Book description
The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known by the title of The
Dream of the Red Chamber, is the great novel of manners in Chinese literature.
Divided into five volumes, of which The Debt of Tears is the fourth,
it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious Jia family (a story
which closely accords with the fortunes of the author's own family).
The two main characters, Bao-yu and Dai-yu, are set against a rich
tapestry of humour, realistic detail and delicate poetry, which
accurately reflects the ritualized hurly-burly of Chinese family life.
But over and above the novel hangs the constant reminder that there is
another plane of existence - a theme which affirms the Buddhist belief
in a supernatural scheme of things.
Cao Xueqin (?1715-63) was born into a family which for three
generations held the office of Commissioner of Imperial Textiles in
Nanking, a family so wealthy they were able to entertain the Emperor
four times. However, calamity overtook them and their property was
consfiscated. Cao Xueqin was living in poverty when he wrote his famous
novel The Story of the Stone.
