chaos and the gourd 251

CHAOS AND THE GOURD IN THE DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER1

BY

ZUYAN ZHOU (Hofstra University)

In recent decades the exploration of the philosophical import of The Dream of the Red Chamber has engaged the critic s growing in- terest.2 While acknowledging the author s sanction of certain funda- mental Confucian values and Confucian classics in the narrative,3 most critics set greater store by Buddhism and Daoism, whose im- pact on the novel is evident in the significant function of the Bud- dhist monk and the Daoist priest in orchestrating the hero s spiritual

1 I would like to express sincere gratitude to Cynthia Chennault who read two versions of this essay and provided valuable suggestions and materials. I am also indebted to Tanya Storch and an anonymous reader of an earlier version, whose suggestions have been incorporated here. 2 At least three books published in recent years are exclusively devoted to phi- losophy in the Dream: Mei Xinlin , Honglou meng zhexue jingshen (Shanghai: Xuelin chubanshe, 1995); Huang Bingyin , Honglou meng chuangzuo tanmi (Taipei: Caifeng chubanshe, 1989); and Yuan Xiang , Chan yu Honglou meng (Taipei: Fuguang chubanshe, 1992). For works of ear- lier decades, see Zhang Bilai , Jiafu shusheng (Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chubanshe, 1983); Honglou foying (Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chu- banshe, 1979); and Manshuo Honglou meng (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1978). Honglou meng xuekan , the main promoter of Redology in Mainland China, published quite a number of essays on this subject, among which are Huang Nanshan , Lun Cao Xueqin de qingchan sixiang , 4 (1992): 55-75; Luo Liqun , Chanzong yishi yu Honglou meng chuangzuo , 3 (1991): 87-101; Sun Xun , Guanyu Hong- lou meng de se, qing, kong guannian , 4 (1991): 187- 201; Du Zhengtang , Honglou meng: yi xiang yu yuanxing : , 1 (1994): 47-60; L Qixiang , Lao-Zhuang zhexue yu Honglou meng de sibian meili , 1 (1993): 197-215; Zhang Jinchi , Jiujing shi huigui, haishi panni , 2 (1996): 13-51; and Cao Libo , dui Honglou meng de yingxiang juyu , 3 (1998): 141-147. 3 See Mei Xinlin, pp. 86-93.

© Brill, Leiden, 2001 T oung Pao LXXXVII

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journey to the Red Dust and ultimately guiding him back to his cosmic origin. The religious dimension of the narrative may well reflect Cao Xueqin s outlook, which can be traced through the extant writ- ings of his friends. In a poem entitled To Cao Xueqin ( ), Dun Cheng , a member of a disfavored line in the imperial family and a close friend of the author, described Cao s life style in these lines: With his wages he gets drunk at the tavern; in inebriation he looks askance at the world in the manner of . 4 A similar description appears in a poem composed by Dun Min , Dun Cheng s brother.5 Delineating Cao Xueqin s character in compari- son with other historical figures, Dun Cheng wrote: In indolence he surpasses Ji Zhongsan (, 224-263); in wildness he exceeds Colonel Ruan in the Infantry (Ruan Ji, 210-263). 6 Drawing upon a historical anecdote about , a most celebrated drunkard, to refer to Cao Xueqin s drinking obsession, Dun Cheng wrote in his elegy for the literary wit: Carrying a spade in the wake of the cart [the servant] buried Liu Ling in inebriation. 7 The historical per- sonalities referred to in these writings, Ji Kang, Ruan Ji and Liu Ling, were all members of the celebrated Seven Sages of the Grove during the Wei-Jin period (220-420). Resorting to eremitism, liber- alism and obsessive drinking to defy the decadent power center and corrupted institutions, they formed the backbone of what has been termed the Neo-Daoist movement, a loosely connected movement that incorporated a modified version of Lao-Zhuang philosophy to serve the needs of the time. That Cao Xueqin s close friends repeat- edly compared him to the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove sug- gests his spiritual affinity with Neo-Daoism, and this kinship is fur- ther confirmed in the sobriquet Cao selected for himself: Meng Ruan (dreaming of Ruan Ji).8

4 See Honglou meng juan , comp. Yisu (Taipei: Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi, 1989), p. 1. 5 Dun Ming, To ( ), Honglou meng juan, p. 7. 6 See Honglou meng juan, p. 3. 7 Honglou meng juan, p. 6. It is recorded that Liu Ling liked to bring with him a pot of wine while riding in a cart, with a servant carrying a spade in the wake. He told the man: Please bury me when I die [from intoxication]. For a historical record of Liu Ling s drinking obsession and his famous poem An Ode to the Virtue of Drinking, see Fang Xuanling , Jinshu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1974), Vol. 5, p. 1376. 8 See Zhang Yiquan , Ti Qinqi jushi , Honglou meng juan, p. 8.

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