Xue Ke
薛蝌
“The Cousin Who Could Be Relied On”
His Story
Xue Pan’s cousin from the same clan, and his opposite. He arrives in the capital in Chapter 49 escorting his sister Xue Baoqin to be married, and stays. Aunt Xue betroths him to Xing Xiuyan in Chapter 57. When Xue Pan is jailed for manslaughter, it is Xue Ke who carries the money to the yamen and makes the journeys to the provincial court. Xia Jingui, his cousin’s wife, makes advances at him; he refuses them, and does not make a scene about it.
In Xiang Li's Hands
Three-quarter turn, back to us, head glancing round. A long grey-green robe with heavy ink borders, a soft cap with its ties hanging, the hem trailing into a wash of pale earth. In his raised hand a book bound in blue, the only prop the novel gives him.
The Calligraphy
薛蝌, surname and given name and nothing else, the plain form used for the family’s men, with no title attached because he holds none.
Connections
- Xue Baoqin 薛宝琴 — his younger sister, whom he escorts to the capital in Chapter 49.
- Xing Xiuyan 邢岫烟 — his wife, betrothed to him by Aunt Xue in Chapter 57.
- Xue Pan 薛蟠 — his cousin, whose lawsuit and whose business he ends up carrying.
Others of the same kind · Xue family Xue Baochai 薛宝钗 · Xiangling 香菱 · Xue Pan 薛蟠
Named on these pages Xue Baoqin 薛宝琴 · Xing Xiuyan 邢岫烟 · Xia Jingui 夏金桂 · Wu Liang 吴良 · Tai Ping Zhi Xian 太平知县 · Li Er 李二
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
