Xiaoluo
Xiaoluo 小螺 — La Tarde de Lucha con Hierba. Criada de Xue Baoqin, la prima que llega con la segunda ola de parientes y es al instante la favorita de todos…
小螺
“The Grass-Fighting Afternoon”
Her Story
Maid to Xue Baoqin, the cousin who arrives with the second wave of relatives and is at once everyone’s favourite. Xiaoluo’s moment is Chapter 62: she is out in the Garden with Xiangling, Fangguan, Ruiguan, Ouguan and Douguan, all of them picking flowers and blades to play 斗草, the grass-fighting game, until the tussle ends with Xiangling’s pomegranate skirt in the mud. That is her scene — a maid the novel remembers chiefly at play.
In Xiang Li's Hands
Rose jacket over a dark robe and a deep red skirt, a small green vase held up in both hands with a sprig of red plum in it. The whole ground is flecked green and grey, weather rather than wall. A red wrap lies pooled behind her, dropped.
The Calligraphy
Inscribed 小螺 — the diminutive alone, “little Conch”, a pet name rather than a name, which is all the household ever gives her.
Connections
- Xue Baoqin 薛宝琴 — her mistress, Xue Ke’s sister and the household’s late-arriving favourite.
- Xiangling 香菱 — among the players in the Chapter 62 grass-fighting game, and the one whose skirt is ruined.
- Fangguan 芳官 — one of the young actresses in the same game.
Others of the same kind · maid – Baochai (All-spice Court / 蘅蕪苑) Ying'er 莺儿 · Wenxing 文杏 · Dian'er 靛儿 · Zhen'er 臻儿 · Tongxi 同喜 · Tonggui 同贵 · Baochan 宝蟾 · Xiaoshe'r 小舍儿
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
