Grandmother Jia (Chinese: 賈母; Pinyin: Jiǎ Mǔ), née Shi, so often also called Dowager Shi (Chinese: 史太君; Pinyin: Shǐ Tàijūn) or simply the Dowager, is a major character in the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is the daughter of Marquis Shi of Jinling. She is also Baoyu and Daiyu's grandmother and the oldest and most respected authority of the Jia Clan. A doting figure, it was she who arranged for Daiyu, her only "outside" (i.e., maternal) grandchild, to come to the Rongguo Mansion. It was with her help that Baoyu and Daiyu became extremely close as childhood playmates, and eventually, kindred spirits and lovers.
The Dowager's descendants include:
- two sons, Jia She and Jia Zheng
- a daughter, Jia Min
- two daughter-in-laws, Lady Xing and Lady Wang
- many paternal grandchildren, such as Jia Baoyu, Jia Lian, the 4 "Springs" (Jia Yuanchun, Jia Yingchun, Jia Tanchun, Jia Xichun)
- a maternal grandchild, Lin Daiyu
- a granddaughter-in-law, Wang Xifeng
- a son-in-law, Lin Ruhai
- a grandniece, Shi Xiangyun, and
- several great-grandchildren, including Qin Keqing, her great-granddaughter-in-law.
Famous quotes containing the word grandmother:
“The suburban housewife—she was the dream image of the young American women and the envy, it was said, of women all over the world. The American housewife—freed by science and labor-saving appliances from the drudgery, the dangers of childbirth, and the illnesses of her grandmother ... had found true feminine fulfilment.”
—Betty Friedan (b. 1921)