DREAM OF RED MANSIONS Al this exposes the corrupt and reactionary nature of the au- perstructure in the last period of Chinese feudal society Chapter Four of this book not only sums up the main con- tent but also the artistic composition. The author has con- structed the plot according to the requirements of the theme expressing political struggle. The prosperity and decline of the four big families, especially the Chias, form the main thread running through wholc novel. Around this unfold three sets of closely interconnected contradictions: those between th feudal ruling class and the ruled, those between feudal orthodoxy and the rebels, and those within the ruling clas itself. The complex development of these three sets of contradictions throughout the story results finally in the utter bankruptcy of the Chia family. Thus the whole vast, complex artistic struc- ture of the novel is most carefully integrated, fully projecting the theme of political struggle The novel not only has a profound ideological content aad progressive political tendency but an art form so brilliant integrated with these that readers are fascinated and moved by it. With superb artistry the author presents a panoramic genre-painting a whole gallery of highly individual yet typical characters. Through detailed descriptions of their daily life be succeeds in depicting their different idiosyncrasies, thoughts and feeling. In the use of dialogue too be whow ot nding skill, putting such dixioctive speech into each chacacter's mouth chat the reader feds as if he can see and hear the speaker. Thus Lu Hsun observed:"The appearance of this novel marked a break with traditional ideas and methods of writing." The novel's political theme revealing class struggle and its toling indictment of the feudal roling class and feudal system as well as iu mode of artistic expressio, did indeed break with earlier traditions, burning over a acw page in classical Chinese literture Chairman Mao has pointed out: To study the develop- meat of this old culture, to re ite feudal drow md 1Ln HaB, "The Htotioal Deveopment of Chinee Fiaion, "Coleen Wo Chinese edition, vo L
严sHB"sNoE assimilate its democratic essece is a necessary condition Lot developing our new natlonal altura and increasing our natonal gelf-copfdence, but we should never swallow anything and everything uncritically. It is imperative to separate the ine old culture of the people which had a more or less democratic and revolutiJJary character from all the decadence of the old feudal ruling class. "1 This is also the attitude we should take towards this novel which belongs to Chinas fne literary heritage. The ideological value of this work lies in the fact that it deals with political struggle, that y presenting the prosperity and decline of the four typical noble Families it truthfully lays bare the corruption and decadence of the feudal ruling class and points out its inevitable doa, and that it gives praise to the revolts of the slaves in grand View Garden and the unorthodox characters of Pao-yu and Tai-yu Regarding the novel objective artistic effect, it undoubtedly exposes and attacks the feudal system from various angl hence its main ideological tendency is good. This does not mean however, that the work contains no feudal dross and the author's own world outlook no feudal ideas, For after all Tsao Hsueh-chin was born in a declining noble family more than two hundred years ago, and this novel was written in the feud petiod. His pessimism and fatalistic, nihilistic ideas, his view of life as a tragedy and all on carth as vanity, as well as h feudal approach to certain matters show the clear brandmark of the author's class origin and times on his world outlook and his novel Tsao Hsuch-chin did not finish his monumental work. Onk eighty chapters written by him are extant in manuscript form with comments by Chih-yen Chai. He wrote more than this but unfortunately the manuscripts of the later chapters were lost. The last forty chapters in the present novel were the work of Kao Ngo, who lived after Tsao Hsueh-chin and carried out I Mao Tsetung. "On New Democracy, "Selected Work, FLP, Peking toby, Vol. Il, p, 8r
A DREAM OF RED NNSIONS his plan of making the love story between Pao-yu and Tai-yu end in tragedy; and in this respect his forty chapters have great artistic impact. After Kao Ngo's completion of the novel, this boak originally knowh as Tbe Tale of the Stone ip eighty manuscript chapters was printed in movable type in I79T as a complete novel in I20 chapters and renamed A D Red Mansions. The printing of this edition increased the cir culation of the book and helped to preserve the original eighty chapter version. Kao ngo while completing the novel made certain revisions in the original text and in his later forty chap ters he sometimes went counter to Tsao hsuch-chin' s original intention and fell far short of Tsao Hsueh-chin in his portrayal f life and artistic attainment, due to his distinctive feudal outlook and inferior talent The last two bundred years have seen heated controversies regarding the estimation of this book. Prior to the May 4th Movement of 1919, there were numerous critics of the novel who are now knowa as the old Red-ologists " Their views might diverge, but all alike made idealistic interpretations or distor- tions of the book according to the class interests and political needs of landlord-bourgeois scholars. After the may 4tb Move ment there appeared a group of" new Red-ologists"headed by the reactionary writer Hu Shib. Their "researches" into this novel had a reactionary political motivation.. For that perio saw the upsurge of a revolutionary mass movement against im perialism and feudalism; so Hu Shih and his followers preached reactionary pragmatism and idealism and through their " re searches"opposed the spread of Marxism in China, Lu Hsun, great writer, thinker and revolutionary, fought staunchly against these " new Red-ologists. After the establishment of New China, the controversy over this novel took a new form under new historical condi- tions. In I954, a mass movement led by our great leader Chair man Map himself to criticize the reactionary ideas of Hu Shih in the study of this book spread throughout the country. Chair- man Mao pointed out that this was " the first serious attack in over thirty years on the erroneous views of a 8o-called
PUBLISHER'S NOTE authoritative writer in the ield of study"of this novel. This struggle thoroughly debunked the subjective idealism of the Hu Shib school and dealt a heavy blow at the bourgeoisie So the controversy over this novel has been very fierce and sharp. This was the case in the past, and the struggle will con- tinue in tuture too The numerous editions of this novel can be divided into two main groups: those based on the carly manuscript copies of the eighty-chapter version, and those based on the later 120- chapter printed edition. Our first eighty chapters have been translated from the photostat edition published by the Peoples Literature Publishing House, Peking, in September 1973 accord- ing to a lithographic edition printed by the Yu-cheng P ress Shanghai, in about IgIl. This Yu- cheng edition had been made from a manuscript copy kept by Chi Liao-sheng of the Chien lung era. The last forty chapters are based on the 120-chapter edicion reprinted by the People's Literature Publishing House, Peking, in 1939 from the movable-type edition of 1792. The Chi Liao-sheng manuscript of the first eighty chapters is one of the earliest copies extant. In our transtation certain minor errors and omissions made by the man who copied the original manuscript have been corrected according to other versions The translation will appear in three volumes of forty
CoNTENTS CHAPIER 1 Chen Shih-yin In a Dream Sees the Jade of Spiritual Under- tanding Chia Yu-tsum in His Obscurity Is Charmed by a Moid CHAPTER 2 Lady Chia Dies in the CIty of Yangchow Lang Tzu.hsing Describes the lung Mansion CHAPTER 3 Lin Jy-hsl Recommends c Tutor to His Brother-in-Low The Lady Dowager Sends for Her Motherless Grand-Daughter CHAPTER 4 An lfl-Foted Glr Meets an (ti-Fated Mon. cose A Confounded Monk Ends a Confounded Case CHAPTER 5 The Spiritual Stone Is Too Bemused to Grasp the Foiry's RIddles The Goddess of DIsenchantment in Her Kindness Secretly Ex Puno。rLov CHAPTER 6 Pao.yu Has his First Taste of Love Granny Liu Pays Her First Vislt to the Jung Mansion CHAPTER 7 Madam Yu (avites Hsi-feng Alone At a Feast in the Ning Mansion Pao-yu Flrst Meets Chin Chung 102 CHAPTER 8 Nonmy LI Mokes a Nuisance of Herself by Warning Against Drinkin Pao-yu Breaks o teacup and Flias into a tamper 117 CHAPTER 9 Devoted Frlends Join the Clan School Mud-Slinging Boys Brdwf in the Classroom 132