What role did the fifth chapter of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' play in the entire book?
The fifth chapter of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was the climax of the entire novel. It was the turning point of the entire novel. In the fifth chapter, Cao Xueqin showed the typical love theme of Chinese classical novels through the emotional entanglement between Baoyu and Daiyu. At the same time, the novel also revealed the various drawbacks of feudal society and the deep-seated problems of human nature, such as hierarchy, power struggle, family conflicts, jealousy and so on. These topics and questions not only made the novel have profound social significance, but also triggered the readers to think and reflect on the feudal society. The fifth chapter also demonstrated the magical realism style of the novel through the illusion in Baoyu's dream and the death of Daiyu. This style is very unique in Chinese classical novels, which not only makes the novel more literary value, but also increases the readers 'reading ability and appeal. To sum up, the fifth chapter of Dream of the Red Chamber played the role of a connecting link in the whole book. It not only showed the theme and style of the novel, but also triggered the readers to think and reflect on the feudal society. It was the turning point and literary value of the whole novel.
