Jin Ming Pei (The Plum in the Golden Vase or The Golden Lotus) (1610) is a Chinese erotic novel written by the pseudonymous Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng or “The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling”.  In 1695 Zhang Zhupo deleted or rewrote some of the passages.  The book’s main character is Ximen Qing, a lustful merchant with six wives and several concubines.  The plot, set during the years 1111–1127, centers on the struggles of his  women for dominance in his household.  Ximen has sex with 19 partners, including a male servant, in 72 scenes.  Over 3600 pages long, relative to its size, Jin Ming Pei contains only a small amount of erotica.  The rest of the book is an elaborate depiction of Ming society as well as a grab-bag of quotations and borrowings from other authors.  It is one of the earliest prose novels.

Jin Ming Pei is a monumental work, especially because of its graphic sexuality.

A quote:

“He pumped in and out of her mouth unceasingly, until white saliva overflowed from her lips, and rouge stains appeared on the stem of his organ.  Just as he was about to ejaculate, the woman questioned Hsi-men Ch’ing, saying, “Ying the Second has sent invitations us to his place on the twenty-eighth.  “Are we going to go or not?” “

                                                                                      S. Gray

October 2023