Zijuan

Who is Zijuan? Zijuan (紫鵑) is Lin Daiyu’s personal maid in Dream of the Red Chamber. She barely speaks so far, but the first thing we learn about her says a lot: on a cold day, she sends a hand warmer after Daiyu because she’s worried her mistress will catch a chill.

The name

紫鵑 (Traditional) · 紫鹃 (Simplified) · Zǐjuān

紫 (zǐ): “purple.”
鵑 (juān): the cuckoo, short for 杜鵑 (dùjuān).

So her name means “Purple Cuckoo.” It’s a pretty name with a sad story behind it. As Daniel explains in his notes on Chapter 8, the cuckoo recalls the legend of Emperor Wang of Shu (蜀王望帝), who was betrayed and lost his kingdom. After he died, his soul became a cuckoo that flew through the sky crying tears of blood. That’s a striking name for the maid of a girl who, back in Chapter 1, came into the world to repay a debt with her tears.

David Hawkes calls Zijuan “Nightingale.” The Yangs call her “Tzu-chuan.”

First impression

Zijuan isn’t even in the room the first time she’s mentioned. In Chapter 8, Daiyu is visiting her Aunt Xue when the young maid Xueyan arrives with a little hand warmer. Zijuan sent it, Xueyan explains, because she was worried Miss Lin was cold. Daiyu takes it and turns it into a jab at Baoyu, who has just done what her cousin Baochai told him: “Whatever I say goes in one ear and out the other. And yet you follow whatever she says faster than an imperial decree!”

The story so far

Ch. 8: She sends Xueyan to Aunt Xue’s with a hand warmer for Daiyu, and Daiyu uses it to tease Baoyu → Chapter 8
Ch. 21: She’s nowhere to be found when Baoyu barges into the girls’ room at dawn, then comes in with Cuilü to help Daiyu and Xiangyun wash, and hands Baoyu the scented soap he turns down → The Missing Pearl

Relationships

Lin Daiyu, her mistress: Zijuan looks after her comfort before Daiyu even asks.
Xueyan, fellow maid: Came with Daiyu from her father’s house; in Chapter 8 she carries out Zijuan’s orders.
Cuilü, Shi Xiangyun’s maid: They work side by side the morning Xiangyun sleeps over in Daiyu’s room.

What readers argue about

Is she the same girl as Yingge? In Chapter 3, Grandmother Jia gives Daiyu one of her own maids, a girl named Yingge (鸚哥, “Parrot”), because the maid Daiyu brought from home is too young. Five chapters later, Daiyu’s head maid is named Zijuan, and Yingge isn’t mentioned. Is this one girl with a new name, the way Baoyu renamed his maid Xiren? The novel doesn’t say.
Why does Daiyu treat a kindness like an insult? Zijuan’s hand warmer is a thoughtful gesture, and Daiyu turns it into a weapon. Is she being cruel, or just clever? → What in the World Is Lin Daiyu Talking About?

Essays and posts about Zijuan

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