Cao Xueqin

Cao Zhan, known as Cao Xueqin, was born around 1715 in Jiangning, present-day Nanjing. A grandson of Cao Yin, he belonged to a Han family attached as servants to the Plain White Banner; for three generations it had held the post of imperial silk manufacture at Jiangning. In 1727, the family fell into disgrace, had its property confiscated and settled in Beijing. He then lived in poverty, west of the city, selling his paintings. He died in Beijing, in 1763 or 1764 (on 12 February 1763 according to Britannica).

In the catalogue 1

• NovelDream of the Red Chamber紅樓夢Cao Xueqin · 1750Literature