How did Cao Xueqin die?

Died of poverty and disease, without medical care.

Cao Xueqin experienced a luxurious and romantic life in Nanjing Jiangning Weaving Institute in his early years. In the sixth year of Yongzheng (1728), the Cao family was robbed of their property because of a deficit, and Cao Xueqin moved back to his former residence in Beijing with his family. Later, he moved to the western suburbs of Beijing and made a living by selling calligraphy and painting and helping his friends.

Cao Xueqin has an open mind and a wide range of hobbies. He has studied epigraphy, poetry, painting, gardening, Chinese medicine, darning, craft and diet. With perseverance and years of hardships, he finally created a great work with great ideological and artistic quality-A Dream of Red Mansions.

In the twenty-seventh year of Qianlong (Renwu 1762), Cao Xueqin was forty-eight years old. Due to the early death of his young son, he was bedridden with grief. He died in Beijing on New Year's Eve. Duncheng wrote "Holding Cao Xueqin", Dunmin wrote "Drinking by the River and Hanging Xueqin on the Wall", and Zhang Yiquan wrote "Hurting a Buddhist in Qinxi".

In the forty-fourth year of Qianlong (1779), Cao Xueqin died of illness in the seventeenth year. Duncheng wrote "Letter to Big Brother (Dunmin)" in memory of Cao Xueqin.

Extended data:

Cao Xueqin's greatest contribution lies in his literary creation. A Dream of Red Mansions created by him is large in scale, rigorous in structure, complicated in plot and vivid in description, and has shaped many typical artistic images of characters. It is the pinnacle of China's ancient novels and occupies an important position in the history of world literature.

Cao Xueqin left a valuable cultural heritage and spiritual wealth for the Chinese nation and the people of the world, which not only had a far-reaching impact on the creation of later writers, but also produced a large number of excellent derivative works in the fields of painting, film and television, animation, online games and so on. Academic circles and society have studied and discussed the author, version, text and skills of A Dream of Red Mansions, and even formed a special knowledge-A Dream of Red Mansions.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Cao Xueqin