Jinling Twelve Beauties

Author: Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: The outstanding classical Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber portrays many vivid and lifelike female characters. In the fifth chapter, the author uses the "Illustrations of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling" and quyi (a form of Chinese folk song) to hint at the backgrounds and fates of the female characters, setting up a fascinating plot for the entire story. The postcards in this collection feature the "Twelve Beauties," selected by Mr. Hu Sanchuan. Most of them are the wives and female relatives of the four prominent families of Jinling—Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue—while a few are maidservants. On the surface, they live a life of indulgence and luxury in the aristocratic society, but none of them can escape the tragic fate brought by the declining feudal society. "After the three springs depart, all flowers fade; each must seek their own path." The genius Cao Xueqin, through these female characters, composes an elegy for the feudal society: "Like birds that have finished eating, they scatter; leaving behind only a white, desolate land."