The Plum In the Golden Vase Or, Chin P"ing Mei, Volume Five (ebook)

Argumento de The Plum In the Golden Vase Or, Chin P"ing Mei, Volume Five (ebook)

Praise for the previous volume: "[A] book of manners for the debauched. Its readers in the late Ming period likely hid it under their bedcovers."--Amy Tan, New York Times Book Review

"The story sprawls. There are more than eight hundred named characters, from high officials and military commanders to peddlers and prostitutes, with actors, tailors, monks and nuns, fortunetellers, acrobats, and many others, even cats and dogs, in between. Roy helps us keep track of everyone in a fifty-six-page 'cast of characters.'. . . In the original woodblock printing of the text, characters follow one another, without punctuation, no matter their source. Modern printings provide punctuation, but Roy goes further by devising a system of indentation and differing type sizes to set off allusions, poems, and songs. With this editorial help, the translation is actually easier to read than the original."--Perry Link, New York Review of Books

"Roy’s translation . . . is both more complete and more readable than previous English translations. . . . Roy’s rendering deftly switches between registers along with the novel, carrying across both its refined language and its infamous vulgarities."--Scott W. Gregory, Ming Studies

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014
One of The Wall Street Journal Bookshelf Best Books of 2013, chosen by Tash Aw

"Roy's complete translation makes it possible for English readers everywhere to read and appreciate this work, one of the great, sophisticated masterpieces of world literature."--Choice

"David Tod Roy, after more [than] 20 years of work, completed the fifth volume of his translation of the Chin Ping Mei, entitled The Plum in the Golden Vase. It's a masterpiece [and] an epic scholarly achievement. . . . The world of the Chin Ping Mei is beautiful and dark, cheap and exalted, righteous and profane, gorgeous and lurid and stinking and glorious."--Stephen Marche, Los Angeles Review of Books0List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Cast of Characters xiii

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 1
CHAPTER 82
P'an Chin-lien Makes an Assignation on a Moonlit Night;
Ch'en Ching-chi Enjoys Two Beauties in a Painted Bower 17
CHAPTER 83
Ch'iu-chü, Harboring Resentment, Reveals a Clandestine Affair;
Ch'un-mei Transmits a Note to Facilitate a Lovers' Rendezvous 35
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 54
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 72
CHAPTER 86
Sun Hsüeh-o Instigates the Beating of Ch'en Ching-chi;
Dame Wang Marries Off Chin-lien to the Highest Bidder 90
CHAPTER 87
Dame Wang Hungers after Wealth and Receives Her Just Reward;
Wu Sung Kills His Sister-in-law and Propitiates His Brother 113
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 131
CHAPTER 89
On the Ch'ing-ming Festival the Widow Visits the New Grave;
Wu Yüeh-niang Blunders into the Temple of Eternal Felicity 151
CHAPTER 90
Lai-wang Absconds Together with Sun Hsüeh-o;
Sun Hsüeh-o Is Sold to Chou Hsiu's Household 174
CHAPTER 91
Meng Yü-lou Is Happy to Marry Li Kung-pi;
Li Kung-pi in a Fit of Rage Beats Yü-tsan 194
CHAPTER 92
Ch'en Ching-chi Is Entrapped in Yen-chou Prefecture;
Wu Yüeh-Niang Creates a Stir in the District Yamen 218
CHAPTER 93
Wang Hsüan Relies on Righteousness to Help the Poor;
Abbot Jen in the Desire for Profit Invites Disaster 244
CHAPTER 94
Liu the Second Drunkenly Beats Ch'en Ching-chi;
Sun Hsüeh-o Becomes a Trollop in My Own Tavern 269
CHAPTER 95
P'ing-an Absconds with Jewelry from the Pawnshop;
Auntie Hsüeh Cleverly Proposes a Personal Appeal 289
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 309
CHAPTER 97
Ch'en Ching-chi Plays a Role in the Commandant's Household;
Auntie Hsüeh Peddles Trinkets and Proposes a Marriage Match 330
CHAPTER 98
Ch'en Ching-chi Opens a Tavern in Lin-ch'ing;
Han Ai-chieh Encounters a Lover in a Bordello 349
CHAPTER 99
Liu the Second Drunkenly Curses Wang Liu-erh;
Chang Sheng Wrathfully Kills Ch'en Ching-chi 370
CHAPTER 100
Han Ai-chieh Seeks Her Father and Mother in Hu-chou;
Ch'an Master P'u-ching Rescues Souls from Perdition 391

Notes 421
Bibliography 501
Index 525