Xiaoying'er Original: Dream Back to Jiangning (Full Version) #ChineseClassicalDance #Dance #BodyStyle #Nanjing #CaoXueqin

Prologue to "Dreaming Back to Jiangning"

Author: Dr. Xiao Fuxing, Victoria Metaphysics Academy

The dream of Jiangnan is distant, the splendor of the Imperial Textile Bureau lingers in the air; the Forbidden City is cold, a mournful song of desolation echoes through the world.

"Dreaming Back to Jiangning" is an excerpt from the dance drama "Cao Xueqin," using classical dance to recreate the intertwined state of mind of Cao Xueqin, author of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, between his intoxicated by past dreams and the cold reality. Through graceful movements and a profound artistic conception, the dance creates a stark contrast between the magnificent splendor of the Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau and the desolate poverty of the capital, like a sigh across time, reflecting the poignant soul of a scholar whose fate was fraught with hardship.

With graceful, lotus-like steps, the dancers intertwine the magnificent intricacy of the Qing Dynasty court with the tender scenes of the Jiangnan Imperial Textile Bureau, as the fleeting years pass by, yet the deep-seated regret buried in the heart remains undeniable. It is this dance of women that weaves Cao Xueqin's past and present into a poignant tale of dreams and sorrow, prompting sighs of the capriciousness of fate.

Poem on Destiny: Dreaming Back to Jiangning - Mourning Cao Xueqin

The dream of Jinling shatters in the cold rain, the former splendor of the capital, once a tapestry of joy.

A pampered youth in a luxurious mansion, now destitute in the capital, tears staining his paper.

Water is abundant in his destiny, wood is wounded; misfortune thwarted his endeavors.

Glory and disgrace vanish in a single day, half a lifetime's affections entrusted to a beautiful woman.

Deep in the courtyard, the shadows of the osmanthus are sparse; what can a talented scholar do but write?

Family members scattered, dreams of home distant, a splendid life reduced to nothing.

Once embraced by the warmth of spring in the weaving world, now facing ten years of poverty and frost.

Ten thousand words in the Red Chamber entrusted his heart's secrets, a single stroke of his pen extinguished his soul, his fate desolate.

Flowers in the Jiangnan melody are chaotic, the annals of history lament the endless cycle.

A fleeting dream returns to Jiangning, the woven dream still lingers, yet the heart is broken.

Poetic Interpretation: This poem, from the perspective of the Five Elements and destiny, depicts the rise and fall of Cao Xueqin's fate: the prosperity of Jiangning in his youth symbolizes the "mutual generation of wood and fire" in his destiny, while his wandering in the capital in adulthood reflects the decline of "water overwhelming wood." The poem contrasts "brocade and prosperity" with "frost and poverty," implying the impermanence of fate and reflecting Cao Xueqin's tragic end, despite possessing the monumental work *Dream of the Red Chamber*, failing to achieve lasting fame.