The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei, Volume Four

The Climax

David Tod Roy, David Roy

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780691169828, 9780691150437
• eBook ISBN: 9781400838585
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

The fourth volume of a celebrated translation of the classic Chinese novel

This is the fourth and penultimate volume in David Roy's celebrated translation of one of the most famous and important novels in Chinese literature. The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei is an anonymous sixteenth-century work that focuses on the domestic life of Hsi-men Ch'ing, a corrupt, upwardly mobile merchant in a provincial town, who maintains a harem of six wives and concubines. The novel, known primarily for its erotic realism, is also a landmark in the development of the narrative art form—not only from a specifically Chinese perspective but in a world-historical context.

This complete and annotated translation aims to faithfully represent and elucidate all the rhetorical features of the original in its most authentic form and thereby enable the Western reader to appreciate this Chinese masterpiece at its true worth.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Cast of Characters
• Chapter 61 Han Tao-kuo Prepares an Entertainment for Hsi-men Ch’ing; Li P’ing-erh Painfully Observes the Double Yang Festival
• Chapter 62 Taoist Master P’an Performs an Exorcism on the Lantern Altar; Hsi-men Ch’ing Laments Egregiously on Behalf of Li P’ing-erh
• Chapter 63 Friends and Relatives Offer Funeral Oblations at a Memorial Feast; Hsi-men Ch’ing Is Reminded of Li P’ing-erh While Watching a Drama
• Chapter 64 Yü-hsiao Kneels in Making an Appeal to P’an Chin-lien; Officers of the Guard Sacrifice to a Rich Man’s Spouse
• Chapter 65 Abbot Wu Meets the Funeral Procession and Eulogizes the Portrait; Censor Sung Imposes on a Local Magnate to Entertain Eunuch Huang
• Chapter 66 Majordomo Chai Sends a Letter with a Consolatory Contribution; Perfect Man Huang Conducts a Rite for the Salvation of the Dead
• Chapter 67 Hsi-men Ch’ing Appreciates the Snow While in His Studio; Li P’ing-erh Describes Her Intimate Feelings in a Dream
• Chapter 68 Cheng Ai-yüeh Flaunts Her Beauty and Discloses a Secret; Tai-an Perseveres Assiduously in Seeking Out Auntie Wen
• Chapter 69 Auntie Wen Communicates Hsi-men Ch’ing’s Wishes to Lady Lin; Wang Ts’ai Falls for a Trick and Invites His Own Humiliation
• Chapter 70 Hsi-men Ch’ing’s Successful Efforts Procure Him a Promotion; Assembled Officials Report before Defender-in-chief Chu Mien
• Chapter 71 Li P’ing-erh Appears in a Dream in Battalion Commander Ho’s House; The Judicial Commissioners Present Their Memorials at the Audience
• Chapter 72 Wang the Third Kowtows to Hsi-men Ch’ing as His Adopted Father; Ying Po-chüeh Intercedes to Alleviate the Grievance of Li Ming
• Chapter 73 P’an Chin-lien Is Irked by the Song “I Remember Her Flute-playing”; Big Sister Yü Sings “Getting through the Five Watches of the Night”
• Chapter 74 Censor Sung Ch’iao-nien Solicits the Eight Immortals Tripod; Wu Yüeh-niang Listens to the Precious Scroll on Woman Huang
• Chapter 75 Ch’un-mei Vilely Abuses Second Sister Shen; Yü-hsiao Spills the Beans to P’an Chin-lien
• Chapter 76 Meng Yü-lou Assuages Yüeh-niang’s Wrath; Hsi-men Ch’ing Repudiates Licentiate Wen
• Chapter 77 Hsi-men Ch’ing Slogs through the Snow to Visit Cheng Ai-yüeh; Pen the Fourth’s Wife Sits by the Window Waiting for a Tryst
• Chapter 78 Hsi-men Ch’ing Ventures upon a Second Engagement with Lady Lin; Wu Yüeh-niang Invites Ho Yung-shou’s Wife to View the Lanterns
• Chapter 79 Hsi-men Ch’ing in His Sexual Indulgence Incurs an Illness; Wu Yüeh-niang Bears a Child upon the Death of Her Husband
• Chapter 80 Ch’en Ching-chi Resorts to Pilfering Jade and Purloining Perfume; Li Chiao-erh Makes Off with the Silver and Returns to the Brothel
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index