Among many things, A Dream of Red Mansions is an indictment and an exposure of the feudal patriarchal clan system, its enormous political clout, and the omnipotent authority of the husband.
The chapter introducing the Official Protective Charm is a key chapter to better understanding this concept. Here, we learn that local officials keep a secret list of the most powerful, wealthy, and high-ranking families in their provinces. Each province has such a list. If, unknowingly, a small county official offends one of these families, he might lose not only his post but his life as well. This situation is explained to Chia Yu-tsun, the new prefect of Yingtian, by an attendant. The four important families of Chin, Shih, Wang, and Hsueh are on the list. Therefore, the new prefect has to Protect these big families — even at the expense of the law and justice.
At one point in the novel, Hsueh Pan, the young master of the Hsueh family, knows that he has the power to ask his followers to beat Feng Yuan (the son of minor local gentry) to death in broad daylight — simply to possess a girl. Because of the Official Protective Charm, Hsueh Pan goes free — without being punished by the law.
Similar examples are found throughout the novel, proving that the four important families of Chin, Shih, Wang, and Hsueh are politically powerful and important landlords, businessmen, and bureaucrats. The officials have to flatter these families and protect their interests before they can expect to be promoted or make advances in their careers. Accordingly, knowing that they have protection from the courts, rich landlords and their family members know that they can do whatever they like; they can bully ordinary, weak people and satisfy their lusts and desires whenever they please.
