"The Manchu epoch has left to us what is by general consent the finest novel in Chinese literature, 'Hung-lou-meng' ('The Dream of the Red Chamber'), by Ts'ao Hsüeh-ch'in, who died in 1763. It describes the downfall of a rich and powerful family from the highest rank of the gentry, and the decadent son's love of a young and emotional lady of the highest circles. The story is clothed in a mystical garb that does something to soften its tragic ending. Western readers appreciate this novel mainly because it is the only classical novel in which individual characters are clearly depicted, and in which emotions are openly expressed. This was and remained unusual, because to the present time, Chinese do not like to express their emotions openly. Down to the nineteenth century, the novel was from time to time forbidden, and parents were warned not to let their children read it."
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Wolfram Eberhard, A History of China (1977), pp. 291–292-->
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Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦 Honglou Meng), also called The Story of the Stone (石头记 Shitou Ji), composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was written sometime in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. Long considered a masterpiece of Chinese literature, the novel is generally acknowledged to be the pinnacle of Chinese fiction.
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