Jin Ping Mei – A Wild Horse in Chinese Literature: Essays on Texts, Illustrations and Translations of a Late Sixteenth-Century Masterpiece

edited by Vibeke Børdahl and Lintao Qi

The late 16th-century novel Jin Ping Mei has been described as a landmark in the development of the narrative art form, there being no earlier work of prose fiction of equal sophistication in world literature. However, it is also seen as something of a wild horse, its graphically explicit depiction of sexuality earning it great notoriety. Although Jin Ping Mei was banned soon after its appearance, today the novel is considered one of the six classics of Chinese literature. It is thus no surprise that Jin Ping Mei has caught the attention of scholars working in many different fields, places and periods. Unfortunately, the interdisciplinary and transnational exchange has been limited here, in part because of distance and language barriers.

The present volume aims to bridge this gap, bringing together the best quality research on Jin Ping Mei by both established and emerging scholars. Not only will it showcase research on Jin Ping Mei but also it will function as a reader, helping future generations to understand and appreciate this important work.

Vibeke Børdahl, Senior Researcher at NIAS, Copenhagen University, has been described as one of the most accomplished scholars in the study of Chinese oral literature. Over the past decade she has translated the full work of Jin Ping Mei cihua (1617) into Danish.

Lintao Qi, Lecturer of Translation Studies at Monash University, is the author of an acclaimed study of Jin Ping Mei in English translation and co-editor of several recently published volumes about translation and dissemination of traditional Chinese literature.

Publication year: 2022
471 pp / 229mm x 152mm
29 (3 in colour), 12 tables
ISBN: 978-87-7694-319-6, Paperback
ISBN: 978-87-7694-318-9, Hardback

NIAS Press