Hung Lou Meng, or, The Dream of the Red Chamber. Book I

by Cao Xueqin, Henry Bencraft Joly (Translator)

Translated by H. Bencraft Joly

Genres: Classics, Asian Literature

578 pages, Paperback

Published January 17, 2007

About the author

Xueqin 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")[...]

Reviews

[Tarik Aycicek · Rating 5 out of 5]

best book i've ever read since my 15 years would recommend

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really should have written down the names and relationships of all the characters as they appeared. This edition didn't have the completed stories, the part after the original author died, but it was still complete enough to give an idea of the story and where it was headed. I enjoyed the glimpses into Chinese life in this period, at least in the upper classes. The poetry society, the sectioning of the women's areas in the compound, and the drinking games! Plus, all of the descriptions of the clothes and decorations. The plot wasn't bad for an ancient Asian text, either. Some of them are so heavy on metaphor or historical allusions that I just can't understand them in translation.

[Peter Herrmann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Impenetrable ... to me. And I have a lot of patience with books. Or, at least, used to. Or perhaps it's this translation. I had to read too many sentences 2 or 3 times over to grasp the meaning. One expects, when reading Shakespeare's Sonnets, to spend time on each line and stanza ... but I wasn't expecting that with a novel. On the other hand, it is a classic - akin to Don Quixote perhaps, in the sense that that one too is a tough nut to crack. I was also discouraged to learn that the translator died midway through. So, had I gotten ensnared I wouldn't have been able to get to the end anyway. Perhaps another translation will serve me better.

[Elizabeth B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot BELIEVE Book 1 is over. Reading this for Librivox is definitely one of the smartest choices I've made in the last year. It's an excellent book to have waiting to dip back into whenever there's a free hour or two, and even though I know things aren't going to end well for Lin Tai Yue, I still can't wait to finish these edits and get on to Book 2

[Pamela607 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little hard to get into because of the myriad characters, many with similar Chinese names, but once I got involved in the story line, I understood the relationships amongst the families, servants, etc.

[Jsmh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Novel writing was different a few hundred years ago in China. Or maybe something happens in part 2. But part one is just this happened, then this happened, then this happened with no story line at all.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty entertaining and interesting, but the pronunciation of the Chinese names by some of the narrators was so distractingly bad that I didn't actually retain anything from the story in my mind.

I hope volume 2 is better narrated. And if not, I guess I'll have to read it 🤣.

[Kevin Tole · Rating 1 out of 5]

How can you give an alleged classic one star?

OK. How come every apostate Buddhist you've ever met or known is generally an arrogant narcissistic prick?

I couldn't read this without turning it into Janner-speak, thus becoming The Book of Janner, Grasshopper.

[Keropin79 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gave me headache, but i'm very curious , china classic is really something i hope i can finish it very soon

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hung Lou Meng is a wonderful book. Joly's translation is faithful to the original book. It is especially helpful for those who want to learn Chinese. You will find it quite useful.