Jia Ping
贾萍
“Duckweed”
His Story
He is a name and no more. Jia Ping belongs to the 草 generation of poor Jia cousins and appears in the long enumeration of clansmen who come to Ningguo when Qin Keqing dies in Chapter 13 — a roll called through in a single breath, one kinsman after another, most of whom the novel never returns to. He is one of the ones it never returns to. His name is 萍, duckweed: the plant that drifts on the surface and puts down no root.
In Xiang Li's Hands
Two sheets, two different men. In the first he kneels in profile, bearded, eyes lowered, a straight sword held point-up at his hip, white cloak over grey, faint water lines combed across the ground. In the second he sits barefoot on a rock in a red patterned robe with a blue scroll, his shoes set down beside him. Swordsman and idler: given a name with no character attached, she filled the blank twice and did not repeat herself.
The Calligraphy
贾萍 on both sheets, personal name alone — upper right in the sword painting, lower left in the garden one, moved to wherever the figure leaves the paper empty.
Connections
- Jia Chang 贾菖 · Jia Ling 贾菱 — kinsmen of the same generation, named beside him in the same roll.
- Jia Zhen 贾珍 — head of the senior line, whose funeral summons is the occasion of his one appearance.
Others of the same kind · Jia clan – collateral branches Jia Rui 贾瑞 · Jia Dairu 贾代儒 · Jia Qiong 贾琼 · Jia Chang 贾菖 · Jia Ling 贾菱 · Jia Jun 贾菌 · Jia Yun 贾芸 · Jia Qin 贾芹 · Jia Xing 贾荇 · Xiluan 喜鸾 · Sijie'r 四姐儿
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
