Just notes for myself and whoever’s just starting this series.

The Chinese family tree is complicated when compared to the Western family tree. In English, the parents of our mother/ father are simply called grandparents. The siblings of our mother/father are called aunts or uncles. And the children of our aunt(s)/uncle(s) are called cousins. We only mind the gender and generation of the individual.

In comparison, the Chinese family tree takes into consideration, not only the gender and generation, but also the paternal/maternal lineage, birth order, and wife/concubine parentage. Would it be considered microaggression if a lady is addressed to as “Hey, Bro”? 😂

Shen family tree

Only JiaLan survives and she was the oldest daughter of the oldest son of the Shen patriarch. New name: LanXiang.

Note that as the story progresses, there’s focus on the names/titles women acquire (or lose) as their status in life changes. It’s a social commentary on how easily women can lose their identity, and as consequence, their sense of self in the vagaries of life.

Lin family tree

Grandpa and Grandma Lin. She’s been invisible as of Episode 20 (I guess that’s a commentary on the women of her generation??) She’s called the “Old Madam”.

JinQi’s father is the eldest son or “first branch”. Name: Lin Chang Zhe. JinQi and his father don’t get along.
JinQi’s uncle is the younger son or “second branch”. Name: Lin Sui Yun?? He’s more sensible than his older brother. He sides with JinQi.

These brothers married.

JinQi’s mother is the First Madam since she’s married to the first branch/son. Her name: Madam Qin.
JinQi’s aunt is the Second Madam since she’s married to the second branch/son. Her name: Madam Wang. She’s also called “Second Aunt” which to me was confusing because, to me, a second aunt implies that there’s another aunt somewhere. Lol.

JinQi’s father has a concubine, too. She was poisoned too by Du Cirque in Episode 15.

These brothers also produced sons and daughters.

Let’s go over the sons first (because I’m patriarchal that way. Ha!).

1. JinQi (aka Feng Tai) is the first-born son of the first-born son. His mother is the First Madam, Mrs. Qin. So he’s very special.

After JinQi comes 3 more sons. Notice that they all have “Jin” as their first name.

2. JinLan is the second-born son of JinQi’s father. But his mother is merely a concubine. In English, he would be known simply as JinQi’s half-brother. But in this Chinese drama, he’s called “Second Brother.” He looks anemic. He may have a heart ailment or something.

3. JinQao is the first-born son of the Second Madam/Madam Wang. But because of his birth order, he’s the “Third Brother”. In English, he’s simply JinQi’s cousin. He was the one whose enthusiasm JinQi needed to rein in a bit during the festivities of the “Festival of Man”.

4. JinCen is the second-born of the Second Madam/Madam Wang. He’s called “Fourth Brother”. He’s the mischievous boy with the arrow, hiding up in the tree. He’s another cousin of JinQi.

Now for the daughters. They have “Xiu” as their first name.

1. The “First Daughter”??? As of Episode 20, she hasn’t surfaced yet. Maybe later.

2. XiuWan is the first-born daughter of the Second Madam/Madam Wang. She’s the “Second Daughter”. In English, we know her as JinQi’s cousin. She’s spoiled and headstrong and almost lost her virginity to that two-faced Du Zheng. I think the subs sometimes identify her as the “Second Young Lady” of the Lin family.

3. XiuRu is the daughter of the concubine of JinQi’s father. JinQi is her half-brother; JinLan is her brother. She’s the “Third Daughter”. She’s quiet as a mouse, but sneaky as a cat.

4. XiuShu is the only daughter of the First Madam/Madam Qin. JinQi is her brother. She’s the “Fourth Daughter”. The subs sometimes identify her as the “Fourth Young Lady” of the Lin family. IIRC, she has peach allergies (like LanXiang’s cousin) so the doctor misdiagnosed her rashes. She was actually poisoned by Du CuiQue.

I wish somebody had told me all this when I was beginning Episode 10.