A Study on Homophonic and Puns in Dream of the Red Chamber Kajian Penggunaan Homofonik dan Puns dalam Hong Lou Meng

Abstract

Hong Lou Meng / Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin is the greatest novel in
the history of Chinese literature. Hong Lou Meng portrays unforgettable characters
by various usages of grammatical metaphors in characters’ utterances including
homophonic, puns and other mysterious ways. The art of language is used in chapters 1
to 5. The meaning and the role of homophonic and puns can be divided into a few types
that exert great impact on the conveyance of meaning in text. The function including: the
construction of the structure of this novel, as the art of satire, the fate prediction of the
main characters, reflect the characters’ life and the important situations, to convey the
characters’ attitude, opinions and their interpersonal relationship.

Keywords: Dream of the Red Chamber, Cao Xueqin, Homophonic, puns