Jin Ping Mei

Jin Ping Mei (金瓶梅;pinyin: Jīn Píngméi, "The Plum in the Golden Vase", "The Golden Lotus") is a Chinese realistic novel composed during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), attributed to Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng.

One of the few frankly ribald novels in the history of Chinese fiction, Jin Pingmei describes in great realistic detail the downfall of the Ximen clan during the Ming dynasty. The key episode of the novel, the seduction of the lascivious, adulterous Pan Jinglian, occurs early in the book and is taken from an episode from Water Margin. Jin Pinmei takes its name from the three central characters - Pan Jinlian; Li Ping-Er, a concubine of Ximen Qing; and Chunmei, a maid who rose to power within the family. Literally known as The Plum(s) in the Golden Vase, critics have noted a strong sexual image even in the puns which make up the title.

The story centres around Ximen Qing, a lustful social climber from the merchantile class whose wealth allows him a consort of wives and concubines. After secretly murdering the husband of Pan, Ximen Qing marries her as one of his wives. The story follows the domestic sexual struggles of the women within his clan as they clamour for prestige and influence as the Ximen clan gradually declines in power.

Known for centuries as pornographic material and banned officially most of the time, it is nevertheless surreptitiously read by most of the educated class. Some critics have argued that the highly sexual descriptions are essential, and others have noted its liberating influence on other Chinese novels on matters of sexuality, most notably in A Dream of the Red Chamber. Little is known about the author except for some conjectures that he may be a Taoist priest who wrote to disclose the disintegrating morality and corruption of the late Ming Dynasty.