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Cao Xueqin’s statue at the memorial hall. Photo By 白色瑰宝 –

“Truth becomes fiction when the fiction is true. Real becomes not-real when the unreal is real”     

Top 10 Sensational Facts About Cao Xueqin  

Cao Xueqin was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty. He is best known as the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. 

His given name was Cáo Zhān and his courtesy name was Mèngruǎn. Cao Xueqin is worldly known for his inspirational, wise philosophical quotes such as the one above. 

He also said, “One day, when spring has gone and youth has fled, The Maiden and the flowers will both be dead.”     

Here are 10 sensational facts about Cao Xueqin.  

1. Cao Xueqin’s Great Grandparents Worked for the Emperor  

During Kangxi Emperor’s reign, the Cao clan had become very powerful and wealthy. Cao Yin who was Cao Xueqin’s grandfather was Kangxi’s childhood playmate and personal confidant.  

His great grandmother (Cao Yin’s mother) Lady Sun, worked as the emperor’s wet nurse. Two years after Kangxi’s ascension, he appointed Cao Xueqin’s great grandfather, Cao Xi, as the Commissioner of Imperial Textiles in Jiangn, where the family relocated.  

After Cao Xi died in 1684, Cao Yin took over after him. The Cao family held the Commissioner of Imperial Textiles position for three generations.  

2. His Family Lost All Its Wealth When He Was Young 

The statue of Cao Xueqin, the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, in Beijing. Photo by By Fanghong –

Cao Xueqin was born to a Han Chinese clan. His ancestors devoted themselves to military service in the Plain White Banner of the Eight Banners.  

Three generations of the Cao clan were officials in leadership positions and so the family had become so rich and influential. Cao Xueqin was born into immense wealth and prestige. 

However, years later, the family was accused of mismanagement of public funds, and their properties were confiscated. These accusations were politically motivated. 

Cao Xueqin lived in abject poverty in the western suburb of Peking. The poverty in his old age made him view life in a clear, penetratingly perspective while selling paintings for a living and working on his writing.  

3. Cao Spent About Ten Years Writing His Novel  

Cao spent his time at his simple home writing his famous novel “Dream of the Red Chamber” which was not published until 1791, decades after his death.  

Some historians say that the last 40 of its 120 chapters were completed by someone else. This claim has been disputed severally. The novel was published and prepared by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E.   

4. Cao Xueqin’s Manuscript Was Found in a Closet  

Cao Xueqin statue. Photo By 东京村子 –

Dream of Red Mansions manuscript was discovered in a storage closet in the Beaver Falls Historical Museum.  

The yellowed, fragile woodblock manuscript is estimated to be over 200 years old and in relatively good condition. The manuscript was bound in a tightly woven thread.  

The Chinese manuscript was written in vernacular Chinese on rice paper and was found in one of the storage rooms that had not been accessed for about 50 to 60 years.  

5. Cao Was an Exceptional Author  

After the downfall of this family’s wealth and status in society, they moved and went to live in the countryside west of Beijing.  

During this period, Cao wrote his famous novel ‘A dream of the red mansion’ one of Chinese literature’s Four Great Classical Novels.  

The book describes the life and declining fortunes of a large feudal family. It goes on to show how true love and basic humanity fail because of society’s patriarchal-feudal structures.  

The book provided a detailed understanding of China’s life and social structures in the 18th century. Cao had finished at least 80 chapters before dying.  

Shortly after his death, the copies circulated in Beijing, and scribal copies became prized possessions.   

6. There is a Memorial Hall Named After Him 

Cao Xueqin’s statue at the memorial hall. Photo By 白色瑰宝 –

The Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall in Liaoyang city is a museum dedicated to commemorating the works of Cao Xueqin. It is a major tourist attraction where people learn about him.  

Historical files about the Cao family, Cao’s grandfather’s poetry, the Cao family tree, rare books of “A Dream of Red Mansions,” and other historical documents are exhibited at the museum.  

The memorial hall is a Qing dynasty building where the original Wu mansion was located.  

7. There are Statues of Cao 

Younger generations and even tourists can see what Cao looked like in the Statues that were created in his image or liking.   

At the memorial hall in Nanjing just at the center of the county yard, there is a seated statue of Cao Xueqin which looks very realistic. There is also another one in Beijing. 

8. The mysterious life of Cao Xueqin  

There is little known information about Cao Xueqin’s life. There is no information on his date of birth and death, his native place of birth, and other details about his life.   

Cao Xueqin lived in the country west of Peking, working as a teacher and selling his paintings. His seals, paintings, and calligraphic works have never been discovered.  

It is known that he died at the age of between 40 to 50 years, out of grieving his son’s death, sometime in 1763 or 1764. 

9. The Length of the Dream of the Red Chamber  

Former residence of Cao Xueqin, the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, in the suburbs of Beijing. Photo By Fanghong –

Dream of The Red Chamber was published in English in 1929 which had first appeared as a manuscript from Beijing.  

Almost 30 years after Cao Xueqin’s death, a complete version of 120 chapters was published and prepared by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E.  

The epic plot consists of over 2,500 pages in the standard Penguin translation. The Ching dynasty novel is also the most filmed book.   

A film was released in1944 Chinese film directed by Bu Wancang. Additionally, a 36-episode television series was produced and released in 1987 by CCTV.  

It was filmed in Beijing in the Mandarin dialect, translated into Shanghainese, Cantonese, plus other languages, and it aired all over China. Many in China regard the film as being definitively close to the adaptation of the novel.  

10. The Mysterious Rediscovered Works of Cao Xueqin  

On 13th December 2016, three scholars jointly delivered a lecture titled “Rediscovered works of Cao Xueqin: A Sole Piece of His Poetry, Calligraphy, Painting and Seal” at the City University of Hong Kong.  

The professors who presented the lecture are known as Wu Peng (from Guizhou Normal University), Huang Yi-long (from Academician of Taiwan’s Academia Sinica), and Xue Longchun (from Cultural Heritage Institute of Zhejiang University).  

At the lecture, a high-resolution replica of the newly found painting of Cao Xueqin was displayed. After meticulous research, the scholars concluded that the Painting Album of Cao Zhan the Celery Farmer was a genuine painting by Cao Xueqin. The lecture was well-received as the audience debated it with the professors.