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

by Roy, David Tod

  47. This idiomatic three-character expression occurs in Shui-hu ch’üan-chuan, vol. 2, ch. 32, p. 505, l. 11.

  48. These events occur in chapters 52–54 of Shui-hu ch’üan-chuan.

  49. A virtually synonymous version of this couplet has already occurred in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 1, ch. 19, p. 1a, l. 4. See Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, vol. 1, chap. 19, p. 376, ll. 10–13, and n. 1.

  50. This four-character expression occurs in Yüan-ch’ü hsüan wai-pien, 2:602, ll. 13–14; a song suite by Chou Wen-chih (d. 1334), Ch’üan Yüan san-ch’ü, 1:563, l. 3; an anonymous Yüan dynasty set of songs, ibid., 2:1661, l. 9; the long fifteenth-century literary tale Chung-ch’ing li-chi (A pleasing tale of passion), in Yen-chü pi-chi, vol. 3, chüan 7, upper register, p. 19a, l. 16–p. 19b, l. 1; and Han Hsiang-tzu chiu-tu Wen-kung sheng-hsien chi, chüan 1, scene 6, p. 13a, l. 1.

  51. This couplet is from a poem by Feng Tao (881–954), Ch’üan T’ang shih, vol. 11, chüan 737, p. 8405, l. 10. It also occurs in a slightly modified form in the Ming tsa-chü drama Jen chin shu ku-erh hsün-mu (Identifying the gold [hairpins] and the [jade] comb an orphan seeks his mother), in Ku-pen Yüan-Ming tsa-chü, vol. 3, hsieh-tzu (wedge), p. 1b, ll. 6–7.

  Chapter 85

  1. This line occurs verbatim in [Hsin-k’o] Shih-shang hua-yen ch’ü-lo t’an-hsiao chiu-ling, chüan 3, p. 20a, upper register, l. 7.

  2. This four-character expression occurs in San-pao t’ai-chien Hsi-yang chi t’ung-su yen-i, vol. 1, ch. 18, p. 241, l. 1.

  3. For these three medical works, see Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, vol. 4, chap. 61, nn. 80, 83, and 84.

  4. This clause occurs verbatim in the anthology of scurrilous tales about the Buddhist clergy entitled Seng-ni nieh-hai (Monks and nuns in a sea of iniquity), originally published in the early seventeenth century, in Ssu wu-hsieh hui-pao, 24:211, l. 12.

  5. This four-character expression occurs in San-kuo chih p’ing-hua, p. 96, l. 3; Shui-hu ch’üan-chuan, vol. 3, ch. 69, p. 1176, l. 3; Hsi-yu chi, vol. 2, ch. 70, p. 804, l. 3; Yang-chia fu shih-tai chung-yung yen-i chih-chuan, vol. 1, chüan 2, p. 31a, l. 10–p. 31b, l. 1; and Ta-T’ang Ch’in-wang tz’u-hua, vol. 2, chüan 5, ch. 33, p. 8b, l. 5.

  6. These four lines are a quotation from the Lun-yü (The analects of Confucius). See Lun-yü yin-te (A concordance to the Analects) (Taipei: Chinese Materials and Research Aids Service Center, 1966), Book 13, p. 25, l. 10. This quotation also occurs in Ming-hsin pao-chien, chüan 2, p. 10b, ll. 5–6.

  7. This four-character expression occurs in the ch’uan-ch’i drama Huan-tai chi, chüan 1, scene 11, p. 30a, l. 7; and recurs in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 91, p. 2b, l. 2.

  8. Ho Hsien-ku is one of the Eight Taoist Immortals.

  9. This line occurs in San-pao t’ai-chien Hsi-yang chi t’ung-su yen-i, vol. 2, ch. 90, p. 1155, l. 6; and Ta-T’ang Ch’in-wang tz’u-hua, vol. 1, chüan 1, ch. 3, p. 25a, l. 5.

  10. This four-character expression occurs twice in Shen-hsiang ch’üan-pien (Complete compendium on effective physiognomy), comp. Yüan Chung-ch’e (1376–1458), in Ku-chin t’u-shu chi-ch’eng (A comprehensive corpus of books and illustrations ancient and modern), presented to the Emperor in 1725, fac. repr. (Taipei: Wen-hsing shu-tien, 1964), chüan 633, p. 18b, l. 8; and chüan 640, p. 17a, l. 1.

  11. This four-character expression occurs twice in Hai-fu shan-t’ang tz’u-kao, chüan 2a, p. 63, l. 12; and p. 70, l. 2.

  12. For this allusion, see Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, vol. 3, chap. 54, n. 13.

  13. For this allusion, see The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume 2: The Rivals, trans. David Tod Roy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001), chap. 38, n. 34. This four-character expression occurs in a song by Liu Shih-chung (14th century), Ch’üan Yüan san-ch’ü, 1:656, ll. 1–2; an anonymous Yüan dynasty song suite, ibid., 2:1848, l. 15; Yüan-ch’ü hsüan wai-pien, 3:789, l. 17; and a song by Ch’en Ch’üan (16th century), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 3:2626, l. 6.

  14. This song is attributed to Tseng Jui (c. 1260–c. 1330), Ch’üan Yüan san-ch’ü, 1:483, ll. 9–10. Versions of it are preserved in Li-yüan an-shih yüeh-fu hsin-sheng, chüan 3, p. 81, ll. 7–8; Yüeh-fu ch’ün-chu, chüan 4, p. 213, ll. 2–3; and Yung-hsi yüeh-fu, ts’e 18, p. 30b, ll. 2–4. The version in the novel is closest to that in Yung-hsi yüeh-fu.

  15. This song is classified as anonymous in Ch’üan Yüan san-ch’ü, 2:1696, ll. 9–10. Versions of it, with numerous textual variations, are preserved in Li-yüan an-shih yüeh-fu hsin-sheng, chüan 3, p. 82, ll. 1–2; Yüeh-fu ch’ün-chu, chüan 4, p. 231, ll. 11–12; and Yung-hsi yüeh-fu, ts’e 18, p. 29b, ll. 3–5. The version in the novel is closest to that in Yung-hsi yüeh-fu.

  16. See Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, vol. 1, chap. 7, n. 9.

  17. A variant of this proverbial couplet occurs in Yüan-ch’ü hsüan, 3:921, ll. 2–3. It is listed, in the same form as in the novel, as a proverbial saying in K’o-tso chui-yü (Superfluous words of a sojourner), by Ku Ch’i-yüan (1565–1628), author’s colophon dated 1618 (Peking: Chung-hua shu-chü, 1987), chüan 1, p. 10, l. 9. A variant of the same couplet, with the two lines in reverse order, also occurs in Yung-hsi yüeh-fu, ts’e 5, p. 22b, ll. 7–8; and in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 86, p. 11a, ll. 2–3.

  18. A version of this quatrain, with some textual variation, has already occurred in the novel. See the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 1, ch. 19, p. 10b, ll. 4–5; and Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, vol. 1, chap. 19, p. 392, ll. 20–23, and n. 36.

  Chapter 86

  1. This poem, with some textual variation, has already occurred in the novel. See the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 1, ch. 13, p. 1a, ll. 3–6; and Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, vol. 1, chap. 13, p. 253, ll. 6–21.

  2. This five-character expression occurs in an anonymous song in Tz’u-lin chai-yen, vol. 1, p. 38, l. 5; and recurs in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 86, p. 13b, l. 2.

  3. The allusion behind this couplet has not been identified.

  4. Variants of this couplet occur in Hsüan-ho i-shih (Forgotten events of the Hsüan-ho reign period [1119–25]), (Shanghai: Shang-hai ku-tien wen-hsüeh ch’u-pan she, 1955), p. 54, ll. 8–9; and Chi Ya-fan chin-man ch’an-huo, p. 284, l. 8.

  5. This couplet has already occurred independently in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 83, p. 9b, ll. 7–8. The entire quatrain occurs verbatim in Cheng Chieh-shih li-kung shen-pi kung, p. 666, ll. 10–11; and, with insignificant variants, in I-k’u kuei lai-tao-jen ch’u-kuai, p. 190, l. 14; and K’ung Shu-fang shuang-yü shan-chui chuan, p. 65, ll. 1–2.

  6. This four-character expression occurs in an anonymous Yüan dynasty song suite, Ch’üan Yüan san-ch’ü, 2:1882, l. 2; T’an-shih wu-wei pao-chüan, 1:396, l. 2; Cheng-hsin ch’u-i wu hsiu cheng tzu-tsai pao-chüan (Precious volume of self-determination needing neither cultivation nor verification which rectifies belief and dispels doubt), by Lo Ch’ing (1442–1527), originally published in 1509, in Pao-chüan ch’u-chi, 3:175, l. 1; and Hsi-yu chi, vol. 1, ch. 47, p. 547, l. 17.

  7. This couplet occurs verbatim in Yüan-ch’ü hsüan, 2:466, l. 2. It is also quoted as proverbial, in a variant form, in K’o-tso chui-yü, chüan 1, p. 10, l. 11; and the second line occurs independently in an anonymous song suite in Yung-hsi yüeh-fu, ts’e 14, p. 56a, ll. 7–8.

  8. This four-character legal expression occurs in Yüan-ch’ü hsüan, 3:1263, l. 13.

  9. This four-character expression recurs in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 97, p. 7a, l. 5.

  10. This four-character expression occurs in the ch’uan-ch’i drama Hsiang-nang chi (The scent bag), by Shao Ts’an (15th century), Liu-shih chung ch’ü ed., scene 30, p. 88, ll. 9–10; and the vernacular story Kuei-chien chiao-ch’ing (An intimate bond between the exalted and the humble), in Tsui-yü ch’ing (Superlative delights), pref. dated 1647, fac. repr. in Ku-pen hsiao-shuo ts’ung-k’an, ti erh-shih liu chi (Collectanea of rar
e editions of traditional fiction, twenty-sixth series) (Peking: Chung-hua shu-chü, 1991), 4:1557, upper register, l. 5. It also recurs in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 94, p. 3b, l. 9.

  11. The couplet formed by this line and the one that parallels it two lines below occurs in Cheng Chieh-shih li-kung shen-pi kung, p. 665, l. 13.

  12. A version of this final couplet, with minor textual variation, occurs independently in the early vernacular story Nao Fan-lou to-ch’ing Chou Sheng-hsien (The disturbance in the Fan Tavern and the passionate Chou Sheng-hsien), in Hsing-shih heng-yen, vol. 1, chüan 14, p. 274, l. 5. The proximate source of this entire set piece of descriptive parallel prose is Shui-hu ch’üan-chuan, vol. 1, ch. 8, p. 126, ll. 15–16.

  13. On Chung K’uei, see Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, vol. 1, chap. 15, n. 8.

  14. Variants of this proverbial saying occur in the tsa-chü drama Ssu-shih hua-yüeh sai chiao-jung (The flowers and moonlight of the four seasons compete in loveliness), by Chu Yu-tun (1379–1439), in Ku-pen Yüan Ming tsa-chü, vol. 2, scene 4, p. 8b, l. 10; and the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 92, p. 12b, l. 10.

  15. This formulaic four-character expression occurs ubiquitously in Chinese literature. See, e.g., a poem by Yen Ch’ao-yin (d. 712), Ch’üan T’ang shih, vol. 2, chüan 69, p. 770, ll. 9–10; a poem by Ho Chih-chang (659–744), ibid., vol. 2, chüan 112, p. 1146, l. 6; a poem by the Buddhist monk Ta-i (d. 818), Ch’üan T’ang shih pu-pien, 2:993, l. 13; a poem by Chang Chi (c. 766–830), Ch’üan T’ang shih, vol. 1, chüan 24, p. 315, l. 14; a poem by Wang Chien (c. 767–c. 830), ibid., vol. 1, chüan 26, p. 363, l. 14; a poem by Yüan Chen (775–831), ibid., vol. 6, chüan, 418, p. 4608, l. 16; Tun-huang pien-wen chi, 2:574, l. 6; ibid., 2:656, l. 3; a poem written in 1071 by Huang T’ing-chien (1045–1105), Ch’üan Sung shih, 17:11659, l. 2; a poem by Tsou Hao (1060–1111), ibid., 21:13980, l. 1; and Chin-ch’ai chi, scene 57, p. 95, l. 6.

  16. The text of the novel reads Dame Wang here, but I have amended it to read Yüeh-niang as suggested in Mei Chieh, Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua chiao-tu chi (Collation notes on the text of the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua) (Peking: Pei-ching t’u-shu kuan ch’u-pan she, 2004), p. 437, ll. 30–31.

  17. This four-character expression occurs in the anonymous Yüan-Ming tsa-chü drama Lü Ch’un-yang tien-hua tu Huang-lung (Lü Tung-pin converts Huang-lung), in Ku-pen Yüan Ming tsa-chü, vol. 4, scene 3, p. 8a, l. 3.

  18. This four-character expression occurs in Yüan-ch’ü hsüan wai-pien, 2:601, l. 15.

  19. This proverbial saying occurs in a song by Su Tzu-wen (16th century), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 4:4009, l. 6.

  20. This four-character expression occurs in [Chi-p’ing chiao-chu] Hsi-hsiang chi, play no. 3, scene 2, p. 112, l. 3; and a song suite by Ch’in Shih-yung (16th century), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 2:2136, l. 14.

  21. This formulaic four-character expression occurs in Yüan-ch’ü hsüan, 2:470, l. 4; P’u-ming ju-lai wu-wei liao-i pao-chüan, 4:476, l. 6; and a set of songs by Hsüeh Lun-tao (c. 1531–c. 1600), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 3:2802, l. 7.

  22. This formulaic four-character expression occurs ubiquitously in Chinese vernacular literature. See, e.g., [Chi-p’ing chiao-chu] Hsi-hsiang chi, play no. 3, scene 2, p. 112, l. 4; Yüan-ch’ü hsüan, 2:669, l. 7; Yüan-ch’ü hsüan wai-pien, 2:575, l. 12; the tsa-chü drama Hei Hsüan-feng chang-i shu-ts’ai (The Black Whirlwind is chivalrous and openhanded), by Chu Yu-tun (1379–1439), completed in 1433, in Shui-hu hsi-ch’ü chi, ti-i chi (Corpus of drama dealing with the Shui-hu cycle, first series), ed. Fu Hsi-hua and Tu Ying-t’ao (Shanghai: Ku-tien wen-hsüeh ch’u-pan she, 1957), scene 1, p. 99, l. 12; the tsa-chü drama Ch’ing-ho hsien chi-mu ta-hsien (In Ch’ing-ho district a stepmother acts very virtuously), by Chu Yu-tun (1379–1439), completed in 1434, in Ming-jen tsa-chü hsüan, p. 217, l. 2; Pao-chien chi, scene 26, p. 47, l. 6; and an abundance of other occurrences, too numerous to list.

  23. This proverbial expression occurs in an anonymous song suite in Yung-hsi yüeh-fu, ts’e 5, p. 22b, l. 7.

  24. This proverbial couplet occurs in ibid., ll. 1–2.

  25. Variants of this proverbial saying occur in ibid., l. 3; a song suite by Su Tzu-wen (16th century), Ch’ün-yin lei-hsüan (An anthology of songs categorized by musical type), comp. Hu Wen-huan (fl. 1592–1617), 4 vols., fac. repr. (Peking: Chung-hua shu-chü, 1980), 4:2037, l. 5; and a set of songs by Hsüeh Lun-tao (c. 1531–c. 1600), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 3:2802, l. 7.

  26. This four-character expression, meaning empty-handed and defenseless, occurs ubiquitously in Chinese vernacular literature. See, e.g., Wan-sung Lao-jen p’ing-ch’ang T’ien-t’ung Chüeh ho-shang sung-ku Ts’ung-jung An lu (A record from the Ts’ung-jung Monastery of the comments by the Old Man of Myriad Pines Studio on the poetic eulogies of the past by the monk Cheng-chüeh of the T’ien-t’ung Monastery), by the Buddhist monk Hsing-hsiu (1166–1246), in Taishō shinshū daizōkyō, vol. 48, no. 2004, chüan 3, p. 250, upper register, l. 11; Yüan-ch’ü hsüan, 3:880, l. 5; Yüan-ch’ü hsüan wai-pien, 1:107, l. 13; Huang-chi chin-tan chiu-lien cheng-hsin kuei-chen huan-hsiang pao-chüan, 8:176, l. 2; [Hsiao-shih] Chen-k’ung sao-hsin pao-chüan, 18:454, l. 1; a set of songs by Ch’en To (fl. early 16th century), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 1:494, l. 11; a set of songs composed in 1530 by Wang Chiu-ssu (1468–1551), ibid., 1:890, l. 2; an anonymous song suite in Yung-hsi yüeh-fu, ts’e 5, p. 22b, l. 4; a song suite by Chang Lien (cs 1544), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 2:1721, l. 4; Hai-fu shan-t’ang tz’u-kao, chüan 2b, p. 114, l. 5; Hsi-yu chi, vol. 1, ch. 2, p. 21, l. 12; San-pao t’ai-chien Hsi-yang chi t’ung-su yen-i, vol. 1, ch. 28, p. 361, l. 14; a set of songs by Hsüeh Lun-tao (c. 1531–c. 1600), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 3:2798, l. 5; and a host of other occurrences, too many to list.

  27. This formulaic four-character expression occurs ubiquitously in Chinese vernacular literature. See, e.g. Ching-ch’ai chi, scene 30, p. 94, l. 12; Chin-yin chi, chüan 1, scene 10, p. 22b, l. 9; Yüeh Fei p’o-lu tung-ch’uang chi, chüan 2, scene 27, p. 10b, l. 6; Yü-huan chi, scene 17, p. 68, l. 11; Hsiu-ju chi, scene 5, p. 13, l. 11; Chiang Shih yüeh-li chi, chüan 2, scene 23, p. 18b, l. 2; Shih-i chi, chüan 2, scene 18, p. 6b, l. 6; the Ming dynasty ch’uan-ch’i drama Wang Chao-chün ch’u-sai ho-jung chi (Wang Chao-chün is sent abroad to make a marriage alliance with the Huns), in Ku-pen hsi-ch’ü ts’ung-k’an, erh-chi (Collectanea of rare editions of traditional drama, second series) (Shanghai: Shang-wu yin-shu kuan, 1955), item 7, chüan 1, scene 8, p. 18b, l. 6; Chu-fa chi, chüan 2, scene 19, p. 8b, l. 8; and Ch’üan-Han chih-chuan, vol. 2, chüan 4, p. 2a, l. 12.

  28. This formulaic four-character expression occurs ubiquitously in Chinese literature. See, e.g., a poem by Po Chü-i (772–846), Ch’üan T’ang shih, vol. 7, chüan 435, p. 4812, l. 7; a poem by Ssu-k’ung T’u (837–908), ibid., vol. 10, chüan 632, p. 7248, l. 5; a poem by Ou-yang Hsiu (1007–72), Ch’üan Sung shih, 6:3764, l. 6; a poem by Liu I-chih (1080–1161), ibid., 25:16694, l. 10; a lyric by Yüan Hao-wen (1190–1257), Ch’üan Chin Yüan tz’u, 1:75, upper register, l. 11; a lyric by Pai P’u (1226–c. 1306), ibid., 2:637, upper register, l. 15; Yüan-ch’ü hsüan, 3:885, l. 11; Yüan-ch’ü hsüan wai-pien, 3:978, l. 9; the ch’uan-ch’i drama Lü Tung-pin hua-yüeh shen-hsien hui (Lü Tung-pin arranges a meeting with divine immortals amid flowers and moonlight), by Chu Yu-tun (1379–1439), completed in 1435, in Ku-pen Yüan Ming tsa-chü, vol. 2, scene 2, p. 5a, l. 13; a set of songs by Chin Luan (1494–1583), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 2:1578, l. 10; P’u-ching ju-lai yao-shih pao-chüan (Precious volume of the Tathagatha P’u-ching: the Buddha of the Key [to salvation]), by P’u-ching (d. 1586), in Pao-chüan ch’u-chi, 5:106, l. 1; and Ta-T’ang Ch’in-wang tz’u-hua, vol. 1, chüan 1, ch. 2, p. 22a, l. 5.

  29. This four-character expression recurs in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 88, p. 9b, l. 6.

  30. A synonymous variant of this four-character expression occurs in a speech attributed to the Buddhist monk Chih-yü (1185–1
269), Hsü-t’ang Ho-shang yü-lu (Recorded sayings of the Monk Hsü-t’ang), in Taishō shinshū daizōkyō, vol. 47, no. 2000, p. 988, upper register, l. 27. It occurs in the same form as in the novel in T’ien-pao i-shih chu-kung-tiao, p. 220, l. 8; a song suite by Sung Fang-hu (14th century), Ch’üan Yüan san-ch’ü, 2:1307, l. 6; Yu-kuei chi, scene 26, p. 81, l. 2; an anonymous song suite in Sheng-shih hsin-sheng, p. 500, l. 8; and Kuan-yüan chi, scene 23, p. 47, l. 11. It also recurs in the Chin P’ing Mei tz’u-hua, vol. 5, ch. 92, p. 6a, l. 6.

  31. This four-character expression occurs in Chin-ch’ai chi, scene 67, p. 122, l. 11; and Hsiu-ju chi, scene 36, p. 103, l. 4.

  Chapter 87

  1. This four-character expression occurs in a speech attributed to Cho Mao (d. A.D. 28) in his biography in Hou-Han shu (History of the Later Han dynasty), comp. Fan Yeh (398–445), 12 vols. (Peking: Chung-hua shu-chü, 1965), vol. 4, chüan 25, p. 870, l. 5; a poem by Li Chih-i (1047–1117), Ch’üan Sung shih, 17:11235, l. 5; a poem by Hua Chen (b. 1051, cs 1079), ibid., 18:12349, l. 5; the early Ming drama Yü-ch’iao hsien-hua (A casual dialogue between a fisherman and a woodcutter), in Ku-pen Yüan Ming tsa-chü, vol. 4, scene 1, p. 3b, l. 10; and a set of songs by Hsüeh Lun-tao (c. 1531–c. 1600), Ch’üan Ming san-ch’ü, 3:2786, l. 3.

  2. The first and last couplets of this poem occur as a quatrain, with minor textual variations, in Ming-hsin pao-chien, chüan 1, p. 1a, ll. 7–8. The last line of the poem occurs independently in the early Ming tsa-chü drama Hsü Chen-jen pa-chai fei-sheng (Perfect Man Hsü Hsün [3rd century] ascends to Heaven with his entire household), in Ku-pen Yüan Ming tsa-chü, vol. 4, scene 3, p. 12a, l. 5. The proximate source of the entire poem is Shui-hu ch’üan-chuan, vol. 2, ch. 27, p. 423, ll. 3–4.