The reason why "Dream of the Red Chamber" is revered by everyone as the pinnacle of ancient and modern novels is because its writing is so wonderful.
What is even more amazing is that "Dream of the Red Chamber" is not a pure literary work, the writing is only a small part of it, in fact, "Dream of the Red Chamber" is a "real thing hidden, false language" Of the Qing Dynasty Palace Secret History. The metaphorical writing method and even the multi-faceted embroidery method of "Dream of the Red Chamber" can be described as "no ancients before, no one after", and no one can surpass it to this day, because most people just regard "Dream of the Red Chamber" as a novel of the wind and moon.
It is precisely because of the greatness of "Dream of the Red Chamber" that the market is filled with a large number of "Dream of the Red Chamber" books, and even books that study "Dream of the Red Chamber". Various publishing houses have rushed to reprint various editions of the "Dream of the Red Chamber" book. These books are mixed, some take the high-end route, and some take the cheap dumping route, so the quality and price are uneven, and the reader does not know which one to buy.
Because the author is engaged in the research of "Dream of the Red Chamber", I often meet these "Dream of the Red Chamber" enthusiasts, come to consult what kind of books should be bought?
Now the author's unified reply is as follows: The author does not think it is necessary to buy so much, three or four copies can be, you can buy according to the book list I opened.
What books do the beginners of "Dream of the Red Chamber" need?
You can buy two copies: one is the Cheng Yi ben of 120 times. One is an 80-fold lipid book.
The reason why I chose this way is because "Dream of the Red Chamber" without the last 40 times is incomplete, not called "Dream of the Red Chamber". The author's research found that the last 40 times of "Dream of the Red Chamber" are actually the original author's original handwriting, and it is not a dog-tailed sable. For example, the divine attendant Xia Fan reincarnated into Jia Baoyu, he traveled a bit of the human world, and finally changed back into stone, and Cheng Gaoben's 1st and 120th times formed a perfect front and back response.
Cheng Gaoben is divided into two versions, Cheng Jia Ben and Cheng Yi Ben, but their last 40 times are the same. So why should we give priority to Cheng Yiben? This is because Cheng Yiben was republished by Cheng Weiyuan in the second year after the publication of Cheng Jiaben, indicating that Cheng Yiben's version is better than Cheng Jiaben.
There is a big disadvantage in not having a high score, that is, the fat batch above has been deleted. Studies have shown that the lipogram is the key to unlocking the "real things hidden and false words" behind "Dream of the Red Chamber". That is to say, the "Dream of the Red Chamber" without the fat batch is also incomplete, and we will not be able to interpret the "real thing hidden" behind the "Dream of the Red Chamber", so you must have a copy of the "Dream of the Red Chamber" with the fat batch in your hand.
Cheng Yiben Proofread edition ¥199.3 purchase
The version of "Dream of the Red Chamber" with a lipid batch is also called "The Reappraisal of The Stone Record of Fat Yan Zhai". It is divided into versions such as jia shu ben, gengchen ben, and mengfu ben, which are incomplete, so we only need to buy an integrated book - the fat book.
Today, there are many fat collections in the world, and the standards of the school books of various publishing houses are uneven. The author here preferentially recommends Mr. Wu Ming'en's lipid review schoolbook, which is more rigorous and authoritative, and will indicate text discrepancies. However, Wu Ming'en's fat appraisal schoolbook also has fatal injuries, that is, the position of the fat batch is not accurate, which needs to be improved in the future or waiting for the publication of the author's "Lai Xiaowei Comments< Dream of the Red Chamber >".
Since we chose "Dream of the Red Chamber", which is a combination of the first 80 fat batches and the last 40 rounds of high books, and today all 120 times of "Dream of the Red Chamber" use the last 40 times of Cheng Gaoben, so you can also choose the combination of "Dream of the Red Chamber" (120 times) published by the People's Literature Publishing House and Wu Ming'en Fat Review School.
Wu Ming En Fat Review SchoolBook ¥96.9 Purchase
People's Literature Publishing House "Dream of the Red Chamber" ¥59.8 Purchase
"Dream of the Red Chamber" published by the People's Literature Publishing House has a good reputation. The first 80 revisions of this edition are mainly based on the Gengchen ben, and the last 40 times are mainly based on the Cheng Gao ben. The book is divided into small print and large print. The small print version of the two-book edition, the font is slightly smaller, the price is cheap. The large-character version of the three-book package, the font is slightly larger, but the price is more expensive, suitable for elderly friends with presbyopia.
Of course, if you have the conditions, you can still buy a combination of Cheng Yiben and Wu Ming'en Fat Review SchoolBook directly.
Now I will talk about what books are needed for advanced people.
If you want to understand the "real thing" behind "Dream of the Red Chamber", and want to be a senior red fan or even a researcher of "Dream of the Red Chamber", then you need to interpret the books on "Dream of the Red Chamber". Books in this area were previously dominated by Cao Xue. However, the author regrets to tell you that Cao Xue is completely wrong and can be directly ignored. Because Jia Fu is actually the royal family of the Great Qing Dynasty, "Dream of the Red Chamber" is about the royal affairs of the Great Qing Dynasty, not the family affairs of Jiang Ning Cao.
So you can buy two copies: one is the collector's edition of Lai Xiaowei's Reappraisal of Stones. One is "Cao Xueqin Bold And Heavenly".
The author of "Cao Xueqin Bold And Pack the Sky" is Mr. Feng Jingzhi. The book has a very high gold content, the author is rigorous, not a red scholar, but a real red scholar. However, the content of the book is slightly less, but it is not addictive, and it can be used as an enlightenment book.
As for the collector's edition of "Lai Xiaowei's Reappraisal of the Stone Record", it is not too much to introduce, and everyone should know that this is a book that really overturned Cao Xue. The system of examination of the book is complete and huge, from the "Book of Stones" to the "Twelve Nobles of Jinling", from the birthplace of the Manchu Qing Dynasty to the Imperial Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty, and from the deciphering of the poems of "Dream of the Red Chamber" to the four major mysteries of the Qing Palace.
Lai Xiaowei re-evaluated the Stone Record Collector's Edition for ¥128 purchase
The book is divided into ten volumes:
Volume I: The Book of Stones and the Twenty-Five Treasures of Qianlong
Volume II: The Jiaotai Hall of the Forbidden City is the true Temple of Red Learning
Volume III: Dream of the Red Chamber and the Birthplace of the Qing Dynasty
Volume IV: Jia Fu is actually the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty
Volume V: The Twelve Nobles of Jinling and the Royal Descendants of the Great Qing Dynasty
Volume VI: The Record of the Love Monk and the Secret History of the Palace of the Qing Dynasty
Volume VII: Jinling Vice Twelve Books, And Vice Volumes, etc
Volume VIII: The Deciphering of the Poems of "Dream of the Red Chamber"
Volume IX: "Dream of the Red Chamber" author and critic Li Yanzhai
Volume 10: Mourning Hongxuan's Remembrance of "Dream of the Red Chamber" Fat Yanzhai Re-evaluation of "Stone Record"
The book can be a good help for everyone to read the thrilling, top-secret level of the Secret History of the Qing Palace behind "Dream of the Red Chamber".
The above four books are enough for everyone to rampage in the field of red studies, such as entering no man's land.