<\/p>\n
Don Quixote<\/em> and The Story of the Stone<\/em> (Dream of the Red Chamber<\/em>) are both stories that look at the way life \u201cused to be.\u201d Using examples from the stories, please answer the following question in a two to three paragraph response<\/strong>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/cache\/epub\/9603\/pg9603.h…<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a>Relatively little is known about Cao Xueqin\u2019s life. His family served in low-level government positions under the Qing emperors, but in his early teens, Xueqin\u2019s family fortunes shifted. Their land and property was seized and they had to fend for themselves among the poorest levels of the common people.<\/p>\n Xueqin\u2019s The Story of the Stone<\/em> (or The Dream of the Red Chamber<\/em>) was likely started sometime between 1740 and 1750. It was unfinished when Cao died, but it was later taken up again and revised and expanded by a writer by the name of Gao E, finally published in 1791. It has become known as one of the four greatest Chinese novels of all time. It still has a popular following today. This story is believed to be semi-autobiographical, as it uses the rise and decay of a family that suffered similar circumstances to Cao Xueqin\u2019s own family.<\/p>\n In the first chapter, we see that it is intended to be a memorial to the women of the narrator\u2019s youth: friends, relatives and servants. Like most Chinese novels, this one is quite long, longer than most in fact. It also has a huge cast of characters, and displays a wide range of psychological and emotional experiences. It is often noted particularly for its precise and detailed observation of the life and social structures typical of 18th-century Chinese aristocracy.<\/p>\n This is a story set in a world of metaphysical beings and humans, and it examines the story of an extended family, mostly from the perspective of the women. All the while, it explores questions about the nature of love and lust, the differences between female and male understanding of the world, the impact of power and money, and the differences between truth and illusion.<\/p>\n Now, read the following selections from Don Quixote<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n As you read, look for the way that Cervantes places the ideas of reason against the moral conviction of Quixote. On one side of Quixote\u2019s quests lies the world of \n
The Story of the Stone \/ The Dream of the Red Chamber<\/em><\/h2>\n
\n
<\/strong><\/li>\n