Virginia Review of Asian Studies
1
The “Rear Courtyard” literally means “garden in the back of a house.” However, in
Chinese literature, the word metaphorically means “the rear part of a person,” a homoerotic relationship and anal sex. It is also related to the poetic representation of the sorrow for a lost dynasty. I argue that as one of the most important motifs in the late Ming era novel Jin Ping Mei
(The Plum in the Golden Vase)
, the author consciously controls the appearance of the “rear courtyard” throughout the entire narrative, interweaving literary and historical meanings of this motif into the novel. On first reading, readers could read this metaphor merely as an amusing detail, since in practically every instance it involves a physical description, but the author manages to take the readers beyond titillation and leave them with a profoundly negative impression.
I maintain that the metaphorical representation of the “rear courtyard” in Jin Ping Mei points to the breakdown of the boundaries between front and back, inside and outside, as well as yin and yang . As Katherine Carlitz and Andrew Plaks have observed, the household of Ximen
Qing, the male protagonist in Jin Ping Mei , embodies negative examples of the principles of managing family and state as outlined in the Confucian classic the Da Xue
大學
(The great learning); family and state are homologous in Jin Ping Mei , as they are in the Da Xue , and thus can be mutually implicated in the dissolution of the Confucian principles governing human relations.
2 The central concern of the novel is, as Plaks notes, the perversion of ritual bonds.
3
This concern is often articulated via an inappropriate sexual event that happens at a specific place. The novel repeatedly pairs inappropriate sexual behavior of the characters, particularly sex that is not regulated by Confucian protocol, with illegitimate bureaucratic exchanges.
Uncontrolled events relating to lust and political corruption inevitably and consistently lead to the empire’s instability.
1 I would like to thank Professor Maram Epstein of the University of Oregon for her guidance and for reading the several incarnations of this article. This paper was presented at the Midwest
Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA), at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, in June 2013 and I would like to thank the audience and panelists for their helpful comments and suggestions.
2 See Katherine Carlitz, The Rhetoric of Chin Ping Mei (Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1986), 28-44, and Andrew Plaks, The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1987), 157-59, 164-67. As Carlitz writes, “Never for a chapter are we away from [the] definition and violation” of the “canonical relations of ruler, subject and family in
Confucian tradition.” Katherine Carlitz,
The Rhetoric of Chin Ping Mei , 36.
3 Plaks, 174-76.
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This paper will analyze closely the metaphor of the “rear courtyard” in
Jin Ping Mei and explore how the narrative is structured in a sophisticated way, presenting profound political concerns through the graphic description of sexual behavior. The first part of this paper introduces the literary meaning of the “rear courtyard” in Chinese literature as representing the eroticism and literati’s sadness of decadence. The second section represents the structural and physical meaning of the “rear courtyard” in Jin Ping Mei . I will demonstrate how the author uses the metaphor as an architectural idea to structure the novel and also as a corporal idea to present the characters. Third, I will focus on chapter 34 specifically to demonstrate that the novel combines both the structural and corporeal meaning of the “rear courtyard” to introduce the political unease of the narrative. Finally, I will partially return to the literary tradition of the metaphor to demonstrate how the novel conveys a sense of sorrow over the loss of an empire.
Before moving on to a detailed analysis of Jin Ping Mei , it is necessary to introduce the editions of the novel that I use in this paper. I will comparatively read two recensions of Jin Ping
Mei : the Jin Ping Mei Cihua (hereafter Cihua edition)
4
and the Xinke xiuxiang piping Jin Ping
Mei (hereafter Xiuxiang edition) , 5 which includes the commentary of an anonymous commentator as well as the comments from Zhang Zhupo 張竹坡 (1670-1698). The Cihua edition includes many poetic descriptions and has been recommended by scholars such as Patrick
Hanan and David Tod Roy.
6
However, for the purpose of an analysis of hou ting , I argue that the
Xiuxiang edition and Zhang Zhupo’s commentary significantly broaden readers’ interpretations of the rear garden—both the physical and the political—and interpretations of sexuality in the novel.
7
I, Hou ting as a Literary Motif Portraying Emotion and Eroticism
In the Chinese literary tradition, the rear courtyard ( hou ting ) or flowers in the rear courtyard ( houting hua ) are poetic motifs associated with both the collapse of the state and eroticism. This metaphor was originally used by the last emperor of the Chen Dynasty (r.582-
589), Chen Shubao 陳叔寶 , who was notorious for his love of wine, women, and song. When
4 Xiaoxiaosheng and Han Wang, Jin Ping Mei Cihua (Taibei Shi: Zengnizhi wenhua shiye youxian gongsi, 1980).
5 Xiaoxiaosheng 笑笑生 , Wang Rumei 王汝梅 and Qi Yan 齊煙 , Xinke xiuxiang piping Jin Ping
Mei 新刻繡像批評金瓶梅 (Xianggang; [Tsinan]: San lian shu dian ; Qi Lu shu she, 1990). All references to the novel, unless otherwise noted, are to the Xiuxiang edition, with chapter and page numbers given in parentheses. The English translation is modified from Xiaoxiaosheng and
David Tod Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, or, Chin P`Ing Mei (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press, 1993).
6
Jin Ping Mei Cihua and Xinke xiuxiang piping Jin Ping Mei are referred to as A and B versions of Patrick Hanan’s introduction. See P.D. Hanan, “The Text of the Chin P’ing Mei,”
Asia Major , n.s. 9.1 (1962), 1–57. For an evaluation of the importance of the B edition, see Tian Xiaofei 田曉
菲
, Qiushuitang lun Jin Ping Mei (Tianjin. Tianjin renmin chubanshe, 2003), and “A Preliminary
Comparison of the Two Recensions of the Jin Ping Mei ,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
62.2 (2002): 347-89.
7
In chapters 34 and 96, the metaphor of the rear courtyard is emphasized by the chapter title and the beginning song lyrics in Xiuxiang edition of Jin Ping Mei .
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Virginia Review of Asian Studies omens of disaster threatened the dynasty, he sold himself to a Buddhist monastery as a slave in an effort to avoid the coming disaster. Ransomed from his predicament, he went on with his merry-making until the arrival of the Sui army forced him to abdicate.
8 The poem Yushu houting hua 玉樹後庭花 ( Jade Trees and Rear-Courtyard Blossoms ) portrays his indulgence in women and the splendid scene of the courtyard:
Beautiful eaves and spring forests face the tall palace,
[Women] with new makeup and alluring trait are city-topplers.
Their delicate beauty mirrored on the door, they suddenly pause upon entering.
Coming out of the curtains, they meet us smiling and holding their airs.
Their charming faces look like flowers holding their dew,
Glistening light from the jade trees shines in the rear courtyard.
9
麗宇芳林對高閣，新裝豔質本傾城；
映戶凝嬌乍不進，出帷含態笑相迎。
妖姬臉似花含露，玉樹流光照後庭
.
10
As a representative work of “palace-style” poetry, this poem is especially good at portraying beauty associated with both women and the palace. However, ironically, at the time when the poem was written, Sui troops had already entered the Chen state, ensuring that Chen Shubao would be the dynasty’s final emperor. The sharp contrast between splendid beauty and the impending take-over has allowed the poem to become a famous symbolic motif, transmitting the voice of the declining empire ( wangguo zhiyin 亡國之音 ).
11
In the late Tang period (618-907), the famous poet Du Mu 杜牧 (803-852) used this motif to convey the themes of separation, decadence, and impermanence. In Bo Qin Huai
泊秦
淮 ( Moored at the Confluence of the Qin Huai River ), the poet stays on the banks of the Qin
Huai River, enjoying wine and prostitutes’ songs:
8 John Minford and Joseph S. M. Lau, Classical Chinese Literature : An Anthology of
Translations. Vol. I, from Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty (New York; Hong Kong: Columbia
University Press ; Chinese University Press, 2000) 561-62.
9 The English translation of this poem is cited from Fusheng Wu, Written at Imperial Command :
Panegyric Poetry in Early Medieval China (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008)
154-55. Another English translation of this poem can be found in Minford and Lau , Classical
Chinese Literature : An Anthology of Translations. Vol. I, from Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty
561-62.
10 GongXianzong
龔顯宗
, Lun liangchen sidi shi
論梁陳四帝詩
(Gao xiong shi: Gaoxiong fuwen, 1995) 106-107.
11
See the Music Section in Old Book of Tang .
“ The development and decline of the early period is because of the music. When the Chen state is crashing, the music is Jade Trees and Rear-
Courtyard Blossoms . When the Qi state is crashing, the music is Partner’s Song . The passers-by are crying when they hear the song, it is the so-called voice of the declining empire” 《舊唐書 .
音
樂誌》： “ 前代興亡，實由於樂。陳將亡也，為《玉樹後庭花》；齊將亡也，而為《伴侶
曲》，行路聞之莫不悲泣，所謂亡國之音也。 ”
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Mist enfolds cold water, moonlight delimits sand,
Moored at night Qin Huai river near a wine shop;
The shop girl does not know the despair of a destroyed nation,
Across the river she still sings “The Back Court Blossom.”
煙 籠 寒 水 月 籠 沙，
夜 泊 秦 淮 近 酒 家。
商 女 不 知 亡 國 恨，
隔 江 猶 唱 後 庭 花。 12
In the poem, shang-nü (
商女
) refers to wine-shop girls, whose cheerful company would spur the clientele to drink more in order to prolong the merriment. In the past, the poet probably enjoyed their presence, yet here, he is clearly disgusted with the superficiality of it all. Don't the girls know what happened? How can they still sing gay songs of the capital, now that it has been undone by the Tatars and the nation has unraveled? In this poem, women have no awareness of the national crisis. As a poet with strong political sensitivities, Du Mu was quite aware of the social crisis attendant with the waning of the dynasty. He is lamenting the ignorance of the carefree courtesan and the powerlessness of the literati. In these two poems, the rear courtyard suggests the contrast between the pleasure of carefree eroticism and the melancholy of whoever survives the fall of a dynasty.
Another meaning associated with hou ting / houting hua that deserves our attention is that, in Ming Qing fiction, the rear courtyard frequently refers to the “rear part” of a person and implies homoerotic desire. As scholars have pointed out, male same-sex practices were in vogue among the literati during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
13
Matthew Sommer’s studies demonstrate that the phenomenon of male same-sex practices had become so popular and visible that the government felt the need to establish new laws to discourage and prohibit this kind of infertile non-Confucian behavior.
14 Late imperial literary works contain a number of different attitudes towards same-sex practices. Some texts regard it as strange behavior that threatens heteronormative practices. Alternately, some pieces of literature simply demonstrate curiosity towards the perceived abnormality of same-sex relations without explicitly passing judgment.
One such text is “Pan wenzi qihe yuanyang zhong” 潘文子契合鴛鴦塚 (Pan Wenzi joins his love in the grave), from the story collection Shi diantou ( 石點頭 The stone nodded assent), which tells of the romantic relationship between two scholars. The narrator asks, “Isn’t it funny to see a kind of person who likes the taste of the rear courtyard, regards men as women, has sex
12 Du Mu
杜牧 , “Bo Qin Huai 泊秦淮 ,”
Du Mu shixuan
杜牧詩選
, eds. Liu Yisheng
刘逸生
and
Zhou Xifu 周锡复 (Xianggang: Shenghuo, dushu, xinzhi sanlian shudian, 1980) 205-206.The
English translation is mine.
13 See Bret Hinsch, Passions of the Cut Sleeve : The Male Homosexual Tradition in China
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990). And Vivian Ng, “Homosexuality and the State in Late Imperial China,” in
Hidden from History : Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past , eds.
Martin B. Duberman, Martha Vicinus and George Chauncey (New York: New American
Library, 1989).
14
Matthew H. Sommer, “The Penetrated Male in Late Imperial China: Judicial Constructions and Social Stigma,” Modern China 23.2 (1997).
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15
Moreover, to legitimate their desires for beautiful young boys, scholarly writers advocated the aesthetics of qing 情 and approached homoeroticism as an expression of authentic emotion in their literary works. Li Yu’s work, Cuiya lou 萃雅楼
(Tower of Collected Elegance), one of the Twelve Towers 十二楼 , portrays the romantic emotion between two business-scholars and their male lovers. The title of the first chapter in Cuiya lou is
“The boy who sells flowers does not sell rear courtyard flowers, the person who buys commodities buys goods without money.” 賣花郎不賣後庭花 買貨人慣買無錢貨 . Li Yu’s narrative projects a neutral, even approving attitude towards the hou ting and the male protagonists’ homoerotic relationship.
Unlike contemporaneous works , Jin Ping Mei does not treat the romance of houting hua , also referred to as nan feng 南风 (southern breeze, male love, male homoeroticism), as a symbol of strangeness or a representation of authentic qing, but as a popular pastime among literati that symbolizes decadence. The desire for beautiful boys is depicted as a mere sexual act, not as an expression of taste. Within the novel, male same-sex desire is frequently abusive; instead of leading to the restoration of proper social harmony, as is the clichéd norm for cult of qing narratives, it signifies the greed and lust of literati-officials. The author of Jin Ping Mei deploys the symbolism of the rear courtyard, inclusive of its literary and cultural meanings, for allusions to eroticism, homosexual relationships, and the decay of the dynasty, figuratively interweaving anal sex and the “rear courtyard” of the body with images of political corruption and decadence.
II. The “ Rear Courtyard” in Jin Ping Mei’s Structure and Characterization
The metaphor of the “rear courtyard” in
Jin Ping Mei includes two meanings: one refers to the actual rear garden of Ximen Qing’s household; the other refers to anal sex. Both of them contain strongly negative implications. The architectural layout of the garden becomes an archetype of an evil place where morally problematic characters live and Ximen Qing manipulates their illegitimate business. The characters who practice anal sex are presented in a negative way. The novel uses the back part of a house and the rear end of a person to reflect the instability of the fictional world.
In the Ming Qing period the image of the garden is not purely architectural but one which frequently acquires a rich and complex set of associations. The mention of a garden in a novel or drama was sufficient enough to evoke diverse implications, which ranged from suggestions of both financial and sexual profligacy leading to the collapse of more than one dynasty. In Jin Ping
Mei , Ximen Qing handles the official business, along with his colleagues and friends, in the front part of his house, while the events that happen in the garden generally involve more negative implications. In Ximen Qing’s garden, two areas need further interpretation: the residence of his two favorite concubines, Pan Jinlian
潘金蓮 and Li Pinger
李瓶兒
, and the studio in the garden where Ximen controls the illegitimate business that establishes private relationships for officials.
15 獨好笑有一等人，偏好後廷花的滋味，將男作女，一般樣交歡淫樂，意亂心迷，豈非一
件異事 .TianranChisou
天然痴叟 , “Pan Wenzi qihe yuanyang zhong 潘文子契合鴛鴦塚 ” Shi diantou 石点头 (Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 2000) 326.
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Ximen Qing has six wives, four of whom live in the front part of the house while two of them, Pan Jinlian and Li Pinger, live in the garden. Jin Ping Mei presents detailed episodes introducing how Pan Jinlian and Li Pinger come into the garden with their own kind of evil. Pan
Jinlian is an adulteress who murdered her first husband to marry her second. Li Pinger was a wife of Hua Zixu
花子虛
who was Ximen Qing’s sworn brother. Li Pinger commits adultery with Ximen Qing and transfers Hua’s wealth over the garden wall to Ximen Qing, which in part leads to Hua Zixu’s financial ruin and sordid death. It is ironic that the new garden is built on the same ground as the house and garden once owned by Hua Zixu, and much of the wealth that goes into building this garden was Hua’s. When Pan Jinlian and Li Pinger live in the garden they become rivals for the favor of Ximen Qing within the household. Pan even torments Li Pinger’s son to death, which leads to Li’s premature death. As Zhang Zhupo claims in Zalu xiaoyin 雜錄
小引 , the house, the garden, and the person who live there are all aesthetically designed by the author. Zhang is emphatic about the irregularity of the living arrangements in Ximen Qing’s house. He notes that Pan Jinlian and Li Pinger live together, rather than in the main women’s quarters, to demonstrate their uncertain position in the household, which translates into the fact that these two concubine’s reputations are even less legitimate ( mingzhen yanshun
名正言順
) than Li Jiaoer 李嬌兒 who is being granted both a room and the status of second wife, in spite of her brothel origins.
16
In the garden Ximen Qing has a studio called Kingfisher Pavilion (Feicui Xuan, 翡翠軒 ), which is not only an emblem of wealth, but also a monument to Ximen Qing’s social pretensions. Although Ximen Qing uses this studio to demonstrate his participation in the same set of aesthetic values as the other scholarly elite, the novel makes light of his inappropriate sexual and political behavior there. In chapter 34 of the Cihua edition, the author portrays the furnishings of his inner study through the eyes of his friend. There is a black lacquer summer bedstead fitted with bed curtains of blue silk to the floor. At the end of the bed there are painted lacquer bookcases, which are filled with the conventional presentation gifts of privately printed books. There is also a desk, piled high with writing implements and more books. A letter case is also visible containing Ximen Qing’s social correspondence, calling cards, and lists of people with whom he had exchanged Mid-autumn Festival gifts.
17
Although Ximen Qing keeps writing implements, various books and letters in the study, we learn from numerous incidents in the book that he is effectively illiterate. Craig Clunas argues that the study is an ironic representation of
Ximen who relies on his son-in-law and male servant to read official documents for him (48,
620) and is never seen to pick up any sort of reading matter at all.
18 More importantly, the garden studio is a place where Ximen Qing illegitimately utilizes his power, including manipulating the court system (ch.34) and inviting two prostitutes to bribe the new officials for his future promotion (49, 631-33).
16
Zhang Zhupo 張竹坡 , “Zalu xiaoyin 雜錄小引 ,”
Jin Ping Mei ziliao huibian 金瓶梅資料匯
編 , eds. Hou Zhongyi 候忠義 and Wang Rumei 王汝梅 (Beijing, Beijng daxue chubanshe, 1986)
2-3.
17
The translation is modified from The Plum in the Golden Vase vol.2, The Rivals, ch.34,
285.The Jin Ping Mei Cihua gives a considerably more detailed description of this part of the garden than the Xiuxiang text.
18
Craig Clunas, Superfluous Things : Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China
(Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1991) 156.
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As I have argued, the metaphor of the “rear courtyard” in Jin Ping Mei also refers to the act of anal sex and homoerotic sentiment. The female and male characters related to these two concepts in Jin Ping Mei continuously transgress the ritual boundaries. The three female characters most closely related to the “rear courtyard” in Jin Ping Mei are Pan Jinlian, Li Pinger and Wang Liuer 王六兒 . They represent the negative aspects of women who are lascivious, greedy, and jealous, indicating the extreme power of yin . All of them have a connection with the yin number 6. Li Pinger is the sixth wife of Ximen Qing, Pan Jinlian is the sixth daughter in her maternal family and Wang Liuer’s name includes six. All of them transgress the ritual boundaries of marriage by having had adulterous affairs with Ximen Qing when their husbands were alive. While these three female figures are not portrayed individually, later commentators and scholars believe that they interactively reflect the power of women’s sinfulness. In Andrew
Plaks’s reading of characters in
Jin Ping Mei , he mentions the figural similarity between Pan
Jinlian and Li Pinger who are pretty, lascivious, and in competition for Ximen’s favor.
19
Zhang
Zhupo goes even further by speaking of a fundamental identity between the two figures.
20 Zhang also points out that the portrayal of Wang Liuer completes the evilness of Pan Jinlian.
21
I find that in the novel, when anal sex happens between the three women and Ximen Qing, it is immediately preceding or following a request for material benefit. For instance in chapter 38,
Ximen agrees to give Wang Liuer a house on Lion Street before they have anal sex (38, 493-95).
In chapter 52, during the act of anal sex between Ximen and Pan Jinlian, she requests a precious skirt bought from the court (52, 675-77). Compared with other women in the family, such as Wu
Yueniang 吳月娘 and Meng Yulou 孟玉樓 , the three women who have a much closer relationship with the “rear courtyard” are presented in a more negative light through their sexual behavior.
22
The negative implications of the male characters related to the “rear courtyard” are presented from a perspective of political corruption. The author of Jin Ping Mei does not merely attempt to satirize one special group of merchants who had received less Confucian education. On the contrary, he calls into question the merit of the entire bureaucracy and those who have profited from it. The correlated interaction of the individual body and the body politic can be interpreted when three scholars, Cai Yun 蔡蕴 , An Chen 安忱 , and Wen Bigu 溫必古 , demonstrate their strong interest in the “rear courtyard.” In chapter 36 the new degree holders, Cai Yun and An
Chen, demonstrate homoerotic lust toward Ximen Qing’s servant at the banquet (36, 476-77).
When the narrative develops, Ximen Qing and his official friends are promoted to a higher level
19
Andrew H. Plaks, The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel = Si Da Qi Shu (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1987) 113-14.
20
Zhang Zhupo 張竹坡 , “Yuyi shuo 寓意說 ” Jin Ping Mei ziliao huibian , 14.
21 Ibid.
22
Moral judgment towards characters is a main concern of Zhang Zhupo, who claims that Wu
Yueniang is a hypocritical character who pretends to follow the ritual and does not explicitly express her desire. Zhang Zhupo views Meng Yulou as a representation of the author’s self portrayal. As a positive character according to Zhang, Meng Yulou signifies the frustrated literati who can’t find opportunities to demonstrate their talents.
In Jing Ping Mei , neither Wu Yueniang nor Meng Yulou engages in anal sex behavior, implying that they at least try to follow the rituals and morality.
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Virginia Review of Asian Studies within the political system. In chapter 49, Ximen obtains help from the salt-control censor, Cai
Yun, to receive substantial benefits through the salt monopoly.
23
Ximen returns Cai’s help by offering two prostitutes to him in his garden (49, 631-33). Through the narrative, Ximen and the high level officials both influence and create damage to the “body polity” which turns out to be shocking and fatal.
Another example of the scholars’ interest in the “rear courtyard” could be found in an episode involving a private secretary to Ximen Qing. The secretary’s name is (Wen) Bigu, his courtesy name is “sun new” ( ri xin 日新 ), and his assumed name is “sunflower pavilion” (kui xuan 葵軒 ).
24
Zhang Zhupo argues in the general commentary of chapter 76 that “Sunflower (kui hua) is a kind of flower that enjoys sunshine (ri) and Bigu is pronounced in a way similar to pigu
(ass).” 25
In the Chinese language, sun (ri) can be used to refer to sex. Thus, Wen’s name has obvious connections to the “backyard” and anal sex. In chapter 76, Wu Yueniang and Pan Jinlian find a servant crying because he refuses to serve Secretary Wen sexually. From the mouth of the servant, Ximen learns that Wen has transferred many secrets concerning both Ximen’s family and official business to his official rivals (76, 1086-87). This is why, in chapter 70, Majordomo
Zhai warns Ximen to be more careful to keep his secrets concerning a potential promotion (70,
968). As the most important secretary in Ximen’s business, Secretary Wen has the opportunity to access several of Ximen’s important documents; however, similar to other scholars in the novel, he has not demonstrated significant literary or political talent. On the contrary, most of his interest lies in the rear part of a boy and in illicitly transferring messages.
III. Ximen Qing’s Sexual Predilection and Graft in Chapter 34 of Jin Ping Mei
Now that we have seen the symbolic and structural significance of hou ting in Jin Ping
Mei , I will analyze chapter 34 as a good example to demonstrate the metaphorical meanings.
This chapter interweaves a legal case and an anal sex episode in the garden, demonstrating the author’s sophisticated control of the narrative and characterization. More importantly, the events happening in the garden implicitly represent the author’s profound anxiety towards political corruption and the inescapable decline of the empire.
At this point in the novel, Ximen’s upward social mobility, which transforms him from a simple merchant into a regional judicial commissioner of Qing He County, allows his cronies and servants the ability to capitalize on their proximity to him by taking bribes from others in return for interceding with him on their behalf. This chapter begins with a court case in which the neighbors have witnessed an adulterous affair between the wife of Ximen’s manager, Han
Daoguo 韓道國 , and her brother-in-law. Han Daoguo is quite nervous about the case and asks
23
When Censor Cai and Song visit Ximen Qing’s compound, Ximen asks Cai to let him sell the salt one month earlier than the other merchants so he can reap more personal benefits. Censor
Cai immediately agrees to help him (49, 630-31).
24 學生賤字日新，號葵軒 (58,755)
25 葵花乃愛日之花，而 “ 必古 ” 又 “ 屁股 ” 之訛 . Li Zhaoxun 李昭恂 Xiaoxiaosheng 笑笑生 ; edited by Wang Rumei 王汝梅 , Yu Fengshu 於鳳樹 , Zhang Zhupo piping Jin Ping Mei 張竹坡
批評金瓶梅 (Jinan: Qilu shushe, 1991).chapter 76, 1190
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Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Ying Bojue 應伯爵 , Ximen Qing’s favorite crony, to help him by exempting his wife, Ms.
Wang, from the obligation to appear before the bench. Ying guides Han Daoguo to Ximen’s house and explains Han’s situation to Ximen. In Ying’s fanciful retelling of the case, a bunch of ruffians entered Han’s house without permission and beat Han’s younger brother, who was innocently visiting his sister-in-law as usual. Ximen not only immediately releases Wang from the sub-precinct station but also alters the official report of the case in order to sue a bunch of scamps who regularly disturb the peace in the neighborhood.
The next day, in court, Ximen announces that the four neighbors who had climbed over the wall and entered into Han’s house intended to either rape or rob Han’s wife. He asks attendants to beat the culprits severely and orders that they be escorted to a higher court to stand trial. In the court process, Ximen takes the dominant role in questioning and judgment; his superior colleague, Xia Yanling does not argue against his decision. When the families of the four gangsters find out that the pivotal official in the trial is Ximen, they realize that they need to find a person who can intervene with Ximen, and Ying Bojue becomes the best choice. The brothers and fathers of the four scamps prepare 40 taels of silver for Ying, hoping to buy mercy for their accused relatives. Ying is quite aware of the dilemma he faces in offering help to opposing parties in the case, and he solves the problem by bribing Shu Tong 書童 , Ximen’s servant. However, Shu Tong is not allowed to discuss the official case with his master, so he, in turn, employs another helper from Ximen’s household, Ximen’s favorite concubine, Li Pinger.
Ultimately, this chapter demonstrates how Ximen’s official decision about this case is influenced by his two sexual obsessions: Shu Tong and Li Pinger.
Ying Bojue gives 15 taels of silver to Shu Tong and asks him to persuade Ximen not to further punish the four gangsters. In this case, Shu Tong’s role is different from other servants in
Ximen’s house because of his double status of gate boy and catamite.
26
When he first came to
Ximen’s house, he was just seventeen years old. He had the appearance of a pretty girl and
Ximen was attracted to him and favored him over the other servants.
27
Because he is good at handling official business, when Ying asks for help, he agrees immediately. Shu Tong also has a close connection with Li Pinger, Ximen’s favorite concubine at the time. In Jin Ping Mei , Shu
Tong appears in Ximen’s family just after Li Pinger has borne the first son for Ximen and has become his favorite concubine. When Li Pinger dies, Shu Tong leaves Ximen’s house and disappears from the narrative. These two characters are parallel, representing Ximen’s favorite people inside and favorite outside. Zhang Zhupo points out in the chapter 31 and 64 commentary that Shu Tong and Li Pinger are collaborative characters; they appear and disappear at the same time.
Because of his earlier experience in the government and his close relationship with Li
Pinger, Shu Tong’s strategy is to persuade Li to sympathize with the four gangsters and help ensure their release. More importantly, because both Li Pinger and Shu Tong should not interfere with Ximen’s business, they need to submit the request to release the four gangsters under the
26
The title “gate boy” generally refers to the secretary of an official.
27
In chapter 31, the author introduces the attractive, clean-cut appearance of Shu Tong: “His face looked as though it was powdered, His teeth were white and his lips were red.” Moreover, he knew how to read and write and was good at singing southern-style songs. (Plum, Vol. 2, 220)
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Virginia Review of Asian Studies name of Li Pinger’s ex-brother-in-law, Uncle Hua. Shu Tong spends one tael to get some food and wine, delivering them to Li Pinger’s boudoir. Shu Tong explains how Ying Bojue needs help for him, though he is already helping Han Daoguo’s family curry favor with Ximen. He suggests that after he shows Ximen the fake memo from Uncle Hua, Li Pinger could encourage Ximen to offer this favor to Uncle Hua. Li accepts a bribe from Shu Tong and agrees to support him. When
Ximen arrives home from his office, he goes to his studio in the garden where Shu Tong shows him the fake memo and mentions that it comes from the sixth concubine’s brother-in-law.
Distracted by Shu Tong’s pretty face, Ximen does not make any immediate decision. Shu Tong and Ximen begin to kiss and have sex. Later, Ximen discusses the memo with Li Pinger and agrees to release the four gangsters.
The title of chapter 34 in the Xiuxiang edition of Jin Ping Mei is
“Submitting a flower vase to ask for favors in the inner chamber, obtaining a bribe and discussing business in the back yard” (34, 433).
28
The Cihua edition does not use this title, focusing more on the servant and master relationship.
29
The author of the Xiuxiang edition apparently attempts to draw more attention to the business aspects of the episode, which takes place in two different locations: the bedroom and the rear courtyard. However, since there is a complicated connection between sexuality and the court case in this chapter, the meaning of hou ting is open to multiple interpretations. The motif of the rear courtyard appears several times in this chapter. The most obvious one is Shu Tong’s rear end. After Shu Tong persuades Li Pinger to help him, Ximen arrives home and has anal sex with him. Prior to engaging in sex, Shu Tong attempts to remind
Ximen Qing of the four gangsters in the court case, and after sex, other local government officials invite Ximen to dinner. By interweaving their anal sex and illicit official affairs, the author intentionally intertwines the chaos of Ximen’s private and public lives. Zhang Zhupo comments at the beginning of this chapter that Shu Tong, the little slave boy of the outer grounds, enters into the house without hesitation, drinking and discussing business. Nobody scrutinizes him.
30
In traditional China, the demarcation between the outside and the inside of a house was strictly maintained. It was the basis of a hierarchical and ceremonial society. Yet, in this chapter, Shu Tong, a boy servant, enters into a concubine’s bedroom to enjoy wine and discusses an official case. The boundaries between the private and public spheres, the master and slave, are completely transgressed. When Zhang Zhupo reads the talk between Shu Tong and Li
Pinger in her boudoir, he mentions three times: “Not following rituals”
無禮之甚
.
The second character who is associated with the metaphor of the rear courtyard is Li
Pinger, who is not only involved in the whole bribery process but also obtains Ximen’s favor through anal sex. This chapter does not mention Li’s rear end directly, but in chapter 27, Ximen
Qing and Li Pinger have anal sex in the garden and Ximen is impressed by Li’s buttocks. Li brings a lot of wealth to Ximen’s family; she transfers almost all of her precious material goods, which were obtained through her liaison with a corrupt eunuch, to Ximen. Ximen’s special interest in the anus recalls this transfer of underground wealth. As an example of failed selfcultivation, Ximen Qing’s sexual preference corresponds to his interest in filthy money. If we
28 獻芳樽內室乞恩 , 受私賄後庭說事
29
The title of chapter 34 in Jin Ping Mei Cihua is 書童兒因寵攬事 , 平安兒含憤戳舌 .
30
書童，外庭之小奴也。竟入內室，絕不避嫌，飲酒說事，絕不明察 . Zhang Zhupo piping
Jin Ping Mei 張竹坡批評金瓶梅 (Jinan: Qilu shushe, 1991). chapter 34, 506
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Virginia Review of Asian Studies regard Ximen’s family as a microcosm of society, then the sexual intercourse related to the rear end and the underground exchange within the household corresponds to the corrupted judicial system.
Furthermore, in the same chapter, the author presents an illegitimate exchange related to
Ximen, his leader, Judicial Commissioner Xia Yanling, and the court. In the Kingfisher Pavilion in Ximen’s rear garden, where he has sex with Shu Tong, Ximen makes corrupt plans related to material goods meant for the exclusive use of the court. Eunuch Director Liu gives Ximen some preserved shad to thank him for intervening in a court case on his younger brother’s behalf. The brother had built a home with timber taken from the Imperial Lumber Depot and was in danger of being brought before the Imperial Ministry of Justice. Liu had actually offered Ximen a hundred taels to stop the case from going forward, but the latter had refused to take the money.
As he explains to Ying Bojue, “Eunuch Director Liu is a long-standing friend of mine, from whom I have often received gifts, so I could hardly lose face over such a trifling affair. Thus I refused to accept anything from him, simply telling him to see that the house in question was torn down overnight” (34,436-37).
31 When Ximen had the case dismissed, Eunuch Director Liu sent over several types of precious food to Ximen. And as readers find out in later chapters, Liu continues to send items to Ximen and helps him establish connections with other eunuchs and government officials. Ximen Qing, the powerful protagonist of the novel, is involved in several backdoor exchanges, which result in him cheating both himself and others.
IV. Hou ting/houting hua and the Collapse of the Empire
As Andrew Plaks has mentioned, the author of Jin Ping Mei engages special motifs to set up a warp of threads for its rich texture. And the individual motifs take on their fullest meaning only when they are put in the context of a chain of recurrence.
32
In this section, I expand the metaphorical meaning of the rear courtyard to encompass the sorrow over the declining empire.
Although the novel continuously represents the luxurious life, delicious food and sexual pleasure of a wealthy family, the sadness of the life is also always presented within the entire narrative. In the preface of Jin Ping Mei Cihua , the Master of Delight (Xinxin zi, 欣欣子 ) claims “When joy reaches its zenith, it gives birth to sorrow.
33 … Heaven has its spring, summer, autumn, and winter, just as ‘Man has his sorrows and joys, partings and reunions.’ There is no reason to be surprised that this is so.” 34
I argue that chapter 71 presents the metaphorical meanings of the “rear courtyard” including anal sex, the disequilibrium of the body politic and the sorrow of the declining empire.
Moreover, the whole chapter in a sophisticated manner demonstrates the contrast between “cold” weather and the “heat” of action, yin and yang . In the Chinese idea of yin and yang , yin symbolizes the feminine, negative, and dark qualities of the universe, and yang the masculine,
31
況劉太監平日與我相交，時常受他些禮，今日因這些事情，就又薄了面皮？教我絲毫沒
受他的，只教他將房屋連夜拆了。
32
Plaks, The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel = Si Da Qi Shu 102.
33 然樂極必悲聲
, Xinxinzi
欣欣子 , “
Jin Ping Mei cihua xu
金瓶梅詞話序 ,”
Jin Ping Mei ziliao huibian , 215.This theme is mentioned explicitly in chapters 8 and 78.
34 故天有春夏秋冬，人有悲歡離合，莫怪其然也 .Ibid.
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Virginia Review of Asian Studies positive, and fiery qualities, and when something goes to one extreme it must later return to the opposite. Although in this chapter, Ximen triumphantly visits the imperial court, meeting the ruler and getting a political promotion, at night he seeks solace in the embrace of his servant. In other words, Ximen Qing’s most triumphal day also sets the stage for his impending death.
The main plot strand of chapter 71 follows Ximen Qing as he visits the capital. It is around mid-November, and Ximen’s activities mainly fall within two days. On one day he visits the military department with his future colleague, Ho Yongshou
何永寿
, and on the next day, he visits the palace and sees the emperor.
35
Actually, the narrative pace of these two days is quite slow; the author describes all of Ximen Qing’s activities during all times of the day and night.
The author carefully arranges the narrative around the northern hemisphere winter solstice ( Dong
Zhi ).
36 The chapter starts in the evening two days before winter solstice, during which Ximen has just finished his business affairs and is invited by Ho Yongshou to have dinner in his house.
There, Ximen meets Ho Yongshou’s uncle, Eunuch Ho, who intends to establish a good relationship with Ximen by giving him precious gifts and inviting him to stay the night. At night,
Ximen sleeps alone in the garden of Ho’s house and dreams about Li Pinger, having sex with her ghost. Because he is a powerful husband with one wife and five concubines, it is quite rare that
Ximen sleeps alone. Ho’s huge and splendid garden could be read as similar to Ximen’s own back garden where two of his concubines, Li Pinger and Pan Jinlian, live. Ximen’s garden is the space where Ximen enjoys sexual lasciviousness with his concubines, maids, servants, and the wives of his servants. The rear garden in the story refers to the failure of Ximen’s selfcontainment and the unsuccessful control of his concubines. Moreover, as Plaks mentions,
Ximen symbolizes the failed ruler and Ximen’s chaotic household symbolizes the chaos of the court. In the previous chapter, Eunuch Ho tells Ximen that his cousin could obtain the job through the help of an imperial concubine because the emperor assigns official positions based on his sexual preference (70, 968). Both Ximen and the emperor fail to control their family members and maintain a regulated system. In the rear garden of Ho’s residence, Ximen’s feeling of loneliness is exacerbated. Ximen suddenly wakes up from his dream and his semen has been smeared on the bed. He feels that he has not been able to mourn Li Pinger enough and cannot control his sorrow. Ximen’s sex with Li Pinger’s ghost in a back garden is quite yin and indicates the universal existence of death and loneliness. The depiction of extremely cold weather and a yin scene contrasts with Ximen’s splendid visit to the military department during the next day, which represents masculinity and yang .
The second night of the chapter repeats the depiction of yin and the second day is filled with yang . In the second cold night in Ho’s garden, Ximen has sex with his servant Wang Jing 王
經 who is the brother of Ximen’s mistress, Wang Liuer. Both Wang Liuer and Wang Jing have
35 I translate the name as Ho Yongshou, rather than He Yongshou, in order to differentiate the family name from He.
36
After winter solstice, days become longer, which ancient Chinese thought meant that yang qualities would become stronger. In the Tang and Song dynasties, winter solstice was a day to make offerings to heaven and one’s ancestors, something both emperors and common people did. According to records from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the day was regarded to be as important as Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year).
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Virginia Review of Asian Studies anal sex with Ximen. In “Allegorical Meaning in
Jin Ping Mei
” (
Jin Ping Mei yuyi shuo)
37
Zhang Zhupo argues that Wang Liuer sounds similar to Huang Luer, which is the name for a yellow bulrush. Because the bulrush is empty at one end, it is a symbol of anal sex and indicates the character’s sexual preference.
38
During the long, cold night of November, Ximen cannot find any women to warm him up and offer him sexual services; thus he uses Wang as a substitute.
Throughout the novel, Wang Jing is consistently portrayed as a penetrated man; his weak masculinity forces him into a relatively feminine position. Compared with Ximen’s splendid sexual exploration in his hometown, his two sexual experiences in Ho’s garden are quite cold and lonely. During the daytime, the author portrays a scene in which the emperor receives the officials. There is a long paragraph describing the appearance of the emperor: “Indulgent in pleasure, by day and by night; He was just like the ruler of Chen Guo, Meng Shang of the later
Shu dynasty. In love of beauty and addiction to the cup; He was much like Chen Shubao of the
Chen dynasty” (71, 984).
39 Thus, the name of the last emperor of Chen dynasty, who produced the aforementioned Jade Trees and Rear-Courtyard Blossoms , appears again. By comparing
Chen Shubao, a lascivious and failed ruler, with the emperor, the author implies that the emperor could also be regarded as a declining ruler.
40 In this reception scenario, the author implicitly presents the sorrow of the oncoming death of Ximen Qing in chapter 79 and the decline of the empire in chapter 100.
In conclusion, in this paper, I have scrutinized the recurrence of the motif of the “rear courtyard” and its profound meanings in Jin Ping Mei . The author continuously depicts the “rear end” of the body and body politics, intending to demonstrate the corruption of Ximen Qing’s household and the whole of society. Furthermore, since the author was quite aware of the literary manifestation of hou ting and houting hua , the motif is also involved with the sorrow of losing a dynasty. In the preface to the English translation of this novel, David Roy introduces the idea that some formulaic material in Jin Ping Mei “inherited from the literary tale and traditional vernacular fiction and drama… would have been familiar to the author’s contemporaries and would have instantly summoned to mind a rich variety of connotations and generic expectations that are, unfortunately, largely lost on the modern reader, even in China.” 41
This paper at some level aims to reconstruct the textual and contextual conventions of the Ming Qing period to demonstrate the novel’s creative usage of one poetic metaphor in Chinese literature.
37 《金瓶梅》寓意說
38
Zhang Zhupo 張竹坡 , "Yuyi shuo 寓意說 " 15.
39 朝歡暮樂，依稀似劍閣孟商王；愛色貪花，仿佛如金陵陳後主 . The English translation is modified from Xiaoxiaosheng and Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, or, Chin P`Ing Mei .Vol.
4, The Climax, 333.
40
Some direct comments of the emperor appear in Jin Ping Mei
Cihua, “ 從十八歲登基即位，
二十五年倒改了五遭年號；先改建中靖國，後改崇建，改大觀，改正和 ”which have been removed from Xiuxiang text.
41
Xiaoxiaosheng and Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, or, Chin P`Ing Mei . Introduction.
Vol.1, xlv.
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