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

The Dissolution

David Tod Roy, David Roy

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780691169835, 9780691157719
• eBook ISBN: 9781400848157
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

The fifth and final volume of a celebrated translation of the classic Chinese novel

This is the fifth and final 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 Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Cast of Characters
• Chapter 81 Han Tao-kuo Takes Advantage of a Chance to Appropriate the Goods; T’ang Lai-pao Defrauds His Master and Disregards His Benevolence
• Chapter 82 P’an Chin-lien Makes an Assignation on a Moonlit Night; Ch’en Ching-chi Enjoys Two Beauties in a Painted Bower
• Chapter 83 Ch’iu-chü, Harboring Resentment, Reveals a Clandestine Affair; Ch’un-mei Transmits a Note to Facilitate a Lovers’ Rendezvous
• Chapter 84 Wu Yüeh-niang Creates a Stir in the Temple of Iridescent Clouds; Sung Chiang Uprightly Frees Her from the Ch’ing-feng Stronghold
• Chapter 85 Wu Yüeh-niang Surprises Chin-lien in the Act of Adultery; Auntie Hsüeh Agrees to Sell Ch’un-mei on a Moonlit Night
• Chapter 86 Sun Hsüeh-o Instigates the Beating of Ch’en Ching-chi; Dame Wang Marries Off Chin-lien to the Highest Bidder
• Chapter 87 Dame Wang Hungers after Wealth and Receives Her Just Reward; Wu Sung Kills His Sister-in-law and Propitiates His Brother
• Chapter 88 P’an Chin-lien Appears in a Dream in Commandant Chou Hsiu’s Home; Wu Yüeh-niang Contributes a Gift to a Subscription-Seeking Monk
• Chapter 89 On the Ch’ing-ming Festival the Widow Visits the New Grave; Wu Yüeh-niang Blunders into the Temple of Eternal Felicity
• Chapter 90 Lai-wang Absconds Together with Sun Hsüeh-o; Sun Hsüeh-o Is Sold to Chou Hsiu’s Household
• Chapter 91 Meng Yü-lou Is Happy to Marry Li Kung-pi; Li Kung-pi in a Fit of Rage Beats Yü-tsan
• Chapter 92 Ch’en Ching-chi Is Entrapped in Yen-chou Prefecture; Wu Yüeh-Niang Creates a Stir in the District Yamen
• Chapter 93 Wang Hsüan Relies on Righteousness to Help the Poor; Abbot Jen in the Desire for Profit Invites Disaster
• Chapter 94 Liu the Second Drunkenly Beats Ch’en Ching-chi; Sun Hsüeh-o Becomes a Trollop in My Own Tavern
• Chapter 95 P’ing-an Absconds with Jewelry from the Pawnshop; Auntie Hsüeh Cleverly Proposes a Personal Appeal
• Chapter 96 Ch’un-mei Enjoys Visiting the Pools and Pavilions of Her Old Home; Commandant Chou Hsiu Sends Chang Sheng to Look for Ch’en Ching-chi
• Chapter 97 Ch’en Ching-chi Plays a Role in the Commandant’s Household; Auntie Hsüeh Peddles Trinkets and Proposes a Marriage Match
• Chapter 98 Ch’en Ching-chi Opens a Tavern in Lin-ch’ing; Han Ai-chieh Encounters a Lover in a Bordello
• Chapter 99 Liu the Second Drunkenly Curses Wang Liu-erh; Chang Sheng Wrathfully Kills Ch’en Ching-chi
• Chapter 100 Han Ai-chieh Seeks Her Father and Mother in Hu-chou; Ch’an Master P’u-ching Rescues Souls from Perdition
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index