One night many years ago, I finished reading "A Dream of Red Mansions" for the first time. When I closed the book, the moonlight was shining on the spine, and those people and things were still alive in my heart - Daiyu's tears were not dry yet, Baoyu's back was not far away, and the door of the Grand View Garden was still open, but I could no longer go in.
Later I understood that this is the magic of "Dream of Red Mansions": it makes you think you are reading a book, but in fact you are walking into a world.
This book "A Dream of Red Mansions" is the footprints I left in that world. The book has 75 chapters and about 250,000 words. It is divided into eight volumes according to the plot of the original work. From Shi Shi's autobiography to Baoyu's becoming a monk, you can read it chapter by chapter and understand it chapter by chapter. I am not a red scholar. I do not ask for textual research or draw conclusions. I only want to appreciate the things hidden behind the words with the heart of a reader: What was Daiyu thinking when she buried the flowers? Why did Baoyu give him an old handkerchief after being beaten? What exactly was Qingwen tearing apart?
If you have been moved by the Red Mansion and lost in the Grand View Garden, then this book is written for our common memory. Find the true meaning in absurd words, taste life through bitter tears.
Purpose: "A Dream of Red Mansions" is a literary essay about reading "A Dream of Red Mansions". The book has 75 chapters and about 250,000 words. As an ordinary reader, the author follows the narrative thread of the original work, from the stone's self-narration at Qinggeng Peak to Baoyu's farewell in the snow when he became a monk, reading it chapter by chapter and understanding it chapter by chapter. This is not a textual research on red studies, nor a retelling of the plot, but an affectionate dialogue between a reader and the classics. Each chapter focuses on a central question: Who is telling this story? What was Daiyu thinking when she buried the flowers? Why did Baoyu give him an old handkerchief after being beaten? What exactly was Qingwen tearing apart? Through in-depth exploration of the fate of characters, emotional codes, and narrative art, the author attempts to enter the colorful and devastated world of Grand View Garden, find the true meaning in absurd words, and appreciate life through bitter tears.