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24 April 2010 China study lecture series 1 Prelude http://video.sina.com.cn/ent/v/ m/2009-12-26/193560958.shtml

Dream Of The Red Mansion

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Page 1: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 124 April 2010

Prelude

• http://video.sina.com.cn/ent/v/m/2009-12-26/193560958.shtml

Page 2: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 224 April 2010

Dream of

the Red Mansion

Presented

by Emily Rose

周枢

Page 3: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 324 April 2010

Cao Xueqin

• One of the greatest literary giants in the Chinese history

• Born in 1715 into a very established family of lords and ladies

• Died in 1763 in poverty

Page 4: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 424 April 2010

The Novel• The love story between Baoyu, Daiyu and Baochai as the plot line

• 1 emperor's favorite royal concubine • 2 stately homes – Rong’guofu, and Ning’guofu

• 4 generations of lords and ladies

• 12 beautiful Jinling ladies

• 32 dreams

• 108 beautiful girls on 9 “Lists of the Beloved”

• 120 chapters with the first 80 written by Cao Xueqin and the next 40 by others

• 975 characters, 732 named, 243 not

Page 5: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 524 April 2010

The Story Line

1. The stone – Baoyu and his jade

2. Daiyu lost her mum and met Baoyu

3. Baochai met Baoyu who loved Daiyu

4. Baoyu’s dream – the fate of the girls

5. Qin Keqing and her death

6. Daiyu lost her dad and became depressed

7. Yuanchun’s royal visit and Daguanyuan

8. Daiyu’s death and Baoyu’s marriage to Baochai

9. Yuanchun’s death and the fall of the four clans

10.Baoyu left the family to become a monk

Page 6: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 624 April 2010

Key Characters- Baoyu -

• The most spoilt

• The lady’s man

• The rebel

• Historical similarities to Werther as in “Die Leiden des jungen Werther” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Page 7: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 724 April 2010

Key Characters- Daiyu -

• The orphan

• Baoyu’s only love

• The image of talents, purity and kindness

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China study lecture series 824 April 2010

Key Characters- Baochai -

• The model lady of her time

• Baochai’s love for Baoyu

• The destined as well as the abandoned

Page 9: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 924 April 2010

Love vs. Marriage

• Marriage and politics• Love not allowed – death of Daiyu• Relationships between Baoyu and the servant

girls - Xiren, Qingwen, and Jinchuan• Qin Keqing and her father-in-law• Wang Xifeng toyed Jia Rui to death• Yuanyang’s suicide• Yuanchun, Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun

Page 10: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1024 April 2010

Respect for Authorityin a Hierarchical Society

• The role of Mm Jia as head of the family – the revering of the elderly

• Yuanchun’s influence on the family – her role as the daughter of the family and as the royal consort to the lords

• Expectations of Baoyu to secure the family fortunes

• Baochai’s aspiration to be enrolled into the palace

• The repression of individualism, freedom, love, and equality

Page 11: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1124 April 2010

Power and Corruption

• Men and political power

• Women and domestic power – Wang Xifeng vs. the team of Tanchun, Baochai, and Li Wan

• Jia Yucun vs. Jia Zheng

Page 12: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1224 April 2010

The Lack of Sustainability• In political

correctness – change of emperors

• In family fortunes

• In individualism – childhood vs. adulthood

Page 13: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1324 April 2010

Page 14: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1424 April 2010

Cao Xueqin’s Time Worldwide

American literature • The first novel, William Hill Brown’s “The

Power of Sympathy” published in 1789

European literature• The Age of Enlightenment

• Enlightenment – Romanticism

Page 15: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1524 April 2010

English literature

1) Historical background:• A period of comparatively peaceful development• Industrial Revolution • The struggle of the bourgeoisie against feudalism.

2) Main writers and their works:       • Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe; Moll Flanders • Jonathan Swift - Gulliver’s Travels• William Blake - Songs of Innocence; Songs of

Experience• Robert Burns - A Red, Red Rose• Richard Brinsley Sheridan - The School for Scandal; The

Rivals

Page 16: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1624 April 2010

The 18th Century Country House

• The golden age of the English country house

• Time period of Jane Austen (1775-1817)’s stories

• The separations between the classes – the “polite society” would stay within their circle

• Improved roadways meant that they could mingle during the London season, then head down to Bath and travel to stay at the various country houses of friends or strangers

Page 17: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1724 April 2010

Chatsworth & Mr. Darcy

Page 18: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1824 April 2010

International Interests

• Russian sinologist, V. P. Vasiliev (1818-1900), and his collection of the manuscripts

• German sinologist, Franz W. Kuhn (1884-1961), his Baoyu way of life and the first German translation

• French-speaking Swiss sinologist, Paul Demieville (1894-1979), and his monkey

• “Lin Daiyu in Shakespeare's Eyes”

Page 19: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 1924 April 2010

Relevance to Today

• “Old habits die hard” – the world hasn’t changed that much

• The lessons we can learn from the rise and fall of the lords

• The inspirations from the rebels

• The continuous pursuit for freedom, love and equality

Page 20: Dream Of The Red Mansion

China study lecture series 2024 April 2010

The End

• http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTUyNDU5MDA0.html