Qin Keqing is one of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling (refers to the twelve excellent ladies) in the book of The Dream of Red Mansions. She is one of the most significant character and her real identity and early death are also amongst the most mysterious in the book.
Qin Keqing is the adopted daughter of Qin Bangye and wife of Jia Rong. However, she also has an affair with her father-in-law. She is described as one of the most beautiful and most lamentable women in this book.
She was more of a delusory figure than a real person in this book. In the chapter five, Jia Baoyu dreamed that he was led by fairy Jing Huan (Qin Keqing) to a fantasyland. The fairy gave him some books, which told the girls’ fate in the book of The Dream of Red Mansions. Therefore, this dream also had already revealed the dynasty of the whole family.
Regarding her identity, some hold that Qin Keqing is not an ordinary person due to the extraordinary ornaments she has. For example, she has a mirror which was once used by Emperor Wu Zetian (The first female Emperor in ancient China). Some believe that she was originally a princess.
Her death has also remained a mystery. Some believe that she was died of illness, but others hold that she was hanged. However, nobody knows the real answer.
In this book, there is a special meaning about her name of Qin Keqing. The name has the same pronunciation of the ancient Chinese phrase “qing ke qing, fei chang qing”, which suggests her love affairs are quite different from those of common people.
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