Dream of the Red Chamber Group Map of Beauties

Author: Dai Dунбэн
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-06-01
Features: The book uses trees and flowers as metaphors for women, reflecting China's traditional aesthetic sense. The Grand View Garden in Dream of the Red Chamber is not only a "land of women" but also a "garden of flowers." Statistics show that there are over 120 young women with named characters in the garden, along with more than 130 species of plants, flowers, and vines, truly making it a magnificent spectacle. However, attentive readers can notice that Cao Xueqin neither writes about flowers in isolation nor about characters in isolation. In many places, flowers are the shadows of people, and people are the embodiment of flowers, often blending together like "Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly and a butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi." This also includes the author's use of metaphors, allusions, and symbolism, with some cryptic hints reminiscent of the Prophecy of the Twelve Beauties, such as the illustrations of the twelve beauties, the couplets in their albums, and the 14 Red Chamber Melodies, which leave readers puzzled and guessing.
For example, in the illusory realm of "A Thousand Red Blooms in One Pit" and "Ten Thousand Beauties Sharing One Cup," do they refer to fragrant tea and mellow wine made from immortal flowers and spiritual leaves? Not at all. The correct interpretation should be "A Thousand Reds Weeping" and "Ten Thousand Beauties Mourn Together," as they are the crystallization of the blood and tears of countless young women. Another famous example is the "Elegy on Dying Flowers," which does not merely refer to arranging fallen petals. Of course, it symbolizes the beautiful youth of the young women and the burial of Lin Daiyu herself.
Take the 63rd chapter, "The Night Banquet of the Fragrant Flowers in Joyful Red," for instance. When the guests draw flower name slips during the drinking game, each slip includes a caption and a line of old poetry—all serving as veiled references. Some describe the characters' appearances and personalities, others hint at their fates, some reveal plot developments, and others connect to specific details of their lives. This shows that when writing Dream of the Red Chamber, Cao Xueqin used flower metaphors for most of the female protagonists, making the Grand View Garden a dazzling tapestry of colors and flowers, presenting a scene of blooming flowers and competing beauties. The 63rd chapter hints at flower-based metaphors for Lin Daiyu (lotus), Baochai (peony), Li Xun (plum blossom), Tanchun (apricot blossom), Xiangyun (rose), Fang Yue (chrysanthemum), Xiangling (twins), and Xiren (peach blossom). These are all supported by Cao Xueqin's original text. By following the author's logic and connecting the facts, we can explain the issues.
As for the other characters, how they are compared to flowers requires independent thinking and personal interpretation. I once wrote A Spectrum of Beauties in Dream of the Red Chamber (published by Tianjin Yangliqing Art Publishing House), where, in addition to explaining the above eight characters, I selected 22 more and compared them to flowers. They are: pear blossom—Mao Yu; poppy—Wang Xifeng; azalea—Zi Juan; night-blooming cactus—Jia Yuanyun;—You Sanjie; morning glory—Qiao Jie; magnolia—Jia Yingchun; datura—Jia Xichun; lotus—Qingwen; rose—Ling Guan; narcissus—Jin Chuan; olive—Yuanyang; peony—Xue Baoqin; impatiens—Ping'er; cherry blossom—You Erjie; orchid—Xing Xiuyan; laughing orchid—Xiao Hong; amaryllis—Si Qi; wild rose—Fang Guan; clematis—Jiao Xing; cyclamen—Qin Keqing; and twin orchids—Hui Xiang.
Of course, none of these comparisons are perfect. I cannot guarantee that all of them will be accepted by readers. Moreover, the characters in Dream of the Red Chamber are like three-dimensional sculptures, and different perspectives can lead to varied interpretations. However, I believe that by adhering to literary analysis and making careful conjectures, we can come closer to the author's original intent and meaning.
For instance, comparing Qiao Jie to morning glory is justified not only because she was born on Qixi Festival and named by Lao Lao Er but also because of the clues provided by the annotations of Shi Yan Zhai and the illustration of the beautiful weavers in the Twelve Beauties of Jinling, which predict Qiao Jie's marriage to Bannier after the decline of the Jia family, leading to a rural life of farming and weaving. Thus, morning glory is the perfect flower for her.
Similarly, comparing Ling Guan to rose is supported by her passionate love for Jia Zang and her carving the character "cao" under the rose trellis, aligning with the rose's tendency to climb walls.
As for comparing Jin Chuan to water lily, it is partly because Jin Chuan drowned herself, and partly because Jia Baoyu, upon visiting the Water Lily Temple, was moved to tears upon seeing the image of the Goddess of the Luo River, linking water lily and Jin Chuan intentionally.
All these examples prove that the author's meanings are worth exploring and can be explored. It should be noted that A Spectrum of Beauties in Dream of the Red Chamber is neither a comprehensive evaluation of the characters in Dream of the Red Chamber nor an introduction to botanical knowledge. It merely seeks the intrinsic connections and intersections between the two, with some aspects only touching on one end and leaving the rest unaddressed.