Reflections on Dream of the Red Chamber By Liu Zaifu

The Chinese nation’s beauty, mercifulness, innocence, and wisdom all lie in Dream of the Red Chamber. It is due to the influence of Dream of the Red Chamber that some people in China do not worship characters like Liu Bei, Li Kui, and Wu Song. Guided by Dream of the Red Chamber, these people begin to imitate Jia Baoyu in their youth and try to keep themselves away from wealth, fame, and power in their own ways. The character of a nation is primarily molded by its literature. Unfortunately, the influence of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Water Margin on the character of the Chinese nation has been excessive, whereas the influence of Dream of the Red Chamber has been inadequate.

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It seems to be a “broad thoroughfare” to treat fiction as a tool for saving the country or for enlightenment, but in fact it is a “narrow path,” for in this situation the context for fiction is only the context of the country and history, not the context of life and the universe. Only by entering into the depths of life, describing the happiness and sorrows of humanity, exploring the mysteries of the soul, and calling for the liberation of spirit can literature travel on a broad road. Wang Guowei argues that The Peach Blossom Fan is related to the country, politics, and history, whereas Dream of the Red Chamber is related to the universe, philosophy, and literature. This statement can be interpreted to mean that The Peach Blossom Fan follows a narrow path, whereas Dream of the Red Chamber follows a broad road. When Liang Qichao argued that without new fiction there would be no new society or new nation, he seemed to have elevated the status of fiction. However, he in fact only pointed out a “narrow path,” not a “broad road,” for fiction. The “broad road” is always the road of life and the universe rather than the road of the country or history. It is precisely the golden road for literature.

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Wang Guowei wrote works of great erudition, such as “A Study of the Institutions of the Yin and the Shang,” “A Study of the Former Dukes and Former Kings of the Yin Mentioned in Divinatory Inscriptions,” and “A Preface to a Critical Study of the Inscription on the Duke of Mao Tripod.”