On the Aesthetic Meanings of the Dream of Red Massions

Abstract: The novel A Dream of Red Mansions is mainly set in the Grand View Garden, with Jia Baoyu as the main protagonist, and the romance between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu as its dominant plot thread. This article explores the aesthetic meanings of the novel from three perspectives, namely, the “yixiang” (image, “意象”) of the Grand View Garden, the “yixiang” of the character Jia Baoyu, and the “yixiang” of the Bao-Dai romance. I argue that A Dream of Red Mansions, in a highly realistic but at the same time whimsical style, unfolds a passionate and poignant life story of Jia Baoyu in a mixed narrative of reality and fantasy. While it synthesises multiple spiritual resources, the quintessence of the aesthetic implications of A Dream of Red Mansions lies in an illustration of the philosophy of life from the Zhuang Zi. I argue that in order to grasp the meanings of this novel and analyse the character Jia Baoyu, one has to approach from a negative aspect, viz., the Zhuang Zi notion of “the use of the useless.” The use of the useless is the truth and freedom of personal life, and in a greater sense, it is also the infinity of the world and its immanent vitality.