Reading Dream of the Red Chamber,by Cao Xueqin曹雪芹is a daunting task like reading all great novels,West or East.This is clear not only from its length(the David Hawkes translation used here is five volumes,120-chapters complete with Gao E’s addition)~①but also from the scholarship that has accumulated over the centuries,especially in China.The added difficulty in approaching Cao Xueqin’s novel from the West is the distance that separates Western readers both culturally and linguistically.The standard Reading Dream of the Red Chamber, by Cao Xueqin is a daunting task like reading all great novels, West or East. This is clear not only from its length (the David Hawkes translation used here is five volumes, 120-chapters complete with Gao E’s addition) ~ ① but also from the scholarship that has accumulated over the centuries, especially in China. The added difficulty in approaching Cao Xueqin’s novel from the West is the distance that separates Western readers both culturally and linguistically. Standard