Cao Xueqi­n

Cao Xueqin was the author of The Story of the Stone, also known as A Dream of Red Mansions, one of China’s greatest and best-known novels. Cao lived most of his life in poverty, and the work was left unfinished (in an 80-chapter version) upon his death. It was later edited into a 120-chapter version and published in printed form; several specialist journals and a series of conferences are currently dedicated to the unraveling of the novel’s mysteries. Cao used his memories of growing up in one of China’s notable families to create a masterpiece of fiction, in which realism and lyricism are uniquely combined. The novel is seen in some sense as a key to the entirety of Chinese culture.