The Story of the Stone, vol.5: The Dreamer Wakes - Classic Text | Alexandria
The Story of the Stone, Volume 5: The Dreamer Wakes represents the final installment of Cao Xueqin's masterful 18th-century Chinese novel, also known as Dream of the Red Chamber or Hong Lou Meng. This concluding volume, completed after Cao's death by Gao E, brings to culmination what is widely regarded as China's greatest classical novel—a sprawling narrative that weaves together themes of spiritual awakening, social decline, and the ephemeral nature of worldly attachments.
Written during the Qing Dynasty (circa 1760), the work emerged from a period of profound social and cultural transformation in China. Cao Xueqin, born into a wealthy and privileged family that fell from imperial favor, imbued the narrative with autobiographical elements that reflect the author's own experience of decline and disillusionment. The authenticity of the final forty chapters, including those in Volume 5, has been a subject of scholarly debate for centuries, as they were compiled and edited by Gao E and Cheng Weiyuan after Cao's death in 1763.
The Dreamer Wakes derives its profound significance from its resolution of the spiritual and material threads woven throughout the previous volumes. The title itself carries multiple layers of meaning, referring not only to the protagonist Bao-yu's awakening from worldly attachments but also serving as a metaphor for the reader's own journey toward enlightenment. The text's intricate symbolism, Buddhist and Daoist philosophical underpinnings, and complex character relationships have spawned countless scholarly interpretations and debates.
In contemporary culture, this final volume continues to resonate with readers worldwide, having been translated into numerous languages and adapted into various media forms. Its exploration of themes such as the impermanence of worldly glory, the nature of reality versus illusion, and the price of spiritual enlightenment remains startlingly relevant to modern audiences. The work's enduring mystery lies in its ability to function simultaneously as social commentary, spiritual allegory, and autobiographical reflection, prompting each generation to discover new layers of meaning within its pages. What continues to captivate readers and scholars alike is not merely the story's conclusion, but the ways in which it invites us to question our own assumptions about reality, illusion, and the nature of awakening.