The worldly wisdom of Tanchun, the third young lady of the Jia family in Dream of the Red Chamber

By: DaDa

I wonder if everyone has watched "Little Drama Bones Dream of the Red Chamber" that premiered on October 1 last year? This TV series, which pays tribute to the 1987 version of "Dream of the Red Chamber" and is performed entirely by children born after 2000, really became a hit, and I was among the first to binge-watch it! From the classic 1987 version, to the new 2012 version, to the 2017 Little Drama Bones version, Dream of the Red Chamber will always be an immortal topic. Just like the saying "A thousand people have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts," everyone has different feelings about each character in Dream of the Red Chamber. As a loyal fan of the Red Chamber, especially at different ages, every time I read Dream of the Red Chamber I feel differently. But the one thing that never changes is my exclusive appreciation for one person.

Whenever Dream of the Red Chamber is mentioned, perhaps the first thing everyone thinks of is the exquisitely beautiful Lin Daiyu, of whom it is said "a Lin sister fell from the sky," Xue Baochai, the Jia Baoyu who was "born with jade in his mouth," the "fierce and ruthless" Wang Xifeng... However, in Dream of the Red Chamber, the one I appreciate most is not the exquisitely beautiful Lin sister, nor the clever Bao sister, but the third young lady of the Jia family, who possesses both talent and individuality - Jia Tanchun.

First, let me talk about the four young ladies of the Jia household. The eldest, Yuanchun, is the Virtuous Consort of the current dynasty, though surviving in the deep palace is not easy either; the second, Yingchun, is somewhat weak and also very stubborn, but rather tragic as well (she married a beast); the third, Tanchun (I really like this "playful" character "Tan"), is talented, has individuality, and her ending is very good; the fourth, Xichun (just hearing the name carries a hint of sorrow), is very stubborn, and in the end actually became a nun, accompanied forever by the green lamp and ancient Buddha. After hearing their endings, aren't you rather curious? Let me tell you about this third girl whose ending is quite good!

Baidu states clearly: "Jia Tanchun, one of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling, daughter of Jia Zheng of the Rongguo Mansion and his concubine Zhao Yiniang, who was of servant origin, half-sister of Jia Baoyu through their father, commonly known in the Jia household as the third young lady. Baoyu and the three Chun sisters were all raised at Old Lady Jia's side, received an excellent education no different from that of their legitimate sister Yuanchun. After Lin Daiyu entered the Jia Mansion she moved to Lady Wang's residence, and after Yuanchun's visit home she lived in the Grand View Garden."

Yes, she is shrewd and capable, full of resourcefulness, able to make decisions, and has the nickname "Rose." Even Lady Wang and Xifeng are somewhat wary of her. During the search of the Grand View Garden she slapped Wang Shanbao's wife (when reading the book I was already won over by her boldness - so impressive! To put it plainly, she did it for her self-respect); she is skilled at poetry and calligraphy, with refined tastes, and once initiated the founding of the Crabapple Poetry Society, making her a great talented lady of the Grand View Garden (her pen name is "Guest Under the Banana"); she is kind-hearted - when Lin Daiyu was on her deathbed, it was she and Li Wan who stayed by her side and handled everything; she cares about matters of family and state, and has the talent for practical statecraft. She was once ordered by Lady Wang to manage the household on behalf of Xifeng. In order to support Xiren, the maid whom Lady Wang favored, she suppressed Zhao Yiniang, causing the funeral fee for someone who was merely a servant's relative to be higher than that for the relatives of Zhao Yiniang, who was a concubine. She also presided over the reform of the Grand View Garden, making her a statesman and reformer of great vision and strategy.

But no matter what, her origins were what they were, and her many helplessnesses were not the slightest bit fewer. Although Jia Tanchun received a good education, because she was born of a servant and because Zhao Yiniang had borne a son, she could not gain Lady Wang's favor and, and subsequently refused to acknowledge her own mother and relatives who had no background, upholding Lady Wang's interests and gaining Lady Wang's approval. Although during Xifeng's sick leave she temporarily held the reins of power and launched the reform of the Grand View Garden, her power was limited and it was already too late, making it difficult to reverse the decline of the Jia household. During the search of the Grand View Garden, she delivered her "centipede theory" with immense grief and indignation (that was the time she slapped someone - she said: "A centipede dies but never falls down," but if disorder starts from within, that is simply seeking one's own death). Her fate is woven into the important main political storyline of pacifying the coastal frontier. By her father Jia Zheng's decision, she was married far away to the Zhou family, the Zhenhai commander of Hainan, thus escaping the disaster of the family's confiscation. When the coastal frontier bandits were pacified and the army returned in triumph, she was able to return to the capital to visit her family. (Although she married very far away, from her personality and abilities, plus the hints in Cao Xueqin's poems, it is not hard to see that Tanchun was the one among the girls who married best, and also the one among the "Twelve Beauties of Jinling" with the best ending.)

In this life, I greatly admire Mr. Li Shutong's open-minded attitude of "doing worldly things with an otherworldly heart," and I also appreciate a girl like Tanchun who has both talent and spirit! If you don't want to read the original book, then go watch the TV series - after all, both the classic version and this Little Drama Bones version are absolutely excellent! (The children are super cute and also super amazing!)