Ma Daopo is a character in Dream of the Red Chamber. Wikidata gives her Chinese name as 马道婆, records her family name as Ma, and lists the variant 馬道婆. Daopo is a term for her station, and no personal name is recorded, so the title stays as it was.[1][2]
Position and character
Chinese Wikipedia says she is the godmother to whom Jia Baoyu is nominally entrusted, and that she is a woman who follows money. Wikidata records her residence as Shenjing, the novel's fictional capital, and the setting as the Reigning Dynasty.[1][2]
The sorcery
According to the article, she asks the Lady Dowager to donate five catties of oil each day to light the sea lamps, as a cure for Baoyu, while at the same time plotting with Concubine Zhao to harm Baoyu and Wang Xifeng in secret by sorcery. A monk and a Daoist come to the rescue, and so Baoyu and Xifeng escape the disaster.[2]
Exposure
The article says that in chapter 81 her deeds come to light, and she is seized by the injured party and sent to the authorities.[2]
Basic facts
- Form of address: Ma Daopo, also written 馬道婆[1]
- Role: godmother to whom Jia Baoyu is nominally entrusted[2]
- Residence: Shenjing, the novel's fictional capital[1]
- Setting recorded on this entry: the Reigning Dynasty of the novel[1]
- Appears in: Dream of the Red Chamber