“The Story of the Stone” (c. 1760) is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The first part of the story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, & his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents’ choice of a wife for him, & the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing fortunes of the Jia family, this rich, magical work sets worldly events - love affairs, sibling rivalries, political intrigues, even murder - within the context of the Buddhist understanding that earthly existence is an illusion & karma determines the shape of our lives.
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The Dream of the Red Chamber
The Dream of the Red Chamber is a Chinese novel written by Cao Xueqin and Henry Bencraft Joly. It is the first novel in the series The Dream of the Red Chamber.