“In her important addition to Hongxue (Redology), I-Hsien Wu guides us to and through various literary sources, illuminating The Stone’s creation process and possibilities of interpretation … Unlike scholars who analyze the novel through the lens of its autobiographical implications or understand it as an individual work to be attributed to the talent of its historical authors—Cao Xueqin (1715–63) and Gao E (1738–1815), Wu considers the story an open structure that assimilates and transforms preexisting motifs in order to form its own identity … Without doubt, Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature enriches our understanding of The Story of the Stone. Scholars and students of Chinese literature will gain new perspectives on the masterpiece after they enter the complex literary matrix in Wu’s book.” —Journal of Asian Studies

This book is in the Cambria Sinophone World Series, headed by Victor Mair (University of Pennsylvania).