Cao Xueqin (1715? 1724? —1764), a novelist in the Qing Dynasty. Formerly known as Zhan, the word Meng Ruan,no. Xueqin, Qinpu and Qinxi. My ancestral home is Liaoyang, Liaoning Province (Tieling, Shenyang, and rich Hebei). I was originally a Han nationality, and later I was a "coating" person in Zhengbaiqi, Manchuria ("coating" is a Manchu transliteration, meaning domestic slave).
Life introduction
Cao Xueqin's great-grandfather Cao Xi was a weaver in Jiangning. Great-grandmother Sun Shi was the nanny of Emperor Xuanye of Kangxi. Grandfather Cao Yin worked as Xuanye's bandu and bodyguard, and later served as Jiangning Weaving, and concurrently served as the salt patrol supervision platform in Huaibei, which was highly prized by Xuanye. Xuanye visited Jiangnan six times, four of which were picked up by Cao Yin, and he lived in Cao's house. Cao Yin died, and his sons Cao Qing and Cao Fu successively succeeded Jiangning Weaving. Their three generations and four grandchildren have held this position for 6 years. Cao Xueqin grew up in the "prosperous" life of this "romantic place near Qinhuai" since childhood. In the early years of Yongzheng, the Cao family suffered a series of blows because of the political struggle within the feudal ruling class. Cao Fu was dismissed on charges of "misconduct", "harassing the post" and "deficit", and his property was confiscated. Cao Fu was imprisoned and punished, and the "Cangue" lasted for more than a year. At this time, Cao Xueqin moved back to Beijing with his family. Since then, the Cao family has been devastated and declining. After a major turning point in his life, Cao Xueqin felt the world was cold and had a clearer and deeper understanding of feudal society. He despised the powerful, stayed away from the officialdom and lived a hard life of poverty. In his later years, Cao Xueqin moved to the western suburbs of Beijing. Life is even poorer, "full of wormwood" and "family porridge". With perseverance, he devoted himself to the writing and revision of A Dream of Red Mansions.
in the 28th year of Qianlong (1763), Cao Xueqin's youngest son died prematurely, and he was caught in excessive sadness and grief and was bedridden. On New Year's Eve (February 12, 1764), he finally died of poverty and illness, at the age of 5 (or 4). Cao Xueqin is "fat, with a wide head and black color". He is arrogant, cynical and uninhibited. 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 as saying, "Love your poem is fantastic, catching up with the broken fence fan in Changgu." He added: "Knowing your poetry is as bold as iron, and it is comparable to making cold light with Dao Ying." However, there are only two lines in his poem entitled "The Legend of Pipa" by Duncheng: "Bai Fu Shiling should be very happy, and he will definitely teach the savage ghosts to put on airs." Cao Xueqin is also a painter, who likes to paint abrupt and steep stones. Dunmin's "Painting Stone on the Qin Garden" said: "The pride is as strange as the monarch's world, and it is even more jagged. When I was drunk, I swept away like a pen and wrote a piece of thunder in my chest. " It can be seen that when he painted stones, he pinned his chest on the injustice. Cao Xueqin's greatest contribution lies in the creation of novels.
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 the peak and occupies a very important position in the history of world literature development. A Dream of Red Mansions is the product of his "reading for ten years, adding and deleting five times" and "every word seems to be blood, and ten years of hard work is unusual". He has finished writing A Dream of Red Mansions 8 times ago, but it has not been handed down for various reasons. Gao E (or just the reviser) continued the book.
[ Edit this paragraph] A brief biography of Cao Xueqin
In the second year of Yongzheng (Jiachen 1724), he was born on April 26th.
In the third year of Yongzheng (Yisi 1725), Mangzhong was one year old on April 26th, so it was the symbol of birth.
In the first year of Qianlong (Bingchen 1736), Cao Xueqin was thirteen years old, and it happened to be the Ear Seed Festival on April 26th, 28.
in the first month of the second year of Qianlong (Ding Si 1737), the city of Kangxi fell into mourning. Chen is the biological mother of Wang Yinxi of Shenjun County (the "old lady princess" in the book died).
in the fifth year of Qianlong (Geng Shen 174), Hongxi, the eldest son of Prince Yin Yong of Kangxi, attempted to establish a court, stabbed Qianlong in the back and failed. Xue Qin's family was dragged down again, and it was stolen again, so the family was broken. Snow Qin is poor and wandering. He used to be a pen-and-paste style in the interior office.
In the 19th year of Qianlong (Jiashu 1754), the final version of Red Yanzhai's Re-evaluation of the Stone was first copied (unfinished).
in the twentieth year of Qianlong (yihai 1755), The Story of the Stone was a sequel.
in the twenty-first year of Qianlong (Bingzi 1756), the fat batch wrote before the seventy-fifth chapter: "Bingzi was cleared on the seventh day of May in the twenty-first year of Qianlong. Lack of Mid-Autumn Poetry, as soon as Xueqin. " It was for the progress of the manuscript at that time. The fat inkstone was written by Tamenosuke.
In the 22nd year of Qianlong (Ding Chou, 1757), a friend Duncheng wrote a poem in memory of Cao Xueqin. Looking back at the night talk of right-wing religious studies, I advised not to be a rich eater, "it is better to write a book in Huangye Village". At this time, Xueqin has arrived in Xishan and left Dunhui Bofu's good family (Xicheng Shi Hu Hutong).
In the twenty-third year of Qianlong (Wuyin 1758), his friend Dunmin was a poet from Xia Cun to Gui Wei, who often chanted Xueqin.
In the 24th year of Qianlong (Yimao in 1759), the manuscripts of Yimao edition and The Story of the Stone are now preserved, and the date of the comment on writing of "Zhi Yan" began.
in the 25th year of Qianlong (Geng Chen 176), there are "Geng Chen Ben" and "The Story of the Stone", all of which were reviewed by Zhi Yanzhai.
In the 26th year of Qianlong (Xin Si 1761), he returned to Beijing after returning to Jinling. Every time a friend's poem said, "The dream of Qinhuai is still there" and "Abandoning the official position and dreaming of his old home", it implied the writing of A Dream of Red Mansions.
In the 27th year of Qianlong (1762 in Renwu), Dunmin had a drinking song with sabre, and Ji Xueqin visited in late autumn. Fat criticism of "Chongyang at noon" has the language of "demanding books is very urgent" No more comment on writing after Chongyang. When there is a story.
in the 28th year of Qianlong (Guiwei 1763), the end of spring and February. Dunmin Poetry invited Xueqin to get together in early March (for Duncheng's birthday). Not yet. In autumn, I suffer from acne and become sentimental. Fat criticism: "... Qin died of tears before the book was finished; I tried to cry Qin, but my tears stayed ... "It was remembered that I died on New Year's Eve at noon. After examination, I knew it was a mistake of" New Year's Eve "and died at the age of 5.
In the 29th year of Qianlong (Jiashen in 1764), Duncheng wrote a poem to celebrate the New Year: "The breeze blew the inscription yesterday" and "I was too thin to be born in my forties", all of which are historical evidences. (The two poems quoted by Zhou Lao are wrong. The original sentence should be: "Forty is too thin, and Xiaofeng is famous yesterday." )
The whole poem is as follows
Forty bleak and too thin, and Xiaofeng brushed the inscription yesterday. When the bowels return, the orphans cry (Yizi died a few months ago, and Xueqin became ill because of sentimentality), and the tears burst into the sound of widows in the wild days. Cow ghost's legacy mourns Li He, while deer and cart bury Liu Ling. An old friend wants to have a life, where can he be evocative and endowed with Chu Heng? There is still ice and snow in the opening, so the old friends are scattered like clouds. For the first time in three years, he had pity on me, and he was ill without a doctor. Talented people should hate, and the flute of Shanyang can't smell. When he was thin, Ma Xizhou Road, Su Gehan smoke fell to the ground.
[ edit this paragraph] Cao Xueqin's legend
Jin Jian
(1) Cao Xueqin's medical ethics
The "red chamber" is hot, and Cao Gong has a spirit in the sky. I don't know if he is happy or worried. However, hundreds of people reading "The Red Chamber" have a hundred solutions, and there is no difference between them. It is nothing more than interest. Now I'm going to extract some traces left by Cao Gong in Beijing, which is right and wrong. Welcome to discuss.
after Cao Xueqin moved to Xishan, he made extensive contact with the lower class people, especially the disabled people who had no support. Xue Qin was very sympathetic to their hardships, especially after they got sick, they had no money to treat them, which increased their distress. In order to relieve the pain of helpless patients, Xueqin often goes up the mountain to collect medicines for patients to reduce their burden.
There used to be a legend about Cao Xueqin's treatment of poor people in Xiangshan area. The Legend of Xiangshan includes the Medical Ethics of Mr. Qin Pu collected by Zhang Baozhang and Yan Kuan. The Origin of Snow Qin collected by Mr. Cui Moqing is also recorded in this respect. The Legend of the Qing Dynasty in Beijing also contains Zhang Baozhang's "Hand-to-Hand Treatment", which records Cao Xueqin's treatment of Xiangshan people.
I once visited Mr. Kong Xiangze. Mr. Kong said: Mr. Wu Enyu and I visited Baijiatuan in the early 197s. I once heard a villager say that a doctor in Qianshan Banner often came to see the poor for free, and every time he came, he borrowed tables and chairs from an empty temple in the south of the mountain. Later, the doctor moved to Qiaoxi, and it was much more convenient to have a family to see a doctor. Mr. Shu Chengxun once told Kong Lao that there were many pharmacies in the indigo plant, and Xue Qin often went to these pharmacies to get medicines or prescriptions for patients. Shu Lao remembered the names of these pharmacies one by one and told them to Kong Lao. Unfortunately, Kong Lao did not write them down at that time.
Mr. Kong also said: Xueqin has cured many people of diseases because of his excellent medical skills. Some rich people often buy something for Xueqin after his illness is cured, in order to repay him for his kindness. Xue Qin often tells these people, don't buy me anything, keep your money first. Once a patient sees a doctor and can't afford medicine, I will ask him to find you, and you will pay for his medicine. Isn't this able to help more people relieve their pain? In this way, Xueqin cured many stubborn diseases for many poor people, and people praised Xueqin for his brilliant medical skills and noble medical ethics.
it seems that it is not difficult for a person to do a little good, but what is rare is to always do good. Xue Qin treated the people in Xishan for free, and even collected herbs for the poor people, which was proved by Xue Qin's love for the people in Xishan, and the word-of-mouth of the people was the best proof.
(2) Cao Xueqin and Baijiatuan
In my impression, I have always felt that Cao Xueqin lived in Jianrui Camp in Xiangshan, and I have never heard that Xue Qin spent the last five years in Baijiatuan.
Looking up the relevant information, Dunmin, a good friend of Xueqin, accurately recorded in "A Record of Zhai Sheng in a Bottle Lake" that Xueqin moved to Baijiatuan in the spring of the 23rd year of Qianlong (that is, in 1758). There is an original note to prove it: "In the spring, the Qin Garden (the number of Xueqin) passed away and will move to Baijiatuan." After this article, Dunmin went to Baijiatuan twice for asking Xueqin to identify calligraphy and painting. Unfortunately, Xueqin was not at home. In the postscript, Dunmin tells a general story about Xueqin's new residence in Baijiatuan. For readers, the quotation is as follows: "There is a stream blocking the road, looking across the bank, there are four earthen houses, which are inclined to the southwest, with stones as walls, rafters as broken branches, uneven walls and incomplete households. The courtyard is neat, the hedges are woven into brocade, and the vines are planted with vines ... There is the joy of squatting in the alley, and you are fascinated by the flowers. You can follow the stream northwards and cross the stone bridge. "
There are few biographical materials left by Xue Qin. Dunmin's "A Record of a Bottle Lake" describes the time when Cao Xueqin moved to Baijiatuan and some words and deeds of Xue Qin, which is extremely important. So why did Xueqin migrate to Baijiatuan? From the 15th year of Qianlong, Xueqin bid farewell to Zongxue and moved to the western suburbs. After several migrations, she finally moved from Xiangshan to Baijiatuan. Some people have analyzed that there are economic reasons, avoidance of "public opinion", collapse of houses, "Manchu-Han domain" (during the reign of Qianlong in 23, it was stipulated that the slaves of Banners could open accounts, that is, the Han people were allowed to display their flags), and there are also theories that Xue Qin built a house and Bai Jiatuan was related to Prince Yi. I think that besides economic reasons, Xue Qin wanted to find an ideal place to write and repair books in order to avoid the hubbub.
Only people who visit Baijiatuan in person can appreciate how beautiful Baijiatuan, a small village near the foot of the Western Hills, is, with beautiful green hills and abundant vegetation. As the poems of Dunmin and Zhang Yiquan say, "Looking at the Western Hills at sunset", "The western suburbs are secluded", "The mountains and rivers outside the door are for painting" and "People in the lonely western suburbs are lonely", all of which can be proved. In the past, in order to write a book, Xueqin often paced near the small stone bridge in the west of the village, thinking carefully about the plot in the book ... Only the small stone bridge remembered the figure of Xueqin pacing and meditating that year.
(3) An examination of the Taoist Empty
A Dream of Red Mansions has a very important character-Taoist Empty. In all kinds of legends about Cao Xueqin, there are not many people involved in this person. But what is the connection between this mysterious Taoist priest's writing in the "Red Chamber"?
A few days ago, the author once saw the Notes on Kao Yan in Ten Kinds of Cao Xueqin written by Mr. Wu Enyu, which said: "Wei Jun collected the eight-character seal script of" Yunshan Hanmo is ice and snow clever ",which was said to be written by Xue Qin. It doesn't work to follow seal script. There is a small seal in the inscription of "Song Yue Shan Fang" in the "Empty Road flyover", and the carving skill is still good ... Mr. Zhicheng Deng, who saw it, said that it was indeed a dry paper, while the inkpad was not like a thing when it was dry, and the inkpad was a little yellow when it was covered with dry paper. Yu Wei said that if it can be judged as dry paper, inkpad is not a problem. The cover is not only light ink, but also dark ink. The word' empty Taoist' is still good. These twelve characters were written by Xue Qin, although they were not necessary. However, in February 1963, I met Mr. Zhang Boju, saying that the word "empty Taoist" and the word "Haike Qintu" written by Xue Qin in the previous year were all that way. " Although Mr. Wu was identified as the original of Cao Xueqin by two people, the evidence was a little pale because of the color of the inkpad.
This reminds me suddenly of my good friend, Mr. Yang Yi, who has lived in Taizhouwu near Baijiatuan for a long time. He once wrote Nalan Xingde, one of the famous poets in Qing Dynasty, and talked about a very important issue, that is, Baijiatuan has an empty temple, which provides direct evidence for Xueqin's "empty Taoist". For readers, the quotation is as follows: "Just at the southern foot of Cao Xueqin's Baijiatuan residence, there was a small temple at the foot of the mountain. There is a temple with an area of about 1 square meters. Because there are no idols and memorial tablets in the temple, it is empty, and the locals call it' empty temple'. This temple was demolished in the late 197s and early 198s when the land was leveled. ..... Although there is no written record, judging from its shape and location, it belongs to the mountain temple. There is no textual research on the age of the building. Nowadays, some people think that this' empty temple' may be related to the' empty Taoist' written at the beginning of Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions. "
Mr. Yang Yi only speculated that the empty temple was related to the "empty Taoist" in A Dream of Red Mansions. But it didn't come to light that the "empty Taoist" was Cao Xueqin. Perhaps Mr. Yang Yi didn't see the book Ten Kinds of Cao Xueqin written by Mr. Wu Enyu, and perhaps he didn't see the seal essay "Yunshan Hanmo Ice and Snow Clever". Although Mr. Wu Enyu invited the famous appraisers at that time to identify it as Cao Xueqin's personal book, he never understood the relationship between the name "Empty Taoist" and Xue Qin. Baijiatuan's "empty temple" undoubtedly provides extremely important evidence for the study of A Dream of Red Mansions and Cao Xueqin.
why does Mr. Xue Qin use his unusual fasting number in his paintings and calligraphy works? I thought that as early as the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong, when Xueqin was alive, A Dream of Red Mansions (which was limited to manuscripts at that time) had been regarded as a "libel book"; That is, the so-called "obstacle language" of Hong Yun; Hongxiao organized his family to copy The Story of the Stone, without outsiders, so that his family could not find such a book in the bibliography of Yifu, which was just for fear that people would know that his family had this "libel book". At this time, Xueqin (the descendant of the property being copied) was politically discriminated against, and was in financial difficulties, so that he made a living by making a living with a rope bed, a tile stove and a painting. In order to finish the book "The Story of the Stone" and to survive tenaciously, sometimes, Xue Qin had to write his own unusual fasting number when he was painting, calligraphy or writing letters. "Empty Taoist" is one of them. Of course, "Empty Taoist" is not groundless. As Mr. Xue Qin's unusual fasting number, there is also a reason. The village of Baijiatuan where he lives is "empty" If you don't understand the history and origin of Baijiatuan, you can't explore and research it yourself.