Xue Baochai (, and her surname is a
homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...
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 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
Jia Baoyu () is the principal character in the classic 18th century Chinese novel '' Dream of the Red Chamber''.
Introduction
The first chapter describes how one piece of stone was left over from when the Wall of Heaven was repaired by the ...
.
The novel portrays Xue Baochai as a perspicacious and talented woman whose marriage became a tragedy because Jia Baoyu, her husband, is never able to truly forget Lin Daiyu, his true love, after the latter died before they could get married. There is a tragic song in chapter five which foreshadows her fate.
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
Zhiyanzhai and the clues of
foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a narrative device in which a storyteller gives an advance hint of an upcoming event later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, and it helps develop or subvert the audience's expectations about u ...
, Lin Daiyu dies well before their eventual wedding.
While later scholars have a mostly favorable view of her (or her characterization in the novel), there are some that view her as an "antagonistic" character within the novel. Some have described Xue as "diplomatic and manipulative" and the embodiment of "conformity".
See also
*
Jia Baoyu
Jia Baoyu () is the principal character in the classic 18th century Chinese novel '' Dream of the Red Chamber''.
Introduction
The first chapter describes how one piece of stone was left over from when the Wall of Heaven was repaired by the ...
*
Lin Daiyu
Notes
External links
Biography of Xue Baochai in Dream of the Red Chamber: Afterlives
Dream of the Red Chamber characters
Fictional characters from Jiangsu
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