This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to Chinese culture through the close reading of Cao Xueqin's Story of the Stone, also known as Dream of the Red Chamber or Honglou meng. Widely regarded as one of the greatest works of Chinese literature, the novel provides an ideal entry point into major aspects of Chinese civilization, including family structure, gender relations, religion, emotion, education, elite culture, material life, literary tradition, and moral values. Rather than approaching Chinese culture through a broad historical survey alone, the course uses this single, extraordinarily rich text as a lens through which students can explore the social, intellectual, and cultural worlds of late imperial China and their continuing resonance in modern Chinese life. |