Xia Ziwei

Xia Ziwei (Chinese: 夏紫薇; pinyin: Xià Zǐwēi; literally "Myrtle"), is a fictional character from the Chinese television drama Princess Pearl. She was named after the crape myrtle, because that flower bloomed particularly beautifully when she was born.

Story

Zi Wei's single but talented mother, Xia Yu He, had a romance several years ago with the Emperor Qianlong. The two never marry, and business matters soon require Qianlong to leave Jinan. After Qianlong departs Jinan, the city where Xia Yu He resided, Yu He gives birth to Zi Wei out of wedlock. Of half Han Chinese descent and half Manchu descent, Zi Wei is unaware of her special background until her mother is on her deathbed. Then, she reveals to Zi Wei that she is of royal blood, and tells her to find her father. She gives Zi Wei two items, a fan and a painting, both given to Yu He as a present from Qianlong. Like her mother, Zi Wei is multitalented. She can play the zither, sing, paint, write calligraphy, participate in literary discussions, and play chess, an unusual amount of talents for a female. More quiet and gentle than Xiao Yan Zi, Zi Wei is a fragile beauty.

Zi Wei takes on this arduous task with her faithful servant, Jin Suo. However, after arriving in Beijing, she discovers how impossible it is for her to reach her father. She is not allowed to enter the Forbidden City, and cannot find an official who is willing to help her. She attempts to seek the assistance of royal officer Liang Da Ren, but her efforts do not succeed. Finally, she attends the Liang household's wedding, in hopes of getting in touch with Liang Da Ren. There, she meets Xiao Yan Zi, her future sworn sister. She reveals her secrets to Xiao Yan Zi, and sends Xiao Yan Zi as her messenger to Qianlong.

After sending Xiao Yan Zi as her messenger, Zi Wei hears no word of Xiao Yan Zi for weeks. She is extremely worried. When she finds Xiao Yan Zi, now dubbed Huan Zhu Ge Ge, parading around the streets, she is heartbroken to find that Xiao Yan Zi stole her title and father. She runs after Xiao Yan Zi. Guards mistake her for an imposter, and nearly beat her to death. However, she is saved by Fu Er Kang, the son of royal officer Fu Da Ren. Zi Wei is nursed in the Fu household. Immediately, Er Kang is captivated by her beauty, intelligence, and warm personality. His feelings for her causes other problems to arise. Zi Wei later decides to give up her title to protect Xiao Yan Zi, but she and Er Kang cannot marry if she only has the status of a commoner. Thus, she enters the Forbidden City as a court maid so she can meet her father, Qianlong.Then she one day tells the truth and becomes the princess.

Relationship with Erkang

Fu Erkang met Zi Wei during a march, when Xiao Yan Zi was titled "Huan Zhu Ge Ge" or "Returned Pearl Princess". Zi Wei was trying to get to Xiao Yan Zi and confront her. Zi Wei wound up getting beaten by the guards but was saved by Erkang who commanded them to stop. He later took her into his family household and falls in love with her intelligence, beauty, manners, and talents, she returned his feelings.

Their relationship starts off being complicated because of Erkang's position of a royal imperial guard whilst Zi Wei is still a commoner. She tells him about her background and what happened with her and Xiao Yan Zi. The both of their titles cause complication, so Erkang gets her into the Forbidden City as a courtmaid with Xiao Yan Zi to try to improve her status. Yet, their relationship is still complicated because of the emperorQianlong's interest in Zi Wei, since he wasn't aware of her relations to him. Zi Wei is very traditional with her display of affection towards her Erkang, so she rarely ever shows any, unless truly necessary. Throughout the series, they have fights and disagreements that has a lot of emotional issues. Erkang cares for Zi Wei very much from when she's physically hurt to when she's emotionally. Since she can't fight, he gets hurt protecting her at times. Whenever one or the other gets hurt, they each feel very much pain. They marry in the end of Part II.

Ancestry

Paternal

On her paternal side, Ziwei descends from the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, the reigning imperial family of China at the time. Through her father, Ziwei is also a descendant of Genghis Khan, Nurhaci, and other prominent figures in Manchu and Mongolian history.

Maternal

The Xia family, the family of Ziwei's mother, originated in the city of Jinan in Shandong Province. The story mentions very little about the family, however, we do know that they were affluent members of the Confucian gentry class. During one of Qianlong's secret visits to Shandong, the Xia family saved him from the rain and gave him a place to stay. During his stay in Shandong, he met their daughter, Yuhe.

Although no members of this family have appeared in the story, with the exception of Ziwei and her mother, and several brief mentions of her maternal grandparents, an uncle and aunt of Ziwei seemed to be in contact with the Empress, although it is unknown whether or not either of them is surnamed Xia.