The Story of the Stone

The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber , is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The fifth part of Cao Xueqin’s magnificent saga, The Dreamer Awakes , was carefully edited and completed by Gao E some decades later. It continues the story of the changing fortunes of the Jia dynasty, focussing on Bao-yu, now married to Bao-chai, after the tragic death of his beloved Dai-yu. Against such worldly elements as death, financial ruin, marriage, decadence and corruption, his karmic journey unfolds. Like a sleepwalker through life, Bao-yu is finally awakened by a vision, which reveals to him that life itself is merely a dream, ‘as moonlight mirrored in the water’.