Shuangshou
双寿
“The Other Half”
His Story
The second of the matched pair. He is named with Shuangrui among the four boys Baoyu takes to Feng Ziying’s banquet in Chapter 28, and nowhere apart from him. Two servants assigned together and named as a set — 瑞 for good omen, 寿 for long life — so the household could call them both in one breath. Between them they have one appearance and no dialogue.
In Xiang Li's Hands
The companion sheet to Shuangrui’s, and the joke completes itself. Pale green robe, black sash, both fists screwed into his eyes, mouth wide in a howl. Where the other boy smirks with his eyes shut, this one is bawling. Bare paper behind, one grey rock.
The Calligraphy
雙壽 in full form down the right margin, two characters that read as a wish rather than a person.
Connections
- Shuangrui 双瑞 — the other half of the pair; the two names never appear apart.
- Jia Baoyu 贾宝玉 — his master, in whose train he rides to Feng Ziying’s.
- Mingyan 茗烟 — chief page, named ahead of him on the same list.
Others of the same kind · page / boy servant Mingyan 茗烟 · Chuyao 锄药 · Saohong 扫红 · Saohua 扫花 · Moyu 墨雨 · Yinquan 引泉 · Tiaoyun 挑云 · Banhe 伴鹤 · Shuangrui 双瑞 · Li Gui 李贵 · Wang Rong 王荣 · Zhang Ruojin 张若锦 · Zhao Yihua 赵亦华 · Qian Qi 钱启 and 5 more
Named on these pages Shuangrui 双瑞
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
