“It’s in vain to snap a branch without flowers”: On Jia Ying-Chun & Jia Xi-Chun in The Dream of the Red Chamber

This article scrutinizes the mentalities of Ying-Chun and Xi-Chun, the two least-mentioned characters among the Jinling Twelve Women in The Dream of the Red Chamber. They are both neurotic, but their personalities are polar opposites because of their different natures, ages and family backgrounds. Ying-Chun, characterized by neurotic submissiveness, refuses to fulfill her potential and tends to accept secular opinions, avoid criticizing others, and obey her familial authorities. Xi-Chun, characterized by neurotic withdrawal, strives for emotional independence and self-sufficiency in order to prevent any possible harm. Despite their different behaviors, both of them have valid arguments: Ying-Chun adopts a “Ledger of Merits and Demerits” (善書功過觀); Xi-Chun adopts Theravada Buddhism (H?nay?na). Since they only rationalize their own characters with partial understandings of these teachings, they exemplify the verdict from Bi ji (Notes) that “there is no all-around person (無一正人) in The Dream of the Red Chamber.”