What is Dream of the Red Chamber?
{{infobox Book | | name = Dream of the Red Chamber <br /> 紅樓夢 | title_orig = 石頭記 | translator = | image = JiaXu01.jpg | image_caption = One page of the Jiaxu edition of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' | author = [[Cao Xueqin]] | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = [[China]] | language = [[Chinese language|Chinese]] | series = | genre = [[Novel]] | publisher = | release_date = [[18th century]] | english_release_date = 1973–1980 (1st complete English translation) | media_type = [[Scrube|Scribal]] copies/[[Print]] | pages = | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} '''''Dream of the Red Chamber''''' (also ''Red Chamber Dream'', ''Hung Lou Meng'' or ''A Dream of Red Mansions'') ({{zh|t=紅樓夢|s=红楼梦|p=Hónglóu mèng}}), originally '''''The Story of the Stone''''' ({{zh|t=石頭記|s=石头记|p=Shítóu jì|l=Record of the Stone}}), is thought to be a great work of [[Chinese language|Chinese]] [[literature]] and is one of the Chinese [[Four Great Classical Novels]]. The novel was written in the middle of the 18th century during the [[Qing Dynasty]]. Its author is thought to be [[Cao Xueqin]] (Chinese: 曹雪芹). Redology is the study of the book. The book is based on Cao's family. It is meant to be a [[memorial]] to the women that he met when he was young, including friends, relatives and servants. This novel is thought to be one of the first [[feminist]] novels. It is also one of the first novels to be written in vernacular, not classical, Chinese. This means that it was written in the same way people spoke at the time, rather than in a posh way. This helped to make vernacular Chinese an acceptable way of writing [[literature]]. {{Asia-stub}} [[Category:Chinese novels]] [[Category:1760s books]]