is the most wonderful part of Gao E's forty poems. The following words may disappoint you. After some textual research, the redologists found that Lin Daiyu didn't die like this in Cao Xueqin's conception, which didn't conform to Cao Xueqin's original conception. We won't discuss this in detail.

In a word, as can be seen from the cover, Cao Xueqin and Gao E are not collaborators, and the last forty chapters are unacceptable. Some people say, are you too alarmist? Why are you in a hurry to express your opinions if you have sharp opinions? Do you want to impress people a little? That's not true. This is my true feeling. Besides, I want to tell you that in the past forty times, people have put forward sharper views than me. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, a man wrote a book. His name is Yu Rui. He is a descendant of the nobility, Manchu, of course. The book he wrote is called "Idle Pen at Jujube Window". It is estimated that there are jujube trees outside his study window. The style of this book is similar to the current essays, and it is tantamount to an essay collection. There is a passage about a dream of red mansions in "Idle Pen at Jujube Window", saying that he knows that the author of a dream of red mansions should be Cao Xueqin. Of course, his introduction to Cao Xueqin's identity and family background was also inaccurate by later Redology scholars, but that is another question. The problem is that at that time, at that early stage, he made a very sharp criticism of the last forty chapters, which can be said to be criticism. He said so. He didn't know Gao E at that time. He didn't know that Gao E and Cheng Weiyuan lasted for the last forty times. He doesn't know who went on. But he felt something was wrong. He said, "If you check it carefully for forty times, it will definitely be different from the previous one, and it will undoubtedly be a supplement." He added, "perfunctory words, casual words, are quite like pen and ink." If you look closely at his bad intentions and spoil the scenery, you will know that Xueqin will never take it by surprise. " He thinks that the writing is inferior, and it can never be written by Cao Xueqin. There is another sentence that is even more powerful. He said, "As the saying goes, there is no good except evil." He doesn't even keep the advantages we just mentioned, thinks it is "all good and all evil" and hates it. Therefore, this doyen, an early Redology researcher, made a very sharp criticism of the last forty chapters.

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (I) (4)

As I said just now, from the cover, I found that Cao Xueqin and Gao E were not collaborators at all, and Gao E's continuation of the book did not meet Cao Xueqin's original intention. Whether Gao E's sequel is good or not, and how to evaluate it, we can put it aside first, and let's study Cao Xueqin's eighty chapters. To study Cao Xueqin's eighty chapters, we must study Cao Xueqin himself. What's wrong with this writer-who is he? Whose child is it? Why did you write this book? There are many research results in this field. In A Brief History of Chinese Novels, Mr. Lu Xun adopted the latest achievements of redology research at that time, and thought that Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions was an autobiographical writing and Dream of Red Mansions was an autobiographical work. Mr. Lu Xun said, "All the narratives are true, what you have heard and experienced." A Dream of Red Mansions is characterized by eight words: "It is because of realism that it is transformed into freshness." The degree of his realistic writing penetrated into the back of the paper. Realism seems to be the freshest, fiction and imagination are the freshest. However, Yin Wei is the greatest strength of realism, and his writing style is very good, "turning fresh", but it is better than those pure fiction and pure fantasy works. This is Mr. Lu Xun's evaluation of A Dream of Red Mansions. Today, I think I still admire it. I think Mr. Wang is very accurate.

Some people say that if you come, will you equate Cao Xueqin with Jia Baoyu? Should Jia Fu and Cao Jia be equated in A Dream of Red Mansions? Are you saying that A Dream of Red Mansions is reportage? Everything in it, every scene, is a mechanical record of life 100%? I didn't say that. I didn't mean that. My meaning is actually very clear, that is, I understand Mr. Lu Xun's meaning, that is, Cao Xueqin wrote A Dream of Red Mansions. He wrote this work according to his own life experience and the ups and downs of his family in the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. So it is autobiographical and self-narrative. I didn't say it was an autobiography. Not to mention that it is all equal to the truth of life, that he has no process of artistic imagination. Of course, it goes without saying that he has sublimated from the truth of life to the truth of art. Therefore, to understand A Dream of Red Mansions, it is necessary to understand Cao Xueqin's family background, and at least check three generations-know who his grandfather is, who his father is, what kind of life experience he has, and what happened to him. How his family prospered and flourished in the Kangxi dynasty; Yongzheng dynasty, Yongzheng didn't like it very much, so he copied it and punished it; In the early years of Qianlong, he was pardoned by Qianlong and was once well-off; But after four years, how did you suddenly get involved in a big political struggle? At the same time, the other people in the society were brought under control, and the Cao family was completely destroyed in the collective punishment. Finally, "throw it into the forest like a bird, and the land will be so clean"! Therefore, you need to know Cao Xueqin's family background to understand A Dream of Red Mansions. To understand A Dream of Red Mansions, you must enter the field of Cao Xue. There are many books on this subject to read now. I just started to enter this field and found it very interesting.

Let's start with Cao Xueqin's book. Now it is generally called ancient books, that is, manuscripts. Cao Xueqin's original works are basically popular handwritten forms. Some people say that Gao E was printed later. It lasted forty times. Didn't it print the first eighty times? However, Gao E and Cheng Weiyuan did something they shouldn't have done. You just need to continue the book, but he has made some changes to the first eighty chapters, and changed many places, some of which are neither fish nor fowl, and some of which are unreasonable. Sometimes Cao Xueqin's meaning has changed, so the current general book is not only unreliable in the last forty chapters, but also unreliable in the first eighty chapters. So, if you really want to read A Dream of Red Mansions, buy a photocopy or proofread and print the ancient version of A Dream of Red Mansions.

Entering the version of a dream of red mansions is called edition science. Besides Cao Xue, Redology has a big branch called edition science, which is very interesting. When we enter this field, we will know that the original works of A Dream of Red Mansions are circulated by hand-copying, which is usually eighty times, but in fact, strictly speaking, it may be less than eighty times. Now most people think that the oldest book is JOE, written in the 19th year of Qianlong, with the title of A Dream of Red Mansions. As we all know, A Dream of Red Mansions once had many names in its circulation. In the current version of JOE, I summarized it myself, and there are some records in other books. In fact, the earliest book should be called The Stone, and the earliest book should be The Stone. Later, there were various names, such as "Love the Monk". Because the protagonist Jia Baoyu used to be a monk, it was called "Love the Monk". Later, it was called A Dream of Red Mansions, The Moon Mirror and Twelve Women in Jinling, but this ancient version of A Dream of Red Mansions was finally named The Story of the Stone. Therefore, The Story of the Stone should be a title that best reflects Cao Xueqin's original intention. It's just that we are used to calling it a dream of red mansions now, which is of course just as well. It's nothing more than a matter of symbols, but you should know that the ancient version of a dream of red mansions should be a stone.

The first lecture on the pursuit of a dream of red mansions (I) (5)

In the 19th year of Qianlong, there was a JOE edition, in the 24th year of Qianlong, there was a bazaar edition, and in the 25th year of Qianlong, there was a Chen Geng edition.