WARNING: this analysis 1) contains spoilers 2) is humor-free
Xia Ziwei (夏紫薇) is one of the female leads in Qiong Yao’s novel Princess Returning Pearl as well as the TV series of the same name. Compared to the other female lead, Xiaoyanzi, Ziwei gets less attention and popularity. But the fact remains that she is one of the influential characters of the story.
Let us look at Xia Ziwei’s character
with ten questions that cover flaws, consistency, development, etc. To each question, the answer would be either Yes (1 point), No (0 point), or Kind of (0.5 point).
1. Does she have a story to tell besides romance? Yes (+1)
Yes, Princess Returning Pearl is first and foremost a story about father/daughter love. Ziwei’s journey to the palace to acknowledge Emperor Qianlong as her father is the main focus. The romances are ultimately minor.
1/10
2. Does she make things happen or do things happen to her? Yes (+1)
Ziwei decides to go look for her father. She befriends Xiaoyanzi on the way, misunderstands Xiaoyanzi, causes chaos during one of the Emperor’s outings. Later on, her choice to be with Erkang also plays a major part in advancing the story. So yes, Ziwei might be weak and naive at times, but she definitely makes things happen.
2/10
3. Does she take action to accomplish her goals? Yes (+1)
Ziwei’s biggest goal is to get into the palace to see her father and yes, she is determined to accomplish this goal. Later on, her goal becomes to cooperate with her friends, keep everyone safe, and hopefully still be able to make her father acknowledge her. During her time in the palace, Ziwei, using her talents and skills, drops hints here and there to get the emperor’s attention in order to move the big plan along.
3/10
4. Does she have an interest? Kind of (+0.5)
Ziwei is fluent in music, chess, and poetry. Not only is Ziwei skilled in these fields, these talents also serve as part of her personality. She is patient, insightful, and eloquent -exactly what you would expect someone who studies these subjects to be. However, it is unclear whether Ziwei actually finds joy in these activities or simply does them because her mother taught her to and insisted that she should.
3.5/10
5. Does she stand up for what she believes in? Kind of (+0.5)
Definitely, Ziwei is kind, compassionate, and forgiving. She refuses to put Xiaoyanzi in danger even if it means she can never see her father. She is also a perfectionist where it concerns her areas of expertise and has very high standards. Xiaoyanzi spends hours writing lines to turn in to the Emperor, and what does Ziwei do when those lines don’t look as elegant as she wishes them to be? Throw all those papers away and make Xiaoyanzi write again.
Ziwei believes family members must maintain peace with each other – hence her pointless attempts to empathize with the empress.
There is, however, a problem with Ziwei’s persistence to trust the empress and Nanny Mo (aka the Empress’ evil servant) – she overlooks their mistakes too easily and never seems to show any disapproval toward them. Perhaps this was an attempt to make Ziwei a contrasting image of Xiaoyanzi and promote kindness, which is understandable. But what it also does is contradicting Ziwei’s sense of right and wrong and intelligence.
4/10
6. Does she develop throughout the story? No (+0)
Ziwei does not have development. She goes through a lot of emotional as well as physical torture, but in the end she continues to be the same meek, naive, and overly-nice Ziwei. This could be the author’s message that kindness wins all, which is a common and not inaccurate theme, but it does rob the female lead the chance to develop.
4/10
7. Does she have a flaw? No (+0)
Ziwei’s biggest flaw is her naivety. She easily trusts people and bestows mercy where she should not. Does she get in trouble because of it? Yes. However, other people around Ziwei treat this like some godly trait that puts her above everyone else. No one ever breaks it down to her how dangerous it is to be too trusting because they’re too busy protecting her. Ziwei also doesn’t learn anything from her being naivety and remains so throughout.
Thus, we cannot give her this point.
4/10
8. Does she have meaningful relationships with other characters besides her love interest?
Ziwei is close friends with Xiaoyanzi. Even though the emperor only realizes his relation with Ziwei at the very end, they develop a close relationship along they way. Yes (+1)
Ziwei is the target of hatred from the empress due to the latter’s insecurity and jealousy. Despite the mutual dislike, from the empress, Ziwei understands the loneliness of someone who has to live without love all her life.
5/10
9. Is she consistent? Yes (+1)
Ziwei is quite consistent throughout the story. She’s a pretty straightforward character, eloquent and with some talents, which serve as a mean for her to be on closer acquaintance with the emperor. She’s never too outspoken when she’s not supposed to be, never suddenly possesses a skill we never knew she had.
6/10
10. Can you define her character by her personality? Yes (+1)
Definitely – Ziwei is a young, kind-hearted, talented girl who sets out to find her father, befriends many people on the way and together with them embarks on an adventure to ultimately achieve her goal.
SO HOW WELL-WRITTEN IS XIA ZIWEI?
7/10
BOTTOM LINE
Even though Princess Pearl is a story with a simple range of characters (good, bad, mischievous, timid) and very basic messages, its female lead, Xia Ziwei, is moderately well written with well developed beliefs and many relationships. Ziwei may not be as compelling to watch as Xiaoyanzi, her naivety and persistence on remaining naive render her irritating at times. But she is, nevertheless, a consistent character with definite personalities.
Nice analysis