China Naming Network - Ziwei Dou Shu - Why is A Dream of Red Mansions so named?
Why is A Dream of Red Mansions so named?
The original title of A Dream of Red Mansions is as follows (the first time): "The author said that after a dream, he hid the truth, but he said the book" The Stone "by channeling, so he called it" Zhen Yin Shi ". ..... In the middle of the article, the words "dream" and "illusion" are the original intention of this book ... Since then, the empty Taoist priest has changed his name to "The Story of the Stone" and "The Record of Feeling Monks". Meixi, the east foot of the sky, engraved Yue Feng Bao Jian. Later, because Cao Xueqin spent ten years mourning for Hong Xuan, he added and deleted it five times, catalogued it, divided it into chapters, and named it Twelve Women in Jinling with a unique title. In other words, this is the origin of Stone. " So when Cao Xueqin was alive, this book was called "The Story of the Stone", but it only had the first 80 chapters. Later, Gao E and Cheng Weiyuan jointly published this book, with a total of 120 chapters, and renamed it A Dream of Red Mansions. It is said that Gao E's study is called "The Red Chamber", while Cao Xueqin's study is called "Mourning the Red Chamber", probably because Gao E loves books. There are many sequels to The Story of the Stone, but the version is closer to the original intention of Cao Shu, and the sequels are recognized by later generations, so there are 120 copies of A Dream of Red Mansions that we see now. And I think it may be because the book is full of amazing women, and the place where women live is called "Red Mansion". Li Shangyin's poem proves that: "Two red mansions are cold in front, covered by rain, and a bead curtain lamp shakes my lonely heart and goes home." Cao Xueqin admired these women and wanted to speak for the oppressed women under the feudal system. Dreamers are not real, books are fictional. It is what the author said to avoid suspicion, and it also means that life is like a dream, which places the author's view on the world. The above views are personal, combined with some information, for reference only, and some experts may give more authoritative answers.