Neo-confucian tyranny in the dream of the red chamber: A critical note

Abstract

This vast and complex novel is an unsparing comprehensive exposé of a decadent and unjust social order as well as a conscious critique of neo-Confucian authoritarian ideology. It is also deeply feminist, in the best sense of the word. Not surprisingly, American critical writing has dwelt on the novel's mythic, symbolic, allegorical and stylistic aspects (important but secondary matters) while neglecting (and misunderstanding) the moral tale in the form of a love triangle which is the dramatic nucleus of the novel and the vehicle of the author's purposes.