CAO ZHAN


Meaning of CAO ZHAN in English

or Ts'ao Chan

born 1715?, Jiangning, Jiangsu province, China

died Feb. 12, 1763, Beijing

Chinese novelist.

He is the author of Dream of the Red Chamber (1791), generally considered China's greatest novel. A partly autobiographical work written in the vernacular, it describes in lingering detail the decline of a powerful family and an ill-fated love between cousins. Cao finished at least 80 of its 120 chapters; it was completed after his death, probably by Gao E, about whom little is known.

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.