Jia Baoyu (, and his surname is a

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...

with "false" or "fictitious") is the principal character in the classic 18th century Chinese novel ''

Dream of the Red Chamber ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known fo ...

''.

Introduction

The first chapter describes how one piece of stone was left over from when the Wall of Heaven was repaired by the Goddess

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay. In the Huaina ...

. That stone, changed into a piece of luminous jade, is given a chance to learn the emptiness of human existence by following another incarnation who is to be Jia Baoyu. Baoyu is thus born with a magical piece of

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group ...

in his mouth. His name, which literally means "precious jade", was given him in honor of this. The jade and Baoyu share a mystical link, and the Cheng-Gao version ends after the jade is lost for good and Baoyu himself disappears. Lin Daiyu was a fairy flower, was later incarnated as Daiyu to pay back her “debt of tears" to Jia Baoyu, who watered and gave life to the flower. Baoyu is portrayed as having little interest in learning the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

classics, much to the despair of his father, Jia Zheng. He would rather spend his time reading or writing poetry and playing with his numerous female relations. He is nonetheless compassionate and thoughtful (perhaps as a juxtaposition onto the other male characters in the novel). Baoyu's romance and relationship with

Lin Daiyu Lin Daiyu (also spelled Lin Tai-yu, zh, s=林黛玉, p=Lín Dàiyù, rendered Black Jade in Chi-chen Wang's translation) is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin's classic 18th-century Chinese novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. She is ...

and

Xue Baochai Xue Baochai (, and her surname is a homophone with "Snow", rendered Precious Virtue in Chi-chen Wang's translation) is one of the principal characters in the classic 18th century Chinese novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. Described as extremely be ...

forms one of the novel's main plot lines. However, there are several other women who play an important part in his life. In particular, he is a darling of his grandmother, who dotes on him and occasionally shields him from his father. His principal maids are also worthy of note. The crater Pao-yu on asteroid

433 Eros Eros (minor planet designation: (433) Eros), provisional designation is a stony asteroid of the Amor group and the first discovered and second-largest near-Earth object with an elongated shape and a mean diameter of approximately . Vis ...

was named after him.

Alter ego: Zhen Baoyu

There is another Baoyu in the novel, a minor character with the surname of "Zhen" (甄), a homophone for "truth" or "real". Zhen Baoyu shares many of Jia Baoyu's characteristics, living in a wealthy clan with many attendants and cousins, although he lives in

Jinling Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

(now

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

) rather than in the capital. In Zhiyanzhai's commentary, it is clear that Zhen Baoyu would have had a large part to play in the later parts of the novel, now lost. He is to send Jia Baoyu's jade back when it goes missing. Zhen Baoyu, like Jia Baoyu, also becomes a monk at the end. Hence, Zhen Baoyu can be said to be a mirror of Jia Baoyu, just as the fortunes of the fictitious Jia Clan are mirrored in those of the Zhen Clan (the "real" family).

Introduction

Alter ego: Zhen Baoyu

See also