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Title: Dream of the Red Chamber by Tsao Hsueh-Chin ISBN: 0-385-09379-9 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 01 October, 1958 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Please learn Chinese before you read this story
Comment: I am a Chinese student. Dream of the Red Chamber is my favorite novel, and it is definitely one of the greatest novel in the world. I've read the English version of this book as well, but I think the Chinese version is much better than the English one. Because this is a story happened in ancient China, 1700s, many of the poems in it can never exactly translate into English. The meanings of most characters' names can never show in the English version, either. For example, Chia Pao-yu, Chia means false in Chinese, yu means jade, Lin Tai-yu, Lin means forest and so on. If you don't know the special meanings of the characters' names, you can never understand the relationship between them. However, in the English version of this book, the names of the charaters are only the pronunciations.
So if you really want to understand this fantastic story, the only advice I can give you is learning Chinese!
Rating: 5
Summary: A wonderful novel
Comment: The 18th century novel, Hongloumeng, remains the greatest Chinese novel ever written, unsurpassed in its depiction of individuals and families, human striving, and stellar literary values. It may be read on many levels, as a love story or social history, as a philosophical musing on the futility of human existence, and a repository of Chinese artistic and literary values. The translation under review is a sharply abridged version that advances the plot line by eliminating many of the minor characters, most of the poetry, and a great deal of the detailed descriptions of daily life in an upper class Chinese family. Those seeking a full appreciation of the novel, especially its literary value, should turn to the full translation, which goes by the title Story of the Stone. However, the full complete translation is a multivalued piece, almost 2,000 pages in length. What you get with this translation is a good feel for the main characters, especially the love triangle, and for the social dynamics within the family. The result in a lovely read that will inspire you to compare this abridge version with a fuller version to see what you missed. I still use this translation in my history courses, but I use it for social history. My colleagues in literature prefer to use volume 1 of the Story of the Stone for their classes.
Rating: 2
Summary: Do yourself a favor -
Comment: Although this translation is concise and contained in one volume, the Penguin Books publication of this work (in that version, titled first as "Story of the Stone") is an infinitely better translation - the poetry is kept intact and the story is in full, instead of condensed for speed. In addition, the maids - who frequently outnumber the mistresses and masters in the plot line - are introduced to the reader with names in English, which makes the story a little easier to follow.
If you really like this story and have not read the unabridged version, please do yourself a favor and find the Penguin publications. I love this novel, but there are better translations.
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Title: Monkey/Folk Novel of China by Ch'Eng-En Wu, Arthur Waley, Arther Waley ISBN: 0802130860 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: April, 1994 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies by Moss Roberts ISBN: 0394739949 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 12 July, 1980 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way by Moss Roberts, Laozi, Laozi Dao De Jing, Laozi ISBN: 0520205553 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 03 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Four Major Plays of Chikamatsu by Donald Keene ISBN: 0231111010 Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $18.50 |
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Title: Essays in Idleness by Donald Keene ISBN: 0231112556 Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 1998 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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