From The Story Of Golden Lock To Unhappy Woman: The Deepening Course Of The Complex Enchanted By The Dream Of Red Mansion

The phenomenon of rewriting is remarkable in Eileen Chang's works. In the trend of craze for Eileen Chang, her rewriting intrigues much debate. Most of people think that her rewriting is only a rehash of old ideas and reflects the recession of her creative ability. I think that rewriting is a process which deepens the thought and perfects the art . The rewriting from The Story of Golden Lock to Unhappy Woman is a notable example. To be specific, this rewriting process is influenced further by The Dream of Red Mansion and in some way reflects the meaning of culture inheriting.Through reading and comparing the three texts, we discover that The Story of Golden Lock is influenced by The Dream of Red Mansion concretely and clearly. The influence mainly includes the resemblance of details, furnishings, characters and dialogues. But this is only superficial infection.With deletion, addition and change, Unhappy Woman becomes very different from The Story of Golden Lock.Firstly, deletion embodies in two marked aspects: Qiqiao's daughter-Chang'an is absent;classic and wonderful depiction of natural scenery is also deleted. The deletion greatly changes the theme and style: from legend to nature, from resplendence to simplicity.Secondly, addition and change also embody in two aspects: Addition and change make the characters of Unhappy Woman transformed from supermen in The Story of Golden Lock to ordinary people in The Dream of Red Mansion. Addition and change give prominence to customs and pull Unhappy Woman nearer to The Dream of Red Mansion. These are profound influence of The Dream of Red Mansion upon Unhappy Woman ,which manifests on theme, style and connotation.In conclusion, rewriting makes the influence of The Dream of Red Mansion change from the superficial on The Story of Golden Lock to the profound on Unhappy Woman. The theme and style of Unhappy Woman are nearer to The Dream of Red Mansion than The Story of Golden Lock. Rewriting is not so-called a rehash of old ideas, but an exhibition of perfecting art. From The Story of Golden Lock to Unhappy Woman, the complex enchanted by The Dream of Red Mansions of Eileen Chang is deepening.