Leaf 36 of the Red Chamber · 情友 Friend of the Schoolroom

Qin Zhong 秦钟

In Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢 (c. 1791) · in the household (当家) · nicknamed 情友 “Friend of the Schoolroom”

The first boy Baoyu ever envies for being beautiful, and the first death he attends: their friendship lasts sixteen chapters and ends in an argument about taking examinations.

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Kinship

Younger brother of Qin Keqing, son of an aged official

Friends

Baoyu from their first meeting; they enter the clan school together

Ends

Dies at home of illness and shame, ch. 16

The great deeds 大事記

1. ch. 7

   First Meeting at the Ning Banquet

   寧府初會

   At a banquet in the Ning household, where he is waiting to be taken into the clan school, he and Baoyu recognise each other at once, and both go home unhappy at having met so late.

2. ch. 9

   Brawl in the Clan School

   頑童鬧學

   His closeness to Baoyu turns a schoolmate jealous, and the clan school erupts into a brawl of ink and pulled hair; the master's grandson who tries to mediate is made to apologize for it.

3. ch. 15

   The Nun Followed Back to Town

   私會智能

   Lodging with the funeral party at a nunnery, he carries on with a young nun there; she follows him back to town, his father beats and shuts him up, and the old man dies of the same indignity.

4. ch. 16

   Last Words of Study and Fame

   鯨卿夭逝

   Wasted by illness and his father's treatment, he dies with Baoyu at his bed; his last words tell him to make a name through study, undoing everything the two of them ever said to each other.

In the same register & chapters 同冊

• 贾琏 Jia LianSecond Master Lian
• 贾瑞 Jia RuiGrandson of the Schoolmaster
• 贾元春 Jia YuanchunPrefect of the Phoenix-Scroll Palace
• 王熙凤 Wang XifengCommon Bird
• 贾宝玉 Jia BaoyuContemplation of Red
• 贾母 Grandmother JiaLady Shi, the Dowager

The book itself: what happens, how long it is, which English version to read — The story · How long it is · Which translation · The lamp-oil night · The family tree · The first expulsion