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Dream of the Red Chamber
Cao Xueqin; Translated by H. Bencraft Joly; Foreword by John Minford; Introduction by Edwin Lowe
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R601
Discovery Miles 6 010
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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"One of the great novels of world literature…to the Chinese as
Proust is to the French or Karamazov to the Russians." --Anthony
West, literary critic Dream of the Red Chamber (also known as The
Story of the Stone) is renowned for its epic scope, rich
psychological characterizations and telling observations on family
life and the role of women in Chinese society. One of the Four
Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature, along with Journey to
the West, The Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms;
Dream of the Red Chamber is widely regarded as the greatest Chinese
classical novel, and one of the greatest works of world literature
ever written. The "red chamber" refers to a sheltered area in
wealthy households where daughters were confined until married--a
veritable prison where dreams of true love wither. This sweeping
tale tells of the rise and fall of rival branches of the wealthy
Jia family, who live in lavish adjacent compounds surrounded by a
lush, private garden. The story opens with the birth of Jia Baoyu,
heir apparent and darling of the women in the Jia household. A
free-thinker and idealist, Baoyu soon rebels against his stern
father, who refuses to allow his son to pursue a romantic affair
with Lin Daiyu--a headstrong and intelligent woman who shares his
love of music and poetry. Baoyu is forced instead to marry Xue
Baochai, an equally talented and beautiful woman but someone with
whom he has no emotional connection. The fates of the star-crossed
lovers and their families slowly unravel as this tragic story
unfolds. Dream of the Red Chamber, although written by a man, is
said to be one of the first great works of women's literature. The
author, Cao Xueqin, is thought to have written the novel as a
memorial to the inspiring women he knew in his youth.
Based upon the historical bandit Song Jiang and his companions, The
Water Margin is an epic tale of rebellion against tyranny that will
remind Western readers of the English classic Robin Hood and His
Merry Men. This edition of the classic J. H. Jackson translation
brings a story that has been inspiring readers for hundreds of
years to life for modern audiences. It features a new preface and
introduction by Edwin Lowe, which gives the history of the book and
puts the story into perspective for today's readers. First
translated into English by Pearl S. Buck in 1933 as All Men Are
Brothers, the original edition of the J.H. Jackson translation
appeared under the title The Water Margin in 1937. In this updated
edition, Edwin Lowe addresses many of the shortcomings found in the
original J.H. Jackson translation, and reinserts the grit and
flavor of Shuihui Zhuan found in the original Chinese versions,
including the sexual seduction, explicit descriptions of brutality,
and the profane voices of the lower classes of Song Dynasty China.
Similarly, the Chinese deities, Bodhisattvas, gods and demons have
reclaimed their true names, as has the lecherous, ill-fated Ximen
Qing. This 70-chapter book includes much that was sanitized out of
the 1937 publication, giving Anglophone readers the most complete
picture to date of this classic Chinese novel. While Chinese in
origin, the themes of The Water Margin are so universal that they
have served as a source of inspiration for numerous movies,
television shows and video games up to the present day.
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