Dream of the Red Chamber

Written by Cao Xueqin

Narrated by Geoffrey Giuliano And the Icon Ensemble

The Dream of the Red Chamber (also known as The Story of the Stone) is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China, and considered the greatest of them all. Almost 40 main characters and some 500 minor characters tell the fortunes of the Chia family; the book details mainly the life of Chia Pao-yü, the heir apparent, who is described as very intelligent, but also as carefree and self-indulging. The already wealthy Chia family rises to new heights when Pao-yü's elder sister becomes an imperial consort. On her first visit home, a lush garden is built, where much of the rest of the story takes place. The intrigues surrounding Pao-yü and his cousins, especially Lin Tai-yü who he loves, and Hsüeh Pao-ch'ai who he is finally tricked into marrying, make up a large part of the story. The decline of the Chia family begins with the death of the imperial consort, and when they fall into disfavour with the emperor, their mansions and the garden are eventually destroyed.

The whole book has 120 chapters, only 80 of which were written by Cao Xueqin before his death in 1764. Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E claimed to have access to Cao's papers, and published what is now known as the Cheng-Gao version in 1791. Henry Bencraft Joly translated only part of the book written by Cao. Book I contains the first 24 chapters, Book II ends abruptly with chapter 56; a Book III was never published.

Produced by Macc Kay

Production executive Avalon Giuliano

ICON Intern Eden Garret Giuliano

©2021 Eden Garret Giuliano (P) 2021 Eden Garret Giuliano

Geoffrey Giuliano is the author of over thirty internationally bestselling biographies, including the London Sunday Times bestseller 'Blackbird: The Life and Times of Paul McCartney' and 'Dark Horse: The Private Life of George Harrison'. He can be heard on the Westwood One Radio Network and has written and produced over seven hundred original spoken word albums and video documentaries on various aspects of popular culture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author's Republic
• Release date: Jun 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662198519

Cao Xueqin

Cao Xueqin (1715-1763) was born into a wealthy family that thrived during the Qing Dynasty. Following their patriarch’s death, the family lost their fortune and moved to Beijing. It’s there that Xueqin began creating his greatest work, The Story of the Stone, also known as Dream of the Red Chamber. Hand-copied versions were already circulating before its initial printing in 1791. It is a beloved novel and masterpiece within Chinese literature that gained massive acclaim after Xueqin’s death.

Reviews for Dream of the Red Chamber

[Deepa Budhoo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I still had more than 6 hours to go, but I gave up. I have no idea what it is about. I think there was a supernatural incident with one of the main characters. But it’s just endless conversation about people visiting people. I read that this was written in the 1700 and quite advanced for that time. About the social position of women and all. But I can’t really get that out of this story. It’s unfortunate, I really wanted to understand and listen to it, but maybe I need to try again someday.