There has always been controversy about the age when Lin Daiyu entered the Jia family. Some people say that she is six or seven years old, others say that she is ninety years old, or even eleven or thirteen years old. So how old should it be?
From the second paragraph of the book, we can know that Daiyu's age is "only his ex-wife Jia gave birth to a daughter named Daiyu, who is five years old this year", and then "another year passed, and the mother of the female student, Mrs. Jia, suddenly fell ill and died." So, when Daiyu's mother died, she was only six years old. Daiyu started studying in Yucun at the age of five, and her mother died at the age of six. And then Leng Zixing said to Guo. Leng Zixing said that Baoyu was "seven or eight years older now", and Baoyu was one year older than Daiyu, just seven years old at this time. Next, Zhang reported the good news for the third time. Yucun "listened to all his words and played the role of restoration", so he went to the "Central Trouble to Jia Zheng" to seek an official position. The next day, Yucun had a dream. As the saying goes, "I was lucky to die because it was cheap." My mother-in-law in Du Zhong thinks that my daughter has no dependence on education. Before that, she had sent a boat for men and women to pick her up. She chose to enter Beijing on the second day of this month, and so did your brother. Is it inconvenient? "The descriptions in the second and third chapters of the book are one after another, and time is tight, without any jumps and omissions. "Like the Sea" just shows that it was in this year that my grandmother sent someone to pick up Daiyu, and Daiyu's mother died. Then when grandma sent someone to pick up Daiyu, Daiyu was undoubtedly six years old.
Many people admit this, but they think that Daiyu suddenly became bigger when she entered Jia's house. It is absolutely impossible to say that Daiyu has been on the road for several years. Even if the traffic is inconvenient, it will only be a few more months. So, was Daiyu six years old when she entered Jiafu? Looking at the conversation between Baodai and Daiyu at first sight, Baoyu approached Daiyu and sat down beside her. He looked at her carefully and asked, "Did my sister study?" Daiyu said, "I haven't read it. I have only been in school for a year, and I still have to know a few words. " It has been explained for the second time in the book. Daiyu studied with Yucun from the age of five until she was six. Then he went to Du Zhong with Yucun, as Daiyu herself told Baoyu, and only went to school for one year. It can be seen that Daiyu was still six years old when she arrived at Jiafu.
Then why do so many people think that Daiyu should be a teenager when she enters Jiafu, not six years old? I think this should be an illusion. We can push back from Xue Baochai's age and read the 22nd chapter in the book. "I heard the old lady say yesterday that she asked everyone's age and birthday. I heard that Xue Damei is fifteen years old this year. Not the whole birthday, but also the year of retirement. The old lady said she would give him a birthday. " This passage shows that Xue Baochai is fifteen years old at this time. Who wants the old lady to see Baochai coming? She likes him to be steady and peaceful. On his first birthday, she received twenty taels of silver and asked Xifeng to buy him wine. "As can be seen from this paragraph, Xue Baochai's 15 birthday is her first birthday after she arrived in Jia Fu. It can be inferred that Baochai entered Jiafu at the age of fourteen, and Baochai entered Jiafu for the fourth time in the book. Because Baochai is two, Baoyu is one, Baoyu is twelve and Daiyu is eleven.
Seeing this, someone will definitely ask, why is Daiyu still six years old for the third time and eleven years old for the fourth time? Where did you go in those five years? Obviously, the middle five years were omitted by the author. What the author omits is the childhood of Baoyu and Daiyu, that is, the twenty-eighth time Baoyu said to Daiyu, "Isn't that my stubborn smile when the girl came?" Be with the person you love. The girl wants it. Take it. I like eating. As soon as I heard that girls like to eat, I quickly put it away and waited for them to eat. A table for eating and a bed for sleeping. Girls can't think of it. I'm afraid that girls will be angry. I'm thinking about girls. Do you think if Daiyu entered the Jia family at the age of nine, Baoyu would be in his teens? "。 Will they still eat at the same table and sleep in the same bed? No, because the ancients could get married when they were 15 or 16, and slept together when they were teenagers, without any reason, even if it was "one sleeping in the green cabinet and the other sleeping in the big bed outside the green cabinet".
From the above analysis, it is obvious that Daiyu was six years old when she first entered Jiafu, and Baoyu was seven years old. Xue Baochai entered Jia's house. When the story really started, Daiyu was eleven and Baoyu was twelve. The third time, after Lin Daiyu entered the Jia family, she heard Mrs. Wang talk about Jia Baoyu and said, "This brother is one year older than me." On the sixty-second trip to Tanchun, she talked to Aaron about his birthday every month. Aaron said, "It was Miss Lin on February 12th." As Jia Baoyu was born in Bing Xu 1706, Lin Daiyu's real date of birth was1February 707 12, and she died in1February 723. She just turned 16 years old when she died.
Lin Daiyu once said that Baochai was two years old and Baoyu was one year older than Daiyu.
It can be traced back to the 1990s, when Mrs. Wang and I talked about the marriage between Baoyu and Daiyu. Grandmother Jia said, "Naturally, I married Baoyu first, and then I told the maid Lin that others are my own, so I don't need to be an outsider first. Besides, Lin Shantou is two years younger than Baoyu. " What the hell is going on here? How old is Lin Daiyu than Jia Baoyu?
The author's answer is that in real terms, Daiyu is one year younger than Baoyu; Nominally, Daiyu is two years younger than Baoyu. The fifth chapter discusses the calculation of "virtual age". But according to folklore, the calculation of "nominal age" is only used for men, and the age of women is calculated according to the actual age. This is the so-called "men in and women out".
According to the presumption of this article, the plot written in Chapter 90 is in the year of Renyin, 1722. In October of that year, Jia Baoyu was seventeen and Lin Daiyu was fifteen. So "Linshantou is two years younger than Baoyu".
In short, Daiyu was fifteen or sixteen when she died. When Xue Baochai married Jia Baoyu, Baoyu 17 years old and Baochai 19 years old.