Abstract
This paper applies the theory of cultural memory, proposed by Jan Assmann, to the study of the Chinese classical novel A Dream of Red Mansions. The first part of this paper introduces the historical development of Cultural Memory theory and its features. In the second part of the paper, it applies Cultural Memory theory to the narrative structure and novel characters research of A Dream of Red Mansions. Through analysis, the complexity and inherent contradictions in the narrative structure of A Dream of Red Mansions provide evidence for the hypothesis that A Dream of Red Mansions is a combination of Mirror for The Romantic and The Story of Stone. A Dream of Red Mansions may have more than one author, besides Cao Xueqin, another author is Cao Xueqin's elder, who experienced the rise and fall of the Cao family firsthand. This also explains the contradictions in the character images in A Dream of Red Mansions, especially the persona of Jia Baoyu, which consisted of the authors' life experience and ideal personality. The novel A Dream of Red Mansions has a dual nature of cultural memory.
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