Cai Xia Zhi Mu
彩霞之母
“The Mother Who Said Yes”
Her Story
The mother of Caixia, a maid in Lady Wang’s rooms. She appears once, in Chapter 72, and does one thing.
Caixia has been sent home for having grown up and grown sickly, released so that her parents may choose her a husband. The steward Wang’er wants her for his son. Lin Zhixiao warns Jia Lian off the match plainly — the boy drinks, gambles, and is up to everything outside the house. Xifeng sends for the mother anyway that evening and puts it to her herself. 那彩霞之母满心纵不愿意，见凤姐 亲自和他说，何等体面，便心不由意的满口应了出去 — unwilling in her heart, but honoured that Xifeng has spoken to her in person, she agreed with her whole mouth against her own mind.
Caixia, who had hoped for Jia Huan, sends her younger sister in secret to Aunt Zhao to find out what has been decided.
In Xiang Li's Hands
She stands slightly bent forward, hands folded away inside her sleeves, in a pale blue-grey padded gown with heavy black fur at the collar and cuffs and a black cap with a knot of fur at the crown. She is beaming. The paper behind her is empty but for a dry brown streak of root at her feet. The smile is the whole painting: it is the face of someone agreeing to something she does not want.
The Calligraphy
彩霞之母, four characters down the right in a wet, unhurried hand — not a name but a relation, her daughter’s name first and her own place in the sentence last, which is exactly how the novel introduces her.
Connections
- Caixia 彩霞 — her daughter, whose marriage she agrees to without her.
- Wang Xifeng 王熙凤 — who makes the match and whose personal attention decides her.
- Wang’er 旺儿 — the steward whose son is the intended husband.
- Aunt Zhao 赵姨娘 — who wanted Caixia for Jia Huan and keeps pressing after the answer is given.
Dream of the Red Chamber
Xiang Li painted all 413 characters of the novel between 1975 and 1985, the first person to complete the entire cast. See the whole collection · Chinese Empresses
