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Jia
Yuanchun
An
Ho, 1993, watercolor on silk mounted on rice paper using traditional
Chinese technique, 54" x 88"
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of the Red Chamber hero Baoyu's elder sister, Jia Yuanchun
heads the quartet of the four Jia daughters. Her name means Cardinal
Spring and sets the pattern for the naming of the other three.
She is so named because she was born on the first day of spring.
Before she entered the emperor's service, she took care of Baoyu
like a mother. Her selection as an imperial concubine marks the
pinnacle of the rise of the Jia fortune. But in her visit to her
parents, she complains bitterly of life in the palace. The construction
of Prospect Garden in anticipation of her visit also puts strain
on the Jias' already dwindling resources. After her visit, she
orders the garden to be kept open as a place of residence for
Baoyu and his female companions where they are allowed for the
most part to lead an idyllic existence relatively free of parental
supervision-especially from Baoyu's disciplinarian father. In
the sequel, Yuanchun dies of a sudden illness at the age of forty-three.
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