Towards An Objective View of Gao'e: Lin Yutang's Counterarguments against A Dream of Red Mansions Studies in China's Mainland

A large part of Lin Yutang's work Towards An Objective View of Gao'e is devoted to counterarguments against A Dream of Red Mansions scholars such as Yu Pingbo,Zhou Ruchang,etc.This is regarded as a challenge against classical studies of A Dream of Red Mansions.In the part Criticisms against Subjective Views on Gao'e,he counter-argues against Yu Pingbo's An Examination of A Dream of Red Mansions and proves that the last forty chapters of A Dream of Red Mansions were actually written by Cao Xueqin instead of Gao'e who only revised Cao's remaining manuscripts.Lin Yutang also holds a negative view of Zhou Ruchang's New Investigation into A Dream of Red Mansion.Lin Yutang's criticisms of these scholars appear to be sharp and a bit biased.Lin Yutang's views,though with their weaknesses,and with some parts open to debate,contribute greatly to the studies of A Dream of Red Mansion.