{"product_id":"a-companion-to-the-story-of-the-stone-a-chapter-by-chapter-guide-9780231199452","title":"A Companion to the Story of the Stone: A Chapter-By-Chapter Guide","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Story of the Stone\u003c\/i\u003e (also known as \u003ci\u003eDream of the Red Chamber\u003c\/i\u003e) is widely held to be the greatest work of Chinese literature, beloved by readers ever since it was first published in 1791. The story revolves around the young scion of a mighty clan who, instead of studying for the civil service examinations, frolics with his maidservants and girl cousins. The narrative is cast within a mythic framework in which the protagonist's rebellion against Confucian strictures is guided by a Buddhist monk and a Taoist priest. Embedded in the novel is a biting critique of imperial China's political and social system. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book is a straightforward guide to a complex classic that was written at a time when readers had plenty of leisure to sort through the hundreds of characters and half a dozen subplots that weave in and out of the book's 120 chapters. Each chapter of the companion summarizes and comments on each chapter of the novel. The companion provides English-speaking readers--whether they are simply dipping into this novel or intent on a deep analysis of this masterpiece--with the cultural context to enjoy the story and understand its world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe book is keyed to David Hawkes and John Minford's English translation of \u003ci\u003eThe Story of the Stone\u003c\/i\u003e and includes an index that gives the original Chinese names and terms.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eSusan Chan Egan is an independent scholar. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eA Latterday Confucian: Reminiscences of William Hung (1893-1980)\u003c\/i\u003e (1987), coauthor of \u003ci\u003eA Pragmatist and His Free Spirit: The Half-Century Romance of Hu Shi and Edith Clifford Williams\u003c\/i\u003e (2009), and cotranslator of Wang Anyi's \u003ci\u003eThe Song of Everlasting Sorrow: A Novel of Shanghai\u003c\/i\u003e (Columbia, 2008), among other books. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePai Hsien-yung (Bai Xianyong) is an acclaimed fiction writer and a professor emeritus of East Asian languages and cultural studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His books include \u003ci\u003eTaipei People\u003c\/i\u003e (1971) and \u003ci\u003eCrystal Boys\u003c\/i\u003e (1983). He has taught \u003ci\u003eThe Story of the Stone\u003c\/i\u003e for decades and is the author of a popular three-volume guide in Chinese on which this book is based.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50378530455826,"sku":"9780231199452","price":38.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_77b34aa7-4503-445b-9db5-21f9cb2dab34.jpg?v=1728648171","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-companion-to-the-story-of-the-stone-a-chapter-by-chapter-guide-9780231199452","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}