We should regard it as an aesthetic object. But you see, our cultural hotspots in recent years do not seem to regard A Dream of Red Mansions as a novel and an object to meet our aesthetic needs. For example, questions about the author, such as "A Dream of Red Mansions", who is the author for a while, who is not written by Cao Xueqin for a while, who is actually, and our various media have followed suit, and then caused an uproar. Here we go again, saying that Cao Xueqin and his wife wrote it together. Who is his wife? It's red inkstone. Statements like this have created many hot spots and caused a lot of discussion among readers. I think in our Dream of Red Mansions, there has always been a slogan called "Return to the Text", which is about the things around the Dream of Red Mansions. Of course, there must be too many, but peripheral things, such as the author's problems, family background problems, ancestral home problems, and then Cao Xueqin, everyone thinks that he has no descendants, and some people say that he has descendants and so on. And some questions like this are textual research and controversial. The author's related questions actually need literature. When literature is seriously inadequate, we should pay less attention to this aspect and return to the text more. Returning to the text means returning to the work itself. We appreciate works of art, what we see is an artistic phenomenon, and its center is inseparable from the works. Without works, all topics can be said to be empty talk. If there is a great writer who is great, but none of his works remain in the world, is he a great writer? We cannot measure it. But if you really respect such a great writer, I think the most practical way is to study the text deeply, that is, to understand the beauty of the artistic world created by his works and what content it brings us in a spiritual space. That's all that matters. So I saw many topics and heated discussions, but why do we have a distance from what we should pay attention to in the works of A Dream of Red Mansions? From the aesthetic point of view, A Dream of Red Mansions is regarded as a work of art and a novel, which is shaped according to artistic laws. This is the most important and needs to be studied. Of course, it is a question whether I can show you the most important things. Isn't there a saying that a dream of red mansions is a multifaceted structure? The scenery we see from any window is extremely vast. The social reality, history and life it shows, more specifically, the beauty of so many young people and women, and the beauty of their creativity when they live in the Grand View Garden, are extremely precious and the essence of works of art. From any window, we can see a vast landscape. So I may have only opened one side or two sides today, and there may be many windows where people really look at the scenery with their spiritual eyes. This kind of scenery needs my guidance.
So when it comes to A Dream of Red Mansions, in fact, when it comes to the classic Dream of Red Mansions, we all know that it occupies a very special position in the hearts of China people. What kind of special position? Many people say that at least before 19 1 1, or before the 20th century, A Dream of Red Mansions was on an equal footing with the other three famous works, even with Jin Ping Mei. But later, the status of A Dream of Red Mansions improved. Of course, this improvement began in the early 20th century. We know that Mr. Cai Yuanpei wrote The Story of the Stone (19 17), and Wang Guowei wrote A Dream of Red Mansions in 1904, also at the beginning of the 20th century, and later in 192 1 year. You see, three academic masters, three highly respected figures in our academic circles, three academic leaders who started the times, and their master demeanor all concentrated on A Dream of Red Mansions, which improved its status. After 1949, Comrade Mao Zedong put A Dream of Red Mansions in a very high position in On Ten Major Relationships in 1950s. Therefore, some people say that the reason why A Dream of Red Mansions has a high status and attracts people's attention is totally external. You see, it is respected by Mao Zedong, an academic leader and our political leader, which makes A Dream of Red Mansions seem to have a special position among several famous works. If A Dream of Red Mansions is really read at a glance, if A Dream of Red Mansions itself is thin and shallow and pale, it will not form such a continuous upsurge if a great figure is used to promote improvement. It is impossible to rely on external forces for such a wide range of people to participate. Therefore, I think the special position of A Dream of Red Mansions should be found from its internal aspects. Just like a dream of red mansions gives us incomparable aesthetic enjoyment, what charm attracts us? This really requires us to think deeply. Because in recent years, I have also read articles written by some people. They often attribute the existence of so many addicts and the constant upsurge of A Dream of Red Mansions to political motives in different historical stages. Anyway, that is to say, external reasons, which I think are untrue and unscientific.