On Originality of Narrative Structures of the First Five Chapters ofA Dream in Red Mansions

The textual study of A Dream in Red Mansions should stick to the principle of integrity and avoid the “piece stydy”. Therefore, this paper has analyzed the role, significance and function of the first five chapters of the novel in the narrative structure. Moreover, it has revealed the originality of the structure, i.e. how is the independent narration constructed? This is shown in three aspects. First, the spatial scenes are set through the dialogue between connected characters, and the story goes on and characters get involved; secondly, stories are arranged and connected around a core; thirdly, stories of all levels are around a subject. This has broken the bottleneck in the interpretation of the whole book.