Grandmother Jia
Encyclopedia
Grandmother Jia née Shi, so often also called Dowager Shi (Chinese
: 史太君; Pinyin
: Shǐ Tàijūn) 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 Clan. A doting figure, it was she who arranged for Daiyu, her only "outside" (i.e., maternal) grandchild, to come to the Rongguo Mansion. It was with her help that Baoyu and Daiyu became extremely close as childhood playmates, and eventually, kindred spirits and lovers.
The Dowager's descendants include:
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
: 史太君; Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Shǐ Tàijūn) or simply the Dowager, is a major character in the Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Dream of the Red Chamber
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 the daughter of Marquis Shi of Jinling. She is also 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...
and 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...
's grandmother and the oldest and most respected authority of the Jia Clan. A doting figure, it was she who arranged for Daiyu, her only "outside" (i.e., maternal) grandchild, to come to the Rongguo Mansion. It was with her help that Baoyu and Daiyu became extremely close as childhood playmates, and eventually, kindred spirits and lovers.
The Dowager's descendants include:
- two sons, Jia She and Jia Zheng
- a daughter, Jia Min
- two daughter-in-laws, Lady Xing and Lady WangLady WangLady 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...
- many paternal grandchildren, such as Jia BaoyuJia BaoyuJia 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...
, Jia Lian, the 4 "Springs" (Jia YuanchunJia YuanchunJia Yuanchun is a primary character in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is Baoyu's elder sister by about ten years older . Yuanchun was a lady-in-waiting in the Imperial palace first, then, becomes an Imperial Consort...
, Jia YingchunJia YingchunJia Yingchun is a major character in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is protagonist Jia Baoyu's eldest female first cousin. She is the daughter of Jia She and one of his concubines, and younger half-sister to Jia Lian...
, Jia TanchunJia TanchunJia Tanchun is the younger half-sister of Jia Baoyu and a major character in the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is the daughter of Jia Zheng and his concubine, Concubine Zhao...
, Jia XichunJia XichunJia Xichun is a primary character in the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is the sister of Jia Zhen, de facto head of the Ningguo House, and Baoyu's second cousin. When she was little, her mother died, and Lady Wang brought her to the Rongguo Mansion. A devout Buddhist, she is...
) - a maternal grandchild, Lin DaiyuLin DaiyuLin 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...
- a granddaughter-in-law, Wang XifengWang XifengWang 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"...
- a son-in-law, Lin Ruhai
- a grandniece, Shi XiangyunShi XiangyunShi Xiangyun is a major fictional character in Dream of the Red Chamber. She is Baoyu's younger second cousin by the Dowager, Grandmother Jia. Xiangyun is the favorite grandniece of the Dowager, Baoyu's grandmother....
, and - several great-grandchildren, including Qin Keqing, her great-granddaughter-in-law.