Description
Book SynopsisLevy explores the classic Chinese novel The Story of the Stone(also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber), illuminating the work by interpreting its four major themes: the inversion of traditional family dynamics, the function of illness and medicine in a Buddhist society, the role of poetry in a dynastic Chinese society, and the use of poetry as a vehicle for spiritual retribution.
Trade ReviewThough intended as an introduction for first-time readers of the masterpiece, Levy's book also offers some insights of use to specialists. A readable contribution to English studies of Honglou meng. -- Y. Wu Choice
Table of Contents1. Ideal and Actual, Real and Not-real 2. "Family Togetherness": Patterns of Authority and the Subversion of Family Structure 3. Preexisting Conditions: Retributory Illness and the Limits of Medicine 4. A World Apart: Poetry and Society in the Garden of Total Vision 5. The Chiming of the Void: Poetry as a Vehicle to Enlightenment
