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The Story of the Stone #5
The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 5: The Dreamer Wakes
"The Story of the Stone" (c. 1760), also known as "The Dream of the Red Chamber", is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The fifth part of Cao Xueqin's magnificent saga, "The Dreamer Awakes", was carefully edited and completed by Gao E some decades later. It continues the story of the changing fortunes of the Jia dynasty, focussing on Bao-yu, now married to Bao-chai, after the tragic death of his beloved Dai-yu. Against such worldly elements as death, financial ruin, marriage, decadence and corruption, his karmic journey unfolds. Like a sleepwalker through life, Bao-yu is finally awakened by a vision, which reveals to him that life itself is merely a dream, 'as moonlight mirrored in the water'.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 1791
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2052 people want to read
About the author
Cao Xueqin
803 books244 followersXueqin Cao (Chinese: 曹雪芹; pinyin: Cáo Xuěqín; Wade–Giles: Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in, 1715 or 1724 — 1763 or 1764) was the pseudonym of a Qing Dynasty Chinese writer, best known as the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
It has been suggested that his given name was Zhan Cao (曹霑) and his courtesy name is Mengruan (夢阮; 梦阮; literally "Dream about Ruan" or "Dream of Ruan")[...]
It has been suggested that his given name was Zhan Cao (曹霑) and his courtesy name is Mengruan (夢阮; 梦阮; literally "Dream about Ruan" or "Dream of Ruan")[...]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
June 15, 2023
One of the most remarkable aspects of "The Story of the Stone" is its masterful portrayal of human relationships. The characters are so finely crafted that they feel like real people, each with their own distinct personality, desires, and flaws. The intricate web of relationships, rivalries, and forbidden love is beautifully woven, leaving a lasting impact on the reader's heart. One of the best chinese literature I have ever read so far!
October 31, 2021
This set of books has taken over my life the past couple of weeks. I loved all five of them, for the deep sense of intimacy and immediacy with which Cáo Xuěqín reveals his world to us, in all its beauty and ugliness.
January 2, 2009
The last of five volumes that comprise "The Story of the Stone". Because no single volume really stands alone in this massive story my review will stand for all five.
I rated the first volume, "The Golden Days" with only 3 stars because it starts so slowly and requires practically the entire book just to learn the names of the principal characters and to understand their relationship to one another. I tempered that rating at the time, however, with the belief that once the story developed it would prove to be much more significant. That view proved accurate. This is truly a worthwhile read, one in which the reader becomes fully involved by the time the story ends. Indeed, after roughly 2,500 pages one hates to say good-bye to the principal character, Bao-yu, and the myriad of characters who surround him.
I won't endeavor to summarize this story; it is simply too involved for the space provided by a brief review. However, one does come away with a clearer view of Buddhist/Taoist/Confucian philosophy (assuming one knew little or nothing about them to start with). The story is framed by the legend of a stone that was rejected in the rebuilding of the vault of heaven (an allusion to the bibical "stone that the builders' rejected" in the building of King Solomon's Temple?), brought down from heaven by a Buddhist Monk and a Taoist, and incarnated into the body of the principal protagonist, Bao-yu. Within this frame the book investigates illusion v. reality, life v. a higher existence. Bao-yu finds himself in the crosshairs of a struggle between his severely Confucian father and his principle of duty, and the Buddhist/Taoist ideal of a higher purpose. Of this I'll say no more. One must read five volumes to get at the outcome of this tug-o-war.
A comment of another sort, however, is appropriate. This is also a story about a prominent Chinese family in decline. As the story progresses it is reduced almost to penury. The reader constantly is bombarded by the question, "what's going on here? What is causing this decline?" Because I read this story in the midst of the U.S. (indeed the world's) economic decline I couldn't help but note obvious parallels that clearly speak to us today, speak in fact of the human condition. Again, I'll say no more. The books speak for themselves.
If you lack patience or perseverence it's probably best to forego this one. However, for those willing to embark on a rewarding journey these five books are well worth the effort. It hasn't been called the most important work of literature in the Chinese language for nothing.
I rated the first volume, "The Golden Days" with only 3 stars because it starts so slowly and requires practically the entire book just to learn the names of the principal characters and to understand their relationship to one another. I tempered that rating at the time, however, with the belief that once the story developed it would prove to be much more significant. That view proved accurate. This is truly a worthwhile read, one in which the reader becomes fully involved by the time the story ends. Indeed, after roughly 2,500 pages one hates to say good-bye to the principal character, Bao-yu, and the myriad of characters who surround him.
I won't endeavor to summarize this story; it is simply too involved for the space provided by a brief review. However, one does come away with a clearer view of Buddhist/Taoist/Confucian philosophy (assuming one knew little or nothing about them to start with). The story is framed by the legend of a stone that was rejected in the rebuilding of the vault of heaven (an allusion to the bibical "stone that the builders' rejected" in the building of King Solomon's Temple?), brought down from heaven by a Buddhist Monk and a Taoist, and incarnated into the body of the principal protagonist, Bao-yu. Within this frame the book investigates illusion v. reality, life v. a higher existence. Bao-yu finds himself in the crosshairs of a struggle between his severely Confucian father and his principle of duty, and the Buddhist/Taoist ideal of a higher purpose. Of this I'll say no more. One must read five volumes to get at the outcome of this tug-o-war.
A comment of another sort, however, is appropriate. This is also a story about a prominent Chinese family in decline. As the story progresses it is reduced almost to penury. The reader constantly is bombarded by the question, "what's going on here? What is causing this decline?" Because I read this story in the midst of the U.S. (indeed the world's) economic decline I couldn't help but note obvious parallels that clearly speak to us today, speak in fact of the human condition. Again, I'll say no more. The books speak for themselves.
If you lack patience or perseverence it's probably best to forego this one. However, for those willing to embark on a rewarding journey these five books are well worth the effort. It hasn't been called the most important work of literature in the Chinese language for nothing.
January 29, 2014
"When grief for fiction's idle words
More real than human life appears,
Reflect that life's itself a dream
And do not mock the reader's tears."
It finally ends, after countless parties, tragedies, poetry recitals, family events and 2,500 pages. By the end of it all I had grown to like (and dislike) many of the characters in this sweeping story. I did not like Baoyu at first; the spoiled, lazy boy that he was, but he grew on me with each passing chapter. The kindness he showed to all people regardless of rank, his disdain for studying and confucian rituals, the love he felt for his cousins, all of those things made him interesting. Another interesting character was Xi-feng, I'm sure she's easily one of the most popular ones, something about her made her intriguing. I wasn't too pleased with her fate, but I guess that was her karma.
I was expecting more of a quality dip in the last chapters which were edited (written?) by two men years after Cao Xueqin had died. The pace changed, it became less descriptive, it had less poetry and it hurried along faster. But overall it was still engaging and very enjoyable.
One of the best books I've ever read, I hope to read it again later some day, highly recommended.
More real than human life appears,
Reflect that life's itself a dream
And do not mock the reader's tears."
It finally ends, after countless parties, tragedies, poetry recitals, family events and 2,500 pages. By the end of it all I had grown to like (and dislike) many of the characters in this sweeping story. I did not like Baoyu at first; the spoiled, lazy boy that he was, but he grew on me with each passing chapter. The kindness he showed to all people regardless of rank, his disdain for studying and confucian rituals, the love he felt for his cousins, all of those things made him interesting. Another interesting character was Xi-feng, I'm sure she's easily one of the most popular ones, something about her made her intriguing. I wasn't too pleased with her fate, but I guess that was her karma.
I was expecting more of a quality dip in the last chapters which were edited (written?) by two men years after Cao Xueqin had died. The pace changed, it became less descriptive, it had less poetry and it hurried along faster. But overall it was still engaging and very enjoyable.
One of the best books I've ever read, I hope to read it again later some day, highly recommended.
June 9, 2025
So I've now finished the Story of the Stone! (I still think of it in my head though as 'The Dream of the Red Chamber', a so much more evocative name, the Story of the Stone in English sounds far too sword-and-sorcery, and though the 'stone' is important as a framing device, it's irrelevant for about 80% of the book, whereas there are a lot of auspicious and inauspicious chambers and dreams). I enjoyed it a great deal! I do wish I could be the sort of person that could read one thing slowly, over and over again, especially here: the subtleties and interconnections are designed to lend themselves to that sort of patience (Mao of course did do this, which is better imo than reading Walter Scott like Lukacs did). This last volume is especially intriguing for the way it combines the psychological realism of the earlier volumes (as most of our heroes and heroines finally face the complete collapse of everything they've tried to build and maintain) and supernatural fatalism, as if Austen were melded with, say, Poe. Though it read to me in translation like the same author as vols 1-3, there are stretches where you can see it has been patched together with quite pedestrian stretches of dialogue by an editor to fill gaps. Bao-yu's progression from failson to Buddhist will be the first of many.
April 26, 2019
3.5/5
2566 pages and 134 days/4.5 months later, this epic tale is finally complete. In terms of my reception of various behemoths over the years, this fared better than Journey to the West and worse than In Search of Lost Time, a large part of those varying judgments due to my disparate amounts of familiarity with the milieu, the culture, and ultimately the construction of literature present in each of these long and winding tales of love, death, religion, politics, and above all, fallibility and redemption as is performed in human beings. However, this last section did become increasingly proselytizing to the point of completely rejecting the sympathetic viewpoint the narrative had thus far cultivated when it came to a number of its women and girl characters. That, along with certain discordant frenzies of syntax, made me feel I was finally picking up on the imperfect exigencies of someone desperately attempting to ape Xueqin's style. It must be admitted, though, that this hyper-religious conclusion does indeed hearken all the way back to the mystical initiation of the story's first volume, so perhaps events would have fallen out similarly had the author survived to take his take in hand, save with, hopefully, a more compassionate touch. The world, and I, will unfortunately never know.
I mentioned in my review for the previous volume that I was morbidly looking forward to the Jia family's downfall. There definitely was one, but it was supremely aggravating to watch men screw everyone, including themselves, over left and right, and then have women uncritically spout off that their only hope in this life is to pray hard enough that they became men in a future one. A big lesson I got was that there is so much wasted potential in the gender hierarchy was was evidenced by Grandma Jia and other women's rallying of the household when their livelihood fell into dire straits in the first half of this volume. However, that somewhat uplifting plot wasn't reinforced at all by the second half, and it seemed rather pathetic to watch so many women die while so many men, many of whom had been involved in perfidious doings during the course of the novel, escape a death sentence or come home from banishment or receive any number of fairy tale endings. As for Bao-Yu,. As such, the ending wasn't satisfying, but so much of it, as I said previously, lines up with what was set up at the very beginning, so this may have after all just not been my kind of story. Oh well. At least I can say, unlike a lot of people who read the severely truncated versions of this, that I've read enough to know what I'm talking about.
And so another monumental work of writing bites the dust in my reading purview. I'm not ending this with as triumphant a feeling as I have others of its comparative length, but this year has been a weird one for me, and I'm still not fully in control of a lot of things that I would much rather prefer to have some percipient knowledge of. I know I'll have things in the know a month from now, but the problem with that is that neither success nor failure has so far been confirmed, and so the suspense has its moments of ignorant bliss amongst the sea of nerves. I'm not desperate to wish for some of the fortunetelling Bao-Yu and co. made sometimes terrifying use of, so I'll just have to distract myself with all the reading I can do now that this long term commitment is finally complete. Still, I know it won't be long till I'm hankering after another, although more reasonably, long tome, as there's something soothing about slowly but surely working your way through a piece and not arriving at the final judgment until you're fully ready. That process didn't end as satisfyingly with this particular work as it has with others, but such is the risk one takes when flinging oneself after classics from a far away state.
2566 pages and 134 days/4.5 months later, this epic tale is finally complete. In terms of my reception of various behemoths over the years, this fared better than Journey to the West and worse than In Search of Lost Time, a large part of those varying judgments due to my disparate amounts of familiarity with the milieu, the culture, and ultimately the construction of literature present in each of these long and winding tales of love, death, religion, politics, and above all, fallibility and redemption as is performed in human beings. However, this last section did become increasingly proselytizing to the point of completely rejecting the sympathetic viewpoint the narrative had thus far cultivated when it came to a number of its women and girl characters. That, along with certain discordant frenzies of syntax, made me feel I was finally picking up on the imperfect exigencies of someone desperately attempting to ape Xueqin's style. It must be admitted, though, that this hyper-religious conclusion does indeed hearken all the way back to the mystical initiation of the story's first volume, so perhaps events would have fallen out similarly had the author survived to take his take in hand, save with, hopefully, a more compassionate touch. The world, and I, will unfortunately never know.
I mentioned in my review for the previous volume that I was morbidly looking forward to the Jia family's downfall. There definitely was one, but it was supremely aggravating to watch men screw everyone, including themselves, over left and right, and then have women uncritically spout off that their only hope in this life is to pray hard enough that they became men in a future one. A big lesson I got was that there is so much wasted potential in the gender hierarchy was was evidenced by Grandma Jia and other women's rallying of the household when their livelihood fell into dire straits in the first half of this volume. However, that somewhat uplifting plot wasn't reinforced at all by the second half, and it seemed rather pathetic to watch so many women die while so many men, many of whom had been involved in perfidious doings during the course of the novel, escape a death sentence or come home from banishment or receive any number of fairy tale endings. As for Bao-Yu,. As such, the ending wasn't satisfying, but so much of it, as I said previously, lines up with what was set up at the very beginning, so this may have after all just not been my kind of story. Oh well. At least I can say, unlike a lot of people who read the severely truncated versions of this, that I've read enough to know what I'm talking about.
And so another monumental work of writing bites the dust in my reading purview. I'm not ending this with as triumphant a feeling as I have others of its comparative length, but this year has been a weird one for me, and I'm still not fully in control of a lot of things that I would much rather prefer to have some percipient knowledge of. I know I'll have things in the know a month from now, but the problem with that is that neither success nor failure has so far been confirmed, and so the suspense has its moments of ignorant bliss amongst the sea of nerves. I'm not desperate to wish for some of the fortunetelling Bao-Yu and co. made sometimes terrifying use of, so I'll just have to distract myself with all the reading I can do now that this long term commitment is finally complete. Still, I know it won't be long till I'm hankering after another, although more reasonably, long tome, as there's something soothing about slowly but surely working your way through a piece and not arriving at the final judgment until you're fully ready. That process didn't end as satisfyingly with this particular work as it has with others, but such is the risk one takes when flinging oneself after classics from a far away state.
When grief for fiction's idle words
More real than human life appears,
Reflect that life itself's a dream
And do not mock the reader's tears.
November 7, 2022
The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 5: The Dreamer Wakes is the fifth and final volume of the epic Story of the Stone. In the previous volume, The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 4: The Debt of Tears tragedy and disaster that had loomed upon the horizon began to unfold. In this volume, terrible events reach a long-foretold crescendo. The Jia family is beset by problems that compound each other. Falling out of political favour worsens the already fragile financial situation, damaging the health of many family members. Plans and decisions made in previous volumes produce unintended consequences in this one. It’s fascinating how gradual yet inexorable the shift in tone has been. While the second volume is full of joyful socialising and poetry composition, the fifth is replete with disaster, decline, and death. The one attempt at party games falls flat. Yet the five volumes don't compose an unequivocally downward narrative by any means. By the end, the Jia family remains, albeit diminished, with some hopes for recovery.
The progress of events is as compelling and carefully observed in this volume as the others, despite discussion in the preface about whether the book is complete. It certainly read as complete to me, which at least suggests excellent editing and translation work. The range of family reactions to disaster is striking to observe: denial, self-pity, rage, withdrawal, and hard work to try and improve things, among others. The ostensible head of the family Jia Zheng has not been aware of what state his household is in and is shocked when he realises:
I don’t consider Bao-yu’s uselessness in the face of financial problems to be a spoiler, as his characterisation throughout the books is very consistent: a dreamy, artistic, emotional, and wholly impractical young man. He cannot be relied upon to do his homework, let alone manage a household. By comparison, Grandmother Jia (the actual head of the family) reacts in a much more measured and pragmatic way to the prospect of household bankruptcy. However she is elderly and cannot turn things around herself.
Given the tragedies of this concluding volume, it isn’t surprising that the supernatural and theological has a strong narrative presence in relation to illness, mourning, attempts to forecast the future, haunted places, and religious vocations. Different characters evince various levels of scepticism and conviction around these matters, creating a very interesting tension for the reader. Bao-yu, as we know from prior volumes, has always had one foot in the spiritual world, while many of his relatives are doubtful of fortune telling. On the other hand, this final volume has fewer material details as the sense of abundance and luxury is gone.
The whole five-volume work is a remarkable and fascinating insight into 18th century life in a wealthy Chinese family, as well as an involving melodrama peopled with memorable characters. The inclusion of so many perspectives within the sprawling household, from kitchen maids to young masters to put-upon wives to gardeners, creates a wonderfully detailed sense of how things work or fall apart. The tone oscillates between joy and sadness beautifully. The reader both gets a feeling of interdependent community and keen psychological insight into individuals. I really enjoyed spending five books with the Jia family and their extended family, servants, friends, and hangers-on. As well as being interesting from a historical perspective, The Story of the Stone is a real page-turner. John Minford’s translation is highly readable and the plot full of constant incident. I highly recommend this reading experience to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or epic family sagas.
The progress of events is as compelling and carefully observed in this volume as the others, despite discussion in the preface about whether the book is complete. It certainly read as complete to me, which at least suggests excellent editing and translation work. The range of family reactions to disaster is striking to observe: denial, self-pity, rage, withdrawal, and hard work to try and improve things, among others. The ostensible head of the family Jia Zheng has not been aware of what state his household is in and is shocked when he realises:
"But both households must now look to me for their daily sustenance, and how can I hope to support them all? This latest revelation of Lian’s is another grievous blow; not only have we no reserves, we are seriously in debt. We have evidently been living under false pretences for years! And I have only my own stupidity to blame! How can I have been so blind? If only my eldest son were still alive! In Zhu I might at least have had some support. But Bao-yu, for all he is my son, and now a grown man, can offer my no help whatsoever."
I don’t consider Bao-yu’s uselessness in the face of financial problems to be a spoiler, as his characterisation throughout the books is very consistent: a dreamy, artistic, emotional, and wholly impractical young man. He cannot be relied upon to do his homework, let alone manage a household. By comparison, Grandmother Jia (the actual head of the family) reacts in a much more measured and pragmatic way to the prospect of household bankruptcy. However she is elderly and cannot turn things around herself.
Given the tragedies of this concluding volume, it isn’t surprising that the supernatural and theological has a strong narrative presence in relation to illness, mourning, attempts to forecast the future, haunted places, and religious vocations. Different characters evince various levels of scepticism and conviction around these matters, creating a very interesting tension for the reader. Bao-yu, as we know from prior volumes, has always had one foot in the spiritual world, while many of his relatives are doubtful of fortune telling. On the other hand, this final volume has fewer material details as the sense of abundance and luxury is gone.
The whole five-volume work is a remarkable and fascinating insight into 18th century life in a wealthy Chinese family, as well as an involving melodrama peopled with memorable characters. The inclusion of so many perspectives within the sprawling household, from kitchen maids to young masters to put-upon wives to gardeners, creates a wonderfully detailed sense of how things work or fall apart. The tone oscillates between joy and sadness beautifully. The reader both gets a feeling of interdependent community and keen psychological insight into individuals. I really enjoyed spending five books with the Jia family and their extended family, servants, friends, and hangers-on. As well as being interesting from a historical perspective, The Story of the Stone is a real page-turner. John Minford’s translation is highly readable and the plot full of constant incident. I highly recommend this reading experience to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or epic family sagas.
August 14, 2011
The change in authorship is very evident here as is a tendency to want to tidy everything up. It's not exactly a disappointing conclusion, but I had the sense that I could have written it it, or indeed, anyone who had read the first 3 volumes. That mysterious feel of an intelligence guiding events from behind the scenes and moving everything towards a conclusion you can't even imagine is gone. Instead the narrative builds on what you already know and heads toward a predetermined conclusion that feels arbitrarily plucked from a host of possibilities.
Still very much worth reading all 5 volumes, however.
Still very much worth reading all 5 volumes, however.
October 9, 2012
I read the reviews on Amazon [2007], and I thought I should add something: this novel is unbelievably beautifully written, and the English translation is absolutely superb. [return][return]You cannot find any better example of novel-writing skill in any language.
August 22, 2017
"When grief for fiction's idle words
More real than human life appears,
Reflect that life's itself a dream
And do not mock the reader's tears."-- 2,500 pages later, one of the greatest literary masterpieces I have had the pleasure of reading concludes.
More real than human life appears,
Reflect that life's itself a dream
And do not mock the reader's tears."-- 2,500 pages later, one of the greatest literary masterpieces I have had the pleasure of reading concludes.
March 15, 2007
The best part is when there is wild weeping and banishing of crooked males.
February 1, 2013
In the first chapter of this volume, Chapter 99, I already felt a panic attack coming on. Jia Zheng, not the most socially adept, misreads the situation in the provinces and allows his porter Li Ten to commence greasing the wheels (or extorting proceeds for himself) with the locals. Then news that Xue Pan has been found guilty after all, and that the Jias were known to have tried to affect the outcome of the case. Bao-yu is still idiotic. Xi-Feng can so obtuse regarding Bao-yu’s heart; first she thinks he will be fine after discovering he didn’t marry Dai-yu after all, and then she tells that since Fivey resembles Skybright, he can just look at her instead whenever he misses Skybright. Gao E’s writing continues to vacillate between utilitarian and superb. This leads me to believe that he did often have fragments or notes to work from. I was disappointed in how little is written about Tan-chun’s departure. Bao-chai “visited Tan-chun and talked with her at some length, offering what support and advice she could. We need not describe their conversation in any detail.” Uh, yes I do! I need as much dialogue from Tan-chun as possible. The characters’ strong voices are gone, especially Bao-chai, who is mostly irritated (rather than her previously unemotional but caring style), but also Adamantina who had such a distinct way of speaking.
I could not believe the inventory during the confiscation: my eyes widened with each item on the inventory – 123 gold headdresses with jewels and precious stones? I’ve never been a huge fan of Grandmother, who I saw as wasteful and blinded by her sentimental feelings toward the wrong people. Her prayer, admitting guilt for not having properly taught the younger generations, is completely true. Throughout the novel I have winced every time she decided to have a party, employ outside actors, or allow herself to be flattered by Xi-feng. Still, it was nice to see Grandmother act quite magnanimously toward Xi-feng, giving her some material possessions to make her feel better. Alas! Poor Xi-Feng! That I can even utter such a thing is a testament to the psychological complexity of this novel. Blamed for everything and put in an impossible situation by Ladies Xing and Wang withholding money, she really wanted to do her best for Grandmother Jia’s funeral. Li Wan became a late favorite of mine. Although she is docile and traditional, she raised her son well, and she sees through everyone’s hypocrisy and sympathizes with Xi-Feng. Interesting how she thinks that if Tan-chun was still around the servants would behave. I am happy to know that years from now things will work out for Li Wan. As our primary witness to the family’s decline, I am sure she will try to put her house on an even footing.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD: I was so happy for Tan-chun’s return and am always glad to hear whatever she has to say. I totally don’t buy the eleventh hour (or 119th hour) save wherein the prince reinstates everyone’s titles. I can’t imagine that is what Cao intended. I feel that the moralistic tone of the book demands that Sir She and Cousin Zhen get their comeuppance. I much prefer the idea that Jia Lian has become truly responsible and that he and Jia Zheng (and later, Jia Lan) will do what they can to face the future admirably. I imagine that this sanitized ending was influenced by several factors: the editors not feeling sure of having too downbeat an ending, especially since there were few works of Chinese fiction like this by the late 18th century, plus the fears spoken by editors/family members Rouge Inkstone & Odd Tablet that Cao should not appear too harsh to the Emperor.
I love Granny Liu’s saving the day with Patience and Qiao-jie. I would venture to guess that Cao might have intended Qiao-jie to actually get sold to a Mongol, but I think this gives a minor (but memorable) character a chance to shine and one of our beauties a shot at a happy life. I’m quite moved by Jia Zheng’s arc, finally coming to understand his son and his unlucky place in the grand scheme, not at all blessed as interpreted by doting Grandmother Jia. If Jia Zheng is permitted to run the Rong-guo side, without tomfoolery from Sir She (in addition to Grandmother’s undermining and Xi-Feng’s subterfuge), the house may actually become respectable in all senses. And Aroma, always wondering what would happen to her, finds out it’s not so bad.
Reading this novel has been on my to-do list for twenty years. It is one of the most worthwhile reading projects I have ever done. Someday I will read the Gladys Yang translation, if only to see if there is such a noticeable difference in writing quality once Gao E takes over. Now I am going to revisit the 1962 and 1978 Shaw Brothers films, and watch the 36 part CCTV from 1987. Maybe later I’ll watch the 2010 series. I will post here in a comment my opinions about those.
I could not believe the inventory during the confiscation: my eyes widened with each item on the inventory – 123 gold headdresses with jewels and precious stones? I’ve never been a huge fan of Grandmother, who I saw as wasteful and blinded by her sentimental feelings toward the wrong people. Her prayer, admitting guilt for not having properly taught the younger generations, is completely true. Throughout the novel I have winced every time she decided to have a party, employ outside actors, or allow herself to be flattered by Xi-feng. Still, it was nice to see Grandmother act quite magnanimously toward Xi-feng, giving her some material possessions to make her feel better. Alas! Poor Xi-Feng! That I can even utter such a thing is a testament to the psychological complexity of this novel. Blamed for everything and put in an impossible situation by Ladies Xing and Wang withholding money, she really wanted to do her best for Grandmother Jia’s funeral. Li Wan became a late favorite of mine. Although she is docile and traditional, she raised her son well, and she sees through everyone’s hypocrisy and sympathizes with Xi-Feng. Interesting how she thinks that if Tan-chun was still around the servants would behave. I am happy to know that years from now things will work out for Li Wan. As our primary witness to the family’s decline, I am sure she will try to put her house on an even footing.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD: I was so happy for Tan-chun’s return and am always glad to hear whatever she has to say. I totally don’t buy the eleventh hour (or 119th hour) save wherein the prince reinstates everyone’s titles. I can’t imagine that is what Cao intended. I feel that the moralistic tone of the book demands that Sir She and Cousin Zhen get their comeuppance. I much prefer the idea that Jia Lian has become truly responsible and that he and Jia Zheng (and later, Jia Lan) will do what they can to face the future admirably. I imagine that this sanitized ending was influenced by several factors: the editors not feeling sure of having too downbeat an ending, especially since there were few works of Chinese fiction like this by the late 18th century, plus the fears spoken by editors/family members Rouge Inkstone & Odd Tablet that Cao should not appear too harsh to the Emperor.
I love Granny Liu’s saving the day with Patience and Qiao-jie. I would venture to guess that Cao might have intended Qiao-jie to actually get sold to a Mongol, but I think this gives a minor (but memorable) character a chance to shine and one of our beauties a shot at a happy life. I’m quite moved by Jia Zheng’s arc, finally coming to understand his son and his unlucky place in the grand scheme, not at all blessed as interpreted by doting Grandmother Jia. If Jia Zheng is permitted to run the Rong-guo side, without tomfoolery from Sir She (in addition to Grandmother’s undermining and Xi-Feng’s subterfuge), the house may actually become respectable in all senses. And Aroma, always wondering what would happen to her, finds out it’s not so bad.
Reading this novel has been on my to-do list for twenty years. It is one of the most worthwhile reading projects I have ever done. Someday I will read the Gladys Yang translation, if only to see if there is such a noticeable difference in writing quality once Gao E takes over. Now I am going to revisit the 1962 and 1978 Shaw Brothers films, and watch the 36 part CCTV from 1987. Maybe later I’ll watch the 2010 series. I will post here in a comment my opinions about those.
December 27, 2018
It is finished. 2,500 pages, more words than the total output of Shakespeare and twice the length of War and Peace, I read the seminal work of Chinese literature and lived to tell about it. It was a magical experience. After the lack the of focus in books two and three, volumes four and five are shorter and more cohesive, narrowing the plot and bringing it to its amazing conclusion.
April 11, 2022
Having finished the 5th and final volume, I've been thinking how best to describe the experience of reading ~2,500 pages dedicated to the marvels and downfall of a large aristocratic family in 18th-century China.
The descriptions of material life, the scenes and conflicts, the use of poetry, the philosophical digressions, and the vast array of characters are so rich and absorbing that it felt like travelling back in time and actually living in a different epoch and place. Reading Cao Xueqin's ouevre reaffirms one of literature's most romantic goals: making the reader to live and experience a magical and life-changing journey, brought upon by the artistic conviction and vision of a talented and unique writer.
Kudos to the wonderful work of translation and adaptation, but I can only lament that I will probably never be capable of reading Cao Xueqin's work in its original language, with all its poetic and liguistic nuances.
Finally, as the recurring couplet suggests, sometimes this book felt even truer than life itself.
假作真時真亦假，
無為有處有還無。
Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true;
Real becomes not-real where the unreal's real.
The descriptions of material life, the scenes and conflicts, the use of poetry, the philosophical digressions, and the vast array of characters are so rich and absorbing that it felt like travelling back in time and actually living in a different epoch and place. Reading Cao Xueqin's ouevre reaffirms one of literature's most romantic goals: making the reader to live and experience a magical and life-changing journey, brought upon by the artistic conviction and vision of a talented and unique writer.
Kudos to the wonderful work of translation and adaptation, but I can only lament that I will probably never be capable of reading Cao Xueqin's work in its original language, with all its poetic and liguistic nuances.
Finally, as the recurring couplet suggests, sometimes this book felt even truer than life itself.
假作真時真亦假，
無為有處有還無。
Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true;
Real becomes not-real where the unreal's real.
November 17, 2013
The following review is my review for all five volumes as a whole.
I'm going to put forth an argument that books can be compared to relationships. There are books that are guilty pleasures with no literary value beyond straightforward entertainment, such as potboiler mysteries or the much maligned Harlequin style romance. These are your one-night stands of the book world.
Then there are brief forays readers take out of curiosity or biblio-style peer pressure, such as best-seller lists or perceived literary acclaim. Examples of this could be a summer spent reading Swedish detective fiction, or reading the latest Young Adult series (Hunger Games Trilogy, perhaps) or whatever Oprah's new favorite thing is. These would be your "flings" or summer romances. They are short term pleasures which you may outgrow or simply move on from after finishing.
And then you have a book like "The Story of the Stone." This is a long term relationship. It sucks up your soul and being, and perhaps becomes a part of you. It is impossible to start another book after this without giving yourself time to process the experience, at least it was the case for me. When the final page of this journey is turned, you are physically and maybe even emotionally drained.
The Jia family, with whom you get to spend 2500 pages with, becomes an extended family of your own. At the core is Jia Bao Yu, a spoiled somewhat effeminate boy, who is more than just a boy. He is the human incarnation of a rock fashioned by a goddess in her efforts to repair the sky, but is never used. Left alone for eons, this stone begins to ponder the purpose of existence until it is given a chance to live as a human.
The story proper begins when Bao Yu is around 13. He is a member of a wealthy family who spends his days wiling away his time with his numerous girl cousins, maids and even a Buddhist nun. The narrative follows the daily life of his extensive family, their staff, and many hangers-on. An astounding number of characters make up the cast, from the 80 year old Lady Dowager who is the matriarch of the family, down to her great-granddaughter Qaio-Jie, but the amazing thing is the author's ability to make each of the many characters feel fully human and real, with hopes, desires, , talents and weaknesses of all their own.
As can be expected with such an immense novel, the narrative structure is complex. It is often episodic, bouncing around from one plot line to another. The main plot line concerns Bao Yu and the question of which of his two girl cousins he'll marry, the ethereal Dai Lin or the ideally modest and respectable Bao Chai. Surrounding this love triangle are the various soap operatic endeavors of the many family members, and surrounding the family dramatics is the decline of the family fortune and its rapidly growing debts. And above all of these worldly concerns is a spiritual and philosophical exploration from the Buddhist and Taoist point of view all of life is a fleeting illusion.
Ironically, despite the novel's length, it can be considered an unfinished or incomplete masterpiece. The original novel was never published in the author's lifetime. For thirty years the novel consisted of the first 80 existing chapters being passed around in manuscript form. The first printed edition, which came out in the 1790s was published with 120 chapters, with the editors claiming to have pieced together the remaining 40 chapters from fragments and the author's notes. The first 80 chapters make up the first three volumes of this translation, and the remaining 40 chapters make up the final two volumes. I'll leave the question of authorship of the final 40 chapters to the scholars. Whether it is different authors, or (as the translators suggest) perhaps the author died before revising the final 40 chapters, there is a decided difference between the two sections.
The first section is chock full of poetry and character driven narrative, while the second section is plot-driven, workmanlike and flat, as if there is a stated goal in wrapping up all of the loose plot lines in as tidy a manner as possible. The difference between the two sections is accentuated by the fact that one translator worked on the first 80 chapters, and another translator worked on the final 40 chapters. While there is a difference in translating styles, nothing is diminished from the impact of the book. It is a big commitment to read this book, but one well worth the experience. Bao yu and his family will linger for a long time in my imagination.
I'm going to put forth an argument that books can be compared to relationships. There are books that are guilty pleasures with no literary value beyond straightforward entertainment, such as potboiler mysteries or the much maligned Harlequin style romance. These are your one-night stands of the book world.
Then there are brief forays readers take out of curiosity or biblio-style peer pressure, such as best-seller lists or perceived literary acclaim. Examples of this could be a summer spent reading Swedish detective fiction, or reading the latest Young Adult series (Hunger Games Trilogy, perhaps) or whatever Oprah's new favorite thing is. These would be your "flings" or summer romances. They are short term pleasures which you may outgrow or simply move on from after finishing.
And then you have a book like "The Story of the Stone." This is a long term relationship. It sucks up your soul and being, and perhaps becomes a part of you. It is impossible to start another book after this without giving yourself time to process the experience, at least it was the case for me. When the final page of this journey is turned, you are physically and maybe even emotionally drained.
The Jia family, with whom you get to spend 2500 pages with, becomes an extended family of your own. At the core is Jia Bao Yu, a spoiled somewhat effeminate boy, who is more than just a boy. He is the human incarnation of a rock fashioned by a goddess in her efforts to repair the sky, but is never used. Left alone for eons, this stone begins to ponder the purpose of existence until it is given a chance to live as a human.
The story proper begins when Bao Yu is around 13. He is a member of a wealthy family who spends his days wiling away his time with his numerous girl cousins, maids and even a Buddhist nun. The narrative follows the daily life of his extensive family, their staff, and many hangers-on. An astounding number of characters make up the cast, from the 80 year old Lady Dowager who is the matriarch of the family, down to her great-granddaughter Qaio-Jie, but the amazing thing is the author's ability to make each of the many characters feel fully human and real, with hopes, desires, , talents and weaknesses of all their own.
As can be expected with such an immense novel, the narrative structure is complex. It is often episodic, bouncing around from one plot line to another. The main plot line concerns Bao Yu and the question of which of his two girl cousins he'll marry, the ethereal Dai Lin or the ideally modest and respectable Bao Chai. Surrounding this love triangle are the various soap operatic endeavors of the many family members, and surrounding the family dramatics is the decline of the family fortune and its rapidly growing debts. And above all of these worldly concerns is a spiritual and philosophical exploration from the Buddhist and Taoist point of view all of life is a fleeting illusion.
Ironically, despite the novel's length, it can be considered an unfinished or incomplete masterpiece. The original novel was never published in the author's lifetime. For thirty years the novel consisted of the first 80 existing chapters being passed around in manuscript form. The first printed edition, which came out in the 1790s was published with 120 chapters, with the editors claiming to have pieced together the remaining 40 chapters from fragments and the author's notes. The first 80 chapters make up the first three volumes of this translation, and the remaining 40 chapters make up the final two volumes. I'll leave the question of authorship of the final 40 chapters to the scholars. Whether it is different authors, or (as the translators suggest) perhaps the author died before revising the final 40 chapters, there is a decided difference between the two sections.
The first section is chock full of poetry and character driven narrative, while the second section is plot-driven, workmanlike and flat, as if there is a stated goal in wrapping up all of the loose plot lines in as tidy a manner as possible. The difference between the two sections is accentuated by the fact that one translator worked on the first 80 chapters, and another translator worked on the final 40 chapters. While there is a difference in translating styles, nothing is diminished from the impact of the book. It is a big commitment to read this book, but one well worth the experience. Bao yu and his family will linger for a long time in my imagination.
May 4, 2021
It really is over, isn't it? Three years of reading, and 120 chapters later, my journey with that little magic stone is over
Three years later and I'm a little sad knowing there's no more Bao-yu, Dai-yu, Xi-feng, or any of the other creatures of the Rong-guo mansion.
This ending was both charming, emotional, and also very frustrating. This last book often reads like a frantically fleshed-out outline from a long dead, brilliant writer.
* Conversations take wild, whiplash turns like we skipped a line or two (Bao-yu makes some vague remark about where a monk is, and Bao-chai scolds Bao-yu for being a disrespectful son and a possible failure).
* Dramatic events are given very, very little room to breathe sometimes, with characters--often women-- dying off screen and given some throwaway dialogue (they sure gotta buy a lot of coffins, by the way).
* Bao-yu makes a HUGE character shift after one dream...
OH. And nearly every remaining problem is resolved in about one chapter with Grimm's-fairy-tale-esque whimsy that seems terribly out of place. Even Jia Zheng, famous stick in the mud, begins talking like Tiny Tim or George Bailey about how great family and fate is.
I guess what I'm saying is that for a book meant to finally spell out the Jia family's long awaited tragedy...it has a suspiciously happy ending that I don't buy at all. It's downright corny. I put it up there with Wuthering Heights in terms of "Why is everyone so happy right now, ya'll? After everything?"
BUT...there were still some good moments, including but not limited to Jin-gui's comically inept murder plot. And I think it gave me a good opportunity to reflect on why I loved all the books that proceeded it.
* The Golden Age -- my favorite: the most charming, magical, and wild of all the books.
* The Crab-flower Club -- an absolutely beautiful, wholehearted portrait of the family and their complicated web of lives.
* The Warning Voice -- the most realistic of the main three, balancing between the majesty of Jia family life, and the slow avalanche of misfortunes gathering above them.
* The Debt of Tears -- a big tragic emotional climax I'd been waiting for, and it did not fail to leave me a little heartbroken.
And now The Dreamer Wakes. I feel like there's 20 more chapters missing to have really done the ending justice and let the plot points breathe, but I really do think Gao E did the best job he could finishing this masterpiece. It's not Cao Xueqin's, but it's a good book by someone else. The Jade Boy's karma eventually had to be exhausted, and this seems close enough to an appropriate ending with nearly every loose thread tied neatly in a bow...
And maybe that's my real disappointment -- because screw that, the beauty of Cao Xueqin's story was how messy it was. How flipping big the family tree was, the number of plot threads you had to hold in your head at any given time, checking the back of the book to remember the difference between Tan-chun, Yuan-chun, Li Wan, or Xiu-yan, and the tonal shifts between tragedy, comedy, fantasy, and every-day life. It was a vast world of chaos and order and Bao-yu discovering along the way what truths were really important in a life filled with only illusions of wealth and happiness...
But I've dwelled too long on this. I'll miss you, Bao-yu. You did pretty good for a piece of stone not good enough for Heaven.
To all of them the best course of action in the circumstances seemed to be to speed him on his way and get the thing over with.
'They're waiting for you outside. No more dilly-dallying now, or you'll be late.'
Bao-yu raised his head and laughed.
'Off I go! Enough of this foolery! It's over!'
'Well -- off you go then!' they all cried, laughing nervously. Only Lady Wang and Bao-chai were sobbing inconsolably, as if they were parting from him forever.
Three years later and I'm a little sad knowing there's no more Bao-yu, Dai-yu, Xi-feng, or any of the other creatures of the Rong-guo mansion.
This ending was both charming, emotional, and also very frustrating. This last book often reads like a frantically fleshed-out outline from a long dead, brilliant writer.
* Conversations take wild, whiplash turns like we skipped a line or two (Bao-yu makes some vague remark about where a monk is, and Bao-chai scolds Bao-yu for being a disrespectful son and a possible failure).
* Dramatic events are given very, very little room to breathe sometimes, with characters--often women-- dying off screen and given some throwaway dialogue (they sure gotta buy a lot of coffins, by the way).
* Bao-yu makes a HUGE character shift after one dream...
OH. And nearly every remaining problem is resolved in about one chapter with Grimm's-fairy-tale-esque whimsy that seems terribly out of place. Even Jia Zheng, famous stick in the mud, begins talking like Tiny Tim or George Bailey about how great family and fate is.
I guess what I'm saying is that for a book meant to finally spell out the Jia family's long awaited tragedy...it has a suspiciously happy ending that I don't buy at all. It's downright corny. I put it up there with Wuthering Heights in terms of "Why is everyone so happy right now, ya'll? After everything?"
BUT...there were still some good moments, including but not limited to Jin-gui's comically inept murder plot. And I think it gave me a good opportunity to reflect on why I loved all the books that proceeded it.
* The Golden Age -- my favorite: the most charming, magical, and wild of all the books.
* The Crab-flower Club -- an absolutely beautiful, wholehearted portrait of the family and their complicated web of lives.
* The Warning Voice -- the most realistic of the main three, balancing between the majesty of Jia family life, and the slow avalanche of misfortunes gathering above them.
* The Debt of Tears -- a big tragic emotional climax I'd been waiting for, and it did not fail to leave me a little heartbroken.
And now The Dreamer Wakes. I feel like there's 20 more chapters missing to have really done the ending justice and let the plot points breathe, but I really do think Gao E did the best job he could finishing this masterpiece. It's not Cao Xueqin's, but it's a good book by someone else. The Jade Boy's karma eventually had to be exhausted, and this seems close enough to an appropriate ending with nearly every loose thread tied neatly in a bow...
And maybe that's my real disappointment -- because screw that, the beauty of Cao Xueqin's story was how messy it was. How flipping big the family tree was, the number of plot threads you had to hold in your head at any given time, checking the back of the book to remember the difference between Tan-chun, Yuan-chun, Li Wan, or Xiu-yan, and the tonal shifts between tragedy, comedy, fantasy, and every-day life. It was a vast world of chaos and order and Bao-yu discovering along the way what truths were really important in a life filled with only illusions of wealth and happiness...
But I've dwelled too long on this. I'll miss you, Bao-yu. You did pretty good for a piece of stone not good enough for Heaven.
December 15, 2013
Some scholarly debate persists as to whether the "Gao E" ending to The Story of the Stone was Cao Xueqin's intended end to his great novel, or even his work. I can see why, now, as the final chapters of this remarkable story have left me somewhat uncertain what to think at all.
Most of the minor and even major plots are resolved in an oddly pat, perfunctory fashion, particularly coming after the harrowing depth of drama even in the middle of volume five. Only the resolution for the story's hero, Bao-yu, feels "adequate," yet in its way this too left me disappointed.
I suppose that most of my dissatisfaction in Bao-yu's case is a matter of taste, rather than of literary consistency, admittedly. After becoming so involved in the relationships, over the course of four-plus volumes, between Bao-yu and the various star-crossed young women of the Jia household,
Additionally, this further aggravates a return of the deeply misogynistic philosophy that turns up every once in a while in this story defined, otherwise, by thoughtful, intelligent and independent women characters. This, again, is not really an inconsistency so much as a disagreement, but the timing did little to win me over to the novel's end.
I might simply condemn the concluding chapters, in fact, but for the strange postscript that leaves me as noted somewhat uncertain what to think.
On a magic third hand, however, one recalls the themes of truth vs illusion emphasized from the very beginning, and ponders whether this may not be an entirely "fair," and even perfect conclusion, after all. I will probably always regard the final chapters of The Story of the Stone as a flawed ending, in other ways. The whole story will, however, stick with me, and leave me something to think about for some time.
Most of the minor and even major plots are resolved in an oddly pat, perfunctory fashion, particularly coming after the harrowing depth of drama even in the middle of volume five. Only the resolution for the story's hero, Bao-yu, feels "adequate," yet in its way this too left me disappointed.
I suppose that most of my dissatisfaction in Bao-yu's case is a matter of taste, rather than of literary consistency, admittedly. After becoming so involved in the relationships, over the course of four-plus volumes, between Bao-yu and the various star-crossed young women of the Jia household,
Additionally, this further aggravates a return of the deeply misogynistic philosophy that turns up every once in a while in this story defined, otherwise, by thoughtful, intelligent and independent women characters. This, again, is not really an inconsistency so much as a disagreement, but the timing did little to win me over to the novel's end.
I might simply condemn the concluding chapters, in fact, but for the strange postscript that leaves me as noted somewhat uncertain what to think.
On a magic third hand, however, one recalls the themes of truth vs illusion emphasized from the very beginning, and ponders whether this may not be an entirely "fair," and even perfect conclusion, after all. I will probably always regard the final chapters of The Story of the Stone as a flawed ending, in other ways. The whole story will, however, stick with me, and leave me something to think about for some time.
March 1, 2013
Ein großartiger Abschluss
Auch wenn der Übersetzer Minford einen gewissen undefinierbaren Mangel an den 40 Gao-Kapiteln ausmachen möchte, kann ich das in keiner Weise nachvollziehen, im Gegenteil: Mir gefällt dieser letzte Band des Romans mit den letzten 20 Kapiteln am besten. Er ist konziser, weniger langatmig und abwechslungsreicher als die 100 Vorgängerkapitel.
Die Katastrophenflut, die die Jia-Familie heimsucht, ist noch nicht zu ende; auch in diesem Band sind Todesnachrichten, Krankheiten und offizielle Peinigung an der Tagesordnung. Doch gegen Ende, nachdem man die Jias fast aufgegeben hat, taucht noch das Licht am Ende des Tunnels auf. Wenn auch weit entfernt von einem Happy End, so ist dies doch ein versöhnlicher Abschluss.
Gerade die letzten Kapitel haben mich sehr beeindruckt. Überall konnte man lesen, dass in diesem Roman auch buddhistische Philosophien verarbeitet sind - nur bisher konnte ich die nicht entdecken, denn das hat sich der Roman bis zum Schluss aufgehoben. Hier erhebt sich das Werk Caos nun vom einfachen Sittengemälde hin zu einem höheren Werk mit einer Aussage.
Vor allem die letzten paar Seiten sind fantastisch - die vierte Wand wird durchbrochen und der Autor des Romans selbst miteingebunden, und das Schlussgedicht ist eines der besten Romanenden, die ich bisher gelesen habe; es regt einen sehr zum Nachdenken an über die eigene Leseerfahrung mit diesem Werk.
Ein würdiger Abschluss für einen großartigen Roman, der die kleinen Mängel in der Präsentation weit überstrahlt - die nicht aktualisierten Stammbäume, die fehlenden Anhänge und ein laberiges Vorwort sind deutlich unter dem Niveau der Vorgängerbände.
Auch wenn der Übersetzer Minford einen gewissen undefinierbaren Mangel an den 40 Gao-Kapiteln ausmachen möchte, kann ich das in keiner Weise nachvollziehen, im Gegenteil: Mir gefällt dieser letzte Band des Romans mit den letzten 20 Kapiteln am besten. Er ist konziser, weniger langatmig und abwechslungsreicher als die 100 Vorgängerkapitel.
Die Katastrophenflut, die die Jia-Familie heimsucht, ist noch nicht zu ende; auch in diesem Band sind Todesnachrichten, Krankheiten und offizielle Peinigung an der Tagesordnung. Doch gegen Ende, nachdem man die Jias fast aufgegeben hat, taucht noch das Licht am Ende des Tunnels auf. Wenn auch weit entfernt von einem Happy End, so ist dies doch ein versöhnlicher Abschluss.
Gerade die letzten Kapitel haben mich sehr beeindruckt. Überall konnte man lesen, dass in diesem Roman auch buddhistische Philosophien verarbeitet sind - nur bisher konnte ich die nicht entdecken, denn das hat sich der Roman bis zum Schluss aufgehoben. Hier erhebt sich das Werk Caos nun vom einfachen Sittengemälde hin zu einem höheren Werk mit einer Aussage.
Vor allem die letzten paar Seiten sind fantastisch - die vierte Wand wird durchbrochen und der Autor des Romans selbst miteingebunden, und das Schlussgedicht ist eines der besten Romanenden, die ich bisher gelesen habe; es regt einen sehr zum Nachdenken an über die eigene Leseerfahrung mit diesem Werk.
Ein würdiger Abschluss für einen großartigen Roman, der die kleinen Mängel in der Präsentation weit überstrahlt - die nicht aktualisierten Stammbäume, die fehlenden Anhänge und ein laberiges Vorwort sind deutlich unter dem Niveau der Vorgängerbände.
Read
October 29, 2014It is a bit sad to end this amazing saga. Grandmother Jia and Wang Xi-feng both die and shortly following this, Bao-yu passes the state examinations at a very high level. As a result the Emperor returns to the Jia family its confiscated goods and hereditary titles. He has also given the family an heir through his marriage to Bao-chai. He never returns from the examination, instead going off into the distance with a Taoist monk and a Buddhist monk. He has become a monk himself, showing himself to his father, and counseling the family to accept it.
Quite a wonderful story. Bao-yu's conversion does not come about intellectually, but rather through his own acceptance of who he is. The Taoist tells Bao-yu "The Land of Illusion and the Paradise of Truth are one and the same." Only by studying the world around us will the ground of being, the hidden world, be revealed. But it is everywhere apparent if our eyes are open.
Quite a wonderful story. Bao-yu's conversion does not come about intellectually, but rather through his own acceptance of who he is. The Taoist tells Bao-yu "The Land of Illusion and the Paradise of Truth are one and the same." Only by studying the world around us will the ground of being, the hidden world, be revealed. But it is everywhere apparent if our eyes are open.
March 6, 2016
A vivid and earthy new translation of what used to be called The Dream of the Red Chamber, this story of the piece-of-jade-become-charmed-human is full of the ways of Chinese aristocrats from the glory days of the Chinese Qing dynasty. You may have a hard time keeping the characters straight, but don't that stop you from enjoying the ins and outs of the men and women of a Chinese court with too much time on its hands and many, many rituals to observe.
This book is generally considered the first novel in Chinese literature, and it is enormous, magnificent, and beguiling. I'm not normally a fan of lengthy translator's introductions, but in this case, I recommend it, because everything about this book is complicated and it helps to understand the background, genesis, meaning, and mores of the times.
This book is generally considered the first novel in Chinese literature, and it is enormous, magnificent, and beguiling. I'm not normally a fan of lengthy translator's introductions, but in this case, I recommend it, because everything about this book is complicated and it helps to understand the background, genesis, meaning, and mores of the times.
October 1, 2017
"An otherwordly tome recounts an otherwordly tale" is the best description of this book. I cannot express all it made me feel and think through the course of its 2000+ pages, but I do consider reading it a milestone in my life. I will most definitely read it again, in a couple of years, after I learn more things. It is a masterpiece, and I cannot understand exactly what it is that makes it so special.
I think i'll try to write an essay about it, it is such a rich book.
I think i'll try to write an essay about it, it is such a rich book.
January 18, 2017
Last two chapters are impressively threadbare, but this book was still a phenomenal experience. It took me out of my world and into its right when I needed it and apparently has been doing so for 250 years. Not bad
September 29, 2024
Na drie jaren the story of the stone eindelijk tot het einde geraakt - een inkijk in het traditionele leven van een welgestelde chinese familie, de complexe relaties in het huishouden, buddhistische leerstukken, poëzie en gewoon absurde drama komt samen in een laatste volume gewijd aan verlies, de dood en de uiteindelijke verlichting. Het blijft me verbazen hoe leesbaar het boek is, hoewel de vertaling in het laatste deel wel duidelijk minder goed en consistent is.
November 3, 2023
Phenomenal ending. I read the first volume months ago and even I caught many of the ways this final volume was interwoven with the other volumes.
I'm still mad about how horribly they treated Xi-feng, who will forever be my favorite.
October 8, 2014
The Story of the Stone is one of the "Four Classic Chinese Novels." The value to the Western reader is that it provides great insight into the daily lives and culture of the Chinese Nobility in the 18th Century. Religion, which had been present but not prominent in the first four volumes of the Story of the Stone, becomes the driving force in the narrative in the second half of Volume 5.
The problem for the Western reader is trying to figure out what to mark the Story of the Stone against. The first three volumes seem to be a Proustian tribute to a golden age of poetry experienced by the Wang-Jias a prominent clan of nobles who all live together in a huge compound. Volume four is Hubris as the family cut off from the world commit steadily more wicked and cruel actions leaving the floor strewn with the corpses of bullied servants, beaten concubines and innocent commoners. Volume Five starts out as Nemesis. Justice strikes. The bureaucracy discovers that two members of the family are guilty of fraud and lone-sharking. The police raid the Wang-Jia compound and confiscate most of the valuables they can find. Edicts then strip them of their estates.
The Wang-Jias try to rally. They take stock and discover they are almost broke. They have been living beyond their means. Their stewards have been embezzling from them and their house servants have been constantly pilfering. Unfortunately, once they realize what their situation is, they are unable to take effective action. The women in the family were masters at bullying the maids and concubines but are totally incapable of dealing with their true problems. The extravagance continues.
The men are simply witless. The two male members of the family implicated in the corruption are banished to Mongolia while the honest ones who stay behind simply wring their hands. Their influence is gone. At the end of Volume 4, they had had enough influence to prevent one of their family members who had murdered an innocent bartender in a drunken rage from being sentenced. In Volume 5, the case is re-opened. A concubine had been murdered in Volume 4. The police decide to investigate in Volume 5.
Bao-Yu the hero who had been born with a magic jade talisman in his mouth and of whom great things had been expected proves to be a complete dolt. He moons over woman that he was not allowed to marry and refuses to consummate his marriage with the bride that his family had selected for him.
The Wang-Jias seem to be at the nadir of their fortunes like Job when a mysterious monk arrives with the Bao-Yu's missing Jade Talisman. Bao-Yu leaves with the monk to visit the land of the dead. He returns without his talisman but has a sense of purpose. He consummates his marriage and then starts studying for the civil service examinations.
Bao-Yu performs brilliantly on the exams. The emperor reads his composition which prompts him to re-consider the judgements against the family. The murderer is pardoned. The two fraudsters are allowed to return from exile and the family's estates are restored to them.
Bao-Yu then disappears. A family member meets another phantom-monk who explains that Bao-Yu had been the reincarnation of a Buddha immortal who had wanted to experience human tribulation. Having restored the family fortunes through his remarkable performance on the exam and having fathered a male heir for the Wang-Jias, he no longer had anything to do with the living and so his family would never seen him until again until the afterlife. The phantom-monk then warns the Wang-Jias that they lost everything through wickedness and that they would never fully recover what they had lost unless they practiced virtue. Finally the phantom-monk explains to them that the physical world is not real. Only the spirit world is real.
Thus the interminably long Story of the Stone finishes with a flourish. I will know look for some Chinese friends to explain to me what I missed which is presumably quite considerable.
Do your homework before launching into this massive work.
The problem for the Western reader is trying to figure out what to mark the Story of the Stone against. The first three volumes seem to be a Proustian tribute to a golden age of poetry experienced by the Wang-Jias a prominent clan of nobles who all live together in a huge compound. Volume four is Hubris as the family cut off from the world commit steadily more wicked and cruel actions leaving the floor strewn with the corpses of bullied servants, beaten concubines and innocent commoners. Volume Five starts out as Nemesis. Justice strikes. The bureaucracy discovers that two members of the family are guilty of fraud and lone-sharking. The police raid the Wang-Jia compound and confiscate most of the valuables they can find. Edicts then strip them of their estates.
The Wang-Jias try to rally. They take stock and discover they are almost broke. They have been living beyond their means. Their stewards have been embezzling from them and their house servants have been constantly pilfering. Unfortunately, once they realize what their situation is, they are unable to take effective action. The women in the family were masters at bullying the maids and concubines but are totally incapable of dealing with their true problems. The extravagance continues.
The men are simply witless. The two male members of the family implicated in the corruption are banished to Mongolia while the honest ones who stay behind simply wring their hands. Their influence is gone. At the end of Volume 4, they had had enough influence to prevent one of their family members who had murdered an innocent bartender in a drunken rage from being sentenced. In Volume 5, the case is re-opened. A concubine had been murdered in Volume 4. The police decide to investigate in Volume 5.
Bao-Yu the hero who had been born with a magic jade talisman in his mouth and of whom great things had been expected proves to be a complete dolt. He moons over woman that he was not allowed to marry and refuses to consummate his marriage with the bride that his family had selected for him.
The Wang-Jias seem to be at the nadir of their fortunes like Job when a mysterious monk arrives with the Bao-Yu's missing Jade Talisman. Bao-Yu leaves with the monk to visit the land of the dead. He returns without his talisman but has a sense of purpose. He consummates his marriage and then starts studying for the civil service examinations.
Bao-Yu performs brilliantly on the exams. The emperor reads his composition which prompts him to re-consider the judgements against the family. The murderer is pardoned. The two fraudsters are allowed to return from exile and the family's estates are restored to them.
Bao-Yu then disappears. A family member meets another phantom-monk who explains that Bao-Yu had been the reincarnation of a Buddha immortal who had wanted to experience human tribulation. Having restored the family fortunes through his remarkable performance on the exam and having fathered a male heir for the Wang-Jias, he no longer had anything to do with the living and so his family would never seen him until again until the afterlife. The phantom-monk then warns the Wang-Jias that they lost everything through wickedness and that they would never fully recover what they had lost unless they practiced virtue. Finally the phantom-monk explains to them that the physical world is not real. Only the spirit world is real.
Thus the interminably long Story of the Stone finishes with a flourish. I will know look for some Chinese friends to explain to me what I missed which is presumably quite considerable.
Do your homework before launching into this massive work.
September 18, 2020
(My view on all five volumes).
'Few books can even be considered for the title of 'Book of the Millennium', but The Story of the Stone surely is a strong contender.' ( The Complete Review): Even if the Book of the Millennium existed, this would not be it. For one thing, it's unfinished: the complicated textual history the translator describes leaves the reader asking themselves the (always unanswerable) question 'is what I'm reading what the author wanted me to read?'. The pacing of the book is annoyingly uneven among chapters 1-80 and 81-120 (the latter containing text 'restored' by the editor).
'One of those rare books that deepens one's understanding of what it means to be human'. (Quoted at the back cover): That yes, admittedly, and not for its exotic setting (for a western reader), but most importantly for its juxtaposition of the earthly world of matter and sentiment and the awareness of its fleetingness.
'One of those rare huge books in which one can lose oneself completely' (The Complete Review): Well, that too, but only because of its size. It does offer a detailed depiction of a family and an era, but its 'subplot to page-number ratio' is rather small (by a modern reader's standards). And I cannot lie, I feel the author could have said the same things in much fewer pages.
The most obvious reason I don't regret reading these five volumes is the journey they offered me into another epoch and continent - still unadulterated by european culture. Moreover, like the world it depicts, this novel is a moment in a fiction tradition completely parallel to the western one; its form and content are to the western reader the literary equivalent of an extraterrestrial species to an earthling: shaped by completely different progenitors and conditions. The narrative devices the writer(s) used, and the number of levels this book can be read at, are definitely forward in comparison to European novels of the same time; I especially liked the embedding of the novel in the metaphysical narrative of the Stone. I only wish the device of the embedded narrative were a bit more polished and felt less unfinished: for instance, there was no mention of the itinerary monks or any other part of it in the whole of the third volume. The subplot of Jia Yu-cun and Zhen Shi-yin felt a bit underutilised too. The various subplots did largely converge to a unified closure; this blending of plots often feels a bit hasty, unfinished or not mature enough, but this reminds us of the pioneering, perhaps even experimental, and therefore somewhat unpolished narrative qualities of this 18th century work.
I did savour the metaphysical core of this book, the Buddhist/nihilistic belief that this world, including not only its riches and ambitions, but also emotions and human connection, is but a fleeting dream. Admittedly, Chinese/Buddhist/Confucian religiousness, as depicted in the novel, strikes me as inconsistent and somewhat ludicrous (pretty much like its christian counterpart); however, this depiction of earthly transience would probably be unthinkable outside this cultural frame. One can't help noticing that the author, despite emphasising this metaphysical belief, is somewhat ambivalent, as if still tied to the memory of those golden days and maidens (the novel being semi-autobiographic). I'm not sure if I see this as a flaw, even a factor that contributed to the book being left unfinished, or is another of the novel's charms.
Lastly, this novel is bound to be adored by poetry enthusiasts. Chinese verse, with its formality and delicate sensitivity, smartly translated, plays a great part in the book - especially the second volume. The latter is my favourite, along with the first volume and the final couple of chapters (where one mostly finds the metaphysical frame of the story).
'Few books can even be considered for the title of 'Book of the Millennium', but The Story of the Stone surely is a strong contender.' ( The Complete Review): Even if the Book of the Millennium existed, this would not be it. For one thing, it's unfinished: the complicated textual history the translator describes leaves the reader asking themselves the (always unanswerable) question 'is what I'm reading what the author wanted me to read?'. The pacing of the book is annoyingly uneven among chapters 1-80 and 81-120 (the latter containing text 'restored' by the editor).
'One of those rare books that deepens one's understanding of what it means to be human'. (Quoted at the back cover): That yes, admittedly, and not for its exotic setting (for a western reader), but most importantly for its juxtaposition of the earthly world of matter and sentiment and the awareness of its fleetingness.
'One of those rare huge books in which one can lose oneself completely' (The Complete Review): Well, that too, but only because of its size. It does offer a detailed depiction of a family and an era, but its 'subplot to page-number ratio' is rather small (by a modern reader's standards). And I cannot lie, I feel the author could have said the same things in much fewer pages.
The most obvious reason I don't regret reading these five volumes is the journey they offered me into another epoch and continent - still unadulterated by european culture. Moreover, like the world it depicts, this novel is a moment in a fiction tradition completely parallel to the western one; its form and content are to the western reader the literary equivalent of an extraterrestrial species to an earthling: shaped by completely different progenitors and conditions. The narrative devices the writer(s) used, and the number of levels this book can be read at, are definitely forward in comparison to European novels of the same time; I especially liked the embedding of the novel in the metaphysical narrative of the Stone. I only wish the device of the embedded narrative were a bit more polished and felt less unfinished: for instance, there was no mention of the itinerary monks or any other part of it in the whole of the third volume. The subplot of Jia Yu-cun and Zhen Shi-yin felt a bit underutilised too. The various subplots did largely converge to a unified closure; this blending of plots often feels a bit hasty, unfinished or not mature enough, but this reminds us of the pioneering, perhaps even experimental, and therefore somewhat unpolished narrative qualities of this 18th century work.
I did savour the metaphysical core of this book, the Buddhist/nihilistic belief that this world, including not only its riches and ambitions, but also emotions and human connection, is but a fleeting dream. Admittedly, Chinese/Buddhist/Confucian religiousness, as depicted in the novel, strikes me as inconsistent and somewhat ludicrous (pretty much like its christian counterpart); however, this depiction of earthly transience would probably be unthinkable outside this cultural frame. One can't help noticing that the author, despite emphasising this metaphysical belief, is somewhat ambivalent, as if still tied to the memory of those golden days and maidens (the novel being semi-autobiographic). I'm not sure if I see this as a flaw, even a factor that contributed to the book being left unfinished, or is another of the novel's charms.
Lastly, this novel is bound to be adored by poetry enthusiasts. Chinese verse, with its formality and delicate sensitivity, smartly translated, plays a great part in the book - especially the second volume. The latter is my favourite, along with the first volume and the final couple of chapters (where one mostly finds the metaphysical frame of the story).
March 15, 2016
And so the Dream of Golden Days draws to a close, and along with it the story of the Jia family - their decadent and luxurious lifestyle, subsequent fall from grace, and their eventual restoration. As this volume's subtitle tells, Jia Baoyu achieves the realisation that his life and its passions are but an illusion and the debts of fate foreshadowed in the first volume are finally repaid in full.
The fifth volume, translated by John Minford and edited by Gao E, systematically and at times predictably completes the lives of the numerous characters; by now though, the story feels somewhat repetitive: Baoyu is thought mad, Baochai admonishes him, Lady Wang and the older women bemoan their fate, the servants are either greedy and traitorous or bemoan their masters' fates. Yet this is not a damning indictment of Cao's masterpiece - just symptomatic of Gao E having trouble re-assembling the story after Cao's death.
I enjoyed the novel and the previous four volumes. They offered an enlightening window into traditional Chinese life during the Qing Dynasty for a wealthy family: their day-to-day lives, homes, literature, beliefs, etc. The translation by Hawkes and Minford is an excellent addition to the English canon and does justice to this sweeping novel.
Altogether, I give the complete series 5 STARS. And now to re-read it once more...
The fifth volume, translated by John Minford and edited by Gao E, systematically and at times predictably completes the lives of the numerous characters; by now though, the story feels somewhat repetitive: Baoyu is thought mad, Baochai admonishes him, Lady Wang and the older women bemoan their fate, the servants are either greedy and traitorous or bemoan their masters' fates. Yet this is not a damning indictment of Cao's masterpiece - just symptomatic of Gao E having trouble re-assembling the story after Cao's death.
I enjoyed the novel and the previous four volumes. They offered an enlightening window into traditional Chinese life during the Qing Dynasty for a wealthy family: their day-to-day lives, homes, literature, beliefs, etc. The translation by Hawkes and Minford is an excellent addition to the English canon and does justice to this sweeping novel.
Altogether, I give the complete series 5 STARS. And now to re-read it once more...
May 1, 2020
Cao Xueqin's The Story of the Stone all volumes taken together = FIVE STARS!
However, the last two books were probably by his editor Gao E, and are not as good as the other books = THREE STARS.
What to say about a 2,000 page Chinese epic about the vanity of life? Cao Xueqin deserves the praise that he has received for his novel, The Story of the Stone. It is a beautiful and haunting look at a world that has been utterly swept away in the streams of time. Sad, beautiful, well written, and utterly foreign to this reader it was like a tour of a lost world. When you are at the great museums of New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles or Chicago, you can see the minor physical remains of this lost world; the odd dish or tea-cup or vase. This novel lets your live in pre-Opium War China, in the house of one of the wealthiest families of the Han Empire. You must read all five novels to get the complete sweep of this masterwork.
Read it, you will be a better person if you do!
However, the last two books were probably by his editor Gao E, and are not as good as the other books = THREE STARS.
What to say about a 2,000 page Chinese epic about the vanity of life? Cao Xueqin deserves the praise that he has received for his novel, The Story of the Stone. It is a beautiful and haunting look at a world that has been utterly swept away in the streams of time. Sad, beautiful, well written, and utterly foreign to this reader it was like a tour of a lost world. When you are at the great museums of New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles or Chicago, you can see the minor physical remains of this lost world; the odd dish or tea-cup or vase. This novel lets your live in pre-Opium War China, in the house of one of the wealthiest families of the Han Empire. You must read all five novels to get the complete sweep of this masterwork.
Read it, you will be a better person if you do!
January 30, 2025
After seven years, I’ve finally reached the end of 'The Story of the Stone'. Don’t mistake the time it took me to finish for a lack of enthusiasm—on the contrary, this novel has been nothing short of phenomenal. Few books have resonated with me as deeply, and now that it’s over, I feel an undeniable sense of loss. Perhaps I’ll follow it up with the unabridged 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'. We’ll see…
That said, I’m giving this final volume four stars instead of five because the ending felt rushed. It was as if the author, eager to bring everything to a neat conclusion, leaned too heavily on a happy resolution. In doing so, the supernatural elements—previously lingering in the background—were suddenly thrust into the forefront, in a way that felt abrupt and unconvincing. While this left me slightly disappointed, it doesn’t diminish the novel’s brilliance. 'The Story of the Stone' remains every bit the masterpiece it’s hailed as, and I’m grateful to have experienced it from beginning to end.
That said, I’m giving this final volume four stars instead of five because the ending felt rushed. It was as if the author, eager to bring everything to a neat conclusion, leaned too heavily on a happy resolution. In doing so, the supernatural elements—previously lingering in the background—were suddenly thrust into the forefront, in a way that felt abrupt and unconvincing. While this left me slightly disappointed, it doesn’t diminish the novel’s brilliance. 'The Story of the Stone' remains every bit the masterpiece it’s hailed as, and I’m grateful to have experienced it from beginning to end.
June 14, 2018
After the Jia's decline in Vol 4, Vol 5 is where the s**t hits the fan.
The deserted garden is taken over by nature (as well as ghosts who scare off everyone living/working there). Jia Zheng is demoted and impeached and the household is ransacked by rulers of the region.
There's a bit of relief as the emperor steps in to help out them out of courtesy for his former concubine, but this relief only lasts for a chapter or two. Then Xi-Feng dies and Grandmother Jia follows and whilst Jia Zheng is in the south burying their bodies, Bao Yu becomes a monk and disappears.
What a disaster!
Overall, this volume is a bit more rushed than the others. It ruthlessly kills off a bunch of major characters and destroys others. That being said, it's a fitting end to the novel and, if it was written by someone else, it definitely fits.
The deserted garden is taken over by nature (as well as ghosts who scare off everyone living/working there). Jia Zheng is demoted and impeached and the household is ransacked by rulers of the region.
There's a bit of relief as the emperor steps in to help out them out of courtesy for his former concubine, but this relief only lasts for a chapter or two. Then Xi-Feng dies and Grandmother Jia follows and whilst Jia Zheng is in the south burying their bodies, Bao Yu becomes a monk and disappears.
What a disaster!
Overall, this volume is a bit more rushed than the others. It ruthlessly kills off a bunch of major characters and destroys others. That being said, it's a fitting end to the novel and, if it was written by someone else, it definitely fits.
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