Dream of the Red Chamber

Biodata

Publication

• Luofan chooses the romance-focused story for the Heaven Dou Daily because he considers it safer to publish than works centered on rebellion or warfare 9.
• Its serialization boosts newspaper sales and helps the paper spread throughout the Heaven Dou Empire 9 15.
• Luofan refuses to change its tragic ending, arguing that doing so would diminish its value as a lasting masterpiece 17.
• Xue Qinghe encourages Luofan to write more installments, citing the story’s importance to newspaper sales. She also asks for the next installment after their discussion of newspaper advertising 16.
• After a reporter interviews Luofan about his cultivation and arena challenges, Xue Qinghe reveals his authorship and emphasizes that he has repeatedly refused to alter the ending. Luofan is alarmed by the disclosure 59.
• When readers subsequently blockade his residence, Luofan maintains that the ending is settled and threatens to stop writing novels altogether. The confrontation ends with an agreement that Dream of the Red Chamber can retain its ending if he writes a new romance with a happy ending 61.
• Qian Renxue proposes making the promised new book a second part of Dream of the Red Chamber to resolve its lingering regrets. Luofan does not accept the suggestion; his subsequent novel is Legend of the White Snake 61 66.
• Legend of the White Snake benefits from being promoted as a new work by the author of Dream of the Red Chamber. Its fresh premise and Luofan’s existing literary reputation help it become an immediate hit, bringing newspaper sales to another record high 66.

Story

• An installment depicts Lin Daiyu burying fallen flowers and expressing sorrow about beauty, death, and fate 16.
• Near the ending, Jia Baoyu marries someone else and Lin Daiyu dies 17.

Reception

• Xue Qinghe cries over the flower-burial installment. Luofan believes Daiyu’s constrained life resonates with Xue Qinghe’s experience of living under a concealed identity 16.
• Daiyu’s death upsets Xue Qinghe enough that she demands Luofan rewrite it and worries the ending will hurt newspaper sales 17.
• Porcupinefish Douluo is also moved by the ending 17.
• Xue Qinghe continues trying to secure a rewritten ending, leading to another playful struggle with Luofan over the story and a box of pastries. Luofan remains unwilling to change it 33.
• Following the public disclosure of Luofan’s authorship, female readers gather outside the Crown Prince’s Residence and refuse to leave unless he changes the ending. Their complaints focus on Lin Daiyu, Jia Baoyu, and the other characters whose fates they find unbearable 61.
• Qian Renxue joins the readers in urging Luofan not to abandon writing. She and the fans ultimately accept his promise of a new romance with a happy ending instead of a revision to Dream of the Red Chamber. Luofan regards her disclosure of his authorship as the cause of the blockade and accuses her of orchestrating the pressure 61.
• Bibi Dong recalls being unable to put the novel down and is delighted to learn that Luofan wrote it. His literary ability, alongside his cultivation talent and newspaper ideas, strengthens her favorable impression of him 66.
• Xiao Wu enjoys Dream of the Red Chamber, although she later prefers Legend of the White Snake because its transformed soul-beast protagonist resonates more directly with her own circumstances 66.
• Ning Fengzhi’s recognition of Luofan’s literary talent, including his work on Dream of the Red Chamber, deepens his regret over having driven Luofan away from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect 66.

Notable Quotes

“When spring is gone, beauty fades; flowers fall and people die, neither knowing the other's fate!” — a line Xue Qinghe recites from Lin Daiyu’s flower-burial poem 16

“I can't! I want Dream of the Red Chamber to become a masterpiece for the ages. Changing it would ruin everything!” — Luofan refusing to revise the ending 17

“As for Red Chamber, its ending is already set. If I forcibly changed it, do you think the revised Red Chamber would still be the Red Chamber you love?” — Luofan addressing the readers blockading his residence 61