The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei

by Roy, David Tod

P’an Chin-lien’s maternal aunt, younger sister of old Mrs. P’an.

  P’an Chin-lien’s maternal aunt’s daughter, adopted by old Mrs.

  P’an to look after her in her old age.

  P’an Chin-lien’s mother. See P’an, old Mrs.

  P’an Chin-lien’s reincarnation. See Li Family of the Eastern Capital.

  P’an, Demon-catcher. See P’an, Taoist Master.

  P’an family prostitution ring operating out of My Own Tavern in Lin-ch’ing, madam of.

  P’an the fifth, white slaver, masquerading as a cotton merchant from Shantung, who operates a prostitution ring out of My Own Tavern in Lin-ch’ing, buys Sun Hsüeh-o from Auntie Hsüeh, and forces her to become a singing girl.

  P’an the Fifth’s deceased first wife.

  P’an the Fifth’s mother.

  P’an, old Mrs., widow of Tailor P’an, mother of P’an Chin-lien, sends her daughter to Licentiate Yü’s girls’ school for three years, sells her into the household of Imperial Commissioner Wang and Lady Lin at the age of eight, resells her in her mid-teens into the household of Mr. Chang, frequent visitor in Hsi-men Ch’ing’s household where she is maltreated by P’an Chin-lien who is ashamed of her low social status, adopts her younger sister’s daughter to look after her in her old age, dies not long after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing.

  P’an the Sixth. See P’an Chin-lien.

  P’an, Tailor, father of P’an Chin-lien, artisan from outside the South Gate of Ch’ing-ho who dies when P’an Chin-lien is only six years old.

  P’an, Taoist Master, Demon-catcher P’an, Taoist exorcist from the Temple of the Five Peaks outside Ch’ing-ho who performs various rituals on Li P’ing-erh’s behalf but concludes that nothing can save her.

  P’an, Taoist Master’s acolyte.

  P’ang Ch’un-mei, Spring Plum Blossom, one of the three principal female protagonists of the novel, originally purchased by Hsi-men Ch’ing from Auntie Hsüeh for sixteen taels of silver as a maidservant for Wu Yüeh-niang, reassigned as senior maidservant to P’an Chin-lien when she enters the household, becomes her chief ally and confidante; from the time that her mistress allows her to share the sexual favors of Hsi-men Ch’ing she remains loyal to her right up to and even after her death; after the demise of Hsi-men Ch’ing she aids and abets P’an Chin-lien’s affair with Ch’en Ching-chi the discovery of which leads to her dismissal from the household; purchased as a concubine by Chou Hsiu, she bears him a son and is promoted to the status of principal wife, thereby rising higher in social status than any of the ladies she had formerly served as maidservant; comes to Wu Yüeh-niang’s assistance when she is threatened by Wu Tien-en and condescends to pay a visit to her former mistress and to witness at first hand the signs of her relative decline; carries on an intermittent affair with Ch’en Ching-chi under her husband’s nose and, after Chou Hsiu’s death, dies in the act of sexual intercourse with his servant Chou I.

  P’ang Ch’un-mei’s deceased father who dies while she is still a child.

  P’ang Ch’un-mei’s deceased mother who dies a year after her birth.

  P’ang Ch’un-mei’s reincarnation. See K’ung family of the Eastern Capital.

  P’ang Ch’un-mei’s son. See Chou Chin-ko.

  P’ang Hsüan, clerical subofficial on the staff of Yang Chien.

  Pao, Dr., pediatric physician in Ch’ing-ho called in to treat Hsi-men Kuan-ko who declares the case to be hopeless.

  Pao-en Temple in the Eastern Capital, monk from, tries unsuccessfully to warn Miao T’ien-hsiu against leaving home before his fatal trip to the Eastern Capital.

  Pao, Ms., singing girl in the Great Tavern on Lion Street who witnesses Wu Sung’s fatal assault on Li Wai-ch’uan.

  Pen Chang-chieh, Jui-yün, daughter of Pen Ti-ch’uan and Yeh the Fifth, concubine of Hsia Yen-ling.

  Pen the Fourth. See Pen Ti-ch’uan.

  Pen, Scurry-about. See Pen Ti-ch’uan.

  Pen Ti-ch’uan, Scurry-about Pen, Pen the Fourth, husband of Yeh the Fifth, father of Pen Chang-chieh, manager employed by Hsi-men Ch’ing in various capacities, member of the brotherhood of ten in which he replaces Hua Tzu-hsü after his death.

  Pen Ti-ch’uan’s daughter. See Pen Chang-chieh.

  Pen Ti-ch’uan’s wife. See Yeh the Fifth.

  Pin-yang, Commandery Prince of. See Wang Ching-ch’ung.

  P’ing-an, page boy in Hsi-men Ch’ing’s household, absconds with jewelry stolen from the pawnshop after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing, is caught, and allows himself to be coerced by the police chief Wu Tien-en into giving false testimony that Wu Yüeh-niang has been engaged in hanky-panky with Tai-an.

  P’ing-erh. See Li P’ing-erh.

  Prison guard on Chou Hsiu’s staff.

  Pu Chih-tao, No-account Pu, crony of Hsi-men Ch’ing, member of the brotherhood of ten whose place is taken after his death by Hua Tzu-hsü.

  Pu, No-account. See Pu Chih-tao.

  P’u-ching, Ch’an Master Snow Cave, mysterious Buddhist monk who provides Wu Yüeh-niang with a refuge in Snow Stream Cave on Mount T’ai when she is escaping attempted rape by Yin T’ien-hsi; at the end of the novel he conjures up a phantasmagoria in which all of the major protagonists describe themselves as being reborn in approximately the same social strata they had occupied in their previous incarnations; convinces Wu Yüeh-niang that her son Hsiao-ko is a reincarnation of Hsi-men Ch’ing, and spirits him away into a life of Buddhist celibacy as his disciple.

  Sai-erh, singing girl in Longleg Lu’s brothel on Butterfly Lane in Ch’ing-ho.

  Sauce and Scallions. See Chiang Ts’ung.

  Second Lady. See Li Chiao-erh.

  Seng-pao, son of Lai-pao and Hui-hsiang, betrothed to Wang Liu-erh’s niece, the daughter of Butcher Wang and Sow Wang.

  Servant from the household of Chou Hsiu who is sent to fetch P’ang Ch’un-mei with a lantern.

  Servant in the inn at the foot of Mount T’ai where Wu Yüeh-niang and Wu K’ai spend the night on their pilgrimage.

  Servant from the Verdant Spring Bordello who runs errands for Li Kuei-chieh.

  Sha San, Yokel Sha, one of the “cribbers” and “ball clubbers” in Ch’ing-ho who plays the tout to Wang Ts’ai on his visits to the licensed quarter and upon whom Hsi-men Ch’ing turns the tables by abusing the judicial system at the behest of Lady Lin.

  Sha, Yokel. See Sha San.

  Shamaness brought to the Hsi-men household by Dame Liu to burn paper money and perform a shamanistic dance on behalf of the sick Hsi-men Kuan-ko.

  Shang Hsiao-t’ang, Provincial Graduate Shang, son of Shang Liu-t’ang, widower in Ch’ing-ho whom Chang Lung proposes unsuccessfully as a match for Meng Yü-lou, provincial graduate of the same year as Huang Pao-kuang, assisted by Hsi-men Ch’ing when he sets out for the Eastern Capital to compete in the chin-shih examinations.

  Shang Hsiao-t’ang’s second wife.

  Shang Hsiao-t’ang’s son.

  Shang Liu-t’ang, Prefectural Judge Shang, father of Shang Hsiao-t’ang, formerly served as district magistrate of Huang Pao-kuang’s district and prefectural judge of Ch’eng-tu in Szechwan, resident of Main Street in Ch’ing-ho from whom both Li P’ing-erh’s and Hsi-men Ch’ing’s coffins are purchased.

  Shang Liu-t’ang’s deceased wife, mother of Shang Hsiao-t’ang.

  Shang, Prefectural Judge. See Shang Liu-t’ang.

  Shang, Provincial Graduate. See Shang Hsiao-t’ang.

  Shantung Yaksha. See Li Kuei.

  Shao Ch’ien, boy actor in Ch’ing-ho.

  Shen, Brother-in-law, Mr. Shen, husband of Wu Yüeh-niang’s elder sister.

  Shen Ching, resident of the Eastern Capital, father of Shen Shou-shan.

  Shen, Mr. See Shen, Brother-in-law.

  Shen, Second Sister, blind professional singer in Ch’ing-ho recommended to Hsi-men Ch’ing by Wang Liu-erh but driven out of his household by P’ang Ch’un-mei when she refuses to sing for her.

  Shen Shou-shan, second son of Shen Ching, reincarnation of
Chou Hsiu.

  Shen Ting, servant in the household of Brother-in-law Shen.

  Shen T’ung, wealthy resident of the Eastern Capital, father of Shen Yüeh.

  Shen Yüeh, second son of Shen T’ung, reincarnation of Hsi-men Ch’ing.

  Sheng-chin, ten-year-old country girl offered to P’ang Ch’un-mei as a maidservant but rejected for befouling her bed.

  Sheng-chin’s parents.

  Shih Cho-kuei, Plastromancer Shih, shaman in Ch’ing-ho who prognosticates about the sick Hsi-men Kuan-ko through interpreting the cracks produced by applying heat to notches on the surface of the plastron of a tortoise shell.

  Shih En, son of the warden of the prison camp at Meng-chou who befriends the exiled Wu Sung, obtains his assistance in his struggle with Chiang Men-shen for control of the Happy Forest Tavern, and gives him a hundred taels of silver and a letter of recommendation to Liu Kao when he is transferred to the An-p’ing Stockade.

  Shih, Plastromancer. See Shih Cho-kuei.

  Shih Po-ts’ai, corrupt Taoist head priest of the Temple of the Goddess of Iridescent Clouds on the summit of Mount T’ai.

  Short-legged Tiger. See Wang Ying.

  Shu-t’ung, Little Chang Sung, native of Su-chou, page boy catamite and transvestite presented to Hsi-men Ch’ing by Li Ta-t’ien, placed in charge of Hsi-men Ch’ing’s studio where he handles his correspondence and caters to his polymorphous sexual tastes, becomes intimate with Yü-hsiao and when discovered in flagrante delicto by P’an Chin-lien purloins enough of Hsi-men Ch’ing’s property to make good his escape to his native place.

  Shui, Licentiate, scholar of problematic morals unsuccessfully recommended to Hsi-men Ch’ing as a social secretary by Ying Po-chüeh; after Hsi-men Ch’ing’s death he is engaged by the remaining members of the brotherhood of ten to compose a funeral eulogy for Hsi-men Ch’ing in which he compares him to the male genitalia.

  Shui, Licentiate’s father, friend of Ying Po-chüeh’s father.

  Shui, Licentiate’s grandfather, friend of Ying Po-chüeh’s grandfather.

  Shui, Licentiate’s two sons, die of smallpox.

  Shui, Licentiate’s wife, elopes to the Eastern Capital with her lover.

  Sick beggar whom Ch’en Ching-chi keeps alive with the warmth of his body when he is working as a night watchman.

  Silver. See Wu Yin-erh.

  Singing boys, two boy singers sent under escort all the way to Hsi-men Ch’ing’s home in Ch’ing-ho by his host, Miao Ch’ing, after he expresses admiration for their singing at a banquet in the residence of Li Yen in the Eastern Capital.

  Six Traitors, Ts’ai Ching, T’ung Kuan, Li Pang-yen, Chu Mien, Kao Ch’iu, and Li Yen.

  Sixth Lady. See Li P’ing-erh.

  Snake-in-the-grass. See Lu Hua.

  Snow Bandit. See P’an Chin-lien’s cat.

  Snow Cave, Ch’an Master. See P’u-ching.

  Snow Lion. See P’an Chin-lien’s cat.

  Snow Moth. See Sun Hsüeh-o.

  Southerner who deflowers Cheng Ai-yüeh.

  Spring Plum Blossom. See P’ang Ch’un-mei.

  Ssu Feng-i, battalion commander rewarded for his part in facilitating the notorious Flower and Rock Convoys and the construction of the Mount Ken Imperial Park.

  Stand-hard. See Tao-chien.

  Star of Joy Bordello in Ch’ing-ho, cook from.

  Storehouseman in charge of the local storehouse in Yen-chou Prefecture in Chekiang.

  Street-skulking Rat. See Chang Sheng.

  Sun, Blabbermouth. See Sun T’ien-hua.

  Sun Chi, next door neighbor of Ch’en Ching-chi.

  Sun Ch’ing, father-in-law of Huang the Fourth, father of Sun Wen-hsiang, employer of Feng the Second, merchant in Ch’ing-ho engaged in the cotton trade.

  Sun Ch’ing’s daughter. See Huang the Fourth’s wife, née Sun.

  Sun Ch’ing’s son. See Sun Wen-hsiang.

  Sun, Crooked-head, deceased husband of Aunt Yang.

  Sun Erh-niang, concubine of Chou Hsiu, mother of Chou Yü-chieh.

  Sun Erh-niang’s maidservant.

  Sun Erh-niang’s maidservant’s father.

  Sun Hsüeh-o, Snow Moth, originally maidservant of Hsi-men Ch’ing’s deceased first wife, née Ch’en, who enters his household as part of her dowry; Hsi-men Ch’ing’s Fourth Lady but a second class citizen among his womenfolk whose responsibility is the kitchen; enemy of P’an Chin-lien and P’ang Ch’un-mei; carries on a clandestine affair with Lai-wang with whom she absconds when he returns to Ch’ing-ho after Hsi-men Ch’ing’s death; apprehended by the authorities and sold into Chou Hsiu’s household at the behest of P’ang Ch’un-mei who abuses her, beats her, and sells her into prostitution in order to get her out of the way when she wishes to pass off Ch’en Ching-chi as her cousin; renamed as the singing girl, Yü-erh, working out of My Own Tavern in Lin-ch’ing, she becomes the kept mistress of Chang Sheng until his death when she commits suicide.

  Sun Hsüeh-o’s reincarnation. See Yao family from outside the Eastern Capital.

  Sun Jung, commandant of justice for the two townships of the Eastern Capital.

  Sun Kua-tsui. See Sun T’ien-hua.

  Sun T’ien-hua, Sun Kua-tsui, Blabbermouth Sun, crony of Hsi-men Ch’ing, member of the brotherhood of ten, plays the tout to Wang Ts’ai on his visits to the licensed quarter.

  Sun T’ien-hua’s wife.

  Sun Wen-hsiang, son of Sun Ch’ing, brother-in-law of Huang the Fourth, involved in an affray with Feng Huai who dies of his injuries half a month later.

  Sung Chiang (fl. 1117–21), Opportune Rain, chivalrous bandit chieftan, leader of a band of thirty-six outlaws in Liang-shan Marsh whose slogan is to “Carry out the Way on Heaven’s behalf,” slayer of Yen P’o-hsi, rescues Wu Yüeh-niang when she is captured by the bandits of Ch’ing-feng Stronghold and Wang Ying wants to make her his wife, eventually surrenders to Chang Shu-yeh and accepts the offer of a government amnesty.

  Sung Ch’iao-nien (1047–1113), father-in-law of Ts’ai Yu, father of Sung Sheng-ch’ung, protégé of Ts’ai Ching, appointed regional investigating censor of Shantung to replace Tseng Hsiao-hsü, entertained by Hsi-men Ch’ing who presents him periodically with lavish bribes in return for which he gets Miao Ch’ing off the hook and does him numerous other illicit favors, rewarded for his part in facilitating the notorious Flower and Rock Convoys and the construction of the Mount Ken Imperial Park.

  Sung Hui-lien, Chin-lien, daughter of Sung Jen, formerly maidservant in the household of Assistant Prefect Ts’ai who takes sexual advantage of her; sacked for colluding with her mistress in a case of adultery; marries the cook Chiang Ts’ung who is stabbed to death in a brawl; second wife of Lai-wang; carries on a clandestine affair with Hsi-men Ch’ing that soon becomes public knowledge; after Lai-wang is framed for attempted murder and driven out of the household she suffers from remorse and commits suicide.

  Sung Hui-lien’s reincarnation. See Chu family of the Eastern Capital.

  Sung Hui-lien’s maternal aunt.

  Sung Jen, father of Sung Hui-lien, coffin seller in Ch’ing-ho who accuses Hsi-men Ch’ing of driving his daughter to suicide but is given such a beating by the corrupt magistrate Li Ta-t’ien that he dies of his wounds.

  Sung Sheng-ch’ung (fl. early 12th century), son of Sung Ch’iao-nien, elder brother of Ts’ai Yu’s wife, née Sung, regional investigating censor of Shensi suborned into traducing Tseng Hsiao-hsü by Ts’ai Ching.

  Sung Te, commits adultery with Ms. Chou, the widowed second wife of his father-in-law, for which Hsi-men Ch’ing sentences them both to death by strangulation.

  Sung Te’s father-in-law, deceased husband of Ms. Chou.

  Sung Te’s mother-in-law, deceased mother of Sung Te’s wife.

  Sung Te’s wife.

  Sung T’ui, eunuch rewarded for his part in facilitating the notorious Flower and Rock Convoys and the construction of the Mount Ken Imperial Park.

  Ta T’ien-tao, prefect of Tung-ch’ang.

&nb
sp; Tai-an, Hsi-men An, favorite page boy of Hsi-men Ch’ing and his sedulous understudy in the arts of roguery and dissimulation; manages to stay on the right side of everyone with the exception of Wu Yüeh-niang who periodically berates him for his duplicity; married to Hsiao-yü after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing when Wu Yüeh-niang discovers them in flagrante delicto; remains with Wu Yüeh-niang and supports her in her old age in return for which he is given the name Hsi-men An and inherits what is left of Hsi-men Ch’ing’s property and social position.

  T’ai-tsung, emperor of the Chin dynasty (r. 1123–35).

  T’an Chen (fl. early 12th century), eunuch military commander with the concurrent rank of censor-in-chief, appointed to replace T’ung Kuan in command of the defense of the northern frontier against the Chin army.

  T’ang Pao. See Lai-pao.

  Tao-chien, Stand-hard, abbot of the Temple of Eternal Felicity at Wu-li Yüan outside the South Gate of Ch’ing-ho.

  T’ao, Crud-crawler, an elderly resident of Ch’ing-ho who is renowned for having sexually molested all three of his daughters-in-law.

  T’ao-hua, maidservant in the Star of Joy Bordello in Ch’ing-ho.

  T’ao, Old Mother, licensed go-between in Ch’ing-ho who represents Li Kung-pi in his courtship of Meng Yü-lou.

  Temple of the Jade Emperor outside the East Gate of Ch’ing-ho, lector of.

  Teng, Midwife, called in by Ying Po-chüeh when his concubine, Ch’un-hua, bears him a son.

  Third Lady. See Cho Tiu-erh and Meng Yü-lou.

  Three-inch Mulberry-bark Manikin. See Wu Chih.

  Ti Ssu-pin, Turbid Ti, vice-magistrate of Yang-ku district who locates the corpse of Miao T’ien-hsiu after his murder by Miao Ch’ing.

  Ti, Turbid. See Ti Ssu-pin.

  Tiao the Seventh, concubine of Miao T’ien-hsiu, formerly a singing girl from a brothel on the Yang-chou docks, carries on an affair with her husband’s servant, Miao Ch’ing, the discovery of which leads to the beating of Miao Ch’ing and the murder of Miao T’ien-hsiu in revenge.

  T’ien Chiu-kao, battalion commander rewarded for his part in facilitating the notorious Flower and Rock Convoys and the construction of the Mount Ken Imperial Park.

  T’ien-fu. See Ch’in-t’ung.

  T’ien-hsi, senior page boy in the household of Hua Tzu-hsü and Li P’ing-erh who absconds with five taels of silver when his master takes to his sickbed and vanishes without a trace.