Events

Prof. Ronald C. Egan of Standard University calls it the book that changed the world. Prof. David Hawkes of Oxford University was so enchanted by the book that he resigned from the chairmanship of Chinese at Oxford in 1971 to dedicate ten years of his life translating it into English. Written by Cao Xueqin in the mid-18th century, The Dream of the Red Mansion or The Story of the Stone is generally acknowledged to be the pinnacle of Chinese novels. Generations of scholars have devoted themselves to the study of the classic with so much passion and obsession that a specialized field of study referred to as  “Redology” had come into being.

One of the hotly-discussed topics among scholars in Redology and the general reading public is where the stories in the book actually took place, Nanjing or Beijing. The book made subtle allusions but gave no explicit indications. To shed light on the questions and issues raised, the Renwen Society presents this online lecture by a renowned Redolgist, Dr. Miao Huaiming to address the topic. The focus of Dr. Miao’s presentation will be on the connection between the classic and the city of Nanjing, where he is based.

Dr. Miao Huaiming is a professor of classical Chinese literature and Associate Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Nanjing University. Currently he is also serving as the President of the Society of The Dream of Red Mansion of Jiangsu Province. Dr. Miao has published many books and papers on the great classic, including an English-version biography of Cao Xueqin, the author of The Dream of Red Mansion.

Free, but advanced registration is requested.

2019年10月南京成功荣膺联合国教科文组织命名之世界文学之都。南京在申报材料里说“全中国有一万多部文学作品和文献与南京相关。《红楼梦》《儒林外史》《本草纲目》《永乐大典》等中华传世之作都与南京密不可分。” 那么南京到底跟《红楼梦》有什么样的关系呢？

《红楼梦》诞生以来，万千读者为之心醉痴迷。但热爱《红楼梦》者都难免会提出这个问题：红楼梦的故事是在南京还是北京发生的？如果说有的是在南京，有的是在北京，那末，哪些故事又是在南京发生的？曹雪芹无疑出生在南京，但据说他却是在北京完成了《红楼梦》；那么他是从什么时候开始构想这部不朽的巨著的？这跟他的童年、南京又有着什么样的离合和千丝万缕的关联呢？清朝著名才子袁枚又根据什么说南京他家的“随园” 就是大观园？金陵十二钗是不是都是南京女孩儿？

《红楼梦》诞生后，历代学人和研究家都在考据和试图回答上述问题。纽约华美人文学会特邀南京大学文学院的副院长、江苏省红楼梦学会会长苗怀明教授做给大家做“寻梦金陵话红楼”专题讲座，解说《红楼梦》与南京的渊源。这是一次值得期待的红学盛会，欢迎国内外红学爱好者参加。讲座在线进行，时间为美东时间8月21日晚8时至9时30分（北京时间8月22日上午8时至9时30分）。

苗怀明教授著书甚多，跟《红楼梦》有关的著作包括：《风起红楼》，《曹雪芹》（中英日文版）《话说红楼梦》（中韩版）、《红楼二十讲》《寻梦金陵话红楼》《南京大学的红楼课》。