The Character Background of Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai

Lin Daiyu was born a scholarly younger brother and a descendant of Marquis. Xue Baochai was born in one of the four big families, the imperial merchant family.

In A Dream of Red Mansions, Lin Daiyu's father said: "My ancestors attacked Hou, went to the Western Ocean, and lived under the same roof for five generations. At first, it only attacked III, ... to the father of the sea, and then it attacked a generation "(the second time), while Lin Ruhai," a flower detective with a criminal record, has now been promoted to the doctor of Lantai Temple, ... today he was appointed as the salt inspector, "(the second time). From this point of view, Lin Daiyu's ancestors also had the title of marquis, and even attacked four generations. Although Lin Ruhai lost his title, he was born in the imperial examination, which was regarded as the right way, and was ranked third in the college entrance examination (exploring flowers). In fact, he was awarded Dr. Lantai Temple and was appointed as the director of the State Salt Monopoly Bureau (salt patrol empire). Jia Zheng felt sorry because he was not born in the imperial examination. Lin Daiyu's birth is really "Zhong Ding's family and scholarly family" (the second time), which is both rich and lofty. Therefore, Chairman Jia Fu married his only daughter to show his great respect for Mrs. Shi.

Xue Baochai was born in the Xue family, where "the grain is abundant and the snow is falling", and now she is the banker of the inner government after the (fourth) junior three. Obviously, Xue Baochai's ancestors did not have a title, and now no one is an official in the DPRK, just an imperial merchant. Among the four "scholars, peasants, workers and businessmen" in ancient times, businessmen had the lowest status and were most despised. Although businessmen are rich, their social status is not high and they have no political power. The political power of the Xue family is very weak. To put it bluntly, it is "rich but not expensive".

Let's look at mother's family.

Chai and Dai's mothers come from four families. Xue Baochai's mother, Wang, was born in "the southeast is short of white jade beds, and the Dragon King came to invite King Jinling" (the fourth time). She belongs to one of the four big families. Her mother, Wang Ziteng, is now celebrating history in the Beijing camp, and later "promoted the control of nine provinces and ordered the inspection of all borders." The fourth time, of course, belongs to the home of senior officials.

However, Daiyu's mother's background is not very rich.

Daiyu's mother, Jia Min, is the only daughter of the old lady Shi. She was born in the Jia family (the fourth generation) and has two uncles. Jia She is a first-class general with great power. Jia Zheng is now the foreign minister of the Ministry of Industry, and was later released to study politics. She belongs to a senior official who really lacks rightism.

From the above comparison, we can see that the social status of the Lins is much higher than that of the Xue family.