Lu Weiwei

Biodata

Background / History

Family and the Flower Fanatic

Lu Weiwei was born into the Wu Commandery Lu Clan, one of Jiangdong’s foremost aristocratic houses. Her father was Lu Na, and her paternal grandfather was Lu Wan. Her birth mother died when she was six; Zhang Wenwan entered the family as her stepmother when she was eight. Although Weiwei initially rejected Zhang Wenwan, they gradually developed a genuine mother–daughter bond 18 72 207.

Her love of flowers became widely known throughout Wu Commandery. Every spring and autumn, she traveled in search of unusual plants, asking their owners to let her transplant them. When an owner refused, she sometimes returned twice a year simply to admire the flowers 62.

Her reputation as the Flower Fanatic spread after an incident involving a Chinese snowball tree in Shangyu County. Finding the once-beautiful tree withered, she wept, obtained it from its owner, and replanted it in Cherished Garden. Its unexpected revival inspired the popular claim that her devotion had moved the flower deity 62.

Friendship and courtship with Chen Caozhi

Weiwei’s early acquaintance with Chen Caozhi centered on flowers and painting. At her introduction, she defended him against her cousin Lu Qin’s hostility, pointing out that he had helped identify a golden hairpin dendrobium. Later, Chen treated her ailing Jade Edition chrysanthemum, giving them another reason to meet 18 66.

Their friendship developed into affection despite the gulf between her aristocratic lineage and his humble family origins. Weiwei understood that difference but found herself forgetting it whenever they were together. Their artistic exchanges were reciprocal: she answered his questions about painting, while he suggested compositions and gave her Snowy Mountain Retreat 80 99.

At sixteen, she hinted at her feelings by telling Chen that marriage to another man would prevent them from viewing camellias together. Their Tiger Hill outing brought hand-holding and promises of a future marriage. A proposed match with He Zhu came to nothing because Lu Na disapproved of his use of mineral powder 101 107.

Acceptance by the Chen family

Weiwei visited Chen Family Cove without her father’s permission. There, she greeted Chen’s mother, Lady Li, with the full obeisance of a daughter-in-law meeting her husband’s parents. Lady Li welcomed her warmly, while Ding Youwei immediately regarded her as a suitable match for Chen 132 134.

Privately, Weiwei admitted to Ding Youwei that separation hurt her and that future marriage proposals frightened her. She concealed these worries from Chen because she did not want to burden him. Ding Youwei’s encouragement strengthened her resolve to wait rather than accept another husband 135.

Clan opposition and separation

Rumors of a secret affair brought questioning from Zhang Wenwan. Weiwei initially denied romantic feelings, presenting her connection with Chen as gratitude and shared artistic interests. She later confessed that she would marry no one else and begged her stepmother for help 155 168.

The strongest resistance came from her paternal uncle and clan head, Lu Shi. He accepted Kong Wang’s proposal without Lu Na’s consent, but Weiwei refused the match. Public criticism eventually drove Kong Wang to withdraw, although the broader opposition to Chen remained 168 170.

After three years apart, Weiwei and Chen reunited at Guo Pu Pavilion. Zhang Wenwan supported their meeting but warned that Lu Shi still had to be persuaded. Chen asked Weiwei to wait another three years; their later excursion to Mount Hua brought their first kiss beneath a Jewel Magnolia tree 192 194 207.

Private wedding and resistance to the palace

Before Chen departed for Jingzhou, Weiwei arranged a private wedding at the Chen residence by the Qinhuai River. Facing renewed pressure to marry into another great clan, she declared herself his wife, exchanged nuptial wine with him, and entered the bridal chamber 339.

The danger later became more specific: Lu Clan elders came to Jiankang to press Lu Na into sending her into the imperial palace. Weiwei sought to have a memorial of remonstrance passed to Empress Dowager Chu through the monk Zhu Fatai 372.

When news arrived that Chen had been abducted to Ye City, Weiwei cut several locks of hair to declare her determination. She would wait three years or ten, she said, but would not marry another man. Lu Na recognized that further coercion could end in her death and went to confront Lu Shi and the clan elders 374.

Xie Daoyun and the bestowed marriage

Sima Daofu revealed that Chen’s colleague Zhu Yingtai was actually Xie Daoyun in disguise and claimed that Xie had followed him out of love. Weiwei was hurt but refused to blame Xie merely for loving him. In private, she nevertheless wondered whether Chen and Xie shared an intimacy she had not understood 376.

When Xie Daoyun became gravely ill, Weiwei visited her and, overcome with emotion, said that Xie should marry Chen. She later urged Chen to help cure her. Her concern for Xie persisted despite her earlier unease 400 405 411 426.

Empress Dowager Chu ultimately summoned both women and bestowed them in marriage to Chen Caozhi. Using passages from Admonitions for Women, she designated Weiwei the Left Wife and Xie Daoyun the Right Wife 436.

Public wedding and married life

Weiwei and Xie Daoyun married Chen together in a palace ceremony presided over by Empress Dowager Chu. Their joint bridal procession passed through Jiankang before collecting Weiwei’s dowry at Hengtang: eighty ox carts of goods and approximately one hundred servants, serving women, and maids 462.

During Chen’s snowy return from military service before New Year, Weiwei and Xie Daoyun went to meet him at Maple Forest Ferry. Chen learned that Weiwei was pregnant, and both wives warmed his chilblained hands on the journey home. Weiwei later welcomed him back again after the Northern Expedition 470 499.

Appearance

• Reputation: Lu Qin calls her the greatest beauty in Wuxing Commandery; Run’er likewise admires her reputation as Wu Commandery’s premier lady 18 133.
• Features: Fair skin, clear eyes, delicate eyebrows, and luxuriant black hair 194 220 441.
• Distinguishing mark: A mole near her ankle, which she deliberately showed Chen during their courtship 168.
• Dress: On one winter morning, she wears a black lambskin cloak over a pink, blue-flowered ruqun, with a simple Sui Horse-Bun and no rouge or powder 327.
• Private bridal attire: A jeweled crown with floral hairpins, a purple embroidered jacket and long skirt, and lightly applied cosmetics 339.

Personality

Weiwei is gentle, affectionate, and deeply responsive to beauty. She weeps over dying flowers and prefers abundant blossoms and vivid colors to bleak winter scenery. Her kindness extends to servants: she does not scold them for mistakes, yet they sincerely respect her rather than exploiting her leniency 62 99 329.

Her softness does not make her compliant. She refuses unwanted marriages, endures prolonged separation, and resists her clan’s plans without abandoning her attachment to Chen. Both Chen and Lu Na recognize her as outwardly gentle but inwardly unyielding 154 168 374.

She is also perceptive and tactful. Examining Chen’s calligraphy, she detects anxiety in changes to his brushwork. When declining an intimate suggestion, she quietly redirects the conversation to spare him embarrassment. Lu Na describes her noncompetitive cleverness through the idea that, because she does not contend, others cannot contend with her 327 413 435.

Her composure can give way to protective anger. When Lu Song threatens servants and seizes Huang Xiaotong and a soldier, she blocks his party’s departure despite being frightened. Even in fury, she remains courteous in speech 403.

Abilities & Skills

Horticulture

Weiwei maintains Cherished Garden, whose flowers and trees are celebrated as among Jiangzuo’s finest 62.

• Searches widely for rare varieties and oversees their transplantation 18 62.
• Gives practical instructions about winter watering, fertilizer, frost damage, and root rot 80.
• Successfully replants the withered Shangyu snowball tree, which subsequently revives 62.
• Seeks Chen’s assistance when prized plants require treatment, including Jade Edition and the Lotus-Petal Spring Orchid 66 155.

Painting

Weiwei studies under Zhang Mo, who visits every six months to teach her for a fortnight. Her household’s painting collection and Zhang Wenwan’s artistic practice also contribute to her education 72 99.

• Floral painting: Her Cold Rain Camellia receives an upper-middle appraisal from Zhang Mo, who recognizes her use of Wei Xie’s techniques 75.
• Artistic guidance: Answers Chen’s technical questions while he works on Peach Blossoms at Green Creek 99.
• Adaptability: Chen praises her ability to learn from multiple painters, although he judges Zhang Wenwan’s peony painting stronger in brushwork and coloring at that time 107.
• New techniques: Learns Chen’s method of applying touches of color in small-scale freehand painting and practices it successfully 263.

Calligraphy and artistic discernment

Weiwei specializes in the clerical-script style of the Stele of the Western Peak Huashan Temple 80.

• Retains vigorous brushwork despite her father’s initial concern that the style might become excessively delicate in her hands 80.
• Recognizes emotional disturbance through sharper brush entries and less-fluid turns in Chen’s writing 327.

Needlework

Weiwei is skilled at hand-sewing clothing 442.

• Makes Chen winter robes, socks, and shoes; the robes fit him particularly well 442.
• Collects fallen Jewel Magnolia petals to make him a sachet and later sends him a sachet aboard a banana-leaf boat 207 222.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Cherished Garden — Her collection of rare flowers and trees, including the revived snowball tree and Jade Edition chrysanthemum 62 444.
• Snowy Mountain Retreat — A painting given to her by Chen Caozhi, depicting Nine Luminaries Mountain and Chen Family Cove 99 132.
• Gold dangling hairpin — Associated with a cherished courtship memory: Chen retrieved it after it fell and replaced it in her hair 133 330.
• Folding fan — One of a matching pair made by Lai De, with Chen keeping the other; he presents it to her before leaving 341.
• Chen’s diary — A keepsake in which she reads his longing for her during their separation 411 434.

Relationships

• Chen Caozhi — Husband. Their shared interests in flowers and painting develop into a relationship sustained through clan opposition, separation, and competing marriage plans 69 339 462.
• Lu Na — Father. Dotes on her, initially restricts her outings, and eventually confronts the clan’s pressure to send her into the palace 99 374.
• Zhang Wenwan — Stepmother, usually addressed as “Aunt Zhang” and later “Mother.” Moves from caution and attempted delay to protecting Weiwei and facilitating meetings with Chen 168 192 207.
• Lu Shi — Paternal uncle and clan head. Opposes her marriage to Chen and supports alternative matches and the palace plan 168 374 400.
• Lu Qin — Older paternal cousin, addressed as “Sixth Brother.” Loves her as family but rejects Chen as her prospective husband 18 229.
• Ding Youwei — Chen’s sister-in-law and Weiwei’s trusted confidante. Offers practical encouragement when Weiwei fears that their marriage will be impossible 135 294.
• Lady Li — Chen’s mother. Receives Weiwei’s daughter-in-law obeisance and welcomes her into the family circle 132 133.
• Xie Daoyun — Fellow wife. Weiwei initially dislikes her male persona, Zhu Yingtai, but later responds to her illness with compassion and accepts their shared marriage to Chen 329 376 411 462.
• Zhang Tongyun — Friend and companion on artistic outings; helps Weiwei seek a way to deliver her remonstrance against entering the palace 222 372.
• Duan Chu and Zanhua — Personal maids who accompany her outings, assist her private meetings, and remain with her during confrontations 99 134 403.
• Zhang Mo — Painting teacher and an outspoken defender during a dispute with Lu Shi 72 182.

Notable Quotes

“If I cannot marry Master Chen, I will marry no one.” 135

“I don't care about three matchmakers and six rites. All I want is for us both to be willing. Even if you were to sail the seas in a great ship, I would go with you.” 339

“However you look, I like you.” 460

Trivia

• The characters of her personal name are explained as referring to luxuriant vegetation and brilliant beauty or color. The narrator also offers “delicate, tender flower petals” as a personal interpretation 18.
• She is three months older than Chen Caozhi 80.
• On her twentieth birthday, she reflects that Chen has never been able to spend her birthday with her during their five years in love, although he consistently remembers it 400.
• Chen and Weiwei describe flowers as their matchmaker when revisiting the Jade Edition chrysanthemum six years after he saved it 444.