Cao Xueqin, the author of A Dream of Red Mansions, is known as Qin Pu. People in the Qing dynasty. His ancestral home is Liaoyang, Liaoning Province (it is said that he is rich in Hebei Province). His ancestors were originally Han Chinese, and later he was a "coating man" in Zhengbaiqi, Manchuria ("coating" is a transliteration of Manchu, meaning domestic slave).
Cao Yanqin, the ancestor of Cao Xueqin, was originally a junior officer stationed in Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, and joined the army when he attacked Liaoyang about six years later. Cao remained neutral in the Ming-Jin War and the Rebellion War after entering the Shanhaiguan Pass, and successively served in Shanxi Zhiming, Jizhou, Zhejiang Yanfadao and other places. The rise of Cao family really began with Cao Yan array.
Cao's daughter-in-law, the wife of Cao Xueqin's great-grandfather, became the nanny of Emperor Kangxi. In the second year of Kangxi, Cao xi became Jiangning Weaving, which lasted for ***2 1 year and finally died in Jiangning Weaving. After Cao's death, Kangxi appointed his son to weave in Suzhou, and later succeeded Jiangning Weaving and Huai Shui Salt Inspection. Cao Yin and Kangxi had a deep friendship since childhood. When Kangxi was five years old, Cao Yin was in Bandu. Later, Cao Yin chose to hold a funeral for Kangxi, and the relationship between them became closer.
The Cao Yin generation was the heyday of the Cao family, and both of her daughters were chosen as princesses. Kangxi made six expeditions to the south, five of which took the weaving department of Caojia Jiangning as the palace, and the last four were during his tenure, which shows the prominent position of Cao Shi family at that time and its close relationship with Emperor Kangxi. Cao Yin was a famous scholar at that time, good at poetry and prose, and also a famous bibliophile. He once presided over the publication and engraving of "All Tang Poems" and "Pei Yunwen Fu". This family tradition has played a good role in cultivating Cao Xueqin's literary talent. After the death of Cao Yin, Kangxi ordered his son Cao Yong to inherit Jiangning weaving. Cao Qing died after three years in office. Kangxi appointed Cao Fu, the son of Cao Yin's younger brother Cao Quan, to adopt Cao Yin and succeed him in weaving. Cao Jiazu served as Jiangning Weaving for four generations for more than 60 years.
After Yongzheng came to power, he laid hands on Cao Fu's uncle Xu Li, copied his home, and sent him to the most desolate and cold place in Heilongjiang, where he froze to death and starved to death. In the fifth year of Yongzheng, Cao Fu was arrested for "harassing a post station" and was dismissed for "misbehaving, losing a lot of money in weaving" and "moving home belongings privately in an attempt to hide it". Cao Fujin went to prison and was shackled, so Cao Cao moved to Beijing. According to historical records, Cao Jiaban once lived in the "seventeen and a half rooms in the mouth of garlic market" in Beijing.
Cao Xueqin said that he was Cao Yong's posthumous son and that he was Cao Fu's son. Cao Xueqin was born in the 54th year of Kangxi (17 15) or the 2nd year of Yongzheng (1724). Cao Xueqin was born in Nanjing. When his family was copied and moved back to Beijing, he was still young. According to his birth, he is no longer 13 years old. The specific situation of Cao's family after returning to Beijing is rarely recorded in the literature, but it is a fact that Cao's family has declined sharply since its property was looted. In the early years of Qianlong, the Cao family seemed to have suffered another greater disaster and was completely defeated from then on.
Cao Xueqin's life happened to experience the rise and fall of Cao Shi family. /kloc-Before he was 0/3 years old, he lived a life full of clothes and sweets in Nanjing. /kloc-After moving to Beijing at the age of 0/3, he first engaged in religious work for a period of time, during which he met the Dunmin Duncheng brothers. Qianlong moved to Huangye Village in the western suburbs of Beijing about 15 years ago (a house was chosen as the memorial hall of Cao Xueqin, but whether it was really Cao Xueqin's residence is still controversial), "there are thatched rafters on the rope bed and a stove", "the whole family often drinks porridge on credit", and the poor have no medical care, and with the death of their young son, life is even more miserable. He fell from the top of the nobility to the bottom of society, suffering from the cold of the world. The hardships in life did not kill Cao Xueqin's ambition, but on the contrary prompted him to be cynical and show his unyielding attitude towards reality.
Cao Xueqin's greatest contribution is his masterpiece A Dream of Red Mansions, which was created in a very difficult process. For the first time in the novel, Cao Xueqin said, "Cao Xueqin mourned for Hongxuan for ten years, with five increases and five decreases." It is really "every word is like blood, and ten years of hard work is extraordinary." It's a pity that he died, because his youngest son died, and he became sentimental and died of poverty and illness. Cao Xueqin died on New Year's Eve in the 27th year of Qianlong (1763). Another said that he died on New Year's Eve in the 28th year of Qianlong (1764), and the other said that he died in Shen Jiachu in the 29th year of Qianlong (1764). After Cao Xueqin's death, only the piano and sword on the wall and the bride falling were left, and several friends buried the great writer in a hurry.
Cao Xueqin's unfinished manuscript of A Dream of Red Mansions is called "The Story of the Stone", and it has only been finalized about eighty times. Some manuscripts after the 1980s were "lost" because they could not be sorted out or for other reasons. These eighty chapters began to spread among a few friends for thirty years. In the fifty-sixth year of Qianlong (179 1), Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E printed and published in movable type for the first time, and the title of the book was changed from 120 times. The last forty chapters are generally regarded as Gao E's sequel, and Gao Xu and Cao Zhujiong are two books, with great differences in ideological and literary achievements, just like clouds and mud. Gao Xuying should be strictly located in the sequel of A Dream of Red Mansions and should not be confused with the original.
Taking A Dream of Red Mansions as the clue and the love between Bao and Dai as the tragic ending, the novel became a literary masterpiece with a complete structure and a complete story, which had a great influence on the society thereafter. But as far as the overall thought and art are concerned, there is still a considerable distance from the original work. The characters are out of shape, and the handling of many plots obviously deviates from the original spirit, such as the fire of Miaoyu, the resurrection of Jiafu, and the description of Guilan Qifang.
Cao Xueqin is "fat, with a wide head and black color". He is arrogant, cynical and unrestrained. Alcoholic, talented and talkative. Cao Xueqin is a poet. His poems are novel in conception and close in style to Li He, a poet in the Tang Dynasty. His friend Duncheng once praised him and said, "Love your poem is wonderful, and you can catch up with the long valley broken fence fan." He added, "I know that your poems are as bold as iron and as cold as the Taoist camp." However, there are only two lines in his sincere poem Pipa Xing: "The White Fuji Mausoleum should be very happy and will teach barbarians to put on airs."
Cao Xueqin is also a painter and likes to paint abrupt and steep stones. Dunmin's "Painting Stone in Qinyuan" said: "Proud as a strange monarch, more jagged. Drunk as a pen swept away. Write a thunder in your chest. " It can be seen that when he painted stones, he put his chest on the grievances. Cao Xueqin's greatest contribution lies in his novel creation. His novel A Dream of Red Mansions is rich in content, profound in thought and exquisite in art, which pushes China's classical novel creation to a peak and occupies a very important position in the history of literary development.
Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions is well known to the world. It is said that he also has another work "Collection of Works of Waste Art Studio", which is a work that records China's craftsmanship and is only circulated among people who love skills. In this book, Cao Xueqin broke the old idea of China literati that "those who work hard are despised by gentlemen", and recorded in detail eight major techniques, such as epigraphy, flying kites, weaving, printing and dyeing, cooking and garden design, so as to enable the disabled to keep healthy and make up for their congenital and acquired deficiencies. Cao Xueqin once enthusiastically taught the disabled to tie kites in Shudu and helped him to support his family with this industry. In the prefaces of Kite Flying in the South and Kite Flying in the North, he said: It's New Year's Eve, and I always braved the snow. Full of ducks, wine and fresh vegetables, I happily said to the sun, "I didn't want to fly three or five kites, but I got a heavy reward;" The income is * * * exclusive ... "This not only reflects the friendship between Cao Xueqin and his uncle, but also reflects Cao Xueqin's noble feelings of helping the weak and helping the poor. But the authenticity of this book is still controversial.
Biography of Cao Xueqin (Zhou)
In the second year of Yongzheng (Chen Jia 1724), he was born on April 26th.
In the third year of Yongzheng (Yisi 1725), on April 26th, Mangzhong ushered in its first birthday, so it was marked by Mangzhong.
In the sixth year of Yongzheng (Wu Shen 1728), his father Cao Fu was convicted of theft and returned to Beijing. Live in the mouth of garlic market.
In the first year of Qianlong (Chen Bing 1736), all kinds of "sinful money" were pardoned and the family recovered well-off. Thirteen years old (in the book, I will visit my mother on the Lantern Festival until New Year's Eve. Baoyu is thirteen, too. It happened on April 26, 2008, which happened to be the Ear and Seed Festival (the flower party in the book).
In the second year of Qianlong (D 4 1737), in the first month, Kangxi City fell. Chen is the biological mother of Wang Yinxi in the county (the "old princess" in the book has passed away).
In the fifth year of Qianlong (Geng Shen 1740), Hongxi, the eldest son of Prince Kangxi Yinwa, tried to set up a court, and stabbed Qianlong in the back, but failed. Qin Xue's family was dragged down again, and it was stolen, so the family broke up. Xueqin is poor and wandering. He used to be a writer in the internal affairs department.
In the 19th year of Qianlong (JOE 1754), the final edition of Re-evaluating Stone in Chiyanzhai was copied (unfinished).
Twenty years after Qianlong (Yihai 1755), the story of the stone continues.
In the twenty-first year of Qianlong (Bingzi 1756), the fat batch before the seventy-fifth session recorded: "In the twenty-first year of Qianlong, Bingzi was cleared on the seventh day of May. Lack of Mid-Autumn Festival poetry, as soon as Xueqin. " It was for the progress of the manuscript at that time. Written by Zhi Yanzhai and Tamenosuke.
In the 22nd year of Qianlong (Ding Chou 1757), my friend Duncheng wrote a poem in memory of Cao Xueqin. Looking back at the night talk of the right-wing religion, I advised not to be a rich foodie. "It is better to write a book in Huangye Village." At this point, Xueqin has gone to Xishan and left Liang's home in Dunhuibo (Shihu Hutong in Xicheng).
In the 23rd year of Qianlong (Wuyin 1758), his friend Dunmin naturally wrote poems from Xiacun to Guiwei and sang many poems about Xueqin.
Twenty-four years of Qianlong (Bazaar 1759), now the bazaar edition and the manuscript of "The Story of the Stone" are preserved, and the date of "Yan Zhi's comment on writing" begins.
In the twenty-five years of Qianlong (Chen Geng 1760), Chen Geng Edition and The Story of the Stone were reviewed by Yan Zhai four times.
After twenty-six years of Qianlong (Xinsi 176 1), he returned to Jinling and Beijing. Every time a friend's poem says that "the old dream of Qinhuai still exists" and "the official is depressed and dreams of returning to his hometown", it implies the writing of A Dream of Red Mansions.
In the twenty-seventh year of Qianlong (Renwu 1762), Dunmin wrote "Wine Song with Knife" to record the drinking situation when Xueqin visited in late autumn. Fat criticism: "Chongyang in the afternoon" has the saying that "it is urgent to ask for books". No more comment on writing after Chongyang. When there is a story.
In the 28th year of Qianlong (Imperial concubine 1763), in late spring and February, Dunmin invited Xueqin to get together in early March (for Duncheng's birthday). Not yet. In autumn, I love my son with acne, and my sadness becomes ill. Fat criticism: "... Qin cried to death before the book was finished;" I cried for Xueqin, but my tears are still waiting to run out ... "It was recorded as the death of" Renwu Eve ",which was proved to be a mistake by textual research. He died at the age of forty.
In the 29th year of Qianlong (Shen Jia 1764), Duncheng wrote a poem: "Xiaofeng brushed an inscription yesterday" and "Forty years is too thin", all of which are historical evidences.
In the Qing dynasty, only a few people knew who Cao Xueqin was, and the average person knew nothing, and even could not assert whether there was such a person. In the early 1920s, Hu Shi took Cao Xueqin as a serious literary subject for the first time, and made textual research on his real existence and family background. Since then, there are few systematic and in-depth discussions about Cao Xueqin himself. In the New Biography of Cao Xueqin (Shandong Pictorial Publishing House), Mr. Zhou made a systematic and in-depth discussion on Cao Xueqin himself. Starting from Cao Xueqin's "center of the circle", he constantly extended the radius to his whole family and the whole background of his time, thus enriching Cao Xueqin's thought, personality and artistic pursuit. The book consists of two main clues, one is the history of Cao Shi's family management, and the other is the history of Qin Xue's psychology. The two clues are intertwined and relatively independent. Under the traction of two clues, guide readers to know and understand Cao Xueqin.