Looking for Dream of the Red Chamber in Chinese

[954flyer]

Greetings all,

I've been searching both stores and online for the book "Dream of the Red Chamber". I'd like to find the unabridged version, written in Chinese. I have found a few Chinese sites that might sell it, but since I don't read Chinese (yet), ordering it is difficult. Does anyone have suggestions for a good site in English where I can still order the Chinese, untranslated text? This will be a gift, by the way.

Also, from what I understand, the book is also known as "Dream of the Red Mansions", and "Story of the Stone". I've seen these names and a variety of translations advertised. Which one is the best to search for that will be complete and as close to original as possible?

I appreciate any help!

[Shelley]

Hello,

I don't know which versions are closest to the original, but there are some available as an e-book on Project Gutenberg online. I believe there are english and chinese versions. It is an english site so this may help.The alternitive titles are correct you can search under any of them. This may help you decide which one to give. The ebooks on Project Gutenberg are free so you could have it as well.

Hope this helps

Shelley

[natra]

The Hawkes translation entitled Story of the Stone is probably the best available. In some ways his rendering is amazing, although at times his translation adapts the original content in order to be understood by an audience unfamiliar with Chinese culture and language. This is an inevitable part of the translation process, and is reputed to be considerably better than the other versions you might find at the library.

I am not sure about an English website where you could buy the original text. As someone said above, the entire thing is available online for free. You can also try Chinese Amazon. Maybe a Chinese-speaking friend could help you?

If you are interested in reading secondary sources too, then you may find Reading the Stone by Anthony Yu useful.

[renzhe]

The Chinese name you're looking for is 红楼梦 (simplified) or 紅樓夢 (traditional). Make sure you pick the right version if it's a gift. Although most native speakers will be able to read both, they will probably be considerably more comfortable with one of them.

I don't know how easy it is to order it online from the US, Amazon does not even support searching for Chinese characters, and searching for the English title gives English translations. In China itself, you can get it in literally every bookstore for about 2-3 dollars in hardback. If you have an option of having it brought by somebody, it will probably be the most convenient option.

[Hofmann]

Free from Wikisource.

[jbradfor]

The OP said "This will be a gift, by the way.", so electronic versions are probably not a good gift. [To the OP: if you edited your post to add this later, it's better form to make it clear that you added it later. Or, better yet, say it in a new post. Otherwise, you run the risk of annoying people by making it look like they can't read, and annoyed people are less likely to help you.]

You didn't say where you live. If you live anywhere near a major city, your best best is to find a Chinese bookstore and look in person. There are many different editions, and if this is a gift, you want one that looks nice. For example, I bought one in Taiwan that was good quality hardback, with color pictures in the front of various scenes.

Also, are you sure the intended recipient doesn't already have a copy?

[semantic nuance]

You may also try 紅樓夢 in Elina's online bookstore. Elina is one of the members here.

[jrex]

thank you for helping out nuance.. i was wondering the same thing too..

[954flyer]

I appreciate all the replies. It is all useful information. I've tried Elina's online bookstore, but she doesn't seem to have the right version and can not order new versions, at present.

I also appreciate the e-book info as I will be interested in reading this myself soon. However, I want to find the original Chinese text version first for the gift. Both myself and the recipient live in the U.S., and she had lost her copy after moving here. I have a few more leads to follow now, but I may ask for confirmation here when I find something.

Thanks again!

[Hofmann]

Depending on where you are, it might be difficult to get a physical copy. While we're talking about 紅樓夢, this looks like a shiatload of good stuff, although it might not look very good for gift giving.