Judging from the content of the article "Examination of the Dream of the Red Chamber (Revised Draft)", Hu Shi mainly discussed two issues in depth: one is the issue of the author and his family lineage, and the other is the issue of the author of the version of the work and the last forty times. These questions can be said to be the basic problems of "Dream of the Red Chamber" and the only way to study "Dream of the Red Chamber".
Mr. Hu Shi
Previously, due to the limitations of the material, people had different opinions, and there was no consensus, as Hu Shi said in the article:
People who have always studied this book have gone down the wrong path.
Therefore, the study of "Dream of the Red Chamber" must start from the most basic issues, clarify the various fallacies of predecessors, and carry out the work of clarifying the source.
On the issue of the author and his family lineage, Hu Shi based on the content of the works, and quoted "Suiyuan Poetry", "Xiaofumei Gossip", "Zhao Dynasty Celebrity Ruler Small Biography", "Yangzhou Painting Record", "Youhuaitang Manuscript", "Bingchen XunJi", "Qi Xian Class Zheng", "Jiangnan Tongzhi", "Shangyuan Jiangning Two Counties Chronicle", "Sacred Driving Wuxing Jiangnan Gonglu", "Neem Pavilion Poetry Copy", "Siku Quanshu Summary", "Eight Flags Clan Genealogy", "Snow Bridge Poetry", "Eight Flags Poetry Copy", "Eight Flags Wenjing", "Ju chang drinking food record", Yongzheng "Yongzheng" Nearly twenty kinds of materials, such as the Edict of the Edict and the Collection of Exposed Books, draw six conclusions, officially confirm Cao Xueqin's authorship, clarify the ins and outs of the Cao family's family lineage, and determine that "Dream of the Red Chamber" is "a self-narration that hides the truth" and "is a masterpiece of naturalism".
On the issue of the version of the work and the author of the next forty times, Hu Shi based on the comparison of the original version, the Cheng Jia Ben, and the Cheng Yi Ben, the preface of Cheng Weiyuan, Gao Yan, and others, as well as the five kinds of materials of "Xiaofumei Gossip", "Lang Qianji", "Jinshi Title List", "Yushi Title List", and "Eight Banners Wenjing", examined Gao Hu's life and confirmed that the last forty times of the popular version of "Dream of the Red Chamber" were supplemented by Gao Hu.
Hu Shi's "Examination of the Dream of the Red Chamber"
For the last forty times, Hu Shi criticized, but also affirmed, believing that "the forty times that Gao Hu made up, although not as good as the first eighty times, did have the benefit of not being buried", "actually knocked down countless reunions "Dream of the Red Chamber" later, and actually saved a novel with a tragic end for Chinese literature", and his attitude was more objective.
In order to solve the problem of the author and version of "Dream of the Red Chamber", according to several versions of the work, consult more than twenty kinds of materials, and repeatedly deliberate, a more appropriate conclusion was drawn, which is indeed as Hu Shi himself said in the article, "People who have always studied "Dream of the Red Chamber" have never used it."
Since the advent of "Dream of the Red Chamber", there have been many rumors about the author and version of "Dream of the Red Chamber", and there are many opinions, although there are also many records of Cao Xueqin as the author, but they cannot be confirmed. In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the study of evidence was very developed, according to the level of research in the academic circles at that time, after some efforts, it was not impossible to find these materials, nor was it incapable of solving this problem, because its time was close to the appearance of the work, many documents had not been lost, and perhaps some problems could be solved more satisfactorily.
Hu Shi's "Examination of the Dream of the Red Chamber" (revised draft)
But the crux of the matter is that no one wants to do this, if you just write one or two rumors about the novel in your notes as a pastime, but if you use the kung fu of the history of the scriptures to do it like Hu Shi, it will not work, not only do you feel that it is not worth it, but also face the huge pressure of external public opinion. Even in the may fourth new cultural movement period, there were far more people than Hu Shi who had the ability to do this work, but there was still no one to do it.
As the saying goes, the times make heroes, but heroes are not what anyone can do. After Hu Shi's article "Examination of the Dream of the Red Chamber" was published, let's say how bad the article is, and how can I do it myself, which is a typical sour grape psychology.
Comparing before and after, it is not difficult to appreciate the valuable spirit of Hu Shikai's pioneering spirit, and it is no accident that he can become the founding father of the new red science.
In the article "Examination of the Dream of the Red Chamber", Hu Shi paid great attention to the emphasis on research methods, which he also relished in his life. In many speeches in his later years, he often used the study of "Dream of the Red Chamber" as an example to explain its governing spirit and research methods.
Hu Shishu aphorisms
It is for this reason that he spent a long time at the beginning of this article summarizing and summarizing the previous research on "Dream of the Red Chamber", and put forward a rather sharp criticism of the Suoyin school of sayings, arguing:
People who have always studied this book have gone down the wrong path,
Collect many irrelevant bits and pieces of history to attach the plot of "Dream of the Red Chamber". They did not do the examination of "Dream of the Red Chamber", in fact, they only did many appendages of "Dream of the Red Chamber".
If Hu Shi wants to open up new red studies and put forward his own ideas, he must liquidate his previous mistakes and directly point the spearhead at Wang Mengruan, Cai Yuanpei and others. In particular, Cai Yuanpei, who was the president of Peking University at the time and was Hu Shi's immediate superior, reprinted his "Stone Record Suoyin" many times, which had a great influence at the time, but Hu Shi was unceremonious, pointing out that "Mr. Cai's "Stone Record Suoyin" is still a very far-fetched appendage."
"Hu Shi on the Dream of the Red Chamber", edited by Song Guangbo, January 2021 edition of the Commercial Press.
On the basis of the original source, Hu Shi proposed the research methods and research scope he recognized, namely:
Based on reliable editions and reliable materials, who is the author of this book? The author's deeds, the author's time, what kind of different books have this book had, and what is the origin of these books.
Its specific research methods are:
Using the material we can gather, refer to mutual verification, and then draw some more recent and reasonable conclusions.
Everywhere I want to set aside all preconceived stereotypes, everywhere there is a purpose of searching for evidence, everywhere respecting evidence, letting evidence guide, leading me to a considerable conclusion.
Hu Shishu Cao Xueqin self-inscribed poem
Later, Hu Shi further summarized it as "bold assumptions and careful verification". In the article "Examination of the Dream of the Red Chamber", Hu Shi basically did this, and this research method summarized from research practice is also quite applicable and has been affirmed by the academic community.
This method may seem very common today, but it is very necessary for the study of ancient Chinese novels that have just started and are still in the infancy period, and have obvious exemplary significance, and the article "Examination of the Dream of the Red Chamber" has actually become a sample of papers that can be referenced, which has a profound impact on the study of novels in later generations.
Some of the views put forward in this article may not be thorough enough, or even problematic, for example, there are later materials that can prove that Gao Hu is not the author of the last forty times, he is only a reviser, but the methods and principles advocated by Hu Shi in the text are vital, and it is futile to deny Hu Shi with some problems in the text.
The Complete Works of Hu Shi
In 1904, Wang Guowei wrote the "Commentary on the Dream of the Red Chamber", calling the "Dream of the Red Chamber" a "great work" and "a great work" in the history of Chinese literature, which seemed advanced at the time and did not cause much repercussions. It was not until 1921 that Hu Shi's "Examination of the Dream of the Red Chamber" was published, which was regarded as a formal response and completed the classicization of "Dream of the Red Chamber" in modern China.
Today, "Dream of the Red Chamber" is regarded as a national literary classic and has become a specialty, which is inseparable from the advocacy and demonstration of pioneers such as Wang Guowei and Hu Shi.