贾宝玉

賈寶玉

JiǎBǎoyù

proper noun

Meanings

1 Jia Baoyu, male protagonist of 《红楼梦》 ('Dream of the Red Chamber')
2 sensitive heir of the Jia clan, fated to love Lin Daiyu but marry Xue Baochai

Characters

treasure; precious

Examples

贾宝玉是《红楼梦》的主人公。

Jiǎbǎoyù shì 《 Hónglóumèng 》 de zhǔréngōng.

Jia Baoyu is the protagonist of Dream of the Red Chamber.

贾宝玉出生时衔着一块通灵宝玉。

Jiǎbǎoyù chūshēng shí xián zhe yíkuài tōnglíng bǎoyù.

Jia Baoyu was born with a magical jade in his mouth.

Tips

culture

Baoyu enters the world with a piece of magical jade (通灵宝玉) in his mouth — hence his name, literally 'Precious Jade'. In Cao Xueqin's mythic framing he is the reincarnation of a celestial stone, and his romance with Lin Daiyu encodes the novel's central theme that earthly desire ends in illusion and loss.

memory

宝玉 = 'precious jade'. He carries his soul around his neck — whenever the jade goes missing in the novel, Baoyu physically falls ill.

Stroke Order

贾 jiǎ

宝 bǎo

玉 yù