Abstract
Cao Xueqin’s novel Dream of the Red Chamber had five different titles. These titles reflect the author’s different notions of novel writing. The title A Precious Mirror to Love Affair implies an allegorical discipline, the titles The Story of the Stone and Emotional Monk’s Record indicates authentic record of the real things, the title Twelve Beauties of Jinling tries to be a legend to question the world, and the final title A Dream of the Red Chamber expresses the notion of "a dream being the same as a play." The change of titles reflected the evolution of Cao Xueqin's notion of novel writing in different stages of creative writing.
First Page
138
Last Page
145
Recommended Citation
Li, Qingyu. 2014. "An Exploration into Cao Xueqin's Notion of Novel Writing through the Titles of His Dream of the Red Chamber." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 34, (6): pp.138-145. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol34/iss6/8
