Wang Xifeng

"A mortal bird comes from the end of world, she is admired for her talents of her life. Falling from the grace of authority to the pit of divorce, the things goes sadden when she look at Jingling and cry. (Chinese: 凡鸟偏从末世来，都知爱慕此生才. 一从二令三人木，哭向金陵事更哀. )"

- Poem in Taixu Huanjing about Wang Xifeng's life and fate

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry that I'm late! I'm too late to greet our guest!"

- Wang Xifeng's most famous line, spoken before her full debut appearance

Wang Xifeng (traditional Chinese: 王熙鳳; simplified Chinese: 王熙凤; pinyin: Wáng Xīfèng) is the main antagonist of in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber.

She is portrayed by various actresses through different adaptations, with the 1987 TV series being the most famous, where she was portrayed by Deng Jie.

Overview
Xifeng is Jia Baoyu's elder cousin-in-law, young wife to Jia Lian (who is Baoyu's paternal first cousin), niece to Lady Wang. Xifeng is hence related to Baoyu both by blood and marriage. She came from one of the Four Great Families, the Wang (the other three are Jia, Shi, and Xue), and is known for her wit and intelligence, her vivacious manner, her great beauty, her multiple-faced personality and her fierce sense of fidelity.

Personality
An extremely beautiful and capable woman, Xifeng is hardworking, clever, humorous, conversable and, at times, vicious and cruel. Undeniably the most worldly woman in the novel, Xifeng is in charge of the daily running of the Rongguo household and wields remarkable economy as well as political power within the family.

Being a favorite of Grandmother Jia, Xifeng keeps both Lady Wang and Grandmother Jia entertained with her constant jokes and amusing chatter, playing the role of the perfect filial daughter-in-law, and by pleasing Grandmother Jia, rules the entire household with an iron fist.

One of the most remarkable traits of herself is the multi-faceted personalities she shown in the novel. Xifeng can be kind-hearted toward the poor and helpless. On the other hand, Xifeng can be cruel enough to kill. She is also shown to be extremely condescending and abusive towards her servants when they offended her, so she is widely feared among them.

Family - Mainly from Rong Guo Fu

 * Jia Daishan (grandfather-in-law; former Duke Rong'guo) (deceased before the main story)
 * Grandmother Jia (grandmother-in-law)
 * Jia Zheng (uncle; Duke Rong'guo)
 * Madam Wang (aunt)
 * Jia Zhu (cousin) (deceased before the main story)
 * Li Wan (cousin-in-law)
 * Jia Yuanchun (cousin)
 * Jia Baoyu (cousin)
 * Aunt Zhao (aunt; Jia Zheng's cocubine)
 * Jia Tanchun (cousin)
 * Jia Huan (cousin)
 * Jia She (uncle; father-in-law)
 * Unnamed first wife (mother-in-law) (deceased before the main story)
 * Jia Lian (husband)
 * Jia Qiaojie (daughter)
 * Madam Xing (stepmother-in-law)
 * Jia Min (aunt) (deceased before the main story)
 * Lin Ruhai (uncle)
 * Lin Daiyu (cousin)
 * Unnamed parents  (deceased before the main story)
 * Wang Ren (brother)
 * Unnamed second eldest brother
 * Xue Family (cousins-in-law)
 * Xue Pan (cousin)
 * Xue Baochai (cousin)

Related people

 * You Erjie (love rival & victim)
 * Qiu Tong (love rival & presumed victim in the original draft)
 * Ping'Er (maid)
 * Granny Liu (friend)

Fate
Since the last chapters of Cao Xueqin's original book were lost, it is unknown what exactly happened in Cao Xueqin's original ending. But it can be inferred from Xifeng's prophecy poem and other clues that she was probably divorced and abandoned by Jia Lian. After that, she presumably got thrown in jail and died/executed on the way to her hometown Jinling.

In Cheng-Gao version, Xifeng succumbbed to illness after being pressured by her family's downfall. Before her death, she was haunted by You Erjie's vengeful spirit in dream and was later visited by Granny Liu, whom she had been kind to. On her deathbed, Xifeng pleadged Granny Liu to raise Qiaojie, her only daughter, in her stead. After Granny Liu made her promise, Xi Feng passed away.

Trivia

 * The 1987 TV series adaptation depicts Wang Xifeng's fate much closer to that in Cao Xueqin's (presumed) original vision, with her divorced by Jia Lian before her death.
 * Her family had great faith in her and brought her up as a boy; in fact, the name "Xifeng" is considered masculine in her era. This accounts for her self-assuredness and straightforward ways, characteristics that do not quite fit with the traditional female role at the time.