Li Shi'er
李十儿
“The Gatekeeper Who Knew the Rates”
His Story
Jia Zheng’s servant in the provinces. When his master takes up the Grain Intendancy determined to keep his hands clean, Li Shi’er argues him out of it in Chapter 99 — the clerks will starve, the work will stall, nothing gets done in a yamen that refuses the customary squeeze. Jia Zheng gives way and stops looking. Li Shi’er runs the office, sells its decisions, and the impeachment that follows lands on Jia Zheng’s name.
In Xiang Li's Hands
He sits. That is the whole argument: a servant taking a seat, one booted foot up on the stool, a round white fan held loose across his knee. Tilted cap, thin moustache and goatee, eyes sliding sideways with a half-smile. The insolence is entirely in the posture.
The Calligraphy
The three characters run down the right edge, giving a surname and a numbered household nickname — 十儿, “Number Ten” — rather than any adult name.
Connections
- Jia Zheng 贾政 — his master, whose scruples he talks down and whose reputation he destroys.
- Jia Baoyu 贾宝玉 — Jia Zheng’s son, whose family’s fortunes fall with the impeachment.
Others of the same kind · steward / manager Lai Da 赖大 · Lai Er 赖二 · Lai Sheng 赖升 · Lai Shangrong 赖尚荣 · Lai Mama 赖嬷嬷 · Lin Zhixiao 林之孝 · Zhou Rui 周瑞 · Dai Liang 戴良 · Yu Lu 俞禄 · Wang Xin 王信 · Laiwang 来旺 · Jin Cai 金彩 · Jin Wenxiang 金文翔 · Jiao Da 焦大 and 8 more
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
