An Aesthetics Study On The Fool Category In A Dream Of Red Mansions

The image of "fool" in Chinese literature has rich aesthetic implications. With the background information of that time, "fool" images of the A Dream of Red Mansions are analyzed more comprehensively. Hens the analysis starts from the cultural identity of the "fools", then the potential values of it is revealed. At same time the aesthetic implications of "fool" in the A Dream of Red Mansions are questioned and explored based on the presented evaluation.Except the introduction part and epilogue part this paper is divided into three parts:The first part is about the literature overview of A Dream of Red Mansions. First, the previous research of A Dream of Red Mansions from the Qing Emperor Qianlong to the present is listed. Then according to different research focuses of A Dream of Red Mansions in different periods, the current research conditions are showed, finding the related elaboration about the "fool" and providing the basis for the research of aesthetics about the "fool".The second part is consisted of two sections. In the first section, the chapters involved "fool" are listed in details (the first eighty), tables are made to show the relevant discourses, providing the original resources for the category "fool" of A Dream of Red Mansions. According to different definition of the "fool", the above data are summarized and categorized in the second section thus providing the foundation for the later "fool" aesthetic implication of the study.During the third part, to begin with considering "fool" as an evaluation word, the figures are mainly divided into "fool" and "non-fool" in A Dream of Red Mansions. So through the analysis about the cultural identity of two types of figures, the conflicts of their value systems are highlighted which are also led into the conflicts of traditional and non-traditional cultural confrontation, and emphasized "fool" beyond meaning and aesthetic value. Then it comes to the discussion of the category "fool" and content of the aesthetics.