By David Tod Roy
In this primary of a deliberate five-volume set, David Roy presents an entire and annotated translation of the well-known Chin P'ing Mei, an nameless sixteenth-century chinese language novel that specializes in the household lifetime of Hsi-men Ch'ing, a corrupt, upwardly cellular service provider in a provincial city, who continues a harem of six other halves and concubines. This paintings, identified basically for its erotic realism, is additionally a landmark within the improvement of the narrative paintings form--not basically from a in particular chinese language standpoint yet in a world-historical context.
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Extra resources for The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei: Vol. 1, The Gathering
Example text
It is clear from internal evidence，as well as from the comments of his contemporaries, that al though the author set his novel in the Sung dynasty, the conditions that he described in it were really those of his own day, that is, the reigns of the X XX INTRODUCTION Chia-ching and Wan-li emperors of the M ing dynasty, who were on the throne from 1521 to 1566 and from 1572 to 1620，respectively. These two emperors，who between them occupied the throne for nearly a century, were among the most irresponsible rulers in the history of imperial irresponsibil ity.
The Chiaching emperor] never let anyone usurp his power and authority. In his time the rich grew richer and the poor became impoverished, particularly in the lower Yangtze area. Wealth bred leisure, which demanded luxuries and entertainment; it also encouraged the development of theatre, art, literature, and printing. 47 When the [Wan-li] emperor died in 1620, the far northeast frontier . . had been overrun by Manchus; ruinous tax increases or extortions had driven large numbers of people into banditry or rebellion in all parts of the empire, and state coffers were .
This action takes place in the m id dle sixty chapters，during the first thirty of which Hsi-men C h’ing enjoys a rapid rise in socioeconomic status. In this segment of the novel his unremit ting pursuit of his own gratification in the sexual, economic, and political spheres seems to be attended by every kind of success for which he seeks. He obtains an official post in the judicial system by presenting lavish gifts to Ts’ai Ching, the most powerful minister at court, and simultaneously gains a son and heir who is the product of a pseudo-incestuous liaison with Li P’ing-erh，the widow of his sworn brother, whom he has taken into his own household against the wishes of his legitimate wife.