Lin Daiyu

Lin Daiyu (also spelled Lin Tai-yu, Chinese: 林黛玉; pinyin: Lín Dàiyù, rendered Black Jade in Chi-chen Wang's translation) is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin's classic 18th-century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber.^[1] She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent, witty and beautiful young woman of physical frailness who is somewhat prone to occasional melancholy. The love triangle between Daiyu, Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai forms one of the main threads of the book.

Lin has become one of the most loved, controversial and written-about Chinese literary characters.^[2] The complexity of her depictions and the compassionate nature of her portrayal in the novel by Cao has garnered acclaim.

^ "Lin Daiyu | Xiang Li Art". www.xiangliart.com. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
^ Yuan, Haiwang. "Chinese Tale: Lin Daiyu". wku.edu. Western Kentucky University. Lin Daiyu is perhaps the most studied Chinese literary woman figure in history... Lin Daiyu loved and hated without a qualm. She yearned for spiritual rather than material gratification... While the beautiful but extremely delicate Lin Daiyu was willful, aloof and oversensitive and therefore was shunned by other people around her, the equally pretty Xue Baochai, who was sensible, tolerant and gentle, became everyone's favorite... Lin Daiyu [on the other hand] was aloof, proud, naïve and straightforward. Despite her dependency on her grandmother for her living, having nothing to call her own but herself, she refused to conform blindly to the accepted customs and yield to the Confucian ethics. Whenever and wherever she could, she would defend her character and integrity... In the Xue family, there was a girl named Baochai. She was beautiful and graceful, scrupulously abiding by the conventional rules that women were made to obey. Shrewd, diplomatic and manipulative, she knew how to make friends and consequently became the favorite girl of all the families...

[1] "Lin Daiyu | Xiang Li Art". www.xiangliart.com. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2023-12-31.

[2] Yuan, Haiwang. "Chinese Tale: Lin Daiyu". wku.edu. Western Kentucky University. Lin Daiyu is perhaps the most studied Chinese literary woman figure in history... Lin Daiyu loved and hated without a qualm. She yearned for spiritual rather than material gratification... While the beautiful but extremely delicate Lin Daiyu was willful, aloof and oversensitive and therefore was shunned by other people around her, the equally pretty Xue Baochai, who was sensible, tolerant and gentle, became everyone's favorite... Lin Daiyu [on the other hand] was aloof, proud, naïve and straightforward. Despite her dependency on her grandmother for her living, having nothing to call her own but herself, she refused to conform blindly to the accepted customs and yield to the Confucian ethics. Whenever and wherever she could, she would defend her character and integrity... In the Xue family, there was a girl named Baochai. She was beautiful and graceful, scrupulously abiding by the conventional rules that women were made to obey. Shrewd, diplomatic and manipulative, she knew how to make friends and consequently became the favorite girl of all the families...

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