Friday, September 19, 2008

Jia Yingchun

Jia Yingchun is a major character in the classic Chinese novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. She is Jia Baoyu's eldest female cousin. She is also the daughter of Jia She and one of his concubines, and younger half-sister to Jia Lian. Yingchun is very beautiful, kind-hearted, and well-read. However, she has a "wooden" personality and is not very talented. Neither a poet like Daiyu, household manager like Tanchun, or painter like Xichun, she has only her family name to distinguish herself and therefore is called "Blockhead the Second" by her cousins.

Yingchun is the second of the quartet of "Springs". Her name translates to "Welcome Spring". However, Yingchun is weak-willed and apathetic to worldly affairs. Sne does not welcome arguments
and reads books instead of command servants whenever possible. Still, she is dependent on others for protection. So many lower servants freely take advantage of her. Eventually she marries Sun Shaotsu, son of a military officer. She becomes a victim of domestic abuse and "cheating" from her husband, and eventually withers to her death in the Sun household soon after the Ning and Jung Mansions are confiscated.

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