Jia Baoyu

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jia Baoyu" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Jia Baoyu
Jia Zheng (father) Lady Wang (mother)
Relatives	Jia Zhu (deceased elder brother) Jia Yuanchun (elder sister) Jia Huan (younger half-brother) Jia Tanchun (younger half-sister) Lin Daiyu (cousin by paternal aunt and love interest) Hua Xiren (unofficial concubine)

Jia Baoyu
Hanyu Pinyin	Jiǎ Bǎoyù
Wade–Giles	Chia3 Pao3-yü4
IPA	[tɕjà pàʊ.ŷ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Gáa Bóuyuhk
Jyutping	Gaa2 Bou2-juk6
IPA	[kaː˧˥ pou˧˥.jok̚˨]

Jia Baoyu (Chinese: 賈寶玉) is the principal character in the classic 18th century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber.

Introduction

The first chapter describes how one piece of stone was left over from when the Wall of Heaven was repaired by the Goddess

ends after the jade is lost for good and Baoyu himself disappears. Lin Daiyu was a fairy flower (known as the Jiang Zhu Cao), was later incarnated as Daiyu to pay back her “debt of tears" to Jia Baoyu, who watered and gave life to the flower.

Baoyu is portrayed as having little interest in learning the

classics, much to the despair of his father, Jia Zheng. He would rather spend his time reading or writing poetry and playing with his numerous female relations. He is by-nature very compassionate and thoughtful (perhaps as a juxtaposition onto the other male characters in the novel).

Baoyu's romance and relationship with Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai forms one of the novel's main plot lines. However, there are many other women who play an important part in his life. In particular, he is a darling of his grandmother, who dotes on him and occasionally shields him from his father. His principal maids are also worthy of note. The crater Pao-yu on asteroid 433 Eros was named after him.

Alter ego: Zhen Baoyu

There is another Baoyu in the novel, a minor character with the surname of "Zhen" (甄), a homophone for "truth" or "real" in Mandarin.

) rather than in the capital.

In Zhiyanzhai's commentary, it is clear that Zhen Baoyu would have had a large part to play in the later parts of the novel, now lost. He is to send Jia Baoyu's jade back when it goes missing. Zhen Baoyu, like Jia Baoyu, also becomes a monk at the end. Hence, Zhen Baoyu can be said to be a mirror of Jia Baoyu, just as the fortunes of the fictitious Jia Clan are mirrored in those of the Zhen Clan (the "real" family).

See also

• Lin Daiyu
• Xue Baochai
• Shi Xiangyun
• Wang Xifeng