Reading 1001 discussion

2. Describe the main characters—personality traits, motivations, inner qualities.

Bao-yu is a boy who is born with a piece of jade in his mouth. The Jade we later learn is the sole remaining magic stone left over from the goddess Nü-Wa repair of the sky. It was later found (in a shrunken state) by a Taoist priest and a Buddhist monk. There is a suggestion at one point that Bao-yu, the scion of a hugely wealthy noble family, is an incarnation of the Stone.

Bao-Yu's age wasn't, I don't think, mentioned until late in the book. At times I thought he was in his late teens, and at times he seemed to be much younger, as when he was being helped onto and off from horses. So he has the personality of a somewhat spoiled rich adolescent.

John wrote: "Bao-yu is a boy who is born with a piece of jade in his mouth. The Jade we later learn is the sole remaining magic stone left over from the goddess Nü-Wa repair of the sky. It was later found (in a..."

Totally agree with John, there is one point where Bao-Yu's age is mentioned and at that point he is 12, however he doesn't actually appear to have a fixed age to me he is like a child and a teenager mixed into one.

I suspect the Buddhist & Taoist monks will come to be more central as characters as they appear to be the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Then there is the kidnapped girl who is now a slave Caltrop who I suspect is a reincarnation of the flower

I wondered about Bao-Yu's age a lot throughout the book because it didn't always seem clear to me how old he was.

I agree that our main character seems sometimes quite a child and sometimes more of a teenager, but I attributed that to his spoiled rich kid status.

Re: Bao-yu's age. I recall that, towards the end of the book, there was a indirect mention that he was 13 at that stage of the story.

I would also highlight three characters whom I consider the main female characters in this first part: Lin Dai-yu; Xue Bao-chai; Lian Xi-feng. The first two, as outlined in the appendix, are representations of the ideal woman and do complement each other in their positive attributes. We can also feel that their fate is intimately linked to Bao-yu's, possibly from a future matrimonial aspect. Xi-feng is some sort of a CEO to the family and almost its principal centre of power.

When they started school, Quin Zhong and Bao-yu were both described as beautiful as flowers and the other scholars observed how shrinking and gentle Qin Zhong was, blushing almost before you spoke to him and timid and bashful as a girl. They saw in Bao-yu one whom nature and habit had made humble and accommodating in spite of his social position, always willing to defer to others in the interest of harmony.

Xifeng also seemed like a main character for a while. She is strong willed young lady. I believe in her early twenties that is in charge of the household. She is good at organization and at managing the household.

There is also Jia Yuan Chun, Bao Yu's older sister, who is an Imperial Concubine, and therefore bestows great prestige on the family. Grandmother Jia dotes on Bao Yu, but she is also the family matriarch and treated with great respect. Jia Zheng is Bao Yu's father, and he is terrified of him. Zia Zheng is a disciplinarian, but also just a tad dissolute. When banished while the baby is suffering from smallpox he uses the good-looking pages for sexual comfort as well as assorted women. Many of the minor characters are fascinating, too, especially Aroma, Bao Yu's chief maid.