One of those rare books that deepen one's understanding of what it means to be human, that changes one's view of life.

   --The Times Higher Educational Supplement

 Of all the classic Chinese novels, The Story of the Stone is indisputably the greatest masterpiece.

   -- The New York Review

 Divided into five volumes, of which The Dreamer Wakes is the fifth, it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious Jia family (a story which closely accords with the fortunes of Cao Xueqin's own family). The characters are set against a rich tapestry of humour, realistic detail and delicate poetry which accurately reflects the ritualized hurly-burly of Chinese family life. But over and above the novel hangs the constant reminder that there is another plane of existence -a theme which affirms the Buddhist belief in a supernatural scheme of things.

NOTE ON SPELLING

PREFACE

CHAPTER 99

Unscrupulous minions make use of their master's virtue

to conceal a multitude of sins,"

and Jia Zheng is alarmed to read his nephew's name

in the 'Peking Gazette'

CHAPTER 100

Caltrop disturbs an elaborate seduction and inspires bitter

resentment;

Bao-yu learns of a distressing betrothal and laments an imminent

departure

CHAPTER 101

In Prospect Garden a moonlit apparition repeats an ancient

warning,"

and at Scattered Flowers Convent the fortune-sticks provide

a strange omen

CHAPTER 102

Illness descends upon the Jia family in Ning-guo House;

and charms and holy water are used to exorcize Prospect Garden

CHAPTER 103

Jin-gui dies by her own hand, caught in a web of her own

weaving;

Yu-cun encounters an old friend in vain, blind to the higher

truths of Zen

CHAPTER 104

Drunken Dime at large again - a small fish whips up a mighty

storm;

our Besotted Hero in agony once more - a chance thrust quickens

a numbed heart

CHAPTER 105

The Embroidered Jackets raid Ning-guo House;

and Censor Li impeaches the Prefect of Ping-an

CHAPTER 106

Wang XLfengfeels remorse for the consequences of her past

misdeeds;

and Grandmother Jia prays for the family's deliverance from

further calamity

CHAPTER 107

Impelled by family devotion, Grandmother Jia distributes her

personal possessions;

favoured with an Imperial dispensation, Jia Zheng receives his

brother's hereditary rank

CHAPTER 108

A birthday party held for Sister Allspice necessitates a false

display of jollity;

and ghostly weeping heard at the Naiad's House provokes

afresh outburst of grief

CHAPTER 109

Fivey shares a vigil, and receives affection meant for another;

Ying-chun pays her debt to fate, and returns to the Realm

of Primordial Truth

CHAPTER 110

Lady Jia ends her days, and returns to/he land of shades;

Wang Xi-feng exhausts her strength, and forfeits the family's

esteem

CHAPTER 111

A devoted maid renders a final service, and accompanies her

mistress to the Great Void;

a villainous slave takes his revenge, and betrays his masters into

the hands of thieves

CHAPTER 112

Adamantina discharges a karmic debt and receives a blow from

the Hand of Providence;

Aunt Zhao concludes a deadly feud and sets out on the road

to the Nether World

CHAPTER 113

Xi-feng repents of her former misdeeds, and entrusts her child

to a village dame;

Nightingale softens a long-standing animosity, and warms to her

besotted master

CHAPTER 114

Wang Xi-feng ends her life's illusion and returns to Jinling;

Zhen Ying-jia receives the Emperor's favour and is summoned

to the Palace

CHAPTER 115

A private obsession revived confirms Xi-chun in an ancient vow;

a physical likeness verified deprives Bao-yu of an imagined

friend

CHAPTER 116

Human destinies are revealed in a fairy realm, and the Stone

is restored to its rightful owner;

mortal remains are transported to their terrestrial home,

and duty is discharged by a filial son

CHAPTER 117

Two fair damsels conspire to save the jade, and forestall a flight

from earthy bondage;

an infamous rogue takes charge of the mansion, and assembles

a gang of cronies

CHAPTER 118

Provoled by a rankling antipath3, Uncle and Cousin plot the

ruin of an innocent maid;

alarmed h3 riddling utterances, Wife and Concubine remonstrate

with their idiot master

CHAPTER 119

Bao-yu becomes a Provincial Graduate and severs worldly ties;

the House of Jia receives Imperial favour and renews ancestral

glory

CHAPTER 12O

Zhen Shi-3in expounds the Nature of Passion and Illusion;

and Jia Yu-cun concludes the Dream of Golden Days

CHARACTERS IN VOLUME

GENEALOGICAL TABLES