Dream of the red chamber may be regarded as the tragedy of tragedies. The dream of the red chamber penguin classics 60s s. Reading and folly in dream of the red chamber haun saussy yale university. The story of the stone the dream of the red chamber, vol. The best english translation of honglou meng is by david hawkes and john minford, under the title the story of the stone, and published by penguin. It was written some time in the middle of the 18th century during the qing dyn.
The story of the stone the dream of the red chamber. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The dream of the red chamber is one of the four great classical novels of chinese literature. Dream of the red chamber by cao xueqin free pdf books. Title page for the dream the red chamber dream hung. Dream of the red chamber, or the story of the stone, is the greatest masterpiece of chinese classical novels of the ming and qing dynasties. Title page for the dream the red chamber dream hung lou. Dream of the red chamber, one of the four great classical novels. Readers of english are fortunate to have david hawkes and john minfords the story of the. The project gutenberg ebook of hung lou meng, book i, by cao. What is the appeal of the chinese classic dream of the red. Dream of the red chamber academic dictionaries and. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Dream of the red chamber, one of the four great classical.
Dream of the red chamber outline pinyin py, honglou meng. It is a work that has multiple lives and multiple readerships. This novel recreates the ritualized hurlyburly of chinese family life that would otherwise be lost and infuses it with affirming buddhist belief. These translations, and work like the hwangsheng opera, serve to place dream of the red chamber squarely in the realm of world literature. It is the first printed edition of the classic novel written by cao xueqin circa 1715. While i certainly understand the decisions hawkes and minford. Click download or read online button to get the dream of the stone book now. It is renowned for its huge scope, large cast of characters and telling observations on the life and social structures of 18th century china and is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the classical chinese novel. The story of the stone, or the dream of the red chamber.
David hawkes and john minford, the story of the stone. Pdf reading and folly in dream of the red chamber haun. Chen shihyin, in a vision, apprehends perception and spirituality. This outline is designed to provide a bit of guidance as you read volume 1 of the story of the stone. I am less interested at this point in your appreciation of the novel as a literary work than i am in the book as a reflection of chinese culture world view. For me, 2017 will go down as the year i finally managed to make it through the david hawkes and john minford five volume translation of the story of the stone or, as it is more famously known, dream of the red chamber. The project gutenberg ebook of hung lou meng, book i, by cao xueqin. A dream of red mansions is the closest translation by yang hsien yi and gladys yang of the most common chinese title, but other translations of this title might also include a dream of the red chamber, or dreams in a red chamber. Dream of the red chamber free pdf books from bookyards, one of the worlds first online libraries to offer ebooks to be downloaded for free. Dream of the red chamber hong lou meng was written in the 18th. Dream of the red chamber is a masterpiece that has been called the book of the millennium and it is high time it receives the attention it deserves.
At the beginning of the summer, i set out to read the entirety of the david hawkes translation of the dream of the red chamber. He is best known as the author of dream of the red chamber, one of the four great classical novels of chinese literature. Feb 12, 2016 dream of the red chamber is a masterpiece that has been called the book of the millennium and it is high time it receives the attention it deserves. The circulation of a chinese classic a dream of red mansions in. The story of the stone is better known in china as the dream of the red chamber. Why you should read chinas vast, 18th century novel, dream. The novel circulated in manuscript copies with various titles until its print publication, in 1791. Jul 28, 2010 at the beginning of the summer, i set out to read the entirety of the david hawkes translation of the dream of the red chamber. The story of the stone translated by david hawkes and a dream of red.
Daiyus arrival confucius institute at the university. The red chamber is an expression used for the sheltered area where the daughters. Full text of the dream of the red chamber hung lou meng. Dream of the red chamber the reader wiki, reader view of. A letter from the dream of the red chamber association of china. Yet dream of the red chamber, written in the mid18th century, is the fullest immersion one could hope for into late imperial china, the best access to the minds, hearts and habits of that period. He was also unfortunate enough, as a child, to be a witness to its dramatic downfalla result of political purges and. Wang guowei, hunglou meng pinglun a critique of dream of the red chamber 1904, as quoted in wang kuowei. The novel circulated in manuscript copies with various titles until its print. Dream of the red chamber is an 18thcentury novel written by cao zhan that is generally considered to be the greatest novel of chinese literature.
Jan 01, 2006 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. This was later accepted for publication by the asia society of new york, but the project was abandoned when penguin announced its proposed translation by professor david hawkes, with john minford. Why you should read chinas vast, 18th century novel. It details the decline of the jia family as it blends realism and romance, psychological motivation and fate, and daily life and supernatural occurrences. Published in 1792, it depicts virtually every facet of life in eighteenthcentury chinaand has influenced.
Book 1 of 5 in the dream of the red chamber series. When it comes to the dream of the red chamber, i think it is beneficial to have translational options. Dream of the red chamber project gutenberg selfpublishing. Dream of the red chamber in 120 chapters world digital. It has been called one of the best translations into english of our time. Divided into five volumes, of which the warning voice is the third, it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious jia family a story which closely accords with the fortunes of the authors own family. Hawkes is survived by his wife, jean, three daughters and a son.
Dream of the red chamber by cao xueqin librarything. Xueqin cao, david hawkes, e gao, john minford, publisher. The story daiyus arrival is from the classic chinese novel, dream of the red chamber, which is known as an encyclopedia of premodern china zhongguo baike quanshu because it paints a panoramic portrait of that era, detailing all. There are a number of translations of this work available, generally pared down versions that omit much of the text. Divided into five volumes, the story of the stone charts the glory and decline of the illustrious jia family. She is a young, beautiful but aloof buddhist nun, compelled by circumstances to become a nun, and shelters herself under the nunnery in prospect garden.
Approaches to teaching the story of the stone dream of the. A link to the librarys david hawkes archive is available here. Dream of the red chamber contains an extraordinarily large number of characters. It was written some time in the middle of the 18th century during the qing dynasty. There are multiple format available for you to choose pdf, epub, doc. Cao xueqin, a member of an eminent family that had served the qing dynasty emperors but whose fortunes had begun to decline, began composing dream of the red chamber during the 1740s. The dream of the red chamber by xueqin cao,david hawkes book resume. Dream of the red chamberguide to reading zhang xiugui, cliffsnotes. I have the exact same feeling with you the moment i began to read tolstoy. After being introduced to japanese through codebreaking during the second world war, hawkes studied chinese and japanese at oxford university between 1945 and 1947 before studying at peking university from 1948 to 1951. Dream of the red chamber, also called the story of the stone, or hongloumeng simplified chinese.
Included here are the preface and comments by zhang ruzhi at the tops of the pages, the table of contents. Download or read the dream of the red chamber book by clicking button below to visit the book download website. Presentation of artificial flowers made in the palace. Believed to be based on the authors own life and intended as a memorial to the women that he knew in his youth, the dream of the red chamber is a multilayered story that offers up key insights into chinese culture. Xin jian quan bu xiu xiang hong lou meng newly printed complete illustrated edition of the dream of the red chamber is also known as the chenga edition. In a text so large and dense, multiple translations can provide a deeper understanding for nonnative speakers. The monitory vision fairy expounds, in ballads, the dream of the red chamber. The project gutenberg ebook of hung lou meng, book i, by. One is told that if you want to understand modernday china you must read this 18thcentury novel. The red chamber is an expression used to describe the sheltered area where the daughters of wealthy chinese families lived. Dream of the red chamber s textual history is involved and complex, and has long been a subject of critical scrutiny, debate, and conjecture. Or, the dream of the red chamber, a chinese novel contributors. The respected and prolific team gladys yang and yang hsienyi also translated a complete version, a dream of red mansions beijing. Translating hong lou meng in the 1970s, both renditions.
Divided into five volumes, of which the warning voice is the third, it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious jia family a story which closely accords with the fortunes of the authors own. Chia yuetsun, in the windy and dusty world, cherishes fond thoughts of a beautiful maiden. The title has also been translated as red chamber dream and a dream of red mansions. For a paronomastic study of the dream of the red chamber, see. Daiyus arrival confucius institute at the university of. Approaches to teaching the story of the stone dream of. Volume 2 was as good as it was going to get in terms of consistency, character and plotting. Translating religion in the dream of the red chamber. Dream of the red chamber in 120 chapters world digital library. The dream of the stone download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. This novel recreates the ritualized hurlyburly of chinese family life that would otherwise be lost. Richard smith rice university dream of the red chamber outline of vol i of story of the stone, with comments. The penguin translation by david hawkes uses the first of these titles.
The story of the stone, or the dream of the red chamber author. I interviewed them in beijing several times in 1989, shortly before the. Hung lou meng, or, the dream of the red chamber, a chinese. Some titles especially in books published prior to 1979 use the wadegiles system of romanization. Hawkes said, in an interview with his collaborator and soninlaw, john minford, in response to a question about the principles of translation he. Miaoyu, rendered adamantina in the david hawkes translation is an important character in dream of the red chamber, one of the classics of chinese fiction.
Conceived and substantially completed by cao xueqin c. Mar 17, 2016 i have the exact same feeling with you the moment i began to read tolstoy. Dream of the red chamber is a masterpiece that has been called the book of the millennium and it is high. Subsequent to the visions of a dream which he had, on some previous occasion, experienced. It is by all accounts the most famous chinese novel and has earned a place in the great literature of the world. Lucien miller, vanitas david hawkes, and reverend void hsienyi and gladys yang. Translations of dream of the red chamber pauline a. Its author, cao xueqin, was the scion of one of the wealthiest families of early qing china. David hawkes, scholar and chinese translator, was born on july 6, 1923.
Old goody liu pays a visit to the jung kuo mansion. Buy the dream of the red chamber penguin classics 60s s. The hawkes translation, distinguished by meticulous research and a lively, elegant prose style, succeeds in being a magnificent novel in its own right. Apr 18, 2018 yet dream of the red chamber, written in the mid18th century, is the fullest immersion one could hope for into late imperial china, the best access to the minds, hearts and habits of that period. The dream of the red chamber cao xueqin, hawkes, david on. The story of the stone, or the dream of the red chamber, author. Why is chinas greatest novel virtually unknown in the west. I cant say how true to the chinese text it is but i cant imagine a more fluid and lovely translation than the david hawkes. It has the most profound influence on later generations in literature. The story of the stone or dream of the red chamber, a chinese novel by cao xueqin and continued by gao e, tells of an amazing garden, of a young mans choice between two beautiful women, of his journey toward enlightenment, and of the moral and financial decline of a powerful family.
David hawkes 6 july 1923 31 july 2009 was a british sinologist and translator. Pdf translating religion in the dream of the red chamber. Look at some of the pages of the manuscript of the hawkes translation held at the chinese university of hong kong. Home facts about china four great classical novels the story of the stone. Red chamberarticle on china central television program about china daily. Why is chinas greatest novel virtually unknown in the. Although volume 3 often feels like it is falling apart despite the editors rouge inkstone, odd. Extracts from the hawkes translation were published as the dream of the red chamber new york. Some titles especially in books published prior to 1979 use the wadegiles system of. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The story of the stone the dream of the red chamber cao. Dream of the red chamber, also called the story of the stone, composed by cao xueqin, is one of chinas four great classical novels dream of the red chamber full text pdf.