The Force Behind Dream Of The Red Chamber
I’ve written over and over again about how important the Chinese word 情 is in Dream of the Red Chamber.
It’s a difficult word to translate, and the problem is that it comes up all the time. Most English translations render 情 as something like “passion” or “romance.”
While there certainly is passion and romance in the concept of 情, it seems that its meaning in the book is actually a lot more broad than that. And, as a result, it is incorrect to think of Dream of the Red Chamber as simply a book about a playboy who likes to spend his time with beautiful women.
