A Textual Study of Dream of the Red Chamber

I don't know if the author of the message can see it now. Daiyu first entered Rongguo Mansion at the age of 6, so there was no problem. Baoyu first tried Yunyu when he was about eight or nine years old. I also hold the same opinion. But I think Baochai's age can still be discussed. Daiyu was escorted to Beijing by Jia Yucun, and on the day she entered Jia's house, Jia Zheng promised to seek revenge for Jia Yucun. Within two months, Jia Yucun took office. The first case he handled was Xue Pan's case, which had been put on hold for a year. What Menzi said was that Yinglian was abducted when she was five years old. Now she is seven or eight years old. Five years old plus seven or eight years old means she is twelve or thirteen years old. However, Daiyu entered Jia's house before the end of the winter, and Jia Yucun was waiting for the time to resurrect and take office. Daiyu should be seven years old, while Yinglian was already twelve or thirteen years old. There was a five or six year age difference between the two. The original work clearly stated that Xiangling, Baochai, and Xiren were the same age. Baochai's first birthday after arriving in Jia's house was "Jiangpin" instead of "Jianpin". In ancient times, women usually got their hairpin at the age of fifteen, and they had to take their nickname after they got their hairpin. However, this was a woman who already had a family. There is a situation called "She is not allowed to marry, but she has haircut at 20". I think Baochai is the latter. She is a 13-year-old girl as soon as she appears, which makes other girls look naive and childish. Baoyu and Daiyu said "You and I grew up together" because Baochai was already very old when she appeared. Xiren's age has also been explained. Xiren was sold by his family when he remembered. When he entered the Jia Mansion, he served Jia Mu in Xiangyun. Jia Mu saw that she served thoughtfully and carefully, so she was promoted to the first class, and was seconded to Baoyu. The second class in Jia Mansion was promoted to the first class after she was thirteen years old. When Baoyu was seven years old, Jia Mu had seconded the first class girl Xiren to Baoyu. Moreover, Baoyu went to Xiren's house when he was twelve or thirteen years old. Xiren said that his cousin was already seventeen years old. Because he was much older, he was well versed in human affairs. When Baoyu was eight or nine years old, the two secretly tried Yun Yu, without arousing the suspicion of Jia's mother, Mrs. Wang, and others. Jia Baoyu was young, and there was a big age difference with Xi Ren, and Xi Ren was not outstanding in color and had an honest attitude. If I were Mrs. Wang, I would not suspect Xi Ren.