Cao Xueqin

Cao Xueqin

Cao Xueqin

(from May 28, 1715 to February 12, 1763)

On the way

, words

Meng Ruan

, No

Celery

Cao Xueqin, also known as Qinxi and Qinpu, is the author of a dream of Red Mansions. His ancestral home is controversial (Liaoyang, Liaoning, Fengrun, Hebei, or Tieling, Liaoning). He was born in Jiangning (now Nanjing). Cao Xueqin was born in the Zhengbai banner dressing family of the Qing Dynasty. He is the grandson of Cao Yin and the son of Cao Yong (the son of Cao Fu).

In his early years, Cao Xueqin experienced a rich and romantic life in Jiangning, Nanjing. Great grandfather Cao Xi served as Jiangning weaving minister; great grandmother sun served as Emperor Kangxi's nanny; great grandfather Cao Yin served as Emperor Kangxi's accompanying reader and imperial bodyguard; later, he served as Jiangning weaving minister and salt inspector of Huaihe River and Huaihe River. In 1728, the Cao family was ransacked for being guilty of deficit. Cao Xueqin moved back to his old house in Beijing with his family. Later, he moved to the western suburbs of Beijing and made a living by selling calligraphy and paintings and helping his friends. Since then, the Cao family has been declining. After a major turning point in his life, Cao Xueqin deeply felt the coldness of the world and had a more sober and profound understanding of the feudal society. He despised the powerful, stayed away from officialdom, and lived in poverty. Cao Xueqin is simple and broad-minded, and has a wide range of hobbies. He has studied the stone, poetry, painting, garden, traditional Chinese medicine, weaving, craft, diet and so on. With his indomitable perseverance, after many years of hard work, he finally created a great work, a dream of Red Mansions, which is very ideological and artistic. After Cao Xueqin moved to the western suburbs of Beijing, he lived in more poverty, "full path Penghao", "family food porridge wine often credit".

In the 27th year of Qianlong (1762), his young son died. He fell into excessive sadness and grief and was bedridden. Qianlong 28 years (1763) new year's Eve (February 12), due to poor disease and no medical died. On the year of Cao Xueqin's death, there are also theories about the new year's eve of the 29th year of Qianlong (February 1, 1764) and the early spring of Jiashen (1764).

Life of the characters

Born in a rich family

In the first month of the 54th year of Kangxi (1715), Cao Yong, who was then a Jiangning weaver, died of illness while reporting on his duty in Beijing. Emperor Kangxi's gracious order, Cao Yong's cousin Cao Fu passed on to Cao Yin and took over Jiangning weaving. On the seventh day of March of this year, Cao Fu wrote a memorial: "Ma Shi, the sister-in-law of the slave, was pregnant in July because she was pregnant." Cao Xueqin was born on April 26 (May 28, 1715) in Jiangning, Nanjing.

A few days after Cao Xueqin's full moon, on the third day of June, Cao Fu wrote a memorial: "it rains for days, and the four fields touch their feet." This is the chance of Cao Xueqin's name "Zhan". The time, place and people are favorable. The word "Zhan" is taken from the book of songs · Xiaoya · xinnanshan, which means "you are both excellent and good, you are both rich and full, and you are born in a hundred valleys". The word "Xueqin" comes from the third part of Su Shi's eight poems on Dongpo: "the clay celery has a long-standing root, an inch of it is alone; when the snow bud moves, the spring dove can be enjoyed."

Cao Xueqin's great grandmother, sun's family, served as Emperor Kangxi's nanny, and his grandfather, Cao Yin, served as Emperor Kangxi's accompanying reader and imperial bodyguard. Later, he served as Jiangning weaver and concurrently as the censor of salt inspection in Lianghuai. During the Kangxi and Yongzheng dynasties, the Cao family had been in charge of Jiangning weaving for fifty-eight years. They had a prominent family background, power and power, and were extremely rich and expensive. They became the most powerful family in Nanjing at that time, and they were regarded as the most prestigious family in the world. On the sixth day of Kangxi's reign, Cao Yin took over Jiangnan four times. However, Cao Xueqin was born a few years later, and I did not personally experience the grand event of Kangxi's southern tour. Chapter 16 of a dream of Red Mansions can be used as evidence. The original work says that Sister Feng, who is older than Jia Baoyu, has to listen to the oral narration of the elders such as mammy Zhao to understand that period of history.

Qinhuai remnant dream

In his early years, Cao Xueqin relied on Tianen Zude (Emperor Kangxi's favor, Cao Xi's and Cao Yin's virtue) to enjoy a rich and romantic life in prosperous land (Kangyong's flourishing age), prosperous land of flowers and willows (Nanjing), family of poetry and Etiquette (Jiangning zhizaofu) and gentle and rich hometown (Xiyuan). He lived a happy life and only stayed with his sisters and maids every day They read, write, play the piano, play chess, paint and recite poems, even depict the Phoenix and stab the Phoenix, fight grass and hairpin flowers, sing quietly, open words and guess coins. "They only swim and lie in the garden, and they are willing to serve the servant girls, but they have to spend their leisure.". He remembered this happy life all his life. He called it "dream" in the first chapter of "the author from cloud" in the beginning of a dream of Red Mansions.

In his childhood, Cao Xueqin was very naughty. He hated Eight Legged essays, didn't like to read four books and five classics, and disliked imperial examination and official economy. Although Cao Fu was strict in discipline, invited a tutor, and went to a family school for a few days, he often protected little Cao Xueqin because of his grandmother Li's doting. Fortunately, Cao's family has profound knowledge. His grandfather, Cao Yin, had a collection of poems. In Yangzhou, he was in charge of the printing of the whole Tang poetry and more than 20 kinds of hardcover books, and also in charge of the Yangzhou poetry Bureau. The Cao family has a large collection of books, including 3287 fine books. Cao Xueqin lived in such a rich literary and artistic environment when she was young. She was educated by her father and brother, disciplined by teachers and friends, and read a lot of books, especially poetry, drama, novels and other literary books, such as opera, food, health, medicine, tea ceremony, weaving and other encyclopedic cultural knowledge and skills.

Li Xu of Suzhou Zhizhi and sun Wencheng of Hangzhou Zhizhi are all related to the Cao family. Li Xu is also a salt administrator of the Huaihe River and Huaihe River. When Cao Xueqin visited relatives and friends as a child, he visited Suzhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Changzhou and other places for many times. He was very fond of the scenery in the south of the Yangtze River. His friends duncheng and dunmin's poems are called "Qinhuai remnant dream" and "Yangzhou old dream".

Home is desolate

In 1727, Cao Xueqin was 13 years old. In December, Cao Fu, the uncle of wailang, a weaver in Jiangning, was dismissed and jailed for harassing the post station, weaving deficit, and transferring property. Before the Lantern Festival in the first month of the next year, he was robbed of his home (114 family members, boys and girls, and servants). Cao Xueqin moved back to Beijing with his family. Since then, the Cao family has been declining.

When I first returned to Beijing, there were 17 and a half old houses in suanshikou outside Chongwen gate, with three pairs of servants chatting for a living. However, in order to repay the money owed by the case of harassing the post station and to make up for the family, they had to sell several thousand yuan of land temporarily. Some slaves took advantage of this and borrowed Dongzhuang tax by name. Later, the deficit became more and more serious. It was inevitable that the house would be sold, and the burglars would break into the house and steal. As a result, they even had no money to spend every day and were forced to mortgage the real estate. In the end, the gateway withered, the population dispersed, and in the past few years, it was even worse than the rubble. Cao Xueqin for the family's bad things, more and more do not have words, "although I dare not say that through the ups and downs, but the world, a little understanding of the better.".

Make friends with celebrities

At the end of Yongzheng period, Cao Xueqin began to shoulder the heavy burden of his family and gradually helped Cao Fu to do some housework. Cao Xueqin came out to receive Cao Fu because he was an official at home and didn't like to socialize. He met some political and business celebrities and literary predecessors. Under their influence, he set up a lofty ambition of writing books and establishing morality and speech. He gradually eliminated some of the old school's wishful thinking and infatuation. He worked hard for the rejuvenation of his family. He once studied hard, visited teachers and friends, and paid many respects to the powerful officials in the court.

Humen morning and evening

In the first year of Qianlong (1736), Cao Xueqin was twenty-two years old. He issued an edict to relieve the Cao family from deficit.

In the early years of Qianlong, Cao Xueqin once worked as a post in the house of internal affairs. Later, he entered the right-wing religious school (formerly known as "Humen") in Shihu Hutong of Xidan and took a small position. Cao Xueqin's specific work in zongxue can be described as teaching assistant, teacher, shefu, husband's servant and official. Cao Xueqin's circle of friends in Beijing is full of princes and grandsons, such as duncheng, dunmin and fupeng. In his contacts with them, Cao Xueqin was able to appreciate Beijing palace culture.

Cao Xueqin was born in 1744. Dun Cheng (1734-1791) was 11 years old, and dun min (1729-1796) was 16 years old. The two brothers admire Cao Xueqin's talent and demeanor, his unrestrained personality and open mind. In the long winter night, they sit around and listen to Cao Xueqin's witty and spirited "big talk". They are often attracted and impressed by Cao Xueqin's "wonderful talk" and "eloquence". Dun Cheng's poem "cherishing Cao Xueqin (Zhan)" says: "at that time, Humen counted the morning and evening, the west window cut the candle, and the wind and rain fainted." Record and savor this unforgettable time.

Cao Xueqin wrote the first draft of a dream of Red Mansions about this period.

Yanshi crazy song

In 1747, Cao Xueqin was 33 years old and moved to the western suburbs of Beijing in about. In the following years, he lived in Xingbu street in Xidan, Wofo temple outside Chongwen gate, siwangfu and Dongyu village in Zhengbai banner, Xiangshan, and Baijiatuan (about 50 Li outside Xizhimen) on the north slope of xianghuangqiying. During this period, Cao Xueqin lived in Cao'an, enjoying wild flowers, living a secluded life of seeking poems, waving brush, singing, selling paintings, getting drunk, singing madly, recalling the past and writing books, enjoying Beijing's market culture. On the one hand, he made a living by selling calligraphy and paintings and the relief of fupeng, duncheng, dunmin, Zhang Yiquan and other relatives and friends Cao Xueqin hated being down and out for half of his life and achieving nothing. "In that poor and down situation, he felt very depressed, so he couldn't help drinking and singing wildly and looking for dispatch." his true feelings from the two Fu of good and evil became more and more distinct.

Huang Ye

Cao Xueqin's ambition of "mending the sky" never slackened, and his friend duncheng's "cherishing Cao Xueqin (Zhan)" still comforted him: "I advise you not to play the diner's clip, I advise you not to knock on the door of the rich son. It's better to write a book on Huangye village than to have a good taste for the leftovers. "

Chinese PinYin : Cao Xue Qin