While Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Balzac cut through a broad cross section of their own societies, both Cao and Austen focused on a narrow stratum of the wealthy, through which society as a whole is refracted and humanity is brought to light. In the old times, the absence of sweep and grandeur was taken as a weakness, but nowadays, as is testified by the growing stature of Austen, the rich texture more than makes up for the limit in scope.
However, the richness is where the scholars revel and the difficulty in translation lies. Diana Owen, director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, calls the bard "infamously adaptable", which is part of the reason why he has been universally embraced.
We have seen his tales reincarnated as Peking Opera and Japanese costume drama, but who can imagine A Dream of Red Mansions set in another country or even present-day China? You can retain the plot, but much of the novel's beauty is between the lines.
Chen Mingjie, director of the Publicity Department of Haidian District Committee, Beijing, revealed the core intention of the effort to promote Cao, which is to build a business chain around this literary genius. In that aspect, he has a lot to learn from Owen and her organization, which does not have any government funding.
Whereas Cao's life story is even murkier than the bard's, his work hardly needs any promotional push in China. It is known to every educated Chinese. What is sorely needed is a structure of literature-oriented tourism that offers an experience with both entertainment and educational values, fun yet tasteful.
As for raising the overseas exposure of Cao and his magnum opus, it is perhaps more useful to study the propagation of The Brothers Karamazov, Remembrance of Things Past as well as Austen's novels.
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