The Dream of the Red Chamber《红楼梦》: The State of Study of a Chinese Literary Work in Thai and Chinese Academic Fields

Abstract

The research aims to explore and examine the state or situation of research studies of the Chinese literary work, The Dream of the Red Chamber in the academic fields of Thailand and China within the two-decade period from 2002-2021. This documentary research studied the documents and other information accessed from information technology (IT) resources where there are collections of related research studies, articles, and dissertations from both countries. In Thailand, the resources were ThaiJo and ThaiLIS websites, and in Chinese it was CNKI which is the prominent academic data base of the country. The five aspects studied included: 1) the biography of the author and the reviewers; 2) the analysis of the literary work; 3) the analysis of the characters; 4) the translations and adaptations across other disciplines, and 5) the issues of arts and culture. The data were analyzed and presented statistically in tables or diagrams. The results found that the state of study of The Dream of the Red Chamber in Thai and Chinese academic fields exhibited huge differences both in the quantity of research studies and the variations of research scopes. In the Chinese academic field, there was the continuation of the research studies on the novel in many distinct disciplines, and the employment of analytical concepts of Western literature. The biography of the author and the reviewers, the content of the novel, the characters and other components were studied, and there was constant reporting on the progression of the research activities regarding the novel. This strengthens the status of the novel in both literary and academic fields, and lead to its’ consistent development as the masterpiece of Chinese literature. In Thailand, the study of the novel was found in limited numbers as there is only one complete version in Thai translation. In the past two decades, the study on the novel was quite limited to a very narrow circle from those who have genuine interest toward the work, and the scope of research focuses only on the few important female characters. Therefore, there are many aspects left to be studied, including the translating into Thai, issues about arts and culture or the adaptation across other disciplines. There are spacious gaps and aspects left for those people or Thai scholars who hold some interest in the novel to conduct research study in the future. With this, the circle of research study on the novel could be expanded and appreciated.