贾宝玉

賈寶玉

JiǎBǎoyù

popculture

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。

Jiǎ Bǎoyù 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。

Jiǎ Bǎoyù chūshēng shí xiánzhe yí kuài 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