Joy of Life - Short Character List
CHARACTER LIST (no spoilers)
The character list provided below is designed for readers seeking essential information about the characters without any spoilers. For a more detailed character list that includes spoilers, please refer to the "Character List * long * some spoilers" on Characters tab.
This novel comprises seven volumes and features hundreds of characters. In this list below, I have included only the main characters and those I believe play significant roles in the story.
|
Main characters |
Other names or titles used |
|
Fan Xian |
Young Master; Young Master Fan; Master Fan; Elder Brother; Big Brother, Your/His Excellency; Sir Fan; My Lord; Fan Heir; Fan Shen (Previous life); An Zhe (courtesy name); Commissioner Fan; functionary of Taichang Temple; ambassador |
|
Chen PingPing |
Director Chen; Your/His Excellency; Eunuch Chen |
|
Emperor (The) |
Your/His Majesty; Your/His Imperial Highness; Father Imperial, Son of the Heaven; Big Brother (only by his sister, the Elder Princess). Ln Chen refers to the Emperor as 'Uncle.' The Emperor has adopted her but does not consider her his biological daughter. |
|
Fan Jian |
Count Sinan; Minister Fan; Vice-Minister Fan; Master Fan; ‘Father’ (Fan Xian, Fan Sizhe, and Fan Ruoruo) |
|
Elder Princess (The) |
Li Yunrui; mother-in-law (by Fan Xian); crazy princess |
|
Princess Lin Chen |
Yichen (pet name from Fan Xian); Chen’er; Princess Chen; Your/Her Highness |
|
Wu Zhu (Uncle) |
The only one to call him Uncle is Fan Xian. Also named Old Wu by the Emperor. Ye Qingmei called him Zhuzhu. |
...
|
Secondary Characters |
Other names or titles used |
|
Crown Prince |
Li Chengqian (rarely used); Your/His Highness |
|
First Prince |
Li Chen, Your/His Highness, King Chen |
|
Second Prince |
Li Chengze, Your/His Highness |
|
Third Prince |
Li Wenyun, Your/His Highness |
|
Prince Hongcheng |
Hereditary Prince Li Hongcheng (Son of King Jing) |
|
King Jing |
Li Jing, the ‘gardener’; Your/His Royal Highness (younger brother of the Emperor) |
|
Prime Minister |
Lin Ruofu |
|
Lady Liu |
Concubine, then Main Wife. (Sizhe’s mother) |
|
Fan Ruoruo |
Daughter of Fan Jian. Fan Xian’s sister (but not blood-related) |
|
Fan Sizhe |
Son of Fan Jian and Lady Liu. Second Young Master. |
|
Empress (The) |
Your/Her Imperial Highness, mother of the Empire (or nation) |
|
Empress Dowager (The) |
Your/Her Imperial Highness |
|
Grandmother Fan |
Nai Nai (only by Fan Xian); Old Mistress Fan; mother of Fan Jian, wet nurse of the Emperor and King Jing |
|
Ye Qingmei |
Her Ladyship; Lady Ye; Mother (Fan Xian) |
|
Miscellaneous |
Other names or titles used |
|
Officials |
Official (family name); Position (family name) Minister (family name) |
|
Overwatch Council |
Sir (family name) – officers/personal
|
|
Guards, Army |
Family name and Given name. |
|
Scholars |
Master (followed by the family name) Old Master (followed by the family name) |
|
Young lady / Maiden girl |
Miss (given name) |
|
Married women |
Nobility (first spouse): Lady (family name) or Mistress (family name) Commoner: Mrs (family name) |
|
Concubines |
Imperial Harem: Imperial title and given name. Ex Ning the Talented Others: Concubine (given name) |
|
Old people |
Nobility: Elder (family name); Old Master (family name) / Old Mistress (family name), Uncle, Aunt, Grandmother – no Grandfather Commoner: Old (given name) |
|
Madam (the) |
The Madam: In charge of the women in the brothel. The equivalent of a female pimp. Generally, no family or given names. She is called ‘Madam’. Prostitutes: family name and given name like Si Lili – Men will call some popular prostitutes ‘Miss’ (given name). Entertainers had no status, even if they were born into nobility. Last names and given name |
|
Master
Young Master |
The Chinese language is complex and rich in nuances, customs, and rules. To provide clarity, we will refer to the father as "Master," followed by his name. The son will be called "Young Master" or "Sir," also followed by his name. For example, "Master Fan" for Fan Jian (also known as Count Sinan) and "Young Master Fan" or "Sir Fan" for Fan Xian. Commoners may be addressed as "Mister" followed by their name like Mister Yuan (Prime Minister Lin Ruofo advisor) As a work of fiction, "Fist Young Master" (Fan Xian) and "Second Young Master" (Sizhe) will sometimes be used, though the given names (Ruoruo, Sizhe) will be preferred. The titles "Master," "Sir," and "Mister" and “Young Master” are all valid and were commonly used in ancient China. |
|
Secondary Characters |
Other names or titles used |
|
Crown Prince |
Li Chengqian (rarely used); Your/His Highness |
|
First Prince |
Li Chen, Your/His Highness, King Chen |
|
Second Prince |
Li Chengze, Your/His Highness |
|
Third Prince |
Li Wenyun, Your/His Highness |
|
Prince Hongcheng |
Hereditary Prince Li Hongcheng (Son of King Jing) |
|
King Jing |
Li Jing, the ‘gardener’; Your/His Royal Highness (younger brother of the Emperor) |
|
Prime Minister |
Lin Ruofu |
|
Lady Liu |
Concubine, then Main Wife. (Sizhe’s mother) |
|
Fan Ruoruo |
Daughter of Fan Jian. Fan Xian’s sister (but not blood-related) |
|
Fan Sizhe |
Son of Fan Jian and Lady Liu. Second Young Master. |
|
Empress (The) |
Your/Her Imperial Highness, mother of the Empire (or nation) |
|
Empress Dowager (The) |
Your/Her Imperial Highness |
|
Grandmother Fan |
Nai Nai (only by Fan Xian); Old Mistress Fan; mother of Fan Jian, wet nurse of the Emperor and King Jing |
|
Ye Qingmei |
Her Ladyship; Lady Ye; Mother (Fan Xian) |
|
Miscellaneous |
Other names or titles used |
|
Officials |
Official (family name); Position (family name) Minister (family name) |
|
Overwatch Council |
Sir (family name) – officers/personal
|
|
Guards, Army |
Family name and Given name. |
|
Scholars |
Master (followed by the family name) Old Master (followed by the family name) |
|
Young lady / Maiden girl |
Miss (given name) |
|
Married women |
Nobility (first spouse): Lady (family name) or Mistress (family name) Commoner: Mrs (family name) |
|
Concubines |
Imperial Harem: Imperial title and given name. Ex Ning the Talented Others: Concubine (given name) |
|
Old people |
Nobility: Elder (family name); Old Master (family name) / Old Mistress (family name), Uncle, Aunt, Grandmother – no Grandfather Commoner: Old (given name) |
|
Madam (the) |
The Madam: In charge of the women in the brothel. The equivalent of a female pimp. Generally, no family or given names. She is called ‘Madam’. Prostitutes: family name and given name like Si Lili – Men will call some popular prostitutes ‘Miss’ (given name). Entertainers had no status, even if they were born into nobility. Last names and given name |
|
Master
Young Master |
The Chinese language is complex and rich in nuances, customs, and rules. To provide clarity, we will refer to the father as "Master," followed by his name. The son will be called "Young Master" or "Sir," also followed by his name. For example, "Master Fan" for Fan Jian (also known as Count Sinan) and "Young Master Fan" or "Sir Fan" for Fan Xian. Commoners may be addressed as "Mister" followed by their name like Mister Yuan (Prime Minister Lin Ruofo advisor) As a work of fiction, "Fist Young Master" (Fan Xian) and "Second Young Master" (Sizhe) will sometimes be used, though the given names (Ruoruo, Sizhe) will be preferred. The titles "Master," "Sir," and "Mister" and “Young Master” are all valid and were commonly used in ancient China. |