Lin Daiyu

Lin Daiyu (also spelled Lin Tai-yu, Chinese: 林黛玉; pinyin: Lín Dàiyù, rendered Black Jade in Chi-chen Wang's translation) is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin's classic 18th-century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent, witty and beautiful young woman of physical frailness who is somewhat prone to occasional melancholy. The love triangle between Daiyu, Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai forms one of the main threads of the book.

Lin has become one of the most loved, controversial and wrote-about Chinese literary characters. The complexity of her depictions and the compassionate nature of her portrayal in the novel by Cao has garnered acclaim.