The intricate strands of its plot depict the rise and decline of a family much like Cao's own and, by extension, of the dynasty itself. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known for its psychological scope and its observation of the worldview, aesthetics, lifestyles, and social relations of 18th-century China. ' Dream of the Red Chamber' in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese charactersĭream of the Red Chamber ( Honglou meng) or The Story of the Stone ( Shitou ji) is a Chinese novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the mid-18th century.
