TV-Series
Description
Joka is one of the Three Princesses of the Verdigris House, the three highest-ranking and most celebrated courtesans in the pleasure district of the capital. Of these three, she is the youngest. She is a woman of striking appearance, with fair skin, sharp amber-colored eyes, and very long indigo hair that falls past her calves. Her expression is typically seen as flat or aloof. As a courtesan of her status, she wears an elaborate maroon hanfu with blue accents, a silver tiara, and red flower-shaped earrings.
In terms of personality, Joka is notably colder and more aloof than her sisters, Pairin and Meimei. Unlike many courtesans, she does not enjoy the company of men, viewing them as untrustworthy, and this dislike colors her interactions with customers. While her words are often elegant, they can also be quite harsh, and the letters she writes when angered must be checked by the Madam before they are sent to patrons. Despite this chilly demeanor towards men, she is generally gentler and more patient with her fellow courtesans and the younger women of the house. As she has aged in her profession, she has also developed a more miserly nature, becoming much like the Madam who runs the Verdigris House.
Joka's primary talent and skill is her mastery of poetry and classical literature. She has memorized the Four Books and Five Classics, the foundational Confucian texts for the civil service examination, and can recite any passage from them from memory. This scholarly ability makes her popular with court officials and tutors. Many of her regular patrons are men who seek her opinion on the readiness of their students, as her assessment is considered a consistent predictor of passing or failing the exam. She also plays musical instruments, including the erhu, which she performs for customers and teaches to apprentice courtesans.
Her motivations and role in the story are closely tied to her history and her connection to the protagonist, Maomao. Before Maomao was adopted by the apothecary Luomen, she was raised in the Verdigris House, and Joka was one of the women who helped care for her as an infant and young child, with all three Princesses acting as surrogate mothers and older sisters. Joka personally helped educate Maomao, and her rigorous training in the classics is what prepared Maomao for her court lady examinations. As Joka ages, her personal goal shifts away from working directly with customers, and she begins to set her sights on eventually succeeding the old Madam as the manager of the Verdigris House.
A key aspect of Joka's background and a major story point involves her supposed imperial lineage. Her father convinced her mother that he was a member of the Imperial Family, leading Joka to believe she was of royal blood. She cultivated this rumor as part of her mystique as a courtesan, even naming herself with the imperial clan character. She possessed a broken jade tablet given by her father as supposed proof, which she would subtly show to customers. This heirloom becomes a focus of a burglary at the Verdigris House, prompting Joka to ask Maomao to investigate it. With the help of Jinshi, the tablet is identified as a piece of a signature stamp belonging to a disinherited prince, ultimately proving that Joka is, in fact, a genuine blood member of the imperial family. After this incident, she begins to step back further from her work as a courtesan to formally train as the new Madam.
Her key relationships are primarily within the Verdigris House. She considers Pairin and Meimei as sisters and Maomao as a younger sister whom she helped raise. While she and her fellow Princesses all helped care for Maomao, Joka's specific contributions were academic, giving Maomao her rigorous foundation in classical Chinese literature. Her relationship with her customers is professional but transactional, marked by her general dislike and distrust of men.
In terms of personality, Joka is notably colder and more aloof than her sisters, Pairin and Meimei. Unlike many courtesans, she does not enjoy the company of men, viewing them as untrustworthy, and this dislike colors her interactions with customers. While her words are often elegant, they can also be quite harsh, and the letters she writes when angered must be checked by the Madam before they are sent to patrons. Despite this chilly demeanor towards men, she is generally gentler and more patient with her fellow courtesans and the younger women of the house. As she has aged in her profession, she has also developed a more miserly nature, becoming much like the Madam who runs the Verdigris House.
Joka's primary talent and skill is her mastery of poetry and classical literature. She has memorized the Four Books and Five Classics, the foundational Confucian texts for the civil service examination, and can recite any passage from them from memory. This scholarly ability makes her popular with court officials and tutors. Many of her regular patrons are men who seek her opinion on the readiness of their students, as her assessment is considered a consistent predictor of passing or failing the exam. She also plays musical instruments, including the erhu, which she performs for customers and teaches to apprentice courtesans.
Her motivations and role in the story are closely tied to her history and her connection to the protagonist, Maomao. Before Maomao was adopted by the apothecary Luomen, she was raised in the Verdigris House, and Joka was one of the women who helped care for her as an infant and young child, with all three Princesses acting as surrogate mothers and older sisters. Joka personally helped educate Maomao, and her rigorous training in the classics is what prepared Maomao for her court lady examinations. As Joka ages, her personal goal shifts away from working directly with customers, and she begins to set her sights on eventually succeeding the old Madam as the manager of the Verdigris House.
A key aspect of Joka's background and a major story point involves her supposed imperial lineage. Her father convinced her mother that he was a member of the Imperial Family, leading Joka to believe she was of royal blood. She cultivated this rumor as part of her mystique as a courtesan, even naming herself with the imperial clan character. She possessed a broken jade tablet given by her father as supposed proof, which she would subtly show to customers. This heirloom becomes a focus of a burglary at the Verdigris House, prompting Joka to ask Maomao to investigate it. With the help of Jinshi, the tablet is identified as a piece of a signature stamp belonging to a disinherited prince, ultimately proving that Joka is, in fact, a genuine blood member of the imperial family. After this incident, she begins to step back further from her work as a courtesan to formally train as the new Madam.
Her key relationships are primarily within the Verdigris House. She considers Pairin and Meimei as sisters and Maomao as a younger sister whom she helped raise. While she and her fellow Princesses all helped care for Maomao, Joka's specific contributions were academic, giving Maomao her rigorous foundation in classical Chinese literature. Her relationship with her customers is professional but transactional, marked by her general dislike and distrust of men.