The Argument for a Woman’s Authorship of the Hou Honglou meng

Abstract This article argues Hou Honglou meng (Later Dream of the Red Chamber; in circulation by 1796), the earliest sequel to the 120-chapter Dream of the Red Chamber, was likely written by a woman. The author of Hou Honglou meng makes the reborn Lin Daiyu the central protagonist of the novel. Over the duration of thirty chapters, Daiyu transitions from the role of daughter, to bride and daughter-in-law, and finally to mother. This pragmatic Daiyu has no patience for the romantic cult of qing values of the parent novel; instead, her sentimental attachments are directed toward her natal family, and her expressed will is to escape marriage in order to pursue Daoist transcendence. Daiyu returns to life as an extremely practical household manager who revives the fortunes of the Jia family. This image of an empowered Daiyu who insists on her autonomy from Baoyu, who is still obsessed with his qing-based yearning, conforms to the types of protagonists found in female-authored tanci. The article concludes with the argument that the prolific woman of letters Yun Zhu (1771-1833) deserves serious consideration as the author of Hou Honglou meng.