Dream of the Red Chamber: A Portrait of Family and Love
Dream of the Red Chamber, also known as the Story of the Stone, is one of the masterpieces of Chinese fiction. It was composed sometime in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. Dream of the Red Chamber is often taken to be the zenith of Chinese classical fiction. To understand Chinese values in all its complexity, one can do no better than to read this book. Its authorship is attributed to Cao Xueqin.
It is believed that the novel is semi - autobiographical, mirroring the vicissitudes of Cao Xueqin’s own family. It was intended to be a memorial to the women Cao knew in his youth: friends, relatives, and servants, as the author details in the first chapter.
The novel itself is a detailed, episodic record of the lives of the extended Jia Clan, made up of two branches, the Ningguo and Rongguo Houses, which occupies two large adjacent family compounds in the Qing capital, Beijing. Their ancestors were made Dukes, and at the novel’s start the two houses were still one of the most illustrious families in the capital. Originally extremely wealthy and influential, with a female member made an Imperial Concubine, the Clan eventually fell into disfavor with the Emperor, and had their mansions raided and confiscated. The novel is a charting of the Jias’ fall from the height of their prestige, centering on some 30 main characters and over 400 minor ones.
The main character, Jia Baoyu, is the adolescent heir of the family, apparently the reincarnation of the Stone. In the previous life he had a relationship with a flower, who is incarnated now as BaoYu’s sickly cousin—the emotional Lin Daiyu. However, he is predestined in this life, despite his love for Daiyu, to marry another cousin, Xue Baochai. The novel follows this love triangle against the backdrop of the family’s declining fortunes.
The novel is remarkable not only in its huge cast of characters—over 400 in all, most of whom are female—and its psychological scope, but also in its precise and detailed observations of the life and social structures of 18th - century China.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms: A Saga of Loyalty and Strategy
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was written by Luo Guanzhong in late Yuan to early Ming period. It is a Chinese historical novel based upon events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period.
This novel reflects the Confucian values which were prominent at the time it was written. According to Confucian moral standard, loyalty to one’s family, friends, and superiors could be used as one of many measures to distinguish between good and bad people.
One of the greatest achievements of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the extreme complexity of its stories and characters. The novel is studded with numerous “mini - stories”, many of which could be developed into full - length novels in their own right. The following is one of the most well - known mini - stories, “the Battle of Red Cliffs”.
Cao Cao, who declared himself the Prime Minister, led his troops to attack southern China after uniting the north. To resist Cao Cao’s invasion, Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang to persuade Sun Quan in Jiangdong (East Wu) to form an alliance. Zhuge Liang managed to persuade Sun Quan to form an alliance with Liu Bei against Cao Cao. Sun Quan placed Zhou Yu in command of the forces of Jiangdong to defend against Cao Cao’s invasion. Zhou Yu felt that Zhuge Liang would become a future threat to East Wu and tried several times to kill Zhuge Liang, but failed. In the end, he had no choice but to co - operate with Zhuge Liang for the time being as Cao Cao’s armies were at the border. Cao Cao was defeated at the Battle of Red Cliffs by the combined forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan and forced to flee back.
This novel is a fascinating reflection of Chinese culture, and many Chinese proverbs in use today are derived from the novel, for example: Three smelly tailors defeat one Zhuge Liang, which means three incapable persons if joined up will always overpower one capable person. Also, the story of the novel has been told in numerous forms including movies, television series, and video games.
Water Margin: Tales of Heroic Uprising
The Water Margin or Outlaws of the Marsh written by Shi Naian is a novel well - known as one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. It tells the stories of a group of heroes (108 outlaws), who stand for different classes of people daring to struggle against the evil. There are 105 men and 3 women in all, who are oppressed by the corrupt and unjust officials and then rise up. These stories take place at the end of the North Song period, describing various vivid pictures of farmers’ uprising full of love and hate, ties of friendship, kind and enmity, etc. The heroes do lots of good deeds to help the poor by plundering the evil. After winning battles against the imperial forces, the outlaws are offered amnesty and invited by the emperor to become an official army, which Song Jiang, the head of 108 outlaws, willingly accepts. Gao Qiu, the main antagonist of the 108, not being happy with them, sends them out to fight against the enemies of the Dynasty, and finally the outlaws have a tragic ending.
The Water Margin has been translated into many languages. Also, it has been told in numerous forms including movies, television series, and video games. A 40 - episode TV serial produced in Mainland China was released in 1997.
Journey to the West: A Mythical Pilgrimage for Spiritual Growth
The novel, ascribed to the scholar Wu Cheng’en, is a fictionalized account of the legends around the Buddhist monk Xuanzang’s pilgrimage to India during the Tang Dynasty in order to obtain Buddhist religious texts called sutras. The Bodhisattva Guanyin, on instruction from the Buddha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples—namely Sun Wukong (Monkey), Zhu Bajie (Pig) and Sha Wujing (Sand Monk), together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang’s horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as an atonement for past sins.
The classic tale of the Journey to the West was based on real events. The real journey to the west took place during the Tang Dynasty. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China, was both the starting and ending point of this epic journey. Xuanzang reached India after he experienced innumerable trials and hardships, of course without the help of the mighty disciples of the novel. Xuanzang then lived in India for more than a decade, learning classics of Buddhism and Indian culture. Later he returned to China, bringing with him copies of many classic Buddhist texts, which contributed significantly to the promotion of Buddhism in China.
