Xue Baoqin, a secondary member of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling

　　Snow falls in the empty mountains, the zither's melody is mournful; the west wind adds to the misfortune, the young master keeps his door closed, the flowers won't bloom. A sigh escapes, worldly fates are truly unpredictable; a stick of incense burns, its fragrance lingering, hoping for your return; a tear falls, a tear of sorrow and humiliation, a tear is cast aside, a heart full of unrequited love, a dream beyond the window. The willows are green, hand in hand we'll travel to the ends of the earth, yet remain shrouded in dust.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 — Prophecy.

After Xue Ke's father died, he and his mother and two sons likely returned to Jinling. As the eldest son, Xue Ke needed to care for his ailing mother and young sister, making it inconvenient for him to engage in business until he sent Baoqin to the capital for her marriage. After arriving at the Jia family mansion, Xue Ke assisted in managing the Xue family's affairs in the capital and prepared for their relocation; his aunt, Aunt Xue, also began preparing for his marriage to Xing Xiuyan. If they had already separated their households in the previous generation, why would the aunt, from another family, still arrange a marriage for her nephew, and why would her cousin, Baochai, speak of thrift and diligence to her future cousin's wife?
　　This is a question I have never been able to answer definitively.
However, if, as mentioned earlier, the Xue family had separated from the imperial merchant Xue family and lived independently, then Baoqin would be the daughter of a merchant, a commoner woman. If she can be considered ill-fated, then like You Sanjie, she should be a girl from a modest family and should be listed in the secondary register. Her
individual talents are inferior
to those of Baochai, Daiyu, and Xiangyun. Baoqin's overall qualities are the best in the Jia family, even in Jinling province, but her individual talents are
inferior to those of Baochai, Daiyu, and
Xiangyun. In terms of quick wit, she is inferior to Xiangyun. In Chapter 50, during the impromptu poetry competition at Luxueguang, Xiangyun ranked first with 12 lines, 6 even-numbered lines, and 6 odd-numbered lines, totaling 18 lines; Baoqin and Daiyu ranked second with 9 and 8 lines respectively. It is evident that Baoqin's quick wit is slightly inferior to Xiangyun's, but comparable to Daiyu's.
In terms of magnanimity, she is inferior to Baochai
. In the Grand View Garden, apart from the widowed Li Wan, Baochai is the eldest; she always cares for her younger siblings, is experienced in handling affairs, and has keen observation skills. She always paid attention to everything around her and cared about the vulnerable, such as Xiangyun, Daiyu, and Xiuyan, who all received care and assistance from Baochai. Although Baoqin traveled extensively with her parents from a young age, she would still spend time with Baochai at home. The Jia family also saw that she possessed Baochai's demeanor. However, being young and innocent, she sometimes lacked consideration for the bigger picture. For example, in Chapter 73, when the sisters were in Yingchun's room and Tanchun was interrogating a servant, Ping'er entered, and Baoqin clapped her hands and laughed, "Third Sister, do you possess the magic to summon spirits?" The atmosphere was quite serious, yet she made a "teasing" remark. Daiyu further elaborated, saying, "She is the most skilled in warfare, the so-called 'guarding like a virgin, escaping like a cunning rabbit,' a strategy of catching the enemy off guard." "The two made a teasing remark. Baochai then gave them a wink, signaling them to stop." From these few dozen words, we can see Baoqin's liveliness and wit, but also that her understanding of people and situations is not as profound as Daiyu's, and her ability to assess situations is not as good as Baochai's.
While Baoqin's poetry is characterized by its sorrowful sentiment and poetic talent,
it falls short of Daiyu's ability to subtly reveal character differences through details. Regarding the peach blossom poem, I initially thought it was written by Baoqin, almost being deceived by her, until everyone elected Daiyu as the leader of the poetry club, at which point I realized the truth. Later, Baoqin's peach blossom lyrics did resemble Daiyu's in tone, but ultimately lacked the depth of feeling that Daiyu possessed, "unlike Lin Daiyu, who, having experienced loss, composed such mournful sounds." Therefore, her poem "Xi Jiang Yue" is not as good as Daiyu's "Tang Duo Ling," though it is still a fine piece. A quick search on Baidu reveals numerous entries for "Xi Jiang Yue," making it quite popular among the poems in *Dream of the Red Chamber*. The line "South of the Yangtze River and north of the Yangtze are the same, but the sorrow of parting is particularly heavy" has been used by many netizens as usernames or signatures.
Therefore, Baoqin can only be said to fall slightly short of the three beauties in her most outstanding aspects, while each of the twelve beauties possesses extremely prominent characteristics and personalities, even leaning towards one extreme. Bao-yu and Dai-yu go without saying; Yuan-chun is the highest-ranking member of the family; Tan-chun's talent and ambition are probably unparalleled; Xiang-yun's quick wit needs no further explanation; Miao-yu is "too pure and disliked by the world"; Ying-chun is extremely weak; Xi-chun is extremely aloof; Feng-jie is extremely clever; Qiao-jie's fate is extremely fortunate; Li-wan is extremely virtuous; and Ke-qing is extremely "licentious."
　　In summary, Bao-qin is indeed very beautiful and talented, seemingly without flaws. However, the absence of flaws might be seen as a flaw by Cao Xueqin, thus creating a flaw in her appearance, which is why she was not selected for the Twelve Beauties.
　　Based on these three points, any one of them would be enough to exclude Bao-qin from the main list of the Twelve Beauties. What Bao-qin's later fate will be remains unknown to us after the first eighty chapters. Furthermore, there is no explicit or implicit hint about Bao-qin; she is not mentioned in the Flower Banquet, nor is she mentioned in Chapter Five. Yet, her appearance is like a celestial being descending to earth for Grandmother Jia, causing her to overlook Xiu-yan, Bao-yu, and Dai-yu who accompanied her. Many readers are indignant that she is not among the "Twelve Beauties," but I have a different interpretation. Baoqin, Xiuyan, and the Li sisters may play different, even polarized, roles in the later chapters.
　　Her marriage to the son of Hanlin Mei
　　is established from her very first appearance in the novel. In Gao E's continuation, only Lady Wang mentions it briefly: "That Miss Qin, the Mei family married her, and I heard they are well-off and prosperous."
　　Speaking solely of Xue Baoqin's personality, compared to Baochai, she is less constrained by worldly conventions, more free-thinking, and innocent and pure. Her poems "Remembering the Past at Pudong Temple" and "Remembering the Past at Plum Blossom Temple" serve as evidence. These two poems, under the guise of reminiscing about the past, praise the protagonist's love story and reflect Baoqin's pursuit of free love. Although marrying the son of Hanlin Mei does not conform to Cao Xueqin's original intention, nor to the overall ending of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, nor to Xue Baoqin's personal character... Her marriage to the son of Hanlin Mei from childhood was likely an arranged marriage. If she had married into the Mei family, how could their love have become a tragedy? Of course, nothing is certain. Even with the Xue family's decline, it's quite possible that the son of Hanlin Mei wasn't as virtuous as Wang Ren, and still married Baoqin according to the marriage agreement. In

　　Liu Xinwu's "Not by the Plum Blossom, But by the Willow Blossom"
section of the first eighty chapters, it's written that Grandmother Jia had considered marrying Xue Baoqin to Jia Baoyu. Later, Aunt Xue explained that Baoqin's father was dead, and her mother suffered from phlegm and didn't have much time left, but her father had already arranged for her to marry the son of Hanlin Mei. Her reason for accompanying her brother Xue Ke to the capital was to wait for Hanlin Mei's term to end so he could return and marry her. So, in the chapters after the first eighty chapters, which Cao Xueqin wrote or at least planned, did she actually marry the son of Hanlin Mei and remain faithful for life? From the text of the first eighty chapters and the commentaries by Zhiyan Zhai, we can infer that her later fate was not predetermined. In her poem about red plum blossoms, there are lines like, "In the quiet courtyard, no snow remains; in the empty mountains and flowing water, the setting sun casts its glow." On the surface, this all revolves around the image of "red plum blossoms," but the contrast between "a bountiful year with heavy snow" and the desolation of "empty mountains and flowing water" likely foreshadows the overall disintegration of the Xue family, suggesting that she, too, would ultimately be condemned to a life of misfortune. Her poem about willow catkins, "West River Moon," contains the line "A dream of bright moon and plum blossoms," perhaps hinting that she ultimately failed to marry into the Mei family as promised. So, if she didn't marry a member of the Mei family, to whom did she marry? I believe the last of her ten poems on historical themes speaks of herself: "Not by the plum blossoms, but by the willows," meaning her final destiny was with Liu Xianglian. Upon reflection, while You Sanjie died a tragic death out of genuine love, she may not have been a good match for Liu Xianglian, whereas Xue Baoqin and Liu Xianglian were truly well-matched in their experiences of wandering and their magnificent temperament.
In
　　Chapter 50, "The Snow-Covered Hermitage: A Battle of Impromptu Poems," Baoqin composes a seven-character quatrain titled "Ode to Red Plum Blossoms, Using the Character 'Flower'." Note that Baoqin is connected to the character "flower." Coincidentally, the same chapter mentions the character "flower" again. Li Wan presents a riddle about a firefly, asking everyone to guess the corresponding character. After much deliberation, Baoqin smiles and says, "This has a profound meaning; could it be the character for 'flower' (花)?" Li Qi laughs and says, "Exactly!" Everyone asks, "What does a firefly have to do with a flower?" Daiyu laughs and says, "Wonderful! Aren't fireflies transformed from plants?" Everyone understands and laughs, saying, "Good!"
　　Here, the author again points out Baoqin's connection to the character "flower." It can be speculated that the character "flower" is a crucial hint at Baoqin's ending; her husband's name should contain the character "flower." Among all the male characters in *Dream of the Red Chamber*, only Xiren's brother, Hua Zifang, has the character "flower" in his name.
　　 Is it possible that Baoqin would eventually marry Hua Zifang? While this may seem absurd at first glance, a closer examination reveals its deeper meaning. According to the commentaries, after the Jia family's downfall, Xiren and the couple Jiang Yuhan helped Baoyu and Baochai. Baoqin was Baochai's sister, and Hua Zifang was Xiren's brother. After the passing of the three springs (referring to the three sisters of the Jia family), Baoqin also fell into poverty. It seems logical that Xiren would arrange for her to marry her own brother.