In A Dream of Red Mansions, according to the records in the book, Qin Keqing is the adopted daughter brought from Yangshengtang by Lang Qinye, a "ashamed official", and also the elder sister of Qin Zhong. The prototype of Qin Keqing is probably the daughter of a minister who committed crimes related to the royal family, or the daughter of a deposed prince.

Liu said in The Mystery of Three Hairpins in the Red Chamber that Qin Keqing's true identity was the daughter of Yin Wan, the abandoned prince of Kangxi Dynasty. She was taken in by Ningfu at the risk in order to get ahead in the future, which was the key figure leading to the decline of Jiafu. But this conclusion is still controversial in the red circle.