Twenty-seven-year-old Hangzhou woman Hu Nan works for a
Sino-foreign company, but she has become famous for her other job:
writing a sequel to the Chinese classic A Dream of Red
Mansions.
Hu Nan's huge project began when she was 15 years old. "The
reason was very simple," Hu Nan explains. "I was too fascinated
with the book. I have read the book dozens of times, but I didn't
like the last 40 chapters written by Gao E, so I decided to rewrite
it on my own."
Since then, Hu Nan has rewritten the novel three times. She
consulted many other versions written by famous writers in the Qing
Dynasty. Hu Nan thinks that although the scholars had much more
historical knowledge than her, their versions had somewhat violated
the author's original idea.
In 2004, Hu Nan posted some parts of her writings on an online
forum. To her surprise, her story received much positive feedback.
Encouraged by the forum members, Hu Nan continued her writing and
finally finished the last 108 chapters.
Deng Suifu, an expert on the study of A Dream of Red
Mansions, says Hu Nan's work is special. Among the many
writers who have written endings for the book, Hu Nan is the
youngest. Because of her age, she can better understand the
feelings of the characters in the book and write down their
destinies.
A publishing house has decided to publish Hu Nan's book, which
will hit bookshelves next January.
(CRI.com December 6, 2006)