Tsao Hsueh-chin

Ts'ao Hsüeh-ch'in , 1715-63, Chinese novelist. He is the author of Story of the Stone (or A Dream of Red Mansions ), which is considered China's greatest novel. After his wealthy and prominent family fell victim to an imperial purge in 1728, Ts'ao's father managed to avoid enslavement and resettled them in Beijing. There Ts'ao, poverty-stricken, worked on his semiautobiographical novel, which remained unfinished at his death. Edited and completed by Kao E (1740-c.1815), it is a masterful chronicle of the decline of a distinguished family, focusing on a triangular romance among the three main characters. The witty narrative, rich in naturalistic detail, emphasizes metaphysical themes of transience and the risks of passionate desire.

Bibliography: See translations by D. Hawkes and J. Minford (5 vol., 1973-82); studies by L. Miller (1975) and A. H. Plaks (1976).

Ssu-ming (Chin., ‘Lord of fate’). A Taoist version of Tsao-chün, the ‘lord of the hearth’. Tsaochün watches over a household from his vantage-point, and is therefore of great importance in folk religion.

Lokakṣema (b. 147 ce). A Han-dynasty Buddhist monk and one of the earliest translators of Buddhist literature into Chinese. Originally from Scythia, he arrived in the capital Lo-yang and worked there between 178 and 189, producing about 20 translations, including the important Pratyutpanna Sūtra (containing the first mention of meditation upon Amitābha Buddha and his Pure Land) as well as the first translations of Perfection of Insight literature (see Prajñā-pāramitā Sūtras). Thus, his work paved the way for the earliest practice of Pure Land meditation and the discussions of Buddhist philosophy that made possible the ‘Profound Learning’ (Chin., hsüan hsueh) conversations between Buddhists and Taoists.