China: chun hua erotic 'Spring Picture' to illustrate a scene from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) erotic classic Jin Ping Mei or 'The Golden Lotus'. Painting by Hu Yefu (1914)

Jin Ping Mei (Chinese: 金瓶梅; pinyin: Jīn Píng Méi), translated as The Plum in the Golden Vase or The Golden Lotus, is a Chinese naturalistic novel composed in vernacular Chinese during the late Ming Dynasty. The anonymous author took the pseudonym Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (蘭陵笑笑生), 'The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling', and his identity is otherwise unknown. The earliest known versions of the novel exist only in handwritten scripts; the first block-printed book was released only in 1610. The more complete version available today comprises one hundred chapters, amounting to over a thousand pages.

Jin Ping Mei takes its name from the three central female characters — Pan Jinlian (潘金蓮, whose given name means 'Golden Lotus'); Li Ping'er (李瓶兒, given name literally means, 'Little Vase'), a concubine of Ximen Qing; and Pang Chunmei (龐春梅, 'Spring plum blossoms'), a young maid who rises to power within the family. According to some Chinese critics, each of the three Chinese characters in its title symbolizes an aspect about human nature, such as mei (梅), plum blossoms, is metaphoric for sexuality.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Credit:

Pictures From History

Theme:

HUMAN SEXUALITY