|
''Jin Ping Mei'' () — translated into English 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 (1368–1644). The anonymous author took the pseudonym Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (蘭陵笑笑生), "The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling,"〔Michael Dillon, ''China: A Cultural and Historical Dictionary'', Routledge, 1998, ISBN 0-7007-0439-6, pp.163-164〕 and his identity is otherwise unknown (the only clue being that he hailed from Lanling in present-day Shandong).〔Lu (1923) p.408〕 The novel circulated in manuscript as early as 1596, and may have undergone revision up to its first printed version in 1610. The most widely read version, edited and published with commentaries by Zhang Zhupo in 1695, unfortunately accepted the deletion and rewriting of many passages. The graphically explicit depiction of sexuality garnered the novel a notoriety in China akin to ''Fanny Hill'' and ''Lolita'' in English literature, but critics such as the translator (David Tod Roy ) see a firm society structure which exacts retribution for the sexual libertinism of the central characters.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Plum in the Golden Vase, translated by David Tod Roy )〕 ''Jin Ping Mei'' takes its name from the three central female characters — Pan ''Jin''lian (潘金蓮, whose given name means "Golden Lotus"); Li ''Pinger (李瓶兒, given name literally means, "Little Vase"), a concubine of Ximen Qing; and Pang Chun''mei'' (龐春梅, "Spring plum blossoms"), a young maid who rose to power within the family.〔 Chinese critics see each of the three Chinese characters in its title as symbolizing an aspect of human nature, such as ''mei'' (梅), plum blossoms, is metaphoric for sexuality. Princeton University Press, in describing the Roy translation, calls the novel "a landmark in the development of the narrative art form – not only from a specifically Chinese perspective but in a world-historical context...noted for its surprisingly modern technique" and "with the possible exception of ''The Tale of Genji'' (c. 1010) and ''Don Quixote'' (1605, 1615), there is no earlier work of prose fiction of equal sophistication in world literature."〔(Princeton University Press Online Catalogue )〕 ==Plot== ''Jin Ping Mei'' is framed as a spin-off from ''Water Margin''. The beginning chapter is based on an episode in which "Tiger Slayer" Wu Song avenges the murder of his older brother by brutally killing his brother's former wife and murderer, Pan Jinlian. The story, ostensibly set during the years 1111–27 (during the Northern Song Dynasty), centers on Ximen Qing (西門慶), a corrupt social climber and lustful merchant who is wealthy enough to marry six wives and concubines. After secretly murdering Pan Jinlian's husband, Ximen Qing takes her as one of his wives. The story follows the domestic sexual struggles of the women within his household as they clamor for prestige and influence amidst the gradual decline of the Ximen clan. In ''Water Margin'', Ximen Qing was brutally killed in broad daylight by Wu Song; in ''Jin Ping Mei'', Ximen Qing in the end dies from an overdose of aphrodisiacs administered by Jinlian in order to keep him aroused. The intervening sections, however, differ in almost every way from ''Water Margin''.〔Paul S. Ropp, "The Distinctive Art of Chinese Fiction," in Ropp, ed., ''The Heritage of China: Contemporary Perspectives on Chinese Civilization.'' (Berkeley; Oxford: University of California Press, 1990), pp. 324-325.〕 In the course of the novel, Ximen has 19 sexual partners, including his 6 wives and mistresses. There are 72 detailed sexual episodes.〔Ruan, Matsumura (1991) p.95〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jin Ping Mei」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|