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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9787119006437
Format: Box set
ISBN number: 7119006436
Label: Foreign Languages Pr
Manufacturer: Foreign Languages Pr
Quantity: 4
Page Count: 1887
Printing Date: January 01, 2001
Publishing house: Foreign Languages Pr
Release Date: January 01, 2001
Sale Popularity Level: 96919
Studio: Foreign Languages Pr
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Also known as Hong Lou Meng, this is arguably China's greatest literary masterpiece. A chronicle of a noble family in the eighteenth century; but the splendor of enchanting gardens, pleasure pavilions, and daily life of the most sophisticated refinements hides the realities of decay and self-destruction.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
First thought: THE POETRY RHYMES, OMG!!!!!
Second thought: Not the best story line so far, but when you're only on the very first volume, you can't really assume much, can you?
Overall: Worth reading, and so far is the BEST translation.
Rated by buyers 
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"A Dream of Red Mansions" is a story focusing on a high spiritual love story that happened in a noble family, but what it wants to speak is much far beyond a love story theme. The author's endeavor is to depict a macro-viewed picture which leads us to the very deep insight of life itself in complexity and profoundity, and not another Chinese classic writer have been more successful at doing this than him. From innocent to sophisticated, from prosperous to desolate, from enthusiastic to disillusioned; a dream losing at some moment of life course could have been anyone of us' experience, even though we are not nobles. Because of the dream losing, we grew up. After growing up, a decision needs to be made for our lifestyle. Usually we make the decision not only at our own will, some other matters must be considered such as the expectation, pressure, and restriction from family (elders) and society, as well as the advantages they might offer us. So, most of us would go for the social mainstream. Only a few become malcontents by their nature and personalities. And it is the way where the character the book is centered at, Baoyu, put his fate toward on.
However, though Baoyu is unusual, his malcontent spirit was not awakened until he went through some unfortunate events, including the family's decline and the death of his beloved, Daiyu. So he is not a hero but another ordinary person. Like him, every character in "A Dream of Red Mansions" is ordinary, even they are perhaps attractive, strong-willed, kindhearted, or smart enough, not an exception to Daiyu, the most poetic, sentimental, and highly spiritual girl in the book. That is one of the reasons the readers always love this book so much, since all the characters have been fully humanized by the author's genius writing, they are not the fictional figures only, but like the real people living around us everyday.
The love story between Baoyu and Daiyu is some kind of an inevitable tragedy, because Daiyu is naturally a tragic person. Not only her orphan background, her sensitivity and self-defense, but her purity and dignity, made her hard to find a proper room to live on in the society she lives, probably not even today's. She died at a young age, and the death itself is a tragedy, but what if she did not die young? Sadly, no other ending it would have been but another tragedy for her to keep growing old and living in the earthly world. Her unique character made the source of suffering to her love relationship with Baoyu, but Baoyu's spiritual life could only have been fulfilled by this relationship, because of her incorruptible soul beauty. She is his only soul mate, even though her love never made him peaceful. So to speak, their love story is some kind of an inevitable tragedy. Her death caused a painful impact to him, and brought him to a very deep thought about life's meaning. He realized there is always something beyond our control no matter how hard we try, that's destiny; nothing we can do but be humble while we face something relating to the destiny. Consequently, some power derived from this losing and realizing process pushed him toward another lifestyle. At end, he chose becoming a monk, retiring from the mundaneness, including his responsibilities to the family and society. It might make the readers sad, but it is not a tragedy since it is a choice made after spiritual awakening.
A decision making after we realize something in question will lead us on the proper way to the proper lifestyle suiting us well. Every one may have a different choice from another's after going through some disillusion, we don't necessarily follow Baoyu, but we are still touched by his story. This is another great achievement the author made for "A Dream of Red Mansions"; he presented a life picture every reader can apply part of it to his own life. It is a very universal human subject that will never fade away all the times.
Rated by buyers -
I searched out this set because my teacher of Chinese medicine had told me that it was her favorite book as a teenager and that she still had the fondest memories of it - yet, she had never read it in English. When I gave it to her, she beamed, opened to a random page and said, "I know right where they are in the story although my English doesn't understand every word." When I saw her later she told me that her daughter was upset that she hadn't thought of this book for her mom as it brought her so much happiness!
Rated by buyers 
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This is book tells the story of a clan which is in the run-down. It is centered in a young man, Baoyu, and all his "sisters".
Don't expect a story in the traditional point of view, I mean like greeks said: an introduction, a development and an end.
This does not follow this trend, well, one could say that it sort of has an introduction and an end as a matter of fact but this book must be read as is, just daily life in the Rong and Ning mansions. Do not expect either a very deep story or characters, it is kind of superficial in fact although there a lot of characters and their whereabouts and machinations are told.
It gives an insight though into what might have been the life in that land and in that time, keep in mind though that this still a book.
An overall enjoyable piece.
Rated by buyers -
I am impressed with the story being in both Chinese and English.
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