Interculturality in HLM

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Commonness between the Red Chamber Dreams

and other World Literature Novels –

Proposing the Red Chamber Dreams to the World Documentary Heritage List

Martin Woesler, Hunan Normal University

Abstract

In every culture, readers associate the literature they know with new literature they read. So literature is always cumulative, it grows out of existing literature and can refer back to it. When Western readers read the Red Chamber Dreams, they foremost associate novels and other pieces of literature of their own cultural tradition with the Dreams. This has also influenced the first full translation into German.

Cao Xueqin and even more his protagonist Jia Baoyu both are early humanists, universalists and world citizens. The Red Chamber Dreams function worldwide. The Dream is a complex showroom of diverse aspects of Chinese cultures and is the embodiment and essence of Chinese cultures, but it has also a global impact, therefore it should be honoured as “World Documentary Heritage”.

Key words

Western culture, reception tradition, German translation, Embodiment of Chinese cultures, global compatibility, World Documentary Heritage

摘要

在每一种文化中，读者都会把他们读到的新文学与已知文学联系起来，所以文学总是积累的，它从现有的文学中生长出来，并以已有文学为参考。西方读者在阅读《红楼梦》时，首先会把《红楼梦》与自身文化传统中的小说和其他文学作品联系起来，这也影响了首次德语全译本。

曹雪芹，尤其是他的主人公贾宝玉，都是早期的人文主义者，普世主义者和世界公民。《红楼梦》具有普世价值。《红楼梦》综合展示了中国的多元文化，是中国文化的集中体现和精华，同时在全球范围内产生影响，理应列入世界记忆遗产名录。

1. Chinese Ethics

To help the poor and disadvantaged belongs to the traditional core values of Chinese culture.

When we sit in the Beijing Subway today, the loudspeaker announcement reminds us, that it is Chinese traditional ethics to give seats to the disadvantaged (老弱病残孕让座是中国传统道德). We know of Cao Xueqin, that he supported the poor and disadvantaged, and that he made kites for children.

However, when we look closer at these “Chinese Ethics”, we discover, that they are claimed also in Indian Buddhism “karuna” and in the Christian tradition of “caritas” and in almost every civilization. Therefore, we might call these values “human ethics”.

Red Chamber Dreams also contains rich Taoist and Buddhist connotations that is characteristic of Chinese, but the love of life and praise of youth and love expressed in the novel make it far out of the category of Chinese culture to a broad human ethics.

2. Compatibility

Why do the Red Chamber Dreams function worldwide and have achieved world literature status even in their translations?

First of all, the Red Chamber Dreams are, like novels worldwide, a piece of entertainment literature. In comparison to the drama, in which every element is compulsory and plays its part in the overall structure, in the novel the line of action itself is simpler and not so important, most of the scenes or episodes are loosely put together and fit in the broader theme of the novel. However, the lose arrangement of episodes of the Dreams comes from the tradition of almost unconnected episodes like in the Shuihuzhuan and is a step towards the greater coherence of the episodes, the aligning into a story line and the greater concentration on fewer protagonists. Therefore, the Dreams show clearly a step towards the Western tradition of novels, maybe because of growing Western influence in Qing dynasty.

Adaptions in the West

Feng Quangong, a translation expert documented parts of the reception of the English opera version of the, which premiered in September 2016 at San Francisco Opera House. He describes the first performance before its premier and the the critiques. The early reception was basically positive and focuses on the introduction of the original novel, the plot, the creative team, the creation of the background, the introduction of the cast etc. The subsequent comments generally affirm the aesthetic value of the opera and the role of cultural communication, and mostly appreciate the creative team and the opera performers. However, there was also a lot of criticism, such as the relatively simple plot of the opera, the lack of authentic script language, the lack of development of characters in the first act and the lack of tension of the whole. The adaptation was quite successful. Feng names as success factors: informal communication, emphasis on fine works, an increase of propaganda efforts, and a focus on moderate hybridity.

节选（excerpts）： 2016 年 9 月 9 日，《纽约时报》发布了一则题为“美国歌剧公司改编中国的‘战争与和平’”的新闻②，聚焦于首演前歌剧面临的抵制、创作背景介绍、创作团队介绍以及剧情介绍等。文章最后还提到歌剧将于 2017 年 3 月份在香港演出，届时将会面临更加强硬与挑剔、也更加熟悉小说内容的观众。盛宗亮看起来也并不因此而烦恼，他说，“如果问 10 位红学家这部小说到底讲的是什么，你将会得到 10 种不同的答案，如果有谁问我的话，我会说讲的就是一个三角恋爱的故事”。面对外界的质疑，盛宗亮的表现还是很自信的。（page 131-132）

On September 9, 2016, The New York Times published a story, that the American Opera Company changed the "War and Peace" narrative on China. The article focused on the resistance the opera faced before its premiere, introduced the background of the production, the production team, and the story. Finally, it mentioned that the opera will be performed in Hong Kong in March 2017. There it will face tougher and more critical reception by an audience more familiar with the novel content. Sheng Zongliang is not nervous about that, he said, if you ask 10 Redologists, what the novel is about, you'll get 10 different answers. If there is anyone who asked me, I would say it is a love triangle facing the challenges of the outside world. Sheng Zongliang's expresses confidence to meet global challenges.

2016 年 9 月 11 日，“水星新闻”网( Mercury News) 发布了一则评论，题为“旧金山歌剧院首演迷人的《红楼梦》”①，其中对曹青( 黛玉) 的赞美溢于言表，称其表演令人痴迷，独自站在小船上的场景( 泰然、幽静，又伴以迷人的音乐) 尤令人难忘，不过这也只是盛宗亮这部歌剧中很多令人震撼的剧照之一。作者还特意提到，黛玉开始坐的小船在最后时刻又出现了，前前后后发生了很多事情，物是人非，爱情已逝，贾家财运一去不复返，究竟是到头一梦，万境归空，此评论对歌剧主题的把握比较到位。（page 133）

On September 11, 2016, In a review headlined "San Francisco Opera's debut of a Dream of the Red Chamber", Mercury News was full of praise for Cao Qing (Dai Yu), calling her performance mesmerizing, a scene of standing alone in a boat (calm and secluded, set to enchanting music) particularly impressive. However, this was just one of the most stunning portraits of Sheng Zongliang in the opera. The author also specially mentioned, Daiyu began to sit the boat at the last minute again, back and forth a lot of things happened, much transformed, love has vanished, the Jia family's fortunes gone. At the end of the dream, all the land belongs to the emptiness, this comment on the main theme of the opera is on target.

2016 年 9 月 11 日，“旧金山观察家”(San Francisco Examiner)网发布一则新闻，题为“旧金山歌剧院的繁华梦: 跨越障碍，沟通中西”②，开篇说把《红楼梦》改编为英语歌剧既不能让亚洲文学学者高兴，又不能让西方歌剧纯粹主义者高兴，这似乎是命中注定的。但创作团队打消了这种观点，把小说的核心内容转化为旧金山歌剧院令人满意的世界首演。作者认为创作团队聚焦于引人入胜的三角恋爱与王朝阴谋是很明智的，叶锦添隐喻化的舞美设计为歌剧增添了很多精彩的视觉元素。随后对几位主要演员进行了述评，但对歌剧在跨越中西障碍方面的作用与表现并没有太多论述，与新闻题目不甚相符。（page 133） On September 11, 2016, the San Francisco Examiner website published a report entitled "San Francisco Opera dreams of prosperity: Across obstacles, communication between Chinese and western, the opening said the dream of the red chamber Adapted to English opera can neither make Asian literature scholars happy, also can't let the western opera purists, this seems to be doomed But creative team from this view, the core content of the novel into San Francisco opera house satisfying world premiere The author thinks that creative team focused on absorbing a love triangle with dynasty conspiracy is wise, the choreography of Tim yip metaphor for opera a lot of wonderful visual elements Then has carried on the review to several main actor, but the opera across barriers of Chinese and western of the role of and the performance is not too much, not very consistent with the news title Comment by mw: here you need to find out the English original of the quote. Also, you need to indicate and translate the footnotes in details.

References

Feng Quangong (2017) Introduction and acceptance of the Opera Red Chamber Dream in San Francisco based on relevant network resources

3. Impact of translator’s native culture on the translation process

There are intercultural parallels between the Red Chamber Dreams and Western works of literature. These parallels are fundamental for the translation and were explicitly and implicitly fundamental for the German translator Martin Woesler during his translation and editorial work on the first full German translation. In the following, I will mention some of the Western novels and pieces of literature, which the Western reader of the Dreams will immediately think of.

4. The novel as embodiment of “Zeitgeist”

According to Georg Lukács’ Theory of the Novel, while the Epos (like Homer’s Ilias, which like the Dream reasons the stories in the divine realm) displayed a holistic world experience, a complete, self-contained culture, the novel displays, that the modern world has become infinitely large and has lost its homely quality. The novel as a genre is no longer documenting just one culture, but represents, with the words of Walter Benjamin, the Organon of History. So the understanding of the novel changed with Lukacs to historical-philosophically. A novel is understood as typical for its historical era, the novel embodies the spirit of the epoch (Zeitgeist).

The Red Chamber Dreams are written in front of the background of the Manchu minority having taken over the power in formerly Han-shaped Ming-China (which was a multi-ethnic and crosscultural society) and families suffering the changing favor of changing emperors, with the Cao family being fostered by Kangxi and being persecuted by Yongzheng. While the author in his time could not criticize the system and power of emperors, in the novel he came to terms with this life by seeking the guilt for the persecution in the growing decadence of the family (engaging in Daoism, leisure, poetry-writing, arts and music instead of learning for being able to earn a living) and in himself not fulfilling the expectations as the family heir. This description of decadence of a declining family reminds us of the novels of Tschechov (and e.g. in the Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann, including the turn to arts and music). Moreover, with the detailed description of life on all social levels in early Qing Dynasty, the Dream appears as a documentary historical novel very much like Günter Grass’ The Tin Drum 1959.

5. Coming-of-age and Alienation

Abandoning the paradise-like garden in the Red Chamber Dreams is a symbol for leaving the protected childhood and arriving in the complex world of adults. With George Lukács theory of the novel, the protagonist starts to problematize the sense of his life, in the novel, the protagonist’s self permanently struggles with his environment. However, Cao Xueqin’s message is not simply the one of “Paradise Lost”, instead he himself made the best out of his life. Although being less wealthy than when his family still enjoyed the favour of the emperor, there was a payroll system and a social net intact in Early Qing China, where he received enough income to be independent from his rich relatives, to be selective on accepting jobs, to live a relaxed life in a small house in the nature, spending time with his family and friends, follow his own interests, like reading, writing and drinking wine, making kites for the children and thinking of the disadvantaged.

Cao Xueqin was fully aware of his time and China’s cultural achievements, he was familiar with the different levels of society, he was a detailed observer and skilful narrator. He may have conceptualized the ending of the novel as a discussion about the different personalities of the characters in the novel and therefore displaying his reflection about life and his psychological understanding of the diversity of human nature. He was able to grasp the “spirit of time” (Zeitgeist) and with his autobiographical experience create an eternal coming-of-age novel not just for his family, for the Qing-Chinese, for Chinese people, but for mankind.

This tradition of Coming-of-age novels is also a European one, like enlightenment philosopher Voltaire’s novel Candide or Optimism《老实人》shows at the very same time (1759) in Europe. Also Voltaire’s Candide has to leave the luxurious paradise of his childhood and strives for true love, but his main learning is more pessimistic, since Voltaire wrote the novel in opposition to Leibniz, who optimistically looked to China as “the best of all worlds”. Recent research findings show that China had a much larger influence on European enlightenment philosophers and we can be sure, that also Cao Xueqin was aware of some European literary traditions.

Also the German readership is familiar with the chronological following of the life of the protagonist and his development, the fate of a family over generations, the German readership knows this type of novel as the “Education novel” or “Coming-of-age-novel”. In Germany, the genre of the coming-of-age novel has a long tradition and it is shaped more by single characters, who appear as teachers (Goethe: Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship威廉·麦斯特的学徒岁月 1795-96, Novalis 诺瓦利斯: Heinrich von Ofterdingen《海因利·封·歐福特丁根》1802). Wilhelm Meister, parallely to Jia Baoyu, is struggling with the traditional education, in Wilhelm Meister this is represented with the classics revived in Shakespeare’s dramas. Tradition can give orientation, but the personality of the protagonist needs to develop through emancipation is a wisdom, we can learn from all mentioned novels including the Dreams.

6. Pornography and True Love, female rivals

Sexuality is a basic human need and has developed into different shapes in all cultures. The German audience is familiar with erotic topics from the Middle Ages, in which sexuality was stylized. In the “Schwänke” of the 15th century (Wittenwielers Ring), erotic scenes are described sexually explicit. In the barock literature of the 17th century even the physical act is described extensively.

According to „cumulativity“, every human being is a product of history and literature is based on previous literature, therefore the author of this pager thinks that this background has to be taken into account while translating. The best study on qing passion in the Dreams is the one by Anthony Yu, who understood it as desire and as the central motif of the Dreams. „The centrality of qing in shaping virtually every aspect of The Story of the Stone’s structure and meaning cannot be denied [...].“ (Anthony Yu 2001, 54).

In the framework story of the Dreams, the narrator consciously takes a stand against low-action and stereotypical pornographic literature as well as against the widespread romance novels (with the classic roles of the beautiful, talented woman and the poor scholar who finally achieves a respected position and prosperity by passing a civil service exam). In chapter 1 he says: ”of the true feelings of young people [...] nobody has reported about so far.”

Erotic scenes are described in a decent and associative way (“Game of clouds and rain”), while displaying another quality in its openness e.g. towards bisexuality. The Dreams narrate the story of unfortunate lovers. Unfortunate lovers also in the West have a literary tradition, they constitute an archetype, such as Hero and Leander, Pyramus and Thisbe, Tristan and Isolde, Flore and Blanscheflur as well as Troilus and Cressida, the latter being considered the model for Arthur Brookes, who wrote Romeo and Juliet in 1562 and thus directly influenced Shakespeare.

While Marián Galik saw as the central topic of both, the Dream and Faust, the eternal feminine, which draws us on high, Gu Cheng called it the “eternal virgine”. In Goethe’s coming-of-age novel Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre, we find a similar motif of female rivals, in the Keller 凯勒The Green Henry 《绿衣亨利》1855, the hero turns away from an emphatically sexually designed figure and turns to the 'real' woman. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice 1813 Elizabeth and Lin Daiyu are similar, e.g. they both strive for real love (Zhuang 2011).

7. Feudal society and slavery

A widespread interpretation is that Jia Baoyu’s equal treatment of family members and slaves would be a manifesto to free the slaves. I also do not share this interpretation, since Aristotle, when he demanded democracy, would exclude slaves from the right to vote. So we cannot use modern concepts to judge on the past. In my understanding, Jia Baoyu was not fighting inequality, but looked at the people as humans and individuals. Also the understanding of the servants as slaves does not match the description in the Dream, since some servants had servants themselves, the family took care after they left the Jia family to find a match for them and Jia Zheng refers to his daughter Yingchun as „yatou 丫头“, so it is inappropriate to translate this expression with slave. Therefore, the translator preferred “servant” over “slave” in the translation.

Mo Yan in his speech at the Frankfurt Bookfair in 2009, when China was the guest of honor, draws the (similarly) parallel between the Dream and Goethe’s Sorrows of the Young Werther, that both expressed the wish to abandon feudal society. My own impression is that both do not express this wish, but that this is a later concept and interpretation and we should not apply this to judge the past.

8. Tragedy of all tragedies

Aristotle explained in On the Tragedy (Poetics VI), that tragedies move people more than comedies because they “imitate [mimēsis] an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude” (Aristotle 1971, 51), This high esteem of the tragedy in Europe is partly ascribed to the loss of Aristotle’s work On the Comedy. While Europe has the Hamlet as its tragedy of all tragedies, the lack of tragic literature in Chinese literary tradition has long been lamented. Wang Guowei sees the Dream as "tragedy of all tragedies". To Wang Guowei the suffering of Faust and Jia Baoyu is central in the novels. However, many scholars contest that Faustianism is central for Chinese culture.

In 18th century Europe, we saw a new development in the genre of the drama, to establish a “bourgeois tragedy”. It developed as an emancipatory movement in the 18th century in London, Paris and Germany, and demonstrated that tragedy was not reserved to rulers, but was also imagineable for lower noblemen and ordinary citizens. The Dream at the same time as the bourgeois tragedy in Europe shows a tragic story of a mid-level noble family which loses its titles and privileges.

9. “Non-Binary” Novels

One of the things attracting Western readers is the adorable but mysterious protagonist Jia Baoyu. With his open bisexual orientation and his interest in his mates regardless of their social status, he appears “modern” or at least displaced in time. His struggle with traditional learning makes him appear sympathetic, his long states of rapture out of the world give him both the aura of a timeless character and of mystery.

With the bisexual orientation of the Dreams’ protagonist, the novel appears non-binary. According to Karl-Heinz Pohl, binaries are just superficial, ultimately decisive is the Heart Sutra. Today, the novel is listed among the genre of non-binary literature (see e.g. the bibliographical list on https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/non-binary), in which contrasts are dissolved deconstructivistically.

10. Foreign Cultures in the Red Chamber Dreams

Foreign Cultures frequently appear in the Dreams in all kinds of varieties, like exoticism with the many objects in the household and presented to the household as novelties. These foreign objects were mostly coming from the huge trade ships from Europe, sometimes through the imperial court. They were collected by wealthy families as rare objects, expressions of human craftsmanship and they were displayed in the wealthy households as a sign of cosmopolitianism. Reasons for receiving foreign goods were that the Cao family engaged in silk weaving and also undertook private business investments, at least one time also with imperial funds and support. Another reason may be that the Cao family hosted the emperor four or five times during his inspection trips to the South and received gifts as signs of gratitude.

Foreign objects appearing in the novel were Siamese tribute gifts like Siamese tea and pigs, wood incense and rose dew, # Repairing the peacock fur for Baoyu may have required knowledge about Western weaving techniques.# There is a self-chiming bell in Baoyu’s room which was repaired often. Baoyu had a watch and clocks are referred to frequently in the novel.

There are also some other foreign elements in this famous novel. According to a Chinese scholar Zeng Hui，she illustrated some of her studies in the article named Costume Research on the Novel Dream of Red Mansions (Middle)（小说《红楼梦》服饰研究（中）） , I will give specific description below.

First is the exquisite fabrics, imported fabrics are the representatives.Since the opening of the Silk Road in the Western Han Dynasty, cultural exchanges and commercial cooperation between the Central Plains and the outside world have become more and more frequent. In the Ming Dynasty, the Maritime Silk Road was opened up, further strengthening exchanges with western countries. China used silk, porcelain, tea and so on to exchange the horse, grapes and foreign cloth and so on. The imported fabrics in A Dream of Red Mansions mainly include Doroit and Fansi.(1)Duoro:in the 49th episode of The Dream of Red Mansions, Li Wan wears a "blue doro double-breasted jacket." Duo luo based on duo luo leaves (a similar palm tree), fabric organization closely, appearance is soft and smooth, do more raincoat, storm coat. It was introduced into China from Holland during the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. It was regarded as a treasure and was mostly used as winter clothes for nobles. (2)In the 49th chapter, Xue Baochai wore a "crane cloak with lotus blue bucket pattern and icing on the cake with foreign thread," which is an imported fabric. (3)Camlet and satin: camlet is also called "camlet feather crepe,""feather satin," is a kind of wool fabric, organization is close, thick texture, appearance is firm and smooth, can resist rain and snow. Satin is thin camlet from the Netherlands and Thailand.It is often used as foreign tribute, which was regarded as treasures for noble winter clothes. In Chapter 8 of the novel, Lin Daiyu visits Xue Baochai "wearing a pair of red camlet jackets," while in Chapter 49, the sisters wear "a blanket of orangutan and feather satin cloak" while stepping on the snow, while Lin Daiyu "wears a crane cloak with a red camlet surface and a white fox."

首先是考究的面料，其中舶来面料是代表。自西汉开通丝绸之路以来，中原与外界的文化交流、商贸合作越来越频繁，至明代更是开辟了 海上丝绸之路，进一步加强了与西方各国的交流。中国用丝绸、瓷器、茶叶等换来了骏马、葡萄以及外国衣料等等。小说《红楼梦》中出现的舶来面料主要有哆罗呢和番羓丝。 1.哆罗呢：小说《红楼梦》第49回中，李纨穿一件“青哆罗呢对襟褂子”。哆罗呢取材于哆罗树叶（一种类似棕榈的树），织物组织紧密，外表柔软而滑爽，多做雨衣、雪衣。明末清初时期由荷兰传入中国，被视为珍品，多用作贵族冬衣。 2.番羓丝：同样是第49回中，薛宝钗穿的一件“莲青斗纹锦上添花洋线番羓丝的鹤氅 ”，番羓丝是一种舶来面料。 3.羽缎和羽纱：羽缎也叫缎“羽绉 ”、“羽毛缎 ”，是一种毛纺织物，组织紧密，质地厚实， 外表坚挺而爽滑，可御雨雪。羽纱为羽缎之疏细者，出自荷兰和泰国，为外国贡品，被视为珍品多用于贵族的冬衣。小说《红楼梦》第 8 回中林黛玉看望薛宝钗时“外罩着大红羽缎对衿褂子 ”，第49回踏雪时众姐妹着“大红猩猩毡与羽毛缎斗篷”，而林黛玉则“罩了一件大红羽纱面白狐狸里的鹤氅 ”。

Second, there is a auspicious pattern, the abstract geometric patterns ,such as Character pattern, are the representatives of foreign elements.(1) Character pattern: that is, 10,000-character pattern, which is one of the traditional embroidery patterns. It was originally a talisman, after being used as a symbol of Indian Buddhism auspicious. The pattern "卍" is often used as a symbol of "fire" or "sun," and means "good luck" in Sanskrit. After Buddhism was introduced into China, it was widely used as decorative patterns. The word is a cross, radiating towards the four directions, implying "amplification of light, auspicious virtue." In the period of Wu Zetian , the pronunciation is "wan"(which is in chinese pinyin), meaning "blessing and noble." Chapter 19 of A Dream of Red Mansions explains the origin of Wan 'er's name: "When his mother was cultivating him, she had a dream and dreamed that she had a piece of brocade, on which there was a pattern of five-colored swastika characters with rich and noble heads, so his name was called 卍 er."

其次是吉祥纹样，抽象几何纹样则是外来元素的代表，比如字纹。1.字纹：即万字纹，为传统织绣纹样之一。原为一种符咒、护符，后被用作印度佛教的吉祥标志 。“卍”读作“万”通常被认为“太阳”或“火”的象征，梵文意为“吉祥万德之所吉”。 佛教传入中国后，被广泛采用为装饰纹样。因其字为十字交叉，朝向四方辐射，寓意为“放大光明、吉祥万德 ”，唐武则天时期，将其读音定为“万”，寓意为“福贵不断 ”。小说《红楼梦》第19回，解释说万儿名字的来历时，“他母亲养他的时节做了个梦，梦见得了一匹锦，上面是五色富贵不断头卍字的花样，所以他的名字叫作卍儿。”

Tang Yan, Cultural Coding of Western Ware in A Dream of Red Mansions [J]. Journal of A Dream of Red Mansions, 2018 (3) : 221-235.

There are many kinds and styles of western ware in the Red Chamber Dreams. As an abstract symbol that can be conveyed and interpreted, western ware such as "glass" in eighty editions of the Red Chamber Dreams contains the cultural code of a specific class, which has obvious symbolic function and implicit differentiation function.

Qing dynasty glass was generally imported from Europe, and only a small part of it was produced by the "glass factory" of the manufacturing office in imitation of European technology, while complete, large transparent glass was almost entirely imported. However, in Cao Xueqin's A Dream of Red Mansions, various kinds of glass ornaments, containers, ornaments and other glassware appear repeatedly, which are of various types and styles. It seems that glass products are quite common. In Representation, Hall (2003) once pointed out that "culture first involves the production and exchange of meaning among members of a society or group", which "depends on its participants making meaningful interpretations of what is happening around them in roughly similar ways and 'understanding the world'". This shows that the meaning of things is not fixed, but produced. The meaning of an object that appears to have been shaped is certain, but the meaning will change when its location, the person concerned, and the way of description change. Thus, it can be seen that the novel has endowed glass with new meaning and cultural connotation. It is no longer just a western object used for storing objects or hanging decorations, but transformed into an abstract symbol, symbolizing unusual wealth and power, and becoming a symbol to distinguish different classes.

The scholars Zhang Huiqin and Xu Jun described in the passage called On the Translation strategies of Costume Culture in A Dream of Red Mansions. This article selects two versions of the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions(YY's translation and HM's translation) about the dress description, from the perspective of cultural coordination, to explore how to follow a timely, moderate, modest cultural coordinate translation principles, coordinate clothing cultural contradictions in translation, realize the harmony of costume culture translation, Strengthen understanding, respect and mutual learning between different cultures.

本文选取《红楼梦》两个全译本（杨宪益和戴乃迭夫妇译本与霍克斯先生译本）中关于王熙凤服饰描写的片段，从文化协调的角度，探究如何遵循适时、适量、适度的文化协调翻译原则，把握分寸，协调服饰翻译中的文化矛盾，实现服饰文化的和谐翻译，加强不同文化之间的了解、尊重与借鉴。

There are also some other foreign elements in this famous novel. Firstly, Buddhism culture in Dreams of Red Chamber. Some characteristic expressions，for example，"Xingluo" was originally a piece of decoration around the neck of Buddha statues in ancient India. Later, it was introduced into China along with Buddhism. The shape was larger, the most showy in the collar.

“璎珞”原为古代印度佛像颈间的一种装饰，后随佛教一并传入我国，唐代时被爱美求新的女性所模仿和改进，变成珠玉串成的项饰。形制较大，在项饰中最显华贵。 Secondly，foreign culture in Dreams of Red Chamber.For example, "jadeite flowery foreign crepe skirt" is the description of the quality, color and picture of the dress of Wang Xifeng. For the interpretation of "foreign crepe" in this sentence, academic views are different. One of the opinions is warp and weft with pure raw silk after refining dyed fabrics, because warp and weft silk twist to different, natural wrinkles, so the name "foreign crepe". Because during the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong ruling periods, there was basically no so-called imported "crepe material", and it was probably just the "Wo satin" that imitated the imported satins from Japan, which was imported in patterns and colors. And that the foreign crepe is modified by "foreign" is because during the Daoguang period, all the most valuable things are called "foreign". In the north and south of the Yangtze River, imported goods are considered as the fashion. Therefore, "foreign crepe" actually belongs to the first-class silk, which is only used for the clothing of the nobility, not really imported products. Another of the opinions is, in the 16th chapter of the novel, Wang Xifeng said that her grandfather was only in charge of tribute and congratulations from various countries, and all the goods of foreign ships in Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan and Zhejiang belong to her family, which is completely consistent with HM's translation of "Imported Silk". Perhaps what the novel wanted to reflect at that time was the value of the fabric. Even in today, we would agree to some extent that imported fabrics are high-end. Yang used the word crepe. But from the perspective of cultural transmission and development, I think adding "rare silk crepe" is better able to coordinate various contradictions.

“翡翠撒花洋绉裙”是对 凤 姐 裙 装 质 地、颜 色 和 图 案 的 描 述，该句中对于“洋绉”的解释，学界观点不一。一则认为是经纬用纯生丝经炼染后的面料，因为经纬丝线捻向不同，产生自然皱纹，故得此名“洋绉”。因为康雍乾时期，基本没有所谓的进口“绉料”，可能只是仿制日本进口缎匹的“倭缎”，属于是图案和花色上的舶来品。而洋皱之所以称“洋”，是因为道光年间，凡物之极贵重的，皆谓之洋。大江南北，莫不以洋为尚。因此“洋绉”实际属于上等丝绸，只被贵族服装专用，并非真正进口产品。再则认为小说第十六回里王熙凤说自己的爷爷单管各国进贡朝贺的事，粤闽滇浙各地所有洋船货物都是她们家的，这与霍译的“imported silk”完全吻合。或许小说当时要体现的是该面料之贵重，虽然在今天，我们也会在一定程度上认同进口的就是高档的，但是还原历史，杨译虽用了crepe 一词，但是从文化传播和发展角度剖析，补加rare silk crepe 的协调翻译，相对而言是协调各种矛盾的和谐译文。(page 114)

Cao Yin in the age of 17 was a bodyguard of the emperor and in April 1690 became a weaver in Suzhou and later in Jiangning. He secretly reported to Kangxi about the situation in Jiangnan.

A lasting impression is created by the description of the blond girl of the same age as Baoyu referred to in person (combining different origins and cultures, including European, Japanese, Chinese) or several times on paintings, one time shown with wings as an angel. The playful combination of different traditions we can see also when a religious dress is described, which carries characteristics of different religions. Similarly, the Daoist monk and the Confucian priest appear together. Cao Xueqin wanted to show the richness and diversity, also with the many topics and societal levels of the novel. Even a variety of Christian motifs can be found, like when Jia Baoyu is not recognized by his father in chapter 120 and when he disappears, all parallel to Jesus Christ.

World Documentary Heritage

The World Documentary Heritage contains a number of immaterial cultural goods which are considered worth being kept.

The variety of cultures in the Red Chamber Dreams is paralleled with the variety of elements of different dynasties, which makes it timeless and therefore even more a masterpiece of Chinese art and a masterpiece of human art. Therefore I would like to nominate the Red Chamber Dreams as “World Documentary Heritage”.

Chen Dongsheng, Gan Yingjin, Zhou Liyan, Qin Rui. Research on the patterns of clothing in "Red Chamber Dreams" [J]. Advances in Textile Science and Technology, 2007(2):89-91.

"Red Chamber Dreams" describes the materials and patterns of the characters' costumes, and points out that the costume patterns are the manifestation of the national aesthetic psychology and the hierarchical culture of "differentiating the noble and the lowly, and not the prestige". It is rich in cultural connotations, such as the status of the characters , cultural integration, social system and traditional customs, etc., and expounds the reference role of the red mansion clothing pattern on the research and design of modern clothing pattern.

For example, in the Red Chamber Dreams, Cao Xueqin gave detailed descriptions on the styles and patterns of the clothings , which serves as a showcase deplaying its rich cultural connotations, say its related changes throughout the history, social systems, social status, customs as well as lending itself into the other cutlures and etc..

References

Anthony, C. Yu. (2001). Rereading the Stone: Desire and the Making of Fiction in Dream of the Red Chamber. Princeton University Press.

Aristotle. (1971). Poetics. Trans. S. H. Butcher. Ed. Hazard Adams. Critical Theory since Plato. ew York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 48-66.

Woesler, Martin, ed., Cao Xueqin, Gao E et al. (2016). Der Traum der Roten Kammer oder Die Geschichte vom Stein [Red Chamber Dreams or The Story of the Stone], Peking: Foreign Languages Press, ISBN 9787119094120, 4813 pages, 6 vols., hardcover, transl. by Rainer Schwarz and Martin Woesler; Chinese-German bilingual edition

Woesler, Martin. (2011). “Being Explicit About the Implicit – John Minford’s Translation of the last Forty Chapters of The Story of the Stone with a Field Study on two Sexually Arousing Scenes”. Hong lou meng xue kan 6: 274-289

Woesler, Martin. (2010). “ ’To Amuse the Beaux and Belles’ The Early Western Reception of the Hongloumeng”. Journal of Sino-Western Communications 2 (2010.12) 2:81-107

Zhuang, Xiuhua. (2011). Self, Ideal and Salvation: A Comparative Study of Jane Austen’s Elizabeth and Cao Xueqin’s Lin Daiyu. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 420-423, March 2011. Fulltext: http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/jltr/vol02/02/19.pdf.

Notes

10. Wit and strategic thinking of protagonists

Harro v. Senger: Traum und Nibelungenlied (Kontrast): Siegfried und Krimhild waren unintelligent, ja dumm, da sie kein Bewusstsein für die Gefährlichkeit ihrer Feinde hatten, anders als Wang Xifeng. S. a. die lange Bekanntheit und die lange Anwendung der chinesischen Stratageme im chinesischen Volk.

11. Society novels

Dream and Kazuo Ishiguro’s „Was vom Tage übrig blieb“ are both society novels.

13 Trials and Tribulations of young people

The Dream and Goethe’s Elective Affinities are both love novels, describing the trials and tribulations of young people.

Kommentar Woesler: Traum und Roman „Jenny" von Fanny Lewald. Wenn man Wu, Yenna folgt in der Deutung der Traum-Frauenfiguren: “The Virago: A Literary Theme", Cambridge UP 1995. Wu geht jedoch nicht auf Lewald ein.

16. Buddhism and Daoism

The German-language reader is not unfamiliar with Buddhist and Daoist thoughts, Richard Wilhelm has early translated the Yijing and Herrmann Hesse’s is Siddharta. An Indian Tale, is significantly influenced by Buddhist and Taoist thoughts.

18.

Farben und Farbsymbolismus sehr wichtig (wie auch generell bei Chaucer, Shakespeare und Poe; in den Shakespeare'schen Gedichten und Schauspielen ist grün manchmal die Frabe der Eifersucht usw.)