Xue Baochai
Encyclopedia
Xue Baochai is one of the principal characters in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber
. She is extremely beautiful and socially graceful. Her attributes complement those of her cousin Lin Daiyu
. Indeed, it has been suggested that the two women are complements of one another - each has exactly the attributes of Cao Xueqin
's ideal woman which the other lacks.
She is the only daughter of Aunt Xue
and the younger sister of Xue Pan
, a local Jinling bully. Unlike her brother, she is an excellent poet and a good elder cousin to Baoyu and Daiyu, and a good mistress to her maids. Well liked by all the servants and the mistresses of the Jia household, she also is a capable person, once helping Lady Wang
manage the Rong Guo Mansion. Baochai is also extremely tactful, always careful never to offend anyone of importance in the house. Eventually, she marries Jia Baoyu
.
The novel portrays Xue Baochai as a intelligent and talented woman whose marriage became a tragedy because of the fact Jia Baoyu, her husband, is never able to truly forget Lin Daiyu, his true love, since the latter died before they can get married. There is a tragic song in Chapter 5 which foreshadows her fate, as a lonely "hermitess" who is neglected by her husband.
In the Cheng-Gao version of the novel, Xue Baochai marries Jia Baoyu under the machinations of Wang Xifeng
and Grandmother Jia
, causing Lin Daiyu's death through grief. However, many Redology
scholars have commented that this is unlikely since, according to Rouge Inkstone
and the clues of foreshadowing
, Lin Daiyu dies well before their eventual wedding.
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of...
. She is extremely beautiful and socially graceful. Her attributes complement those of her cousin Lin Daiyu
Lin Daiyu
Lin Daiyu is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin's classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent and beautiful young woman. The romance between Daiyu and Jia Baoyu forms one of the main threads of the book...
. Indeed, it has been suggested that the two women are complements of one another - each has exactly the attributes of Cao Xueqin
Cao Xueqin
Cao Xueqin was a Qing Dynasty Chinese writer, best known as the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature...
's ideal woman which the other lacks.
She is the only daughter of Aunt Xue
Aunt Xue
Aunt Xue is a secondary character in the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is the younger sister of Lady Wang and therefore Baoyu's maternal aunt. Aunt Xue has two children, Xue Pan and Xue Baochai. She is also the widow of Xue Wen-chi, a Jinling purchasing agent...
and the younger sister of Xue Pan
Xue Pan
Xue Pan is a secondary character in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. He is a ne'er-do-well lout who is guilty of the killing of a man over a beautiful slave girl, Zhen Yinglian, who is renamed as Xiangling...
, a local Jinling bully. Unlike her brother, she is an excellent poet and a good elder cousin to Baoyu and Daiyu, and a good mistress to her maids. Well liked by all the servants and the mistresses of the Jia household, she also is a capable person, once helping Lady Wang
Lady Wang
Lady Wang is a character in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is the wife of Jia Zheng, and mother of Jia Zhu , Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu...
manage the Rong Guo Mansion. Baochai is also extremely tactful, always careful never to offend anyone of importance in the house. Eventually, she marries Jia Baoyu
Jia Baoyu
Jia Baoyu is the principal character in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber.- Introduction :The first chapter describes how one piece of stone was left over from when the heaven was repaired by the Goddess Nüwa...
.
The novel portrays Xue Baochai as a intelligent and talented woman whose marriage became a tragedy because of the fact Jia Baoyu, her husband, is never able to truly forget Lin Daiyu, his true love, since the latter died before they can get married. There is a tragic song in Chapter 5 which foreshadows her fate, as a lonely "hermitess" who is neglected by her husband.
In the Cheng-Gao version of the novel, Xue Baochai marries Jia Baoyu under the machinations of Wang Xifeng
Wang Xifeng
Wang Xifeng is one of the principal characters in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. A not-so-well educated upper-class woman with finesse, she is also known as "Peppercorn Feng" or "Hot Pepper"...
and Grandmother Jia
Grandmother Jia
Grandmother Jia , née Shi, so often also called Dowager Shi or simply the Dowager, is a major character in the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is the daughter of Marquis Shi of Jinling. She is also Baoyu and Daiyu's grandmother and the oldest and most respected authority of the Jia...
, causing Lin Daiyu's death through grief. However, many Redology
Redology
Redology is the study of the novel Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Four Classics of China. There are many researchers in this field, most can be divided into four general groups. The first group is the commentators, such as Zhou Chun, Xu Fengyi, Chen Yupi, and others. The second group is...
scholars have commented that this is unlikely since, according to Rouge Inkstone
Rouge Inkstone
Rouge Inkstone or Red Inkstone is the pseudonym of an early, mysterious commentator of the 18th-century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber...
and the clues of foreshadowing
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing or adumbrating is a literary device in which an author indistinctly suggests certain plot developments that might come later in the story.-Repetitive designation and Chekhov's gun:...
, Lin Daiyu dies well before their eventual wedding.