"Ha? What? "
"108 chapters?"
"That's impossible. I'm gonna faint!"
"Teacher Zhang won't stop until he scares us to death!"
"Why does it have to be 108 chapters? Why is there a round number of zeros? "
There was an uproar in the seats. The expressions and words of the Peking University students expressed their distrust. They could not believe it, nor could they accept it. After all, the 120 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was too deeply rooted in their hearts. It was fine if you said that someone had continued writing after the 80th chapter of 'Dream of the Red Chamber', but now, you even want to deny the 120 chapters?
The Redologist, Old Yang, immediately refuted, "Nonsense!"
Teacher Yang's voice was very loud. The entire venue instantly quietened down!
The students were trying to find out who was speaking. As the microphone's output was all on the audio equipment, it was impossible to tell the source of the voice. They could only use their naked eyes to see. Finally, they found the person who spoke. Everyone looked at the people from the literary world in the first row.
"Who is this?"
"There's even a recording. Who would shout like that!?"
"That's a Redologist. His surname is Yang. I've seen his lecture materials in the past."
"I also know this Teacher Yang. He has been researching 'Dream of the Red Chamber' all his life. He's quite famous."
The Peking University students all knew that the people from the literary world were beginning to tear down Teacher Zhang Ye's stage.
Meng Dongguo also spoke. He was also one of the people holding a microphone. He looked at Zhang Ye on stage and said in an unfriendly tone, "What right do you have to say that? To study Redology, one must pay attention to evidence. Even if the Qing Dynasty poet's poem you gave yesterday had a small note that said 'Chapters after the eightieth were all supplemented by Gao Ci'. Let's not talk about the dispute in this small note. Even so, it only mentioned the words' after the eightieth chapter '. Why did the number 108 appear now? Don't tell me there are records of the chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'? "
Zhang Ye calmly said, "There are no records."
The Writers' Association's Vice President Yan Yu said, "Then how did you know?"
He said, "I've said it before. Today, I do not wish to use historical data to prove my judgment. I only wish to analyze and explain it from the original work. Sometimes, information might lie, and there might be all sorts of uncertainties, but what we are researching is the book 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. What we are researching is its content. This cannot lie, and is also the most powerful evidence. Why do I dare to say that 'Dream of the Red Chamber' does not have 120 chapters, but 108? The evidence is in the book! "
He took out the documents.
This time, Peking University's staff came to help Zhang Ye organize the information and display it on the projector screen according to his request.
Everyone frowned when they saw that.
"What is this?"
"Isn't this the original text of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'?"
"What's there to see? I've seen it countless times! "
Zhang Ye calmly pointed at the screen, "This is the most authoritative 120 circulated versions of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' that can be bought on the market. I believe many of you have already read it, and some of you have not only read it once, but even read it more than ten times. Some of you have even broken it down to study it. So why am I taking it out today? It's because I want to help everyone recall, because everyone has missed out on some important information and the great secret hidden in 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. According to my research, I can tell everyone that Cao Xueqin's' Dream of the Red Chamber 'has an internal textual structure. It is a textual pattern of 9 times 12!"
"9 times 12?"
"How can you tell that?"
"Why haven't I discovered this pattern before?"
The students were surprised. The people from the literary world also had looks of disbelief.
Even Yan Yu and Teacher Yang, those Redologists, had never been able to prove this pattern. The people of this world had never even thought about it. This was because they had always believed that the 120 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' were written by Cao Xueqin, so their thinking was naturally limited. Hence, it was not that the people of this world were not as smart as the people of Zhang Ye's world, but due to objective factors.
This conclusion was first proposed by Mr. Zhou Ruchang from Zhang Ye's world. Liu Xinwu had also mentioned it in "Dream of the Red Chamber".
Zhang Ye said to everyone, "Cao Xueqin's' Dream of the Red Chamber 'is very rigorous. In general, every nine chapters is considered a unit. The book has a total of 12 chapters." With a slight pause, "I see that many of you don't believe it. Then, can we discuss it in depth? Yes, we can. Let's take a look at the first 80 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' that we can read together. It is very obvious. From the first chapter to the ninth chapter is a unit. From the ninth to the eighteenth chapter is a unit. Two, nine, eighteen. Let's take a look at the first major unit. Does everyone remember the eighteenth chapter? What's written there? It's written that Consort Yuan is visiting her parents! "
The screen of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' changed to the 78th chapter.
Everyone had basically read the original work, so with a glance on the screen, they could basically recall it. They did not say a word, as they wanted to hear Zhang Ye's explanation.
Zhang Ye carried on, "Today, the Redology world has long studied and come to a conclusion. There are two important women who decide the fate of the Jia family. One is Qin Keqing, and the other is Jia Yuanchun. I agree with this conclusion, and I also agree with it very much. Then, from the first to the eighteenth chapter, it shows the importance of these two women to the Jia family. Qin Keqing died in the thirteenth chapter. Who is this person? The Redology world has also studied the results. This person is the daughter of Prince Yizhong, who is a thousand years old. She is hiding in Ningguo Mansion. Her true identity is not some abandoned baby from a health hall. This also laid a very deep foreshadowing for the tragic ending. However, the Jia family walks on two legs. They sent Jia Yuanchun to the palace and gained the Emperor's favor. She was conferred the title of Consort Xiande, and the Emperor allowed her to return home to visit her parents. Hence, in the eighteenth chapter, the Jia family's situation reached a state of 'fresh flowers are embroidered in brocade, oil is added to the fire'. Hence, from the first to the eighteenth chapter, Cao Xueqin has presented us these important relationships and important story plots! Then in the nineteenth chapter, he began to write about the relationship between friends. He wrote about Jia Baoyu's emotional life. Can you tell? This structural division is very clear! "
He would not have known if he did not think about it, but the moment he thought about it, he jumped in fright!
Senior Song was stunned. It seemed, it seemed to be the case!
Many of the other Peking University students were still skeptical as they waited to continue listening.
Cao Xueqin focused on writing about Jia Baoyu's emotional life in the Grand View Garden, his love with Lin Daiyu, and his subtle relationship with Xue Baochai. In the thirty-sixth chapter, Cao Xueqin made a conclusion to these emotions. Do you still remember what he wrote? "He pointed to the screen," Understanding Pear Fragrance Garden! "
There were finally sounds of discussion in the first row.
Yan Yu frowned as he conversed with Teacher Yang in a low voice. Ma Hengyuan and Meng Dongguo were either pondering or discussing with their friends around them. Their voices were very soft.
Zhang Ye said, "I won't talk about the specific plot. The general idea is that Jia Baoyu feels that all young girls should love him and like him, but that opera troupe's Ling Guan does not. Jia Baoyu's understanding of emotions has undergone an important sublimation. He knows that things that do not belong to you cannot be forced. Everything has its own destiny. This is also a life insight that Cao Xueqin wants to convey to us through the novel. Look, this is another division."
The crowd did not have much of a reaction.
It was unknown if they were thinking or surprised.
Zhang Ye smiled, "Everyone might have already sensed it. You can continue thinking and think about it while listening to me. The next major plot unit is chapter 54. Five nine forty-five, six nine fifty-four. Since I said that 'Dream of the Red Chamber' has 108 chapters, then the 54th chapter, which is the dividing line in the middle, is clearly an extremely important dividing line. And that is indeed the case. What is written inside? It's written about the Jia family's heyday, reaching a position that could not be any higher. They celebrate the Lantern Festival, hold a banquet, and enjoy all the glory and splendor. Finally, what happens after the opera performances? With the word 'reward', he splashes money onto the stage, rewarding those opera singers. Glory and splendor, wealth and splendor, but extreme joy begets sorrow. When the water is full, it overflows. By chapter 55, Cao Xueqin begins to write about the Jia family's internal and external troubles. The first 54 chapters are written about the Jia family's rise and prosperity, while the last 54 chapters are written about the Jia family's decline. Finally, it's all white. So everyone can see that the division is very clear. Cao Xueqin is very particular about the structure of the text! "
Yan Yu turned silent. This …
Teacher Yang was also deep in thought with a black face.
Senior Zhou raised his hand and asked, "Then why is it 12?"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Why is it 9 times 12? Why is there a constant of 12? Actually, it's very clear. After reading the fifth chapter, it's clear. Jia Baoyu's mind was in the Great Virtual Realm. The Fairy of Vigilance brought him to the Office of Unlucky Fate, and he peeked at the pages. These pages recorded the fates of the women from Jinling. Then how were these pages distributed? I would like to ask, how many people are in the official register? "
Yao Cui immediately stood up, "It's 12! The Twelve Beauties of Jinling! "
"Right." Zhang Ye asked again, "Then what about the supplementary register and the supplementary register?"
Senior Zhou exclaimed, "It's also 12."
Zhang Ye said, "Then when the Fairy of Vigilance entertained Jia Baoyu, how many songs did the Fairy of Vigilance sing?"
Senior Song blinked her eyes and took the microphone to answer the question, "It's … the 12 songs of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'!"
"Right, then the Age Official I mentioned, the troupe he raised, how many Age Officials were there?" Zhang Ye asked again, "Did any of the attentive students notice?"
Many students could not answer. They did not remember, as they did not read it in detail.
But at this moment, Wu Zeqing said with a smile, "Twelve, I think. They are collectively known as the Twelve Officials of the Red Chamber."
Zhang Ye smiled, "Yes. Everyone, look. Cao Xueqin used 12 as a number throughout. In addition to the 54 chapters, it's half the dividing line. Isn't it obvious at a glance? Hence, the 120 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' that are circulating today is something that I personally cannot accept. This is because Cao Xueqin's original version of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' only has 108 chapters! Hence, only the first 80 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' were written by Cao Xueqin. The last 40 chapters were continued by Gao E or some nameless person. Furthermore, the continuation is not very reliable. This is because after 80 chapters, there are not 40 chapters, but 28 chapters left! "
With this, these people from the literary world could no longer sit still!
It could be said in such a way?
It could be explained in such a way?
It could be analyzed in such a way?
Teacher Yang, who had studied 'Dream of the Red Chamber' his entire life, was stunned hearing this!
Zhang Ye's analysis from this angle was completely unprecedented!
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