Shishu
侍书
“Attending Books”
Her Story
Tanchun’s chief maid, and one of the four whose names spell out the accomplishments across the four Jia daughters — 抱琴 for Yuanchun, 司棋 for Yingchun, 侍书 for Tanchun, 入画 for Xichun: zither, chess, calligraphy, painting. She keeps her mistress’s books and her mistress’s household, and has a tongue quick enough to answer for Tanchun when Tanchun will not answer herself. The Zhi manuscripts print her name 待書 rather than 侍書.
In Xiang Li's Hands
A red-crowned crane takes the left half of the sheet, wings open in wet black strokes, and she stands over it in teal and mauve holding up a green spray. Her eyes are on the bird, not on us. The maid named for books is given no book.
The Calligraphy
The inscription is 待书, not 侍书 — the manuscript spelling, “awaiting books” rather than “attending books”, which puts this sheet on the side of the older text.
Connections
- Jia Tanchun 贾探春 — her mistress.
- Cuimo 翠墨 — the second maid of the same rooms.
- Baoqin 抱琴, Siqi 司棋, Ruhua 入画 — the other three of the 琴棋书画 set, one to each Jia daughter.
Others of the same kind · maid – Yingchun, Tanchun, Xichun, Li Wan, Xiangyun Siqi 司棋 · Xiuju 绣橘 · Lianhua'r 莲花儿 · Cuimo 翠墨 · Xiaochan 小蝉 · Ruhua 入画 · Caiping 彩屏 · Cai'er 彩儿 · Suyun 素云 · Biyue 碧月 · Cuilü 翠缕 · Baoqin 抱琴 · Xiaoque 小鹊 · Xiaojixiang'r 小吉祥儿 and 5 more
Named on these pages Cuimo 翠墨 · Ruhua 入画
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
