The Story of a Noble Family a novel by Zhang Henshui.
Yan Xi
Also called Seven, Seventh Brother, or Gold Seventh. The youngest son of Prime Minister Jin, a mischievous and magnetic young man who has inherited his family’s grace but not its discipline. Beneath his aristocratic ease lies restlessness and romantic idealism. His charm conceals a streak of melancholy, sharpened by the awareness that his family’s “gold” is losing its shine. He falls in love with Qingchu, the widow known as Clear Autumn, and becomes the novel’s emotional axis.
Cold Qingchu
Known as Gold, Clear Autumn, or Qing Autumn. The widow from the Cold household, a calligrapher and scholar’s daughter whose beauty seems carved out of silence. Her relationship with Yan Xi brings dignity into conflict with desire. The name “Qingchu” evokes both clarity and sorrow, and her restraint lends the story its moral temperature.
Bai Shuzhu
Also called White Miss, Showzhu, or Sister Xiuzhu. A pianist of refined training and romantic temperament, caught between friendship and rivalry with Qingchu. Her relationship with Yan Xi is complicated by class envy and unacknowledged affection.
Jin Fengjiu
Often called Feng Jiu or Ninth Brother. Yan Xi’s older brother, married to Wu Peifang. He embodies the family’s fading authority—worldly, proud, pragmatic, yet capable of tenderness toward his younger brother’s recklessness.
Jin Xiaolian
Also called Xiaoling, Xiaoluan, or Little Lian. A maid who masquerades as a young lady from the Jin family, becoming the “belle of the Belgian Women’s Academy.” Her changing names mirror the novel’s fascination with deception and self-invention.
Song Runqing
Sometimes referred to as Song Mister or Song Runqiu. Qingchu’s uncle and a literary confidant to Yan Xi, he stands at the edge of politics and poetry, offering moral reflection amid the family’s slow unraveling.
Wu Peifang
Yan Xi’s sister-in-law and wife of Jin Fengjiu. Elegant, poised, and quietly watchful, she manages the household with tact. Her surface serenity conceals private doubts about her place in a family of shifting fortunes.
Bi Yunbo
Attendant and lover of He Mengxiong, known for her discretion and fragile beauty.
Cheng Huifang
Yan Xi’s second sister-in-law, wife of Hexun. Actively involved in the Hui Ming Girls’ School, representing the modern reformist women of the era.
Cold Taizi
Also called Cold Taibai or Madame Leng. Qingchu’s mother, once formidable, now weary. She accepts gifts from Yan Xi with polite reluctance, aware of the dangers of love across social boundaries.
Cuiyi
Relative of Yan Xi, peripheral yet present in gatherings, her gossip lubricates family drama.
Goldie
A companion of Yan Xi’s, lighthearted and teasing. Symbol of the idle youth surrounding privilege.
Han Mama
Housekeeper of the Cold family, loyal and superstitious. Wife of Han Guanjiu.
He Mengxiong
Friend of the best man, occasionally called Ge Mengxiong. A worldly figure entangled in minor scandals.
Jin Gong
Patriarch of the family, father to Yan Xi and his brothers. His fading influence presides over the family’s decline.
Jin Hexun
Yan Xi’s second brother, married to Cheng Huifang. Dutiful and cautious, he represents the bureaucratic soul of the family.
Jin Huawa
Dashing young aristocrat of eighteen, his name meaning “magnificent.” Embodies the gilded illusions of the elite.
Jin Pengzhen
Married to Wang Yufen. Involved in idle social circles and games of chance.
Jin Rong
Faithful friend and aide to Yan Xi, pragmatic and loyal.
Li Fu
Companion to Yan Xi and Jin Rong, often the voice of comic realism.
Liu Chunjiang
University student and suitor of Jin Xiaolian, drawn to her grace without knowing her deception.
Mei Li
Yan Xi’s cousin, the eighth daughter of the Gold family. Charming, careless, and quick to judge others’ passions.
Minzhi
Also called Min. Yan Xi’s sister, gentle but overlooked.
Mr. Wenhuai
The narrator and self-effacing chronicler, who frames the family’s history as both observer and participant.
Qiu Xizhen
Introduced by Wu Er, spirited and fascinated by cinema and Western fashions.
Ruan
Yan Xi’s sister, more outspoken than Minzhi, skeptical of romantic illusions.
Song Runqing
(Already listed above; appears in multiple contexts as mentor and moral compass.)
Wang Desheng
Antique dealer entangled in the family’s property disputes, a man of calculated charm.
Wang Yufen
Yan Xi’s third sister-in-law, wife of Jin Pengzhen. Known for her skill at mahjong and her vanity.
Wu Er
Also called Wu Er Miss or U’er, sometimes known by the epithet Xian Shui Mei. Flirtatious, witty, and socially ambitious.
Yu Jian’er
Best man at a family wedding, also referred to as Yuwen. Represents the new urban modernity encroaching on the old elite.
Zhang Shun
Yan Xi’s servant, devoted yet often exasperated by his master’s impulsiveness.