Cáo Xuěqín ([tsʰǎʊ ɕɥètɕʰǐn] tsow sh'weh-chin; Chinese: 曹雪芹); (April 04, 1710 — June 10, 1765) was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty. He is best known as the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. His given name was Cáo Zhān (曹霑) and his courtesy name was Mèngruǎn (simplified Chinese: 梦阮; traditional Chinese: 夢阮).
