Jia Baoyu (Chinese: 賈寶玉; literally "Precious Jade" and his surname is a homophone with "false" or "sham") is the principal character in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber.
Jia Baoyu（贾宝玉） Divine Attendant-in-Waiting (神瑛侍者) | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jia Baoyu（贾宝玉） |
| Other names | Pao Yu(宝玉) |
| Known for | A magical jade in his mouth and the love between Lin Daiyu and him |
| Notable work | Lotus daughter Lei |
| Style | fonder, spoony |
| Predecessor | 贾母 |
| Movement | Falling in love with Daiyu and being fond to play with ladies in his family |
| Opponent(s) | Feudal rules and patriarch moral |
| Parent(s) | Jia Zheng(贾政) and Madam Wang（王夫人） |
| Relatives | Lin Daiyu's cousin |
Origin
The Stone and Divine Attendant-in-Waiting (神瑛侍者) at Red Flaw Palace (赤瑕宫) are separate while related (Gao E merged them as one in Chengjia Edition, and changed Red Flaw Palace (赤瑕宫) into Sunset Glow Palace (赤霞宫)). The main character, Jia Baoyu, is the adolescent heir of the family, a reincarnation of the Divine Attendant-in-Waiting. However, the David Hawkes translation of the novel follows the Chengjia Edition.
Simply introduction of Jia Baoyu
The first chapter describes how one piece of stone was left over from when the sky was repaired by the Goddess Nüwa. 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 jade 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 it is lost for good and Baoyu himself disappears.
Baoyu is portrayed as having little interest in learning the Confucian 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 with Lin Daiyu forms one of the novel's main plot lines. However, there are several women that plays 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 wife Xue Baochai and his principal maids, Aroma and Skybright, are also worthy of note. The crater Pao-yu on asteroid 433 Eros was named after him.
Analysis of Jia Baoyu's character
Character summary
Jia Baoyu born with a jade in his mouth, is the main character of the Dream of red Chamber. As the adolescent heir of the family, he was so handsome and clever that was regarded as the hope of the family's boom. But his thought personality led him to betray his family and the great expectation of the family. He hated himself to be a male. The society he lived was a male-centered environment which was so hypocritical, ugly and corrupting in his eyes.
Character Core
The core of Jia Baoyu's character is to treat all on an equal footing, respect individuality and proposal everyone can do what he wants to. He hated and showed comtempt for secular male and respected and was close to female who was in the oppressed status.
Jia Baoyu's alter ago: Zhen Baoyu
Interestingly, there is another Baoyu in the novel, 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 female attendants and cousins, although he lives in Jinling (now Nanjing) rather than in the capital.
In Rouge Inkstone'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 was to send Jia Baoyu's jade back when it went 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 ("real" family - Cao Xueqin's real family, which was from Jinling?)