cover image The Golden Lotus: Jin Ping Mei, Volume 1

The Golden Lotus: Jin Ping Mei, Volume 1

Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng, trans. from the Chinese by Clement Egerton, with Shu Qingchun. Tuttle Classics, $24.95 (640p) ISBN 978-0-8048-4170-2

Anonymously authored under a pseudonym during the Ming dynasty, this masterpiece follows the ruthless rise of 28-year old merchant Ximen Qing in 12th-century China. As the saga opens, Ximen is the richest man in Qinghe with four wives and money that "reaches higher than the North Star." His fifth wife, Jinlian (whose name means "Golden Lotus"), uses her feminine wiles and sexuality to manipulate her husband, as depicted in love scenes that prompted censorship of large swaths of the book. Despite Jinlian's best efforts to dominate the other wives, Ximen complicates their love life by bringing home a sixth wife who bears him an heir. %C2%A0Lust, polygamy, bribery, and murder make this Chinese classic a page-turner. First published in 1618, previous translators watered down steamy bedroom scenes by rendering them in Latin. Egerton and Qingchun (the novelist Lao She), however, present this version entirely in English. Supplemental materials such as an alphabetical list of characters and Washington University Professor Robert Hegel's new introduction detailing the novel's historical context will prove invaluable to readers. (Oct.)