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.
Written during the second half of the sixteenth century and
first published in 1618, The "Plum in the Golden Vase" is noted for
its surprisingly modern technique. With the possible exception of
"The Tale of Genji" (ca. 1010) and "Don Quixote" (1605, 1615),
there is no earlier work of prose fiction of equal sophistication
in world literature. Although its importance in the history of
Chinese narrative has long been recognized, the technical
virtuosity of the author, which is more reminiscent of the Dickens
of "Bleak House," the Joyce of "Ulysses," or the Nabokov of
"Lolita" than anything in earlier Chinese fiction, has not yet
received adequate recognition. This is partly because all of the
existing European translations are either abridged or based on an
inferior recension of the text. 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.
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