Wu Mi’s Studies On A Dream Of Red Mansions

The criticism view and idea of A Dream of Red Mansions, studied by Wu Mi,particularly reflected in New Explanation in A Dream of Red Mansions、Comments onthe Story of the Stone、The Characteristic of Jia Baoyu、The Characteristic of WangXifeng and Literature and Life. Wu Mi’s studies on redology were a pioneering andguide characteristic practice, and his research results were useful corrective to thosewho focused on recluses and textual research, which improved the weakness links ofthe literary criticisms of the novel A Dream of Red Mansions in the past half century.On the dual influences of Confucian Culture and Babbitt’s New humanism, Wu Mimake a comparative study on A Dream of Red Mansions and foreign literary works,thus gave the full affirmation and enough attention to A Dream of Red Mansions. WuMi’s study was committed to the interpreted the theme of the novel, revealed thetypical significances of characters and explored the novel structure. To be specific,Wu Mi was standing in the thinking that A Dream of Red Mansions included fourlayers of meaning: personal gain or loss, success and failure in the society, prosperityof the State and world’s destinies. The “four-layer themes theory” responded to WuMi’s understanding in the essence and function of literature. Wu Mi’s figures studies,which dominated by aesthetic consideration and revealed the typical significances ofcharacters, were projection in pursuit of “true feeling” and “true theory”. Wu Mispread out exposition in two categories: surface structure and deep structure. Inaddition, Wu Mi was a maverick scholar who put forward many inspirational opinions,such as “concentric circle” structure,“four seasons” structure,“Two Realms”structure, etc. Anyway, he tries his best to find another way to make clear thestructure of A Dream of Red Mansion. To sum up, Wu Mi’s studies on redology,which embody new opinions and enlightenments, explored a new way for theresearches on A Dream of Red Mansions.