A DREAN。 F RED MNSIONS A Dream of Red Mansions is a book about political strug gle, a political-historical novel. The cruel penalties for subversive" writing forced the author to express his ideas in a veiled, indirect manner. Thus at the start of the book he says that he"tried to hide the true facts of his experience""by writing"fiction in rustic language."In other words, he could not openly present the true facts of the contemporary political struggle. But although he claimed that his book did not touch at all on current events"and that on the contrary the main theme was love, " this great realist writer in fact mounted a bitter attack on the evils of real politics. On the e urce thi novel deals largely with the love between Pao-yu and Tai-yu but actually, through this story as well as many other episode in the book, the author penetratingly exposes the evils of the feudal system and the crimes of the feudal ruling class. It also describes the sufferings and revolt of the labouring mauser truthfully reflecting the social contradictions in the last perio of feudalis as well as the actual political struggles of the ame Chapter Four gives us the main outline of the novel. In this chapter the author draws back the curtains of the stage on class struggle. The " oficials'protective charm"mentioned in this chapter lists the four notable families of Chinling (present-day Nanking), the rich and powerful Chias, Shihe Wangs and Hsueh As Chairman Mad has pointed out: The patriarchal feudal class of local tyrants, evil gentry and Jawless land- lords has formed the basis of autocratic overnment for thousands of years. In feudal sociaty the "notable families the cells of the patriatchal-feudal aystem,were the main props f its autocratic rule The emperor was the highest represent ative of their interests while the various grades of local gov- ernment were the instrument to enforce their control The four grcat houses of Chia, Shih, Wang and Hsueh described A Mao Teung"Report on aa Invaatigntion of the Peasant Movement in Hunan, Selected Warr, Foreiga Ianrusges Prom, Pcking fu7, yol I