"Continuation of the Dream in the Red chamber" was written at the beginning of the XXI century. This work by the contemporary Chinese writer and researcher of the classic novel Dream in the Red Chamber, Liu Xinwu (b. 1942), is a science-based attempt to rewrite the canonical ending of Dream in the Red Chamber, starting with Chapter 81. The author of the article researched the new work to find out how harmoniously it is combined with the first 80 chapters of the classic novel. To do this, the new work is studied in comparison with the canonical version of the continuation, and then conclusions are drawn which of the continuations is more logical relative to the first 80 chapters. The language of narration, the place of action and the fate of the characters were studied. Liu Xinwu began researching the novel and publishing its results in the early 1990s, but even before that, the study of The Dream in the Red Chamber was very active, almost from the time of the first printed edition at the end of the XVIII century. Among the most prominent researchers are Hu Shi and Pan Chungui, who studied the problem of authorship, Yu Pingbo, who studied the problem of the number of chapters in addition to authorship, and Pan Ying, who conducted a detailed textual study.

Keywords: modern Chinese literature, "Dream in the Red Chamber", Cao Xueqin, Gao E, fates of characters, continuation of the classic novel.

The classic Chinese novel "Dream in the Red Chamber" has always been a mystery for researchers in various aspects. One of the subjects of discussion is the last 40 chapters of the generally accepted, 120-chapter edition of the novel. If almost all researchers agree on the authorship of the first 80 chapters and consider Cao Xueqin to be the author, then the authorship of the last 40 chapters is questionable, since the continuation of the novel after the 80th chapter was lost almost immediately after it was written, so even the number of chapters originally conceived by Cao Xueqin is still unknown. not set exactly.

According to one version of the authorship, the last 40 chapters (as well as the entire novel) were completed not by Cao Xueqin, but by another author, whose identity has not yet been established [Pan Chungui, 1974]. Perhaps it was Gao E , the first publisher of the novel "Dream in the Red Chamber" (Yu Pingbo, 1953). Other researchers believe that in general, the content of the latter was conceived by Cao Xueqin, which was preserved in drafts and sketches, to which some corrections and additions were later made.

After the 120-chapter version published by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E appeared, many people still tried to write a continuation of the quickly famous novel, but they could not compare with the original work either in the elegance of the syllable or in the semantic content.

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Modern writer Liu Xinwu took a special look at the novel "Dream in the Red Chamber" from a special point of view. His "Xu honglou Meng" ("Continuation of the dream in the Red chamber") is a new, differently written ending to the classic novel. Unlike the other authors of numerous sequels, Liu Xinwu rewrote the novel, starting with the 81st chapter. Its version consists of 28 chapters, and, thus, the entire novel "Dream in the Red Chamber" fits into 108 chapters.

Liu Xinwu was not the first modern author to write a sequel to the eighty-chapter version of the novel. Each of them is based on the writer's fantasy, and the continuation of Liu Xinwu also has a scientific basis, is the result of many years of careful study of the novel "Dream in the Red Chamber" and related materials.

Liu Xinwu started doing such research in 1990, and since then he has published a number of articles on various problems of studying the novel, many of them relating to the interpretation of its content. From 2005 to 2010, central television aired a series of programs dedicated to "Sleep in the Red chamber", in which he also expressed his thoughts. In the novels "The Death of Qin Keqing", "The Death of Jia Yuanchun" and "The Death of Miaoyu", Liu Xinwu embodied his thoughts about the fate of the characters of "Dream in the Red Chamber". The result of many years of research work was the continuation of the novel in 28 chapters, which was based on a two-volume study entitled "What really happened after the eightieth chapter".

In his continuation of the novel, Liu Xinwu relied on the following points::

1) The author of "Dream in the Red Chamber" is Cao Xueqin.

2) Cao Xueqin completed the novel to the end, but in separate parts. He still didn't have time to check the text, correct inaccuracies, and put all the parts together.

3) According to Cao Xueqin's plan, the novel consists of 108 chapters.

4) The old lists, consisting of 80 chapters, were made from the author's manuscript, and therefore they can be considered a reliable source.

5) The last 40 chapters of the Cheng-Gao printed edition, which is considered canonical, do not belong to the brush of Cao Xueqin.

6) The fact that the novel "Dream in the Red Chamber" became famous is due to Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E, who jointly published it for the first time in a 120-chapter version; however, it is regrettable that they made changes to the first 80 chapters of the novel in preparation for publication, and added 40 they completely violate Cao Xueqin's original plan.

7) Cao Xueqin gave his novel to close friends to read, so there were people among his contemporaries who knew the entire author's version and left notes about it.

8) The assumption that Cao Xueqin deliberately destroyed the drafts with the end of the novel is unfounded - from Zhi Yanzhai's comments, it is obvious that the author himself highly appreciated it and was annoyed with those who took it to read and lost it.

8) Although the last 28 chapters of Cao Xueqin's novel have been lost, they can be recovered by studying the contents of the first 80 chapters, comments and notes, and other relevant materials that contain many hints about how the plot will develop further.

9) Based on the results of the study, it is possible to reconstruct chapters 81 to 108 by imagining the author's train of thought and adopting his literary style [Liu Xinwu, 2011, pp. 4-8].

The sequel to The Dream in the Red Chamber, written by Liu Xinwu, has some features that distinguish it from the canonical text currently accepted. So, returning to the characters and events that were not mentioned for a long time, Liu Xinwu makes references to the first 80 chapters and briefly describes the events related to the newly mentioned character. They refresh the reader's memory of what they have read and,

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thus, they make the further narration more understandable. Such references are not typical for the first 80 chapters.

Liu Xinwu elaborates on the cause-and-effect relationships of the events described in the following chapters, and introduces additional stories, such as how Sun Shaozu became involved with the Jia family and why Jia She married off her daughter Yingchun to him. According to Ping'er's account, Sun Shaozu's family had nothing to do with the Jia family before. Sun once molested a great lady, and the men of her family chased him. Fleeing from the chase, he ran into the first courtyard he came across and hid there - the owner of that house turned out to be Jia She. That's how they met. Immediately afterwards, Jia She asked him for a loan of 5,000 taels of silver, and then, unable to repay the debt, gave his daughter for Sun. Sun is violent, drinking, debauching, beating his wife and ripping up her books. Once, he conspired with ill-wishers and wrote a complaint against Jia She together with them, which was then sent to the emperor. Yingchun found this document in his possession and committed suicide.

According to the prediction that Baoyu reads in chapter 5 during the journey to Dreamland, Yingchun should have fallen into the clutches of the Zhongshan Wolf. Liu Xin's image of the Zhongshan Wolf is presented in more detail than in the classic sequel. The Zhongshan wolf isn't just a carnivore, it's ruining its benefactor.

Such additional subjects help the author to focus on the Buddhist idea of retribution, and not in the future rebirth, but during this life. An illustrative example of such retribution is the fate of Fengjie in the image of Liu Xinwu. Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang's niece, Fengjie, was engaged in household chores and committed financial fraud, the consequences of which at some point directly affected the family's affairs. Her husband Jia Lian indignantly decided to expel Fengjie and make Ping'er his official wife, thus depriving Fengjie of the rights to Qiaojie's daughter. Fengjie became a servant, and Ping'er was called second mistress. After the family was ruined, the official describing the property exploited her, severely punished her for her misdeeds, and then sent her to prison.

"The wounds on my knees from standing on broken tiles, which had already healed, began to bleed again from the next punishment, and new wounds also appeared. Because of Fengjie's injuries, it was hard for her to stand on her feet, much less move. With a huge broom in her hands, she swept with the last of her strength and suffered excruciatingly. But if life has become such a torment, why hasn't she committed suicide yet? [ ... ] After the inventory and confiscation of property in the Rongguo and Ningguo palaces [... Fengjie thought that it would be best to take one of these shards and stab it in her throat, ending all suffering. Only one thing kept her in the mundane world: concern for Qiaojie's fate" (Liu Xinwu, 2011, p. 324).

Thinking about her previous life as a mistress, Fengjie remembers her harsh and sometimes cruel treatment of servants, suddenly realizes that she is being treated the same way now, and sees it as a heavenly reward.

"Back then, I thought I was a brilliant detective," Fengjie recalled, was ruthless and vented my anger on Liang'er, forced her to kneel on broken tiles, did not allow her to eat or drink, forced an innocent person to suffer. Now the Zhongshan Wolf treats me the same way, forcing me to admit that I'm hiding something, even though it's not really my fault. Has this heavenly retribution and all that I have done come back to me?" [Liu Xinwu, 2011, pp. 327-328].

In the main part of the novel, the action takes place mainly on the grounds of the Ningo and Rongguo palaces, and Liu Xinwu often depicts events outside of both palaces: in the homes of ordinary people, aristocrats and imperial officials, on city streets and outside the city. In the first 80 chapters, the author paints a picture of the life of an aristocratic family during its prosperity, and in the last 28 chapters, Liu Xinwu draws a picture of the life of an aristocratic family during its prosperity.-

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wah only occasionally returns to the Ningo and Rongguo palaces. The collapse of the aristocratic family of Liu Xinwu does not just show the example of the Jia house, but puts it in the context of an entire era, depicts in parallel the death of families associated with the Jia house, and also draws in more detail and detail the historical situation and life of all strata of society.

In the first 80 chapters, the action flows smoothly and unhurriedly, and Liu Xinwu creates an exciting plot, full of rapidly developing events, intrigue and vivid episodes. The author brings to the fore and makes active heroes those who are only indirectly connected with the Jia family, and Cao Xueqin was mentioned only in connection with the events in the Rongguo and Ningguo palaces. As in the last 40 chapters of Gao E, Liu Xinwu returns to characters associated with the Jia family who once left the palaces of Ningguo and Rongguo for one reason or another - for example, tells how the love story of Siqi and her cousin ended. Liu Xinwu inserts many of these stories directly into the narrative, while in Gao E we learn the fate of most of the minor characters from the stories of visitors to the Ningguo and Rongguo palaces. In Liu Xinwu, on the contrary, the reader often learns from the words of other characters about what is happening in the palaces of Ningguo and Rongguo.

In the sequel to Dream in the Red Chamber, written by Liu Xinwu, minor characters play an active role in the fate of the Jia family members, which is why the author brings them to the fore in his narrative. For example, people who were once servants in the Jia family remember Baoyu as a kind master, and now that trouble has befallen the Jia household, they try to help the former master as much as possible. Baoyu's friends-Liu Xianglian, Chen Yejun, and others-conspire to attack the emperor and kill Yuanchun.

Liu Xinwu reviews the fate of most of the characters in the novel. One of the typical examples is the stories of girls associated with Baoyu.

Lin Daiyu still continues to get sick, but she stopped crying all the time, which is a pleasant surprise to everyone. The girl herself cryptically says that she paid back a debt to one person with her tears, and now that she has paid back the debt in full, there is no need to cry anymore. She continues to take medications, but everyone notices that the medications not only do not help, but also seem to harm her even more. Zhao's concubine, hoping for an inheritance, hates Baoyu and, knowing about his feelings for Daiyu, wants to kill the girl so that he will fall ill with grief. The concubine takes advantage of being responsible for distributing medicines in the palace, bribing healers, and regularly putting poison in Daiyu's medicines. However, Daiyu did not have time to die: one night, remembering that in fact she is a Purple Herb from the world of immortals, she returns to heaven (not dying, but mysteriously evaporating), before leaving, leaving a note in which she asks to distribute the remaining silver to her maids and let them go home.

After Lin Daiyu disappears, Baoyu is married to Baochai. The young wife gets along well with everyone, including Xizhen. She grieves that Baoyu doesn't want to learn and has ideals that are different from other people's usual ideals. During a visit to Beijing Wang, in a conversation with his wife, he asks to make sure that Baoyu is accepted to study at the Guojian Academy. Unexpectedly receiving an invitation, Baoyu is indignant that Baochai did not tell him anything, and on the first day, after leaving for school, he runs away from home and goes to a monastery in the Taishan Mountains. Baochai feels like a widow with a living husband, and repents that she acted without consulting him. Meanwhile, her brother died in prison, and soon after, Aunt Xue also dies of grief. Left all alone, Baochai unexpectedly dies as well. The maids saw two large butterflies fly out and assumed that Baochai was a celestial, just like Lin Daiyu.

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The other girl who is bound by fate to Baoyu is his cousin Shi Xiangyun. Chapter 62 of the novel describes how, intoxicated at Baoyu's birthday party, she fell asleep on a stone bench in the garden. Then Baoyu finds the qilin statue she dropped near the bench, but the paired statue remains with Xiangyun. The usual symbolism of paired objects usually hints at a marriage union, and it is hardly accidental that Baoyu finds this statuette. In the final text of the novel, Shi Xiangyun's fate is tragic: she is married off, happy with her husband, but her husband dies,and she becomes a beggar. However, this ending does not seem to be quite in line with Cao Xueqin's plan, because the verses that Baoyu hears and reads about her in her dreams speak of her boundless happiness, "and only the time of her early childhood was sad in her life "(Menshikov, 1997, pp. 7-8).

Liu Xin's character's life unfolds in much the same way as Gao E's, but the ending is still more consistent with the prediction presented in Chapter 5. According to Liu Xin, Shi Xiangyun is married to Wei Ruolan, one of Baoyu's friends. Her husband is a good and interesting person, and the couple live soul to soul, they have common interests and common hobbies. Ruolan is one of the conspirators involved in the attack on the Emperor and Yuanchun, where he was killed by the guards. Ruolan asks his friends in advance to return the golden qilin Baoyu gave him to his master (who is already a widow) in case he is killed, hoping that he will take Xiangyun as his wife. Both Xiangyun uncles are stripped of their titles for wrongdoing to the emperor. All their maids, and Xiangyun too, are being sold at auction. Baoyu meets her by chance, buys her out, and Xiangyun leaves with Baoyu.

So, in the sequel to The Dream in the Red Chamber, Liu Xinwu relied on the Qing manuscripts of the novel. Since the content of the manuscripts varied, the author preferred the option that he considered most logical. The publication compiled by Zhou Ruochang from various versions of old manuscripts greatly helped him in his work.

To capture the spirit of a classic Qing novel, Liu Xinwu preserves the features of Cao Xueqin's language: the text uses the vocabulary, grammar,and syntax of old Baihua. However, there is also a slight violation of the style of the text: in Liu Xinwu, unlike the first 80 chapters and 40 chapters of Cheng-Gao, there are almost no poetic inserts.

Liu Xinwu gives a different interpretation of the stories of the characters, and the form of presentation of these stories is somewhat different for him. If the narrative in the first 80 chapters and in the 40 chapters of Cheng-Gao is characterized by realism and ordinariness, then Liu Xinw has elements of fantasy, detective and adventure stories. Characters such as Feng Ziyin, Chen Yejun, Liu Xianglian, Jiang Yuhan, and others that Cao Xueqin mentioned because they were Baoyu's friends, Liu Xinwu portrays as actively fighting for justice, rebels, and wandering adventurers, all of whom are not just familiar with each other, but also engaged in a common cause.:

"They were not rebellious bandits, they respected the ruling dynasty and treated the current emperor with special respect. At the mention of the Emperor and his nobility, they were always filled with indescribable excitement. They were willing to sacrifice their lives for him. [ ... ] A year ago, he (Liu Xianglian) I went back to the capital and met up with Feng Ziyin and the rest of my friends. Liu Xianglian initially showed no interest in the Vahn's dirty business. When he met Wei Ruolan and Feng Ziyin over a glass of wine, he often heard them talk animatedly about their loyalty to the motherland. When some defend justice, while others seek personal gain, the eternal struggle begins between truth and falsehood, between just and bad. In the end, Liu Xianglian was eager to work with them to eradicate evil in the name of justice " [Liu Xinwu, 2011, p. 324].

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In general, despite the large number of characters, Liu Xin is much better at demonstrating the relationship between all the characters than the author of the last 40 chapters in the editorial office of Cheng-Gao.

Still, it seems that the content of the sequel, written by Liu Xinwu, somewhat contrasts with the first 80 chapters of "Dream in the Red Chamber" and does not quite correspond to the general spirit of the novel. The first 80 chapters, written by Cao Xueqin, are a calm life-writing novel, and the new 28 chapters are written in places more in the adventurous spirit of "River Backwaters" or in the spirit of medieval urban stories.

In general, we can say that "The Continuation of a Dream in the Red chamber" as a work of fiction deserves attention and interest for its exciting plot and literary language, stylized as the language of a medieval novel. But to the question of how much this continuation fits into the canonical text of the work, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer. Liu Xinwu makes a fairly smooth transition from Cao Xueqin's narrative to his own, and at first the general spirit of the life-writing novel remains, but gradually the narrative becomes more dynamic, the emphasis shifts. Although Liu Xinwu managed to fit into the canonical text, we can still only speculate on what Cao Xueqin really wanted to say in the final chapters.

list of literature

Menshikov L. N. Roman "Son v krasnom tereme" - vershina kitayskoy klassicheskoy literatury [The novel "Dream in the Red Tower" - the peak of Chinese classical literature].
Liu Xinwu. Liu Xin'u xu honglou meng shomin (Explanations to the novel "Continuation of sleep in the Red Chamber" by Liu Xin'u) / / Xu honglou meng (Continuation of sleep in the Red chamber). Hong Kong: Minbao Publ., 2011.

Liu Xinwu. Xu honglou meng (Continuation of the dream in the red chamber). Hong Kong: Minbao Publ., 2011.

Pan Chungui. Guanyu honglou mende zuozhe he sixiang wenti de shangque (On the authorship and ideological content of the novel "Dream in the Red Chamber") / / Honglou meng yanjiu zhuankan (Special issue on the study of the novel "Dream in the Red Chamber "). 11. Hong Kong, 1974.

Yu Pingbo. Bianhou shishi huide huimu fei yuanyu (Discussion about the originality of the last 40 chapters) / / Honglou meng yanjiu (Study of the novel "Dream in the Red Chamber"). Shanghai, 1953.

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