The Plum in the Golden Vase
by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng
Princeton University Press
Also called The Golden Lotus, this erotic novel owes its existence to the Scoffing Scholar of Lanling (Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng). Apart from his nickname, we know little about the author. According to one theory, he may have been a Taoist priest who wrote to expose the late Ming dynasty's crumbling morality.
But that theory seems too serious. The playfulness that his nickname implies shines through the story, the first full-length Chinese fictional work to treat sex explicitly. In China, it has the kind of notoriety accorded Western classics such as Fanny Hill and Lady Chatterley's Lover.
The erotic realist novel revolves around the home life of Ximen Qing, a depraved merchant living in a provincial town. The corrupt social climber is so well-off he can keep a harem of six wives and concubines.
The book's Chinese title, Jin Ping Mei, echoes the names of three female characters in Ximen's orbit: the unfaithful Pan Jinlian ('Golden Lotus'); concubine Li Pinger ('Little Vase'); and Pang Chunmei ('Spring Plum Blossoms'), a maid who rose to power within the family.
A cornerstone scene in the story - the seduction of Pan Jinlian - takes place at the outset, setting the stage for all kinds of devilry. After secretly killing Pan's husband, Ximen takes her as one of his wives. Cue a slew of catfights as the women who make up his family tussle for power. Ximen racks up no less than 19 sexual partners. That pans out as 72 sexual episodes, studded with descriptions of sexual toys and techniques that would now be filed under fetish.