Cao Xueqin was a man of many facets: a painter, skilled calligrapher, craftsman, healer and poet; however he is best remembered today as the author of the greatest novel written in the Chinese language, Hung Lou Meng (or Dream of the red Chamber). This work had a lot of followers in later Chinese literature, signifying a new period of a classic Chinese novel. It tells of life of several generations of a large aristocratic family, beginning with their rise and following the events and tragic love of the heroes up to the decline of the family. Being a peculiar all-embracing, encyclopedic work, the book is valuable for its detailed account of life and traditions of the Chinese society of the eighteenth century, presenting unique national features, customs and manners. The plot involves hundreds of characters, representatives of various strata of society; the author pays great attention to the inner world of the heroes, emotions and feelings, their state of mind and relations. It is bases on Buddhist idea – life is a dream, full of sorrow and suffering: heroes struggle for their dignity and respect regardless of class representation. The complexity of composition, psychological validity of characters’ action, poems that are skillfully interwoven into the thread of the narration – all these make up cogent literary value of the work, a masterpiece of Chinese, and world literature. The first volume covers chapters I – XXIV.