Xia Jingui

Her Story

Xue Pan’s wife, only daughter of the Xia family that held the cassia monopoly: rich, spoiled, and the novel’s most direct portrait of domestic cruelty. She marries into the Xue household in Chapter 79 and sets about breaking it. She renames Xiangling 秋菱, beats and slanders her, pushes her own maid Baochan at her husband, and makes advances to Xue Ke. In Chapter 103 she prepares poisoned soup for Xiangling, the bowls are switched, and she drinks it herself.

In Xiang Li's Hands

She stands on bare paper and looks straight out — the only frontal stare among these sheets, brows level, mouth thin, hair loose and black down both shoulders. The robe is candy-coloured, pink and blue and yellow; the skirt under it is a slab of wet black. Nothing behind her at all.

The Calligraphy

夏金桂 — surname and full given name, three characters down the right, the family name kept because with this character the family is the whole point.

Connections

• Xue Pan 薛蟠 — her husband, whom she rules and who cannot manage her.
• Xiangling 香菱 — her husband’s concubine, whom she renames, beats, and tries to poison.
• Xue Ke 薛蝌 — Xue Pan’s cousin, whom she pursues while her husband is away.

Others of the same kind · Jia household – wives, concubines, in-laws Wang Xifeng 王熙凤 · Li Wan 李纨 · Qin Keqing 秦可卿 · Wang Furen 王夫人 · You Erjie 尤二姐 · You Sanjie 尤三姐 · Xue Baoqin 薛宝琴 · Xing Xiuyan 邢岫烟 · Li Wen 李纹 · Li Qi 李绮 · Xing Furen 邢夫人 · You Shi 尤氏 · Xue Yima 薛姨妈 · Zhao Yiniang 赵姨娘 and 11 more

Named on these pages Xiangling 香菱 · Xue Pan 薛蟠 · Baochan 宝蟾 · Xiaoshe'r 小舍儿 · Wang Yitie 王一贴 · Xia San 夏三 · Xia Nainai 夏奶奶

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