Cao Xueqin’s real deeds:
Cao Xueqin was born on May 28, 1715. His given name was Zhan, his courtesy name was Mengruan, his nickname was Xueqin, and he was also named Qinxi and Qinpu. The author of the classic "Dream of Red Mansions".
Cao Xueqin was born in Zhengbai Banner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Qing Dynasty. His grandfather was Cao Yin, a weaver in Jiangnan during the Qing Dynasty, and his father was Cao Yong. When Cao Xueqin was young, he was the young master of Jiangning Weaving House in Nanjing. , life is very rich.
In 1728, Cao Xueqin’s family was confiscated by the imperial court because of huge losses. Later, he moved back to an old residence in Beijing with his family. Later, because of poor life, he moved to the western suburbs of Beijing, and He makes a living every day by selling calligraphy and paintings and receiving donations from friends.
The Cao family also slowly declined from then on. Because of the sudden changes, Cao Xueqin also had a deeper understanding of the harsh world and the feudal society at that time. When Cao Xueqin grew up, he despised the powerful and stayed away from officialdom and lived in poverty. days.
In 1762, because Cao Xueqin's youngest son died, Cao Xueqin was so sad that he became bedridden. In the 28th year of Qianlong's reign, Cao Xueqin died because he couldn't afford to see a doctor.
Extended information:
Cao Xueqin has lived in such a rich literary and art environment since childhood. He received education from his father and brother, discipline from teachers and friends, read a lot of books, and especially loved reading poetry. Literary books such as poems, plays, and novels.
Encyclopedic cultural knowledge and skills such as opera, food, health, medicine, tea ceremony, weaving, etc. are all available. Suzhou weaver Li Xu and Hangzhou weaver Sun Wencheng were both related to the Cao family.
Li Xu was also responsible for the Salt Administration of Huaihe and Huaihe Rivers. When Cao Xueqin was a child, he traveled to Suzhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Changzhou and other places many times when visiting relatives and friends. He was very fond of the mountains, rivers and scenery of the south of the Yangtze River. His friends Duncheng and Dunmin wrote poems. It is said to be the ruins of Qinhuai and the old dream of Yangzhou.
In the fifth year of Yongzheng reign, when Cao Xueqin was thirteen years old, in December, his uncle Cao Fu, who was a weaver in Jiangning at that time, was dismissed from his post and imprisoned for crimes such as harassment of the post station, weaving losses, and transfer of property. His home was confiscated before the Lantern Festival in the first month of that year.
Cao Xueqin moved back to Beijing with his family. When he first returned to Beijing, there were still 17 and a half rooms in the old house at Suanshikou outside Chongwenmen, and three pairs of servants, so they could make a living.
However, in order to repay the money owed for the case of harassing the inn and make up for the family expenses, the land had to be temporarily sold for thousands of gold. A domestic slave took advantage of this and borrowed the Dongzhuang rent and taxes by name.
Later on, the losses became more severe day by day. It was inevitable that the house would be sold and the land would be sold, and thieves would even break into the house. As a result, I didn’t even have the money for daily needs, so I was forced to mortgage the property and land documents.
In the end, it was reduced to the point where its doors were withered and its population was dispersed. Over the past few years, it has become more than rubble. Cao Xueqin became more and more speechless because of the bad things at home. Although she did not dare to say that she had gone through ups and downs, she had a slight understanding of the ways of the world and human nature.
Baidu Encyclopedia—Cao Xueqin