In 1762, his son died and he himself fell ill of grief, dying in his early forties on February 1,1764. It was during this period that he began A Dream of Red Mansions (Hung Lou Meng), in which he praised the worthy virtues of the girls around him, using recollections of his family's past prosperity and the vicissitudes of his own life. Still, however, he remained a proud scholar, who often drank heavily and composed poems. During the reign of Chien Lung, the Tsao family underwent even greater financial reverses, and in Tsao Hsueh-chin's later years, he lived in poverty in a western suburb of Peking, not always having enough to eat.
The Tsao family's home and properties were searched and its lands were confiscated because of wrongdoings by some of their relatives. At that time, his father was dismissed from his post, and Tsao Hsueh-chin accompanied him to Peking. Tsao Hsueh-chin was born in Nanking at the end of Kang Hsi's reign, and not much is known about his childhood until he was thirteen years old. Like his grandson, Tsao Hsueh-chin, Tsao Yin was fond of literature and won a name for himself as a scholar more than ten of his texts were printed, and he left behind some additional writings, including five volumes of poems and some plays, before his post at the Silk Bureau was passed to Tsao Hsuehchin's father. Clearly, the Tsao family was quite influential at the time their relationship with Emperor Kang Hsi was very close. In addition, two of Tsao Yin's daughters were chosen as the emperor's concubines.
The Emperor stayed five times in Tsao's residence during his inspection tours in the Yang-tze Valley, and Tsao Yin was present during the last four visits. His grandfather Tsao Yin (1658-1712) was one of the most eminent and wealthy men of his time and was in charge of the Nanking Silk Bureau during the reign of Kang Hsi. He was born in 1715 to a Han family, some of whom served in the Manchu army. LIFE AND BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHORS In the entire history of Chinese literature, Tsao Hsueh-chin (also called Tsao Shan) is recognized as being the country's greatest realistic novelist. All Rights ReservedĬliffs Notes on Dream of the Red Chamber © 1991 Life and Background of the Authors Introduction to the Novel A Brief Synopsis List of Characters Critical Commentaries Critical Essays Essay Topics and Review Questions Selected Bibliographyīy Zhang Xiugui Professor of English Beijing Second Foreign Language Institute People's Republic of China
DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER (A Dream of Red Mansions) Notes including
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