A Dream of Red Mansions has been a popular novel since it was written, and reading "The Red Chamber" seems to be an enduring cultural fashion. At the same time, people gradually put forward new questions: what kind of author and what kind of experience can write such a legendary story?
Cao Xueqin (1724~1764), the author of A Dream of Red Mansions, was named Zhan, with the names Xueqin, Qinpu, Qinxi and Mengruan.
His ancestors lived in Daxunhe Village, Yaobao, the southwest suburb of Tieling, Liaoning Province before the end of Ming Dynasty. When Nuerhachi's Houjinbing plundered the land, Cao Xiyuan, the distant ancestor of Cao Xueqin, was captured by the army of Houjin, and became a domestic slave for Dourgen, which belonged to Zhengbaiqi coating ("coating" is the abbreviation of Manchu transliteration of "coating Aha"). After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the "Interior Office" was set up, which was responsible for managing the property, food, utensils and other daily chores and court sundries for the emperor, and Cao Jia became a member of the "Interior Office". Cao Zhenyuan's son, Cao Zhenyan, established a military service, and the officials transferred salt to both Zhejiang and made the company salt law. From Cao Zhenyan's son Cao Xi and Cao Xi's eldest son Cao Yin, Cao Yin's eldest son Cao Qing and his nephew Cao, three generations and four people successively held the post of Jiangning Weaving. Weaving was mainly for the emperor to manage, manufacture and purchase palace supplies, but in addition, it also served as the work of collecting information for the emperor. Cao Yin often told Kangxi about various aspects of the south, including politics, economy, culture, ideology, public security, people's feelings and so on. Several generations of Cao family held this position, which showed that they had a special close relationship with the emperor. Cao Xi's wife, Sun Shi, worked as Kangxi's nanny. During Kangxi's southern tour, she met Sun Shi in Jiangning Weaving House, calling her "my old man". Cao Xueqin's grandfather, Cao Yin, was a bandu of Kangxi when he was a child, and later served as a bodyguard. In his memorial to Kangxi, Cao Yin claimed that "the ministers are coated and humbled", indicating that Cao furniture has a special status: to the emperor, it is a slave, but to the average person, it is a very prominent bureaucrat and a member of the highest ruling class. After Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, Cao's family was left out in the cold and Cao was reprimanded. At the end of the fifth year of Yongzheng (1727) and the beginning of the sixth year of Yongzheng (1728), Cao was ordered to take property for crimes such as weaving a courier to blackmail a post station and deficit public funds. Cao was "cangue", and Cao Yin's widow and other young players moved back to Beijing to live on a small number of houses outside Chongwenmen. The Cao family has since fallen. Cao Xueqin, who experienced such family changes, gained a deep experience of all kinds of darkness and evil in the aristocratic family, which became an important life foundation for his creation of A Dream of Red Mansions.
Cao Yin was a famous bibliophile and engraver at that time, with a good literary accomplishment and a rich collection of books. He can write poetry and drama at the same time, and he has works such as Copy of Poems in the Neem Pavilion, Copy of Ci in the Neem Pavilion, and Copy of Text in the Neem Pavilion. He once commissioned the publication and engraving of The Whole Tang Poetry and Pei Wen Yun Fu. He had contacts with some famous poets and writers at that time, such as Shi Runzhang, Chen Weisong, You Dong, Zhu Yizun and Hong Sheng. Such a cultural tradition in the family will certainly make Cao Xueqin receive a good cultural education and artistic influence from an early age. His extraordinary artistic genius in A Dream of Red Mansions is justified.
Hu Shi made a preliminary discussion on Cao Xueqin's family lineage through his masterpiece Textual Research on a Dream of Red Mansions. The Cao Shi family lineage compiled by Hu Shi was only from Cao Zhenyan, the distant ancestor of Cao Xueqin. With the discovery of new materials and the gradual deepening of research, there are more places to explore and analyze.
In July p>1992, a tombstone of Cao Xueqin was unearthed in Zhangjiawan, Tongxian County, the eastern suburb of Beijing. According to Li Jingzhu, a local villager who found this headstone, this headstone was discovered in 1968, when the Cultural Revolution was still at its climax. In order to flatten the barren graves around Zhangjiawan Town and change them into crop fields, the village decided to flatten the Doujiafen, Majiafen and Caojiafen in the northwest of Zhangjiawan Village. These three graves are connected, with a large area, and the Cao family grave is more than 1 meter above the ground. It was in the process of pingcao's grave that this tombstone was discovered, and it was buried more than 1 meter underground. On the front of the headstone, the words "Cao Gong is afraid to touch the tomb" are engraved, and the word "Renwu" is engraved on the lower left. The word "noon" has been disabled. Under the tombstone, about 1 5 meters from the ground, a skeleton was dug up. There was no coffin, and it was buried naked. The skeleton of the corpse was complete, and it was said to be a male corpse.
At that time, he was anxious to level the graveyard, especially during the Cultural Revolution, when Li Jingzhu claimed that he didn't dare to think much. He read A Dream of Red Mansions, knew that Cao Zhan was Cao Xueqin, and told the people present. At that time, a man in the flat ground heard that Cao Zhan was Cao Xueqin, and thought that there was probably something in the tomb, so he went down to the grave and fiddled with the bones, but found nothing. In the evening, Li Jingzhu and his cousin Li Jingquan took the tombstone home and buried it in the yard. It was not until 1992 that the town planned to develop tourism and establish "Zhangjiawan People's Park", and wanted to gather the ancient monuments around to build a forest of steles, so I remembered this monument and took it out again. Since no one in the local area studied A Dream of Red Mansions, Mr. Feng Qiyong, the president of the Red Society, was invited to make an appraisal. Through careful observation and demarcation, Mr. Feng thinks that this tombstone should belong to the literary giant Cao Xueqin.
The tombstone is about 1 meter high, 4 centimeters wide and 51 centimeters thick. The tombstone is made of bluestone, and its workmanship is very rough. It looks like an ordinary step stone. It has only been roughed, but it has not been polished like ordinary headstones. The diagonal lines chiseled with a chisel on the surface of the tombstone have not been polished at all, which proves that it has not been polished at all. The words "Cao Gong is afraid to touch the tomb" are engraved on the surface of the tombstone, which is not like it. In short, it gives a very hasty impression. Because the carving is very shallow, the handwriting is the same as the stone color, and it is almost impossible to see clearly. You can recognize it only after a careful look.
Therefore, the issue of Cao Xueqin's family background and ancestral home has aroused the ongoing debate and research in academic circles. Among them, Mr. Zhou Ruchang and Mr. Feng Qiyong are the most diligent, and have collected a lot of relevant materials for textual research over the years.
Mr. Zhou's point of view is that Cao Xueqin's ancestor's native place is Fengrun, Hebei Province, which has a great influence in academic circles. Although there is some speculation in this statement, there are also many articles to discuss with it.
For example, Cao Xueqin's Chronology compiled by the Chinese Department of Nanjing Teachers College says: "Cao Shixuan, the ancestor of Xueqin, was born in Xianning, Fengrun County, Hebei Province. The book "On Cao Xueqin" by the Chinese Department of Northwest University also said: "The Cao family was originally from Fengrun County, Hebei Province, and later moved to Tielingwei (now Tieling County, Liaoning Province) to Liaoyang." It can be seen that this statement really represents the current general view about Cao Xueqin's ancestral home.
However, Mr. Feng Qiyong's opinion proves that it was nine years ago when a branch of the Cao family in Hebei Province moved to Liaodong, and he thinks that Cao Xueqin's ancestor should be the ancestor of Cao Shi Genealogy in Wuqingtang, which originated in Liaoyang and moved to Shenyang later. His native place is indeed Liaoyang and Shenyang, not rich in Hebei.
whether it is "the theory of Hebei's abundance" or "the theory of Liaoyang", the earliest ancestor of Cao Xueqin's family that can be verified by both sides can be found in "Cao Xiyuan lived in Shenyang" in the Eight Banners Manchu Ancestor's General Spectrum. This record is the most reliable. It is also confirmed that Cao Jia was an officer of the Ming Dynasty between Destiny, Tiancong and Chongde. In the war between Ming and Houjin, he joined Houjin and began to transfer the flag of the Han Dynasty, and later he was included in the Manchu Zhengbai Banner. As for Cao Jia's ancestors above Cao Xiyuan, their native place, career and even their names are still in a state of mutual debate among academic circles due to the lack of historical materials.
who is Cao Xueqin's father? This is also a controversial topic. According to the research of Mr. Zhou Ruchang, the master of Redology, Cao Xueqin's father was adopted by Cao Xuan's fourth son to Cao Cao Yin. Another view is that Cao Xueqin is the posthumous son of Cao Yin. Cao Qing was the only beloved son in Cao Yin who grew up to adulthood. He was also deeply loved and valued by Emperor Kangxi. He died at the age of 27. With regard to Cao Yong's posthumous son, there is a special reference to Cao Yong's compromise after he joined the Cao Yin Branch:
"... Ma Shi, the slave's sister-in-law, is pregnant now, and she is already in July, so she is afraid that she will have to travel to the north to attend her funeral. In the future, if she is lucky enough to have a boy, her brother and heir will be there. ..... "
Some people think that Cao Xueqin is probably the posthumous son of Cao Yong. However, the discovery of new data leads to Cao Tianyou, who seems to be Cao Yong's posthumous son in terms of age and status. So which branch of Cao Xueqin came from has become a controversial topic, until now.
In a word, Cao Xueqin is a master of culture. He is well-read, and he has no hobbies and is good at poetry, music, painting and calligraphy. In A Dream of Red Mansions, the era that he hid should actually be the era in which his grandparents, fathers and himself lived, that is, the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties of the Qing Dynasty, which was the heyday of the Qing Empire.
In addition, Li Xu, a Suzhou Weaver, is also in charge of weaving in the south of the Yangtze River and takes turns to be the salt patrol ambassador of Huaihe River. Li Xu is Cao Yin's brother-in-law. After Cao Yin died in Yangzhou in July, the fifty-first year of Kangxi (1712), Li Xu took care of all the subsequent events, including all the losses under Cao Yin's name, and Li Xu called for compensation. In the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi (1715), Cao Qing died in Beijing in the first month, and Li Xu took care of the family affairs afterwards. In his memorial to Kangxi, Li Xu said:
"I am a close relative of Cao Yin and his son, and I have been colleagues for many years. I dare not admire the Lord's peace of mind, so that his old and young areas are well painted. I would like to propose that Cao Yong's coffin be taken out of the city one day this month, and temporarily stay at the side of his ancestors. After the event, please go to Jiangning's office. "
Therefore, to understand Cao Xueqin's family is inseparable from Li Xu.
Li Xu's father, Li Shizhen, is from Duchang, Shandong, and his real name is Jiang. According to Du Zhen's Epitaph of Li Gongshizhen, the right deputy capital of Guangdong Governor Duchayuan,
"The male surname is Jiang, and he lives in Duchang, the capital of Donglai. ..... At noon, he left from Longliao, followed Zhengbaiqi and led Xiquan Li Gong, that is, Li was named. "
There is also a record in Changyi County Records:
"In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the Qing soldiers surrounded Changyi and the city was broken on the 16th."
It was in this city that Li Shizhen was captured and returned to Li Xiquan. His life experience is slightly like Cao Xiyuan and Cao Zhenyan, the distant ancestors of Cao Xueqin. The difference is that Cao Shi was an officer stationed in Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, and Li was a citizen of Changyi. Two years later, Jia Shen and Ming Wu, Li Shizhen really entered the customs from the dragon.
Li Xu was born in B Wei in the 12th year of Shunzhi (1655), and Cao Yin was three years old. In the seventeenth year of Kangxi (1678), he became the magistrate of Shaozhou Prefecture at the age of 24. Later, he was transferred to Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and later served as the general manager of Changchun Garden. In the thirty-second year of Kangxi (1693), he was appointed as Suzhou Weaving, and later he was appointed as the salt inspector of the Huai River and Huai River, taking turns with Cao Yin.
Li Xu and Kangxi also have a special relationship. First, Li Xu's biological mother Wen Shi is also Kangxi's nanny, which is the same as Cao Yin's identity. Moreover, Cao Yin is not his biological mother, but his first mother Sun Shi is Kangxi's nanny. In this regard, the relationship between Li Xu and Kangxi is even closer than that between Cao Yin and Kangxi. Kangxi was very kind to Sun Shi of Cao's family, and once called Sun Shi "an old man in my family"; And he was equally kind to the Wen family of the Li family. Li Xu said in "Thank you for calling Li Dingzhe":
"I was asked by Meng Wen to ask about my slave, and I was also the mother of my slave, and I was like a family father and son."
In "Li Dingmeng allowed to follow the whistle deer to give thanks", it is said:
"I am a 93-year-old mother, and I was kindly asked by the Lord for a long time."
In
It is said in
p > Is over the years, your face holy season, will be asked; That is, this autumn, the grandchildren will see the driver in Jehol, and they will be asked by the warm words. I am a humble person, and I have been blessed by the heaven and earth for a long time. "
The above shows the special intimate relationship between Li Xu and Kangxi.
With the support of Emperor Kangxi to Cao and Li, and the mutual response of Cao and Li, Cao and Li showed unprecedented prosperity at this time.
however, just behind this prosperity, there is a crisis lurking. Because of Cao Yin's daily ostentation and extravagance, entertainment and gifts, especially Kangxi's four southern tours, it caused a huge economic deficit. It can be said that Cao Yin has planted the bane of decline for the Cao family.
On the sixth day of December in the forty-eighth year of Kangxi (179), the then governor of the two rivers, Gali, participated in the performance of Cao Yin, and secretly reported to Kangxi that Cao Yin and Li Xu owed three million taels of silver to the Huai salt class and requested to impeach him publicly. Kangxi regarded Cao Yin as a "family member" and asked for public impeachment, but Kangxi certainly wouldn't approve it. However, it was of great importance, and Kangxi had to earnestly warn Cao Yin and his brother-in-law Li Xu privately that they must try to make up for the deficit.
facing the vast sea of debt, Cao Yin has been unable to make up for it and has no ability to save the situation. In July of the fifty-first year of Kangxi (1712), he became ill and died in Yangzhou. Li Xu said on the throne: On my deathbed, I counted a deficit of 232, yuan, and Cao Yin had no assets to make up.
after Cao Yin's death, Kangxi appointed Cao Yong, the son of Cao Yin, to succeed Jiangning in weaving in order to protect the Cao family's property from being damaged by relocation. Two years later, Cao Qing died, and Kangxi personally presided over the adoption of Cao Yin's fourth nephew Cao and took over the position of Jiangning Weaving. At the same time, Kangxi asked Cao Yin's brother-in-law Suzhou Weaving Li Xu to take charge of two Huai salt for one year, and used the money to make up for Cao Yin's deficit.
In the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi (1715), it was found that Cao Yin had a deficit of 373,2 silver in the weaving warehouse before his death.
Kangxi had to make arrangements again, and let Li Chenchang and Li Xu, the salt administrators of the two Huai Dynasties, make up for it. It was not until the fifty-sixth year of Kangxi that this account was finally made up.
Kangxi took care of Cao's family because of the mutual affection between Cao Xi and Cao Yin. In Cao's generation, he became alienated and indifferent. Kangxi once explicitly said to Cao: "Nianer's father has contributed for a long time, so Te En is here." In the sixty-first year of Kangxi, due to Li Xu and Cao's default in selling ginseng, the Ministry of Internal Affairs summoned Kangxi, and ordered Li Xu and Cao Jiang to pay the silver in arrears before the end of the year, otherwise they would be severely punished, and Kangxi immediately approved it. Obviously, this is completely different from Kangxi's previous attitude towards Cao Yin.
after Yongzheng came to power, he issued edicts one after another and began to make a big inventory of money and grain throughout the country to make up for the deficit. He has repeatedly said that I can't be as tolerant as my father, and any official who loses money and food will be dismissed as soon as he is exposed.
In the first year of Yongzheng alone, dozens of officials at all levels were dismissed from their posts, and Li Xu, a Suzhou weaver who was related to the Cao family and suffered hardships, was also dismissed from his post and robbed of his property.
But at first Yongzheng didn't punish Cao Jia and Li Xu together, but allowed him to repay the deficit in three years. Cao's own deficit has not been filled, and it has increased the deficit left by Cao Yin, so he has to ask for help in many ways. In order to prevent someone from scaring and blackmailing Cao, Yongzheng specially wrote a stern comment on Cao's greeting: running around and making friends.