Yu Lu
俞禄
“The Bill After the Funeral”
His Story
A Ning mansion servant with one errand in the book: he comes to collect what is still owed on the gold and silver vessels made for the household’s funeral. The scene is about the money, not about him — a balance named, a debt from a grand burial still standing after the mourning has finished. He is the novel’s reminder that in this house grief arrives with an invoice attached.
In Xiang Li's Hands
He holds a large black abacus flat across his chest with one hand on the beads, like a badge rather than a tool. Grey-green robe, teal lining flaring at the sleeves, keys and yellow tassels at the waist, a thin moustache and a sidelong look away from the viewer. The whole figure is arranged around the counting frame.
The Calligraphy
俞禄 — the bare two-character name, with 禄, “official salary,” sitting inside it and left without comment.
Connections
- Jia Zhen 贾珍 — master of the Ning mansion he serves.
- Jia Rong 贾蓉 — Jia Zhen’s son, the young master of the same house.
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 · Wang Xin 王信 · Laiwang 来旺 · Jin Cai 金彩 · Jin Wenxiang 金文翔 · Jiao Da 焦大 · Li Shi'er 李十儿 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
