The writer, Cao Xueqin, was born in early 1720s and lived for only forty years. Cao devote(l the last ten years of his life to the writing of this novel. According to the novel , Grand View Garden was the residence of the wealthy Jia family. The leading male character of the novel was Baoyu. He and his two cousins and some other family members shared the home. Xue Baochai , one of Baoyu's cousins, was morally and intellectually superior to the others. Later she became Baoyu's wife. The other cousin , Daiyu was deeply in love with Baoyu until she died. The tragic love affairs among the three characters was the result of the feudal society. This amorous and sensitive couple are China's Romeo and Juliet.

The success of the novel is derived from the brilliant characterisation of the four hundred or so people who have their being in it. By capturing the grandeur of a lost era the novel still has the power to bring to life the nuances of family life as it affected those who lived during the Qing Dynasty.

It is interesting to note that Cao was ten years older than George Washington. When Cao was twenty,Montesquieu, Diderot and Voktaire had just started publishing their works. The steam engine was invented one or two years after Cao's death. The United States of America became independent about thirteen years after Cao's death. Cao wrote during the period of the Enlightenment. It was about the time China closed its door to the outside world and was increasingly controlled by the last feudal dynasty. The feudal kingdom was in its last stage of prosperity. It is interesting that in his novel, Cao used the quick bankruptcy of a family to indicate that the crisis - riven feudal society was already on its last legs and to foretell the final collapse of the Chinese feudal society.



Beijing Tour Routes Includes Grand View Garden:
Chinatravelkey can add visiting of Grand View Garden on the following tours with an extra cost of 15 USD per person.

Photo of Grand View Garden