The Story of the Stone, Vol. 1: The Golden Days

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The Story of the Stone, Vol. 1: The Golden Days (The Story of the Stone)

by Cao Xueqin, David Hawkes (Translator)

4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 · rating details · 475 ratings · 67 reviews

"The Story of the Stone" (c. 1760) is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The first part of the story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, and his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents' choice of a wife for him, and the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing fortunes of the Jia family, this...more

Paperback, 544 pages

Published March 30th 1974 by Penguin Group (first published 1760)

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Dec 07, 2012 [P] rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bitchin, modern-life-is-rubbish

This novel [I’m referring to the entire opus in this review, not just this one volume] pretty much cost me a relationship. It’s true that we were in conflict right from the beginning of our time together [it was a Palestinian/Israeli kind of thing, i.e. unresolvable], but having my head in an old Chinese novel for four solid hours every evening for weeks on end put the seal on it. And, guess what? It was worth it.

The Story of The Stone [or in some translations Dreams of the Red Chamber] is the m...more This novel [I’m referring to the entire opus in this review, not just this one volume] pretty much cost me a relationship. It’s true that we were in conflict right from the beginning of our time together [it was a Palestinian/Israeli kind of thing, i.e. unresolvable], but having my head in an old Chinese novel for four solid hours every evening for weeks on end put the seal on it. And, guess what? It was worth it.

The Story of The Stone [or in some translations Dreams of the Red Chamber] is the magical story of an unutilized piece of heaven, sent to earth in the form of the precocious Bao-yu. The work is, if I had to sum it up, a family saga [a fairly meandering one, it has to be said]. Across all five volumes [of the edition I read] there are, of course, dramatic events - deaths, illnesses, even demonic possession – but, like a lot of Oriental literature, each volume, to a large extent, tends to chug along at a sedate, unhurried, pace. Indeed, Bao-yu spends most of the 1000’s of pages of the text lounging around in the opulent garden where he lives, being attended to by a group of young female servants.

What makes it unique, certainly for such an old work of literature, is the fully-realized character of the girls and ladies. They are not arm-candy, not wholly subservient, not mimsy, not eyelashes-a-flutter airheads; some are strong, some are weaker, but all feel like real people, each has a distinctive personality. I think I am correct in saying that Cao Xueqin intended the saga to be a love letter to all the women he had known throughout his life [and specifically his childhood], and, kudos to him, because it really feels that way. The Story of the Stone radiates with love, and respect; it is written with great charm, and no synopsis of the plot could do this aspect of the novel justice.

It is a cliché, I know, to say that a great novel creates a world which you never want to leave, but that was the case here. I felt genuinely bereft after finishing the final volume; heck, I even loved the poetry writing competition that Bao-yu stages, which is possibly the least enticing event I could imagine. Yes, I would, if I could, have carried on reading this book, volume after volume, for the rest of my days, girlfriends be damned.
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Aug 04, 2011 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was unlike anything I have read before and I loved it. It starts with the story of goddess Nu-wa repairing the heavens with various stones, and there is one that is left unused and so it tossed down to earth. This stone can speak, write poetry, turns itself into jade, and places itself in the mouth of the baby Bao-yu who is born into the prestigious Wang family of the Jia clan. This novel covers the comings and goings of the Wang, Ning-guo, and Rong-guo houses of the Jia clan and most...more This book was unlike anything I have read before and I loved it. It starts with the story of goddess Nu-wa repairing the heavens with various stones, and there is one that is left unused and so it tossed down to earth. This stone can speak, write poetry, turns itself into jade, and places itself in the mouth of the baby Bao-yu who is born into the prestigious Wang family of the Jia clan. This novel covers the comings and goings of the Wang, Ning-guo, and Rong-guo houses of the Jia clan and most of the story takes place within the clan compound when Jia Bao-yu is between the ages of 11 and 13.

Some of the most fascinating things about this book were the ‘insider info’ it provided into the lives of Chinese upper class citizens (those literally one or two steps below the emperor). I’ve read a lot of novels about western aristocrats of the same time period (1700s) and drawing comparisons between the rich of the east and the rich of the west was entirely too much fun. Chinese aristocrats had far more servants, slaves etc, but the biggest difference was the way in which they were treated. Concubines who bore sons were elevated to the status of second, third etc wives and should the sons of the first wife not make it to adulthood, those of the concubines could inherit and rule the families. Servants and slaves were not just there to provide labor (as in the west) but they participated actively in family affairs, shared meals, spent hours reciting poetry to each other, making up riddles, throwing parties, practicing calligraphy, staging plays, and playing various games to pass the time. Because of the importance of the ‘help,’ this provided one of the richest casts of characters that I’ve seen since Tolstoy’s War and Peace, but it also meant that since this was my first foray into Chinese literature the names of the over 200+ characters in this book took a lot of getting used to… (for instance: Jia Cheng, Jia Cong, Jia Dai-ru, Jia Huan, Jia Jing, Jia Jun, Jia Lan, Jia Lian and so on and so forth for at least 40 more Jias, and then come the Fengs, the Qins, the Rongs, the Wangs, and the Zhous). It is well worth the time spent flipping back to the list of characters provided in the appendix and the family trees until you know them well enough, otherwise I imagine this book being too confusing to read.

The best part of the story occurred around page 130 when Bao-yu is visited, while dreaming, by the Fairy of Disenchantment and is allowed to look into the registers at the Department of the Ill-Fated Fair, where he reads riddles that forecast the fate of each of the female members of his household. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the rest of the novel trying to figure out who might have been meant by each riddle…for example: When power is lost, rank matters not a jot; when families fall, kinship must not be forgot. Through a chance kindness to a country wife, deliverance came for your afflicted life…

Honestly, this book has it all. Sex, lies, murder, revenge, love, fortune, lost identities, family drama, kidnappings, fate, - everything you could want from what is called in China ‘the most popular book ever written.’ And this was just volume one! I can’t wait to read the other five and see what is in store for these hilarious, lovable, and devious characters (especially the meddling Grandmother Jia who continually enjoys too much rice wine and likes to get her grandchildren as drunk as she is in order for them to spill their secrets!)
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Jul 02, 2009 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone interested in Chinese history, society, ritual and belief

Recommended to Jennifer by: Maram Epstein

This book (5 volumes) has illuminated my life!
The earliest novel of China, written in the mid 1700s and charting the rise and fall of a multi-generational household with intimate connections to the Manchu Court (through a daughter who is a royal concubine). There is magic - the young heir Baoyu is born with a piece of jade in his mouth, a portent of his future and an echo from the past with repeated visits from a wandering Daoist and a mysterious Buddhist. There is intrigue - a festering underbe...more

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Nov 15, 2008 Kd rated it 4 of 5 stars

I do not know how many times I will re-read this five volume series in my lifetime; to read the story I skipped the significance of the poetry. I had read Anchee Min before I got to this series; even she included characters from this book in her novel (250 yrs or more later). This being the "national" book of China, I too am wishing for more chapters. You have to read the interpreters notes carefully and often they will spoil the story if read ahead but they help with the discrepancies describin...more

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Mar 04, 2013 LittleAsian Sweatshop rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-literature, chinese-literature

I may be biased, because this is one of my mom's favorite books and I grew up hearing parts of the story. Finally in HS, my mom was able to locate an English translation of this book, and I finally got to read it myself...and it was just as awesome as my mom made it sound.

Yes, the story is confusing and every character seems to have three different names (I had to start a chart to keep track), but the sweeping epic arcing of the story, the subplots, and the absolute brilliance and waste of the l...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Helmut Barro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: china

Die chinesischen Buddenbrooks

Sehr interessant und auch überraschend kurzweilig wird das Alltagsleben einer großen chinesischen Adelsfamilie beschrieben. Der Band ist mit "The Golden Days" untertitelt, und diesen Eindruck hat man beim Lesen auch: Der Überfluss und die Dekadenz, die Ritualfixierung des Alltagslebens und der ständige Ennui bei gleichzeitiger dauernder Unruhe dieser privilegierten Schicht wird sehr plastisch geschildert. Diese Kapitel des Romans wirken unbeschwert und leicht; vom s...more Die chinesischen Buddenbrooks

Sehr interessant und auch überraschend kurzweilig wird das Alltagsleben einer großen chinesischen Adelsfamilie beschrieben. Der Band ist mit "The Golden Days" untertitelt, und diesen Eindruck hat man beim Lesen auch: Der Überfluss und die Dekadenz, die Ritualfixierung des Alltagslebens und der ständige Ennui bei gleichzeitiger dauernder Unruhe dieser privilegierten Schicht wird sehr plastisch geschildert. Diese Kapitel des Romans wirken unbeschwert und leicht; vom späteren Niedergang ist noch nichts spürbar.

Der Leser, der moderne Romane gewohnt ist, wird sich auf ein paar Eigenheiten der klassischen chinesischen Romane einstellen müssen. Auch wenn das vorliegende Werk das Erbe der mündlichen Weitergabe schon deutlich hinter sich lässt, sind immer noch typische Merkmale, wie die Einleitungsgedichte, die Kapitelschlussformulierung und die in Gedichtform eingestreuten Umgebungsbeschreibungen vorhanden. Auch der für chinesische Romane typische Überfluss an Personen kann etwas einschüchternd wirken, gerade zu Beginn; die ersten 5 Kapitel sind nicht leicht zu lesen, danach wird es deutlich besser verständlich, wenn die wichtigsten Figuren eingeführt sind.

Man darf natürlich bei diesem Werk auch keine sprachliche Ausgefeiltheit wie bei Mann oder eine Charakterisierung wie bei Dostojewskij erwarten, dazu ist die Gattung bei diesem Roman noch nicht weit fortgeschritten genug. Trotzdem bietet sich dem Leser ein Familiendrama, das einen schnell in seinen Bann zieht.

Der hier vorliegende Band 1 enthält die Kapitel 1 bis 26 (von 120), man muss sich also auch die anderen 4 Bände zulegen, um die Geschichte ganz zu lesen. Eine gelungene Einführung und äußerst hilfreiche Familienstammbäume runden das Werk ab. Die Übersetzung von David Hawkes ist sehr gelungen und hat neben einigen leseerleichternden Kunstkniffen (Namensübersetzung von Nebenpersonen) auch einen sehr angenehmen Fluss zu bieten, in dem weder die (homo-)sexuellen Anspielungen noch die teilweise deftige Sprache untergehen.

Wem dieses Werk gefällt, kann sich auch "Die Gelehrten" (Rulin Waishi, The Scholars) ansehen, da sowohl Thematik als auch Stil recht ähnlich sind. (less)

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Dec 13, 2012 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 18th-century-lit, qing-dynasty, chinese-literature, translation

紅樓夢 is my favorite novel, one of the reasons I'm learning Chinese is so that I can read it in the original. This translation however is not my favorite. The translator does some annoying things, writing for an audience that doesn't know Chinese culture he tends to remove or change a lot of the cultural references, which I find really annoying. One of the things I liked about the Yangs translation so much when I read this book the first time was all the things I learned about Chinese culture and...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Mari rated it 5 of 5 stars

Currently very interested in novels with frame narratives.

Scholar Haun Saussy writes, "Wishing to talk about the novel, the reader becomes a means for the novel to add new episodes to itself. This testifies to the novel's imaginative power" (Saussy, 1987). Saussy puts his finger directly on one of the most powerful themes of "The Story of the Stone; A Dream of the Red Chamber," the Taoist theme that physical reality coexists in harmony with imaginative reality. The power of the novel is how it...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Colin rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who love a generously wide epic.

Shelves: five-star

'The Story of the Stone,' alternatively known as 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' 'Red Chamber Dream,' or 'A Dream of Red Mansions,' is the latest (published in the 18th century) of China's 'Five Great Classical Novels' (or 'Four Great Classical Novels,' depending upon who you talk to and their opinion of the epic erotic novel 'The Plum in the Golden Vase'). I don't want to give the impression that I know a lot about Chinese literature--because I don't. I picked up 'The Story of the Stone' primarily...more 'The Story of the Stone,' alternatively known as 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' 'Red Chamber Dream,' or 'A Dream of Red Mansions,' is the latest (published in the 18th century) of China's 'Five Great Classical Novels' (or 'Four Great Classical Novels,' depending upon who you talk to and their opinion of the epic erotic novel 'The Plum in the Golden Vase'). I don't want to give the impression that I know a lot about Chinese literature--because I don't. I picked up 'The Story of the Stone' primarily as a challenge to myself, as I have long desired to either work through an epic-length Chinese or Russian classic. China won out, primarily because their epics far out-epic the classic Russian works (in its English translation by David Hawkes and John Minford, 'The Story of the Stone' numbers over 2,500 pages), and because I've sincerely enjoyed what little centuries-old Asian literature I've read in the past ('The Tale of Genji,' from 11th century Japan, comes to mind).

It's hard to know where to begin when 'reviewing' a classic of world literature, especially when you've only read one volume (out of five) in only one translation, but I'll do my best. Let's start with the translation. Obviously, I cannot read Chinese, so I have no way of discerning for myself how well the English translation captures the original. I can say with certainty that it is not strictly faithful to the original--I know this because if it were, there would be considerably more foot/end notes than there are. Let me be more clear: if this were a strict translation, the Buddhist nuns would not have Latin (I think--they look Latin, at any rate) names. Individuals would not have titles like 'Marquis.' The characters would not say 'old chap,' or 'arsehole.' What the translators have done here is almost 'transplant' the story into Western Europe. Sure, most of the cities and characters have retained their Chinese names (more on that later), but otherwise, things have largely been, well, British-ized. I was initially disconcerted by this fact, especially given the almost universal acclaim that this particular English translation has received, but, I must admit, the more I read, the less it bothered me.

By familiarizing what should be unfamiliar, the authors have translated this great Chinese novel into a great English one--largely eliminating the need for explanatory editorial intrusiveness. While some might prefer to have the language as close to the original as is reasonable--accompanied by notes and dense introductions and appendices that serve to bring the world of 18th century Chinese aristocracy directly to you, steep learning curve and all--the translators have instead ingeniously discarded such editorial bustle by making the text as readable and as familiar as possible, while retaining its Chinese flavor. Readers can still expect to bear witness to alien-seeming social rites and rituals, and keeping track of all of the Chinese names can be literally overwhelming, but, on the whole, this translation of 'The Story of the Stone,' at least thus far, is compulsively readable--sort of like a slightly grittier and sexier Jane Austen novel, with a fairy-tale frame that occasionally injects itself into the otherwise natural setting.

In fact, the only real problems that I could see English-speaking readers having with this novel are its length and its whirlwind of Chinese names. The length I'll set aside for now--maybe I can write more about it as I slowly work my way through the remaining volumes. The names, on the other hand, I should probably warn you about. Here's how I feel about Chinese names, despite knowing fully well that it cannot be helped and that I really haven't got a clue what I'm talking about: it seems like they're all made up of occasionally identical-sounding, monosyllabic, genderless half-names that have been glued together into three-syllable names completely at random. Keeping track of just a handful of characters with these puzzle-piece staccato names can be difficult, but when, in the first volume alone, you meet well over a hundred, at least two dozen of which are recurring characters, and another dozen of which are central characters, well, us poor Westerners are going to have a tough time keeping up with it all. In fact, through at least half of this first volume, I gave up trying to differentiate characters from one another at all with a few exceptions, so that they all became something like shifting heads on a hydra. Now, it gets better as the characters are allowed more time to develop, and as the novel gets its framing out of the way and starts pushing forward, but if your mind works at all like mine (dumb white American with pretensions of intelligence), you'll probably struggle with this work for at least a little while.

As for the story itself: what can I say? It's a largely episodic account of the trials and triumphs of the primary members of the wealthy Jia family, who occupy two immense and adjacent compounds in Beijing. The plot mostly-kinda-sorta focuses on Jia Bao-Yu, the male heir of the family, who lives a primarily carefree life causing troubles for his family and his servants, and who also happens to be the incarnation of a heavenly stone, a fact that he is unaware of. He spends a lot of time lovingly bickering with his favorite slave, Aroma, and with his two attractive and intelligent female cousins, Xue Bao-Chai and Lin Dai-Yu, the latter of which is also an incarnation of an enchanted, otherworldly object--this time a flower--who just happens to owe the rocky original form of Bao-Yu a debt, of sorts. If it all sounds a little convoluted and silly, well, it is, but once the set-up is out of the way 'The Story of the Stone' really begins to shine, especially with regards to the realistic and psychologically penetrating characterizations and social interactions.

I suspect that I've made it all sound like nothing but rich 18th century Chinese brats sitting around drinking tea and gossiping, framed by some mystical nonsense, but that's hardly the whole truth. There's just no good way to sum up the happenings of this first volume--to do so would probably be akin to trying to sum up the first fifth of 'Don Quixote' without an idea of future developments and conflicts. Still, if you're up for something a little out of the ordinary, something epic and character-driven that will require a little bit of mental muscle stretching and an appreciation for fine prose and poetry (like in 'The Tale of Genji,' the characters here really have a thing for communication via improvised allegorical poetry), you should consider picking this volume up. I hesitate to give it too strong a recommendation given that I've still got four volumes left to go, but, this book is considered a classic for a reason, right?(less)

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Aug 07, 2012 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

There are other translations found under "Dream of the Red Chamber." Do not be fooled; get the Hawkes version. The translator does an awesome job with the poetry and it is a terrific translation. It is also not condensed, which means there are five volumes of this monster, but the glory is in the details, and the details are why this thing is so damn long.

The downside is that the names are in pinyin, which means (a) they are a little difficult to keep straight and (b) the meanings of the charact...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Gordon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

So far I've only got through the first of five volumes. The book is easy enough to read (once you get the names straight) and it's an interesting window onto a specific time and place: aristocratic China in the 18th century as portrayed by a contemporary in this semi-autobiographical novel. There is a lot of poetry that doesn't really do much for me in translation and the generally dreamy atmosphere is soothing but hardly insightful, not to mention peppered with sometimes subtle and sometimes bl...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Mjrobertson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a fantastic book but one that is not easy to get into. I initially set it aside a few months ago after reading the first 50 or so pages, but recently returned to it and started again. I can say that this is easily the best book I've read this year - I regret not persevering on my first attempt. It's such a rich novel, with a huge cast of characters (many of which have the same surname), detailing the minutiae of the life of several generations of an aristocratic family in 18th century Ch...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Hubert Byron rated it 5 of 5 stars

The epitome of classic Chinese literature - you will be immersed into a world of poetry, history and the well-to-do women of Imperial China. It's like the Downton Abbey before there was a Downton Abbey.

But be warned, it's not for everyone - it is longer than the Bible and as meticulous at times - you will be immersed into what seems like the minutiae of daily life BUT its part of the charm and the experience that will allow you to live in a world we could only experience through a time machine.....more

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Sep 12, 2012 Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

July 8th, 2012:
Also known as "Dream of the Red Chamber", these five volumes total around 2000 pages. I'm currently on page 160. It's great so far! I read a very abridged version in high school, probably less than 300 pages, which was basically a summary of events. I have also seen the 1963 and 1978 Shaw Brothers film adaptations, so I have a basic understanding of the plot and recognize the foreshadowing that happens from the beginning.
Finished reading on July 25th, 2012:
Wow, this is how a novel...more July 8th, 2012:
Also known as "Dream of the Red Chamber", these five volumes total around 2000 pages. I'm currently on page 160. It's great so far! I read a very abridged version in high school, probably less than 300 pages, which was basically a summary of events. I have also seen the 1963 and 1978 Shaw Brothers film adaptations, so I have a basic understanding of the plot and recognize the foreshadowing that happens from the beginning.
Finished reading on July 25th, 2012:
Wow, this is how a novel should be written. It starts with the broadest view possible, in heaven, then brings us down to the Earth where an unfortunate calamity will take place to a very minor character. No, wait, it begins with an introduction by someone who knew the author and thought this novel was unique among Chinese literature. The author lived a bad life but wanted to preserve the memories of his family’s glory days. (It helps to read about the author and his two editors Red/Rouge Inkstone and Odd Tablet to understand what this might mean, that possibly this is a Chinese Proust.) But wait, actually this story was written on a stone sent from Heaven that was picked up by a Taoist priest and a Buddhist monk who will circle back through the novel several times. But we first really enter the real world when a man wakes up from a dream about this scrappy duo, who set into motion the events of the novel. This is all in the first chapter and although it doesn’t get any less complicated, it does become remarkably easy to follow. This is because we are introduced to characters slowly; usually their reputation precedes them prior to their first appearance. We don’t spend a lot of time in our characters’ heads. Instead, we discover their natures through their actions. The Jia family is discussed at length by two scholars and we are given a basic structure of the family. A young cousin arrives at the family compound and we are introduced to everyone and given a tour along with her. A relative comes to visit and ends up staying, and we get further acquainted with the geography of the mansions and the power structures among the female family members. About ten chapters in, I felt completely comfortable inhabiting this world. This Penguin edition provides family trees in the appendix and I am so grateful. There are some characters who are almost the same age but at very different positions in the family, and vice versa. I quickly became acquainted with everyone’s servants as well, and they are just as important to the interpersonal drama as anyone else. The story flows seamlessly. We follow one character conducting their business, then might transfer to a different character’s story before it dovetails back with the first one, then we may follow them to a different location and see what’s happening there. Several days (and chapters) of action may occur with this level of detail and then there is a brief description of schoolboys, gardeners or outsiders and suddenly we realize that a few weeks have passed in a paragraph in the middle of a chapter. It’s just thrilling to read! It’s a real page turner, not just because of the intrigue of the idle rich, or the tempestuous teenage romance that forms the core of the plot (although it doesn’t really get started till the next volume), or the joy of seeing Xifeng conning people. I became attuned to the rhythms of this class, this time period, and the author. It is rare when I can relax into a novel and know that everything on this journey is intentional, even when certain incidental characters or situations are there only to add shading to the world being presented. I know of course that of the 120 total chapters only 80 can be attributed directly to the author Cao Xueqin. I know that he did massive rewriting on the first 80 chapters and was not able to make everything sync perfectly. In earlier drafts the family lived in Nanjing and in the final(ish) version they live in Peking, although certain references betray their original home. In the Chapter 5 song cycles “Twelve Beauties of Jinling” and “Dream of Golden Days” there is foreshadowing of events which will never transpire. As early as Chapter 13, an almost major character dies from a vague illness rather than suicide, as was foretold in “Twelve Beauties of Jinling”. These song cycles act as an outline of Cao’s original intention and point out what he changed upon the advisement of Odd Tablet (who was perhaps his father) or out of fear of imperial retribution, in addition to the numerous changes made in the final 40 chapters which purportedly soft-pedal the conclusion. We shall see!(less)

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Feb 10, 2011 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, how can one give one of the world's greatest classics only four stars? The more I have read this novel over the years, the more I have come to have reservations about David Hawkes' translation. There is no doubt that his English is exceedingly rich, well-suited to capture the richness of the original Chinese. But Hawkes has a way of over-translating, particularly at critical points. For example, when one of the servant's describes Xi-feng (Phoenix) as 臉酸心硬 "sour-faced and hard-hearted," Hawk...more

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Oct 01, 2010 Tocotin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: far-east, my-own-books, used-books, will-read-again, i-can-has-slash, 18th-century, romance

I have always wanted to read this, but I ended up liking it much less than I thought. The story is a bit disjointed, mostly consisting of people taking strolls in the garden, composing poetry or crying over flowers; nothing wrong with that, but the whole picture is kinda insipid and irritating. On top of this, the characters are irritating also, not very sympathetic, and not in a good way.
Now I don't mind refined or unrefined poetry, and I don't have to like the characters to like the book, for...more I have always wanted to read this, but I ended up liking it much less than I thought. The story is a bit disjointed, mostly consisting of people taking strolls in the garden, composing poetry or crying over flowers; nothing wrong with that, but the whole picture is kinda insipid and irritating. On top of this, the characters are irritating also, not very sympathetic, and not in a good way.
Now I don't mind refined or unrefined poetry, and I don't have to like the characters to like the book, for example in "The Plum in the Golden Vase" which I adore there is a lot of poetry, and not one decent character - but THIS book has characters endlessly congratulating each other on their refinement and understanding, while making quite brutal fun of the outside world, and showing no real compassion to anyone outside their circle.
The Japanese are right that in a way this is an equivalent of "The Tale of Genji", and the atmosphere of a rich household in the times of Qing dynasty is captured very vividly, and the characters are well-drawn and complex, and the poetry and literature plays a huge role. All right. It is addictive to read, it takes the reader to another world and place. But some of the scenes and situations would try the patience of a saint all the same.
Maybe I just dislike reading TOO MUCH about rich folk pissing gold and shitting silver, as "The Plum" would say. The only characters I really care about are the Old Ancestress, Shi Xiangyun and YES SO WHAT Xue Pan, also maybe to some extent his sister Xue Baochai. The poetry game scene with the actor and Xue Pan was hilarious, and I like him because he's a primitive bully, but honest and good to his sister, and not afraid of falling out of favor with Baoyu or upsetting him (like the others).
Baoyu is ok I guess, even though spoiled. I really can't stand Daiyu, but she is an interesting character. And last but not least, I like Wang Xifeng much less than I expected. I feel like writing a fanfic about the little boy with the box of scissors in the temple.
I want to read the rest, but I don't know when I'd be able to buy the book, because this is the first English translation printed in Peking in 1978 (with the hilarious foreword with bold-print citations from Chairman Mao lol, and beautiful illustrations), and I found it and bought in BookOff in Ikebukuro for only 400 yen, couldn't believe my luck! So I'll either get the new translation from Amazon or buy the Japanese version.(less)

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Jan 19, 2008 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

From the back cover: "The Story of the Stone (c. 1760) also know as The Dream of the Red Chamber, is one of the greatest novels of Chinese Literature . . . David Hawkes's acclaimed translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing the novel . . ." This work has also been called the Chinese version of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. It's a must read for anyone interested in Chinese history. The tale for the average reader, however, is confusing partially because of the names which aft...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Aaron rated it 3 of 5 stars

I almost feel wrong giving this book only 3 stars. It was actually quite good, just not really up my alley. My main issue with it is the slowly evolving plot. It's hard for me to say looking back exactly what happened in the book. It's mainly a series of different events that slowly cohere into an overall story about the interrelationships of the members of a powerful family and the people who work in their household. The way it details the various social interactions and customs of this time in...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Mikeal rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this first volume. The whole story outline is basically in the first few chapters but regardless this book is worth reading through anyway. Their is beautiful poetry, a love triangle, an insider view into elite family life in China in the past, insights into cultural customs and superstitions, etc.., and a depth to each main character that is often difficult to describe.

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Feb 19, 2013 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: china, favorites, classic-literature, chinese-literature

The Story of the Stone, or Dream of the Red Chamber, is one of the greats of Chinese and indeed world literature; it is a truly sweeping story of a upper-class Chinese family in the pre-modern days. Hawkes, the translator, has made an accessable and enjoyable translation. Though sometimes slightly freer with meaning than the original Chinese, particularly in translating poetry and classical quotations, Hawkes is nevertheless able to bring this great work to even greater attention. Obviously the...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Jeremy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Nice translation and I enjoyed it very much. Definitely not for everyone - but for those interested, it is a very special story and unique, and maintains a certain poetic style that I would imagine gives a taste of what the Chinese version is like. On to Volume 2.

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Oct 25, 2012 Rhoda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent, lively translation. It was fascinating to read about retributory illnesses (due to karma) and think about reincarnation. It's easy to dislike some characters because of their cruelty, heartlessness or caprice, but the reader has to remind herself that on a cosmic level, seemingly evil actions are sanctioned because of karmic debts that need to be paid. The fact that the ending of the story is basically given away in the very first chapter - Lin Dai-yu, as the reincarnation of the Crim...more

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Apr 22, 2008 Lara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: outside-of-america

This was a pretty confusing book. There are over 30 main characters and more than 400 side characters. But, it paints such a fascinating picture of 17th century China, of the relationship between women and men and of destiny verses making ones own decisions. Plus, this is a standard read for most Chinese and having some knowledge of it provides a great bridge to understanding China. It also gives a unique-to-westerners look at human existence. The story starts out before any of the main characte...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Audra rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

Too long, especially considering there are many more volumes. Too many characters to keep track of. There were scenes that sped by fast, but more that I had to drag myself through.

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Mar 29, 2013 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this first volume much more readable than I expected for a book of this time period. It depicts it's time and place well, sometimes with some extreme beauty, but the course of the narrative is more modern than I would have expected. There is certainly a lot of politeness, concentration on status and formal ceremony, but then there are certainly some cruder moments than I would have expected. But, this is only the first volume. On to volume II.

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Apr 09, 2011 Joanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

For lovers of the "social novel." The first volume is really hard to get into (there are SO MANY characters and they are all related and they all have Chinese names, so for the non-Chinese reader it's rather daunting). The first half of vol 1 took me about 4 weeks to finish, then it all clicked and I roared through the 2nd half, eagerly anticipating vol 2 (which lived up to the hype). Now I'm thinking I should go back and read this one again. The translator's style is lots of fun--Jane Austen, B...more

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Mar 14, 2007 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars

I finished this volume inside a tent in Acadia National Park after I had chopped some wood with my bare hands. There are plenty of comeuppances and turnabouts in this first book, and the right amount of poetry contests.

The whole novel seems like a collection of interlocking short stories. So you only get to know each (minor) character as well as you get to know a short story character.

But a lot can happen within the mansions!

This volume is notable for a magic mastubatory mirror, the supposedly...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Petrina rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the kind of book that you can't decide if you like or not. It's the kind of book that gets dry but then interesting all of a sudden. Many times I wanted to stop reading but then I came across a part that made me keep reading.

The names and the characters definitely take some time getting used to. All their names are really similar and it was hard for me to remember who was who. If you start on Volume 2, I can guarantee you that you will be confused as hell hahah. I enjoyed the humor and...more

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Mar 26, 2009 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

This Han family living in the 1730's outside of Beijing makes the Great Gatsby look like a homeless guy living in your local park. I felt like the book should be narrated by Robin Leach in an episode of "Life Styles of the Rich and Famous" (And here is young master Bao-yu nibbling on a delicious pickled goose-foot!) I particularly liked the fairy Disenchantment who lives in her Sunset Glow Palace, and through a variety of means, leaves many a character in this novel weeping and broken hearted. S...more

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Jan 09, 2009 Bones added it · review of another edition

A special friend told me this was "THE' classic in Chinese literature. My local library has it. According to the book jacket it is a 'classic novel (an erotic tale of love, sex and passion) is a masterpiece of realism takes its background the decline of several related big families...' It is a book about political struggle, a political-historical novel.

It has remained popular for over 200 years!

What she didn't tell me, though, was that it is in 3 volumes, each with 40 chapters. Fortunately, the...more

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About Cao Xueqin

Cao Xueqin (Chinese: 曹雪芹; pinyin: Cáo Xuěqín; Wade–Giles: Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in, 1715 or 1724 — 1763 or 1764) was a Qing Dynasty Chinese writer, best known as the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. His given name was Cao Zhan (曹霑) and his courtesy name is Mengruan (夢阮; 梦阮; literally "Dream about Ruan" or "Dream of Ruan")[...]

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Books by Cao Xueqin

The Story of the Stone, Vol. 2: The Crab-Flower Club

The Story of the Stone, Vol. 3: The Warning Voice

The Story of the Stone, Vol. 5: The Dreamer Wakes

The Story of the Stone, Vol. 4: The Debt of Tears

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The Story of the Stone, Vol. 1: The Golden Days (The Story of the Stone)

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