Describe a book you recently read.

    You should say

    what book it was

    when you read it

    why you read it and explain what you liked and (possibly) disliked about the book.

    what book it was

    As you may know, many Chinese people love complex love stories and the <Dream of the Red Chamber> is perhaps the most popular and well-developed of them.

    when you read it

    I have read the whole novel from the beginning to the end only once 3 months ago, but I like it and I felt myself loss when I finished that novel. I lingered at the last few chapters for long enough to get myself back to a normal life.

    why you read it

    It tells us the difference between Chinese literature and Western literature. At the end of each chapter, there is always a line which says ‘if the reader wants to know what happens next, please read the next chapter’. The line suggests that these chapters were each written separately over a period of time, thus, it functions as a reminder for readers to wait for the next chapter. These were the most developed stages of Chinese fiction writing.

    And explain what you liked about the book

    Moreover, the reason for the novel’s outstanding reputation and distinguishable status is that the novel is ‘the direct way to learn about Chinese culture. You cannot read Laozi or Confucius to understand Chinese society and Chinese people, while the book is the shortcut’. Therefore, the language used for this classical work is between formal and colloquial. In addition, the work was completed during Qing dynasty which is the last feudal empire in Chinese history, thus, the language is classical but also quite close to modern Chinese; it is intelligible for Chinese readers without any footnotes. Furthermore, exaggerated expressions are frequently used in the original text to show the author’s irony towards the society.

    Another sample answer:  

    what book it was

    Dream of the Red Mansions, written in the 18th century, is undoubtedly one of the most distinguishable classical novels of Chinese literature. The story has been made into numerous mini series and TV operas.

    when you read it

    I have read it (the Chinese version) several times, and have it handy in my palm in case I want to read it. I think I read it the first time when I was in middle school and it was kind of difficult (yes because of the huge number of characters and the sub-plots and so on). But then it got easier and easier. You have to read it and know the stories and the poems because they are so frequently quoted.

    why you read it

    I deeply love the romance between the characters, that’s why I read it that often. I don't know much about the English version but it'd be definitely difficult to translate this novel into any other languages. I wonder how one can translate the puns which expressed some deeper meaning, or probably the best way is to skip it or giving some footnotes (which will ruin the novel).

    And explain what you liked about the book

    The main character is Baoyu (?玉), and his love interest is his cousin Daiyu (黛玉), who is the daughter of his aunt (father's sister). Baoyu finally marries another cousin Baochai (??). Baoyu, before he comes to this world, was a rock/jade, and Daiyu a plant. The rock used to water the plant. So Daiyu has to pay back the debt to Baoyu with all her tears in this life. (How romantic.) The poems I like best are the two which foretell their fates in Baoyu's dream.

    And the scene before Daiyu dies, when she buries the fallen flowers, is very very very famous, called "黛玉葬花".

    And there's another famous poem called ?豆?, which has been made into a song. Just the other day I was listening to it at a fashion boutique.

    I could go on and on.

    满纸荒唐言，一把辛酸泪。都云作者痴，谁解其中味？

    都道是金玉良缘，俺只念木石前盟。空对着山中高士晶莹雪，终不忘世外仙姝寂寞林。叹人间美中不足今方信，纵然齐眉举案，到底意难平。

    一个是阆苑仙葩，一个是美玉无瑕。?

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    若说没奇缘，今生偏又遇着他；??

    若说有奇缘，如何心事终虚话？?

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    一个枉子嗟呀，一个空劳牵挂。

??
    一个是水中月，一个是镜中花。

??
    想眼中能有多少泪珠儿，?

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    怎禁得秋流到冬，春流到夏！

    说到辛酸处，荒唐愈可悲，由来同一梦，休笑世人痴。