A. S. TRUNOVA
Postgraduate student Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Keywords: Chinese literature, "Dream in the Red Tower", Wang Meng, essay studies
The Chinese classic novel "Dream in the Red Chamber" was written in the middle of the XVII century. It is generally believed that its author was Cao Xueqin (1724-1764). This outstanding work is one of the most important milestones in the history of Chinese prose, a recognized masterpiece not only of Chinese, but also of world literature.1
The book " Dream in the Red Chamber: Notes of Revelation "(hereinafter referred to as "Notes of Revelation"), first published in 1991, is a voluminous work by the Chinese writer and literary critic Wang Meng, devoted to the analysis of this novel. Considering the novel from the point of view of its place in the system of world literature, he examines The Dream in the Red Chamber inseparably from the context of traditional Chinese culture and the feudal society in which it was created: Wang Meng writes about the problem of marriage, about Chinese ritual and the hypocrisy it generates, about religion and its place in feudal society that is, about the problems that Cao Xueqin raised in his work.
Wang Meng applies the realities depicted by Cao Xueqin to the modern context, drawing sometimes rather unexpected parallels with modern reality, with political and social phenomena of the XX-XXI centuries. There are numerous parallels with the theme of the "cultural revolution" and labor re-education. So, while assessing the complex character of the main character of the novel - Baoyu, Wang Meng notes with a touch of sarcasm that labor re-education in the village would knock out "tyranny"from him.
"Dream in the Red Chamber" is a moralizing novel about the Jia clan, which lives according to strict Confucian traditions. We will remind readers of the content of this epic work.
The main events of the novel unfold in two capital houses-estates-Ningo and Ronggo, connected ...
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