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Miaoyu
Miaoyu (, rendered Adamantina in the David Hawkes translation) is an important character in the 18th century novel '' Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the classics of Chinese fiction. 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. She likes Zhuangzi's article. Miaoyu is unusual. She esteems herself highly and, as a result, is proud and aloof but remains open to people she takes a liking to. Being extremely fastidious about cleanliness, she looks down on common people like Granny Liu and refuses to share the same tea cup the rustic granny uses. She is also a very talented poet and highly learned, maybe even more so than Shi Xiangyun and Lin Daiyu. She has a bond with Xing Xiuyan (邢岫烟), whom she taught to read and write, and with Baoyu, once sending Baoyu a greeting during his birthday. Perhaps she appreciates Baoyu's following his own heart, such as loving Lin Da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prospect Garden
The Daguanyuan (), variously translated as the Grand View Garden, Prospect Garden or Grand Prospect Garden, is a massive landscaped interior garden in the classic 18th century Chinese novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', built within the compounds of the Rongguo Mansion. It is the setting for much of the story. Built in chapters 16 and 17 of the novel, it was the site of Jia Yuanchun's first visit home as an Imperial Concubine. At that time, music and lights decorated the place so it was fit for Imperial patronage. After Yuanchun leaves, the Garden is made at her own request the home of her brother, half-sister, sister-in-law, and cousins. Being very elegant and peaceful, it is a perfect home for Baoyu and the girls. Granny Liu also pays a visit to Prospect Garden in chapters 40 and 41. She is very impressed at the vegetation, water, layout, and life in the Garden. As a gift, the Dowager commissions Xichun to make a painting of the Garden for Granny Liu to take back home. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jia Xichun
Jia Xichun ( zh, t=賈惜春, p=Jiǎ Xīchūn, rendered Compassion Spring in Chi-chen Wang's translation) is a primary character in the 18th century Chinese novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. Her father is Jia Jing, a son of Jia Daihua. She is the sister of Jia Zhen, ''de facto'' head of the Ningguo House, and Baoyu's third cousin. When she was little, her mother died, and Lady Wang brought her to live in the Rongguo Mansion. A devout Buddhist, she is religious since a small child and also a gifted painter. When Granny Liu visits the Prospect Garden, the Dowager commissions her to make a painting of the Garden for the guest. In Gao E's continuation, after the fall of the house of Jia, Xichun becomes a Buddhist nun in place of Miaoyu. Xichun is the second youngest of Jinling Twelve Beauties. Xichun's name translates to "cherish spring". She is the youngest of the quartet of "Springs", depicted as a young teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psych ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dream Of The Red Chamber
''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known for its psychological scope, and its observation of the worldview, aesthetics, life-styles, and social relations of 18th-century China. The intricate strands of its plot depict the rise and decline of a family much like Cao’s own and, by extension, of the dynasty itself. Cao depicts the power of the father over the family, but the novel is intended to be a memorial to the women he knew in his youth: friends, relatives and servants. At a more profound level, the author explores religious and philosophical questions, and the writing style includes echoes of the plays and novels of the late Ming, as well as poetry from earlier periods. Cao apparently began composing it in the 1740s and worked on it until his death in 1763 or 1764. Copies of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gao E (writer)
Gao E (, c. 1738c. 1815) was a Qing dynasty Chinese scholar, writer, and editor. He attained the degree of ''juren'' in 1788 and ''jinshi'' in 1795. A Han Chinese who belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner, he became a Fellow of the Hanlin Academy in 1801. His courtesy name was Yunfu () and art name Lanshu (,"Orchid Study-Place"). In 1791, together with his partner Cheng Weiyuan (), he "recovered" the last forty chapters of Cao Xueqin's monumental novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (sometimes called ''The Story of the Stone''). The nature and extent of his contributions to the work and the sources of his material are a matter of controversy, but it is believed by a large number of modern orthodox Redologists that the last forty chapters were not written by Cao Xueqin. He also edited the first eighty chapters together with Cheng. In 1921, Hu Shih proposed that the last forty chapters of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' were written by Gao E himself. His proposition was accepted by m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dream Of The Red Chamber Characters
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, although the dreamer may perceive the dream as being much longer than this. The content and function of dreams have been topics of scientific, philosophical and religious interest throughout recorded history. Dream interpretation, practiced by the Babylonians in the third millennium BCE and even earlier by the ancient Sumerians, figures prominently in religious texts in several traditions, and has played a lead role in psychotherapy. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology. Most modern dream study focuses on the neurophysiology of dreams and on proposing and testing hypotheses regarding dream function. It is not known where in the brain dreams originate, if there is a single origin for dreams or if multiple regions of the brain are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao'' (, 'Thoroughfare'); the ''Tao'' is generally defined as the source of everything and the ultimate principle underlying reality. The '' Tao Te Ching'', a book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (), together with the later writings of Zhuangzi, are both widely considered the keystone works of Taoism. Taoism teaches about the various disciplines for achieving perfection through self-cultivation. This can be done through the use of Taoist techniques and by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the all, called "the way" or "Tao". Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize ''wu wei'' (action without intention), naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity and the Three Treasures: , compassio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cao Xueqin
Cáo Xuěqín ( ; ); (4 April 1710 — 10 June 1765)Briggs, Asa (ed.) (1989) ''The Longman Encyclopedia'', Longman, was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty. He is best known as the author of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. His given name was Cáo Zhān () and his courtesy name was Mèngruǎn (). Family Cao Xueqin was born to a Han Chinese clan that was brought into personal service (as ''booi aha'' or bondservants of Cigu Niru) to the Manchu royalty in the late 1610s. His ancestors distinguished themselves through military service in the Plain White Banner () of the Eight Banners and subsequently held posts as officials which brought both prestige and wealth. After the Plain White Banner was put under the direct jurisdiction of the Qing emperor, Cao's family began to serve in civil positions of the Imperial Household Department. During the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the clan's prestige and power reached its heigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhiyanzhai
Zhiyanzhai (脂硯齋/脂砚斋; pinyin: Zhī Yànzhāi, ''literally'': "Rouge Inkstone Studio", sometimes translated as Red Inkstone or Rouge Inkstone) was the pseudonym of an early and mysterious commentator of the 18th-century Chinese novel '' Dream of the Red Chamber''. This person was a contemporary of the author Cao Xueqin who knew the author intimately enough to be regarded as the chief commentator of his work while it was still unpublished. Most early hand-copied manuscripts of the novel contain red or black-inked commentaries by a few unknown commentators, considered authoritative enough to be transcribed by scribes into subsequent generations of copies. Zhiyanzhai was the most prominent of these commentators. Early copies of ''Dream'' were known as 脂硯齋重評石頭記 ("Zhiyanzhai's Re-Annotations to The Story of the Stone"). These versions are known as 脂本, or "Rouge Versions", in Chinese. They are the manuscripts with the highest textual reliability. Zhiyanz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lin Daiyu
Lin Daiyu (also spelled Lin Tai-yu, zh, s=林黛玉, p=Lín Dàiyù, rendered Black Jade in Chi-chen Wang's translation) is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin's classic 18th-century Chinese novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent, witty and beautiful young woman of physical frailness who is somewhat prone to occasional melancholy. The love triangle between Daiyu, Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai forms one of the main threads of the book. Life In the framing chapters, Lin Daiyu was a flower who was later incarnated as Daiyu to pay back her "debt of tears" to Jia Baoyu, who watered and gave life to the flower. Lin and Jia were the only two characters in the book that were coming from the illusory world. Born to a Suzhou scholar-official, Lin Ruhai, and Lady Jia Min of the Rongguo house, Daiyu was raised by her parents in her family's mansion in nearby Yangzhou, where she received an excellent education. She has a natural affinit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Redology
Redology () is the academic study of Cao Xueqin's ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China. There are numerous researchers in this field; most can be divided into four general groups. The first group are the commentators, such as Zhou Chun, Xu Fengyi, Chen Yupi, and others. The second group is the index group, which mainly includes Wang Mengruan and Cai Yuanpei. The third group are the textual critics, including Hu Shih and Yu Pingbo. The final group are the literary critics, including Zhou Ruchang and Li Xifan. History A 1976 essay by Joey Bonner split the Chinese critical reception of the novel into five phases: *;Pre-1791: Commentators on the pre-publication manuscripts, such as Rouge Inkstone and Odd Tablet, who mainly provide literary analysis of the first 80 chapters. *;1791–1900: Post-publication questions over authorship of the addendum, speculation upon esoteric aspects of the book. After 1875 using the term "Redology" for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shi Xiangyun
Shi Xiangyun () is a major fictional character in the classic 18th century Chinese novel '' Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the characters known as the Twelve Beauties. She is Jia Baoyu's younger second cousin by the Dowager, Grandmother Jia. Xiangyun is the favorite grandniece of the Dowager, Baoyu's grandmother. Orphaned since infancy, she grew up under the watchful eyes of her wealthy maternal aunt and uncle who lives in Jinling. They use her unkindly to do embroidery and needlework for the family late into the night. Despite her misfortune, she is always cheerful and ready to play a small joke. Her cheer and open-heartedness make her pranks forgiven by most. She is also excellent in embroidery and is forthright without tact. She wears a golden qilin by her neck. Xiangyun is portrayed as a tomboy-ish girl who does not cultivate the over-refined nature of most feudal ladies. She looks fine in men's clothes and loves to drink and eat meat. Apparently an androgynous bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
