Quick Answer: Who Is Qingwen?
Qingwen (晴雯, Qíngwén) is an attendant to Jia Baoyu (贾宝玉, Jiǎ Bǎoyù) in Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦, Hónglóu Mèng). Her skill with a needle and readiness to answer back both shape her story.[1][2]
- She tears fans in Chapter 31 after a quarrel with Baoyu.[1]
- She repairs his damaged cloak while ill in Chapter 52.[2]
- After her dismissal and death, Baoyu writes an elegy for her.[3][4]
The fan, cloak and elegy each show a different side of her place in the household.
One thing breaks and starts a quarrel. Another thing burns and puts Qingwen’s skill to work. The novel gives both episodes room to unfold, making her more than the figure recalled after she is gone.
Why Qingwen Tears the Fan
In Chapter 31, Qingwen accidentally damages a fan. When Jia Baoyu reproaches her, she answers back, and the exchange escalates. Later he invites her to tear a fan deliberately. She accepts. What counted as carelessness earlier becomes something they can laugh about once he gives her permission.[1]
The scene shows her willingness to speak plainly even to someone she serves. Xiren (袭人, Xírén), another of Baoyu’s attendants, takes a different role in the household. In this quarrel, her attempt to mediate draws Qingwen’s anger too.[1]
The Cloak She Repairs While Ill
In Chapter 52, a burn damages Baoyu’s valuable cloak. Qingwen is ill, yet sits up to repair it after others are unable to arrange a repair outside the household. She matches the material and works late into the night. The scene gives the reader time to see how much Baoyu depends on a servant’s expertise.[2]
Dismissal and the Hibiscus Elegy
Lady Wang (王夫人, Wáng Fūrén) orders Qingwen out while she is ill. Baoyu goes to see her before she dies.[3] In Chapter 78, Lady Wang describes Qingwen in terms very different from the careful work shown in the cloak episode. Baoyu responds to the loss in a different register by composing the Elegy for the Hibiscus Maiden (芙蓉女儿诔, Fúróng Nǚ’ér Lěi).[4]
The elegy also gives readers a point of comparison with the verse portraits associated with the Twelve Beauties of Jinling. Here the verse comes after the death and belongs to a character trying to mourn someone he knew.
Qingwen at Work in a Qing Illustration
The National Palace Museum describes a Qing printed illustration by Gai Qi of Qingwen mending the cloak by lamplight. The choice of scene lets her needlework identify her even before a reader turns back to Chapter 52.[5]
FAQs About Qingwen
Which chapter has the torn fan?
Chapter 31 contains both the initial accident and the later scene of deliberate tearing.[1]
What does Qingwen mend?
She repairs Baoyu’s valuable cloak after it is burned.[2]
Who writes the elegy for Qingwen?
Baoyu writes it after her death. The elegy appears in Chapter 78.[4]
出典
[1] Dream of the Red Chamber. Chapter 31
[2] Dream of the Red Chamber. Chapter 52
[3] Dream of the Red Chamber. Chapter 77
[4] Dream of the Red Chamber. Chapter 78
[5] National Palace Museum. Gai Qi’s Illustrated Dream of the Red Chamber