In 1935, he entered the Classical Literature Research Unit (古典文學研究室 Gŭdiăn Wénxué Yánjiūshì) at the Literary Research Institute (文學研究所 Wénxué Yánjiūsuŏ) of the Chinese Academy of Science, there revising his old publication Discussing Dream of the Red Chamber and redistributing it under the title Study of the Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢研究 Hónglóumèng Yánjiū).
[3] In September 1954, two recent graduates Li Xifan and Lan Ling (蓝翎) published a critique of an article about Dream of the Red Chamber written by Yu.
On October 10, their critique of Yu's Study of the Dream of the Red Chamber was published in the major national newspaper Guangming Daily, which criticizes the book for lacking "scientific analysis" and for failing to notice the "great anti-feudal trend" represented in the classical novel.
[4] Li and Lan's critiques caught the attention of Mao Zedong, who seized the opportunity to launch an attack against Yu, and ultimately, the idealism espoused by the scholar Hu Shih.
The letter was circulated within China's top leadership, and Chinese media began a national campaign praising the "nobodies" such as Li and Lan while criticizing bourgeois "big wigs" such as Yu.