ASLC 328
3-14-12
Professor Zamperini
Tragic Heroes of the Boudoir: The Man Trap in Li Yu’s The Carnal Prayer Mat
It is easy and often more popular to see the steadfast patriarchal aspect of pre-modern
Chinese society, where women are seen as the oppressed victims of men who have the freedom
to do whatever their hearts desire. However, it is the very issue of desire that complicates this
image of late imperial China as being strictly a “man’s world.” In the context of this society,
where both the social and religious systems have their prescribed proper lifestyles, sexuality and
ideas of masculinity can easily trap men between a moral rock and a hard place when it comes to
maintaining ethical standing within any realm of society that is deemed proper—essentially, and
for the purpose of this discussion, the Confucian or Buddhist path.
This concept of the moral trap for men in late imperial China can be framed within the
context of the Ming dynasty novel The Carnal Prayer Mat, by celebrated writer of the time Li
Yu. A popular erotic comedy novel, The Carnal Prayer Mat tells the story of Scholar Vesperus,
a young man who wastes his potential for great success in either a Confucian or Buddhist arena
in order to live a life devoted to sexual escapades and the pursuit of beautiful young women with
whom to share them. A thorough and skillful satirist, Li Yu uses the comedic tale of the wanton
Scholar Vesperus in a way that conveys a more serious morality tale and social critique of
masculinity in late imperial China.
Through this tale, the author reveals the plight of the men of this era in a multilayered
way, where men are trapped not only by their prescribed societal and/or religious obligations, but
also by their very own notions of masculinity. In this sense, one truth becomes immediately
evident: men are trapped by their desires. While this is somewhat self-evident, Li Yu takes this
idea further and asserts that men are trapped specifically by sexual desires—both male and
female, in a way that makes female sexuality just as much of a threat as male sexuality. This all
culminates to involve men in a competition with other men in the sexual arena. By the end of the
novel, the author has shown how these ideas contribute to the downfall of male virtue in a
seemingly self-perpetuating and inevitable manner.
To begin with, sexual desire would not cause any problems if it did not conflict with the
prescribed acceptable modes of living for men in the late imperial China. There are, generally
speaking, two paths in life that are seen as acceptable in this setting: the Confucian path and
religious cultivation (which, in this novel, is monastic life as a Buddhist). For a man to follow
either of these paths (with Confucian arguably being the more ideal) is encouraged. This also
speaks to ideas of what constitutes masculinity in the eyes of society.
In a Confucian setting, masculinity is predicated upon intellectual and moral success.
Men are supposed to devote their lives to rigorous study for years and travel to take the civil
service exams where they hope to be awarded the distinction of being Top-of-the-List. Men
should be worthy scholars and writers, come from good families, and marry into families of just
as high a caliber.
Should this not be the case, a man can decide to take the path of religious cultivation
instead. This is also acceptable, even if it is less favorable. Men often take vows and become
monks, seeking enlightenment in secluded, mountain-top monasteries. The isolation from society
is typically frowned upon, but the desire for enlightenment is a worthy one. Of course, within
monastic life, men were still held to a standard of conduct and rigorous study.
Such lifestyles leave little room for men to indulge in any desires unrelated to either
Confucian of Buddhist cultivation. With this perspective, it is easy to see why a character like
Vesperus in The Carnal Prayer Mat would be so out of the ordinary as to deny these expected
roles in the pursuit of an ignoble quest. His desires do not align with the paths prescribed to men
by society or religion. More than that, as carnal desires, they completely deviate from those paths
in a way that only the most base of people can manage. Sexual misconduct is in direct violation
of the ascetic lifestyle of Buddhist monks, whereas in a Confucian setting, it dismantles the
family unit, which is just as unacceptable.
What is of interest in this discussion is that Vesperus’s sexual desires, although grossly
exaggerated for the purpose of this novel, in general cannot be specific to only Vesperus.
Clearly, every man has sexual desires that he feels the need to act upon. The only stipulation of
society is that these desires be acted upon in a way that is conducive to a Confucian lifestyle
(meaning, with one’s own wives, in the privacy of one’s own household, with the goal of
producing filial sons).
Since sexual desire is not seen as conducive to a successful life as a Confucian (or
Buddhist, for that matter), it is possible that men feel constrained in their desire to be
contributing members of society. Clearly, this does not allow for a life devoted to sexual
cultivation as Vesperus pursues it. Still, for the “middle-of-the-road” Confucian or Buddhist
man, sexual desire can easily turn into sexual frustration when coupled with the pressure to
pursue a successful Confucian life or an enlightened Buddhist one. In trying to conform to the
model of a virtuous and scholarly man, or a detached and enlightened man, men are sure to face
a compromise with their sexuality.
According to Li Yu, in the more extreme cases, this is sure to lead to sexual
transgression, whether it is deliberately seducing another man’s wife or being ensnared by a
seductress. This novel shows how the constraints of a devout Confucian or Buddhist lifestyle
transform what is in theory a mere possibility of immoral or sinful conduct into an all-too
possible, and unfortunate, reality. The sexual desires of men, when compounded with the
demand to live a lifestyle deemed by society as acceptable, inevitably force open the gate for
sexual misconduct.
To further complicate the problem of masculinity in late-imperial China, it is important to
understand how the dangers of a conflicted male sexuality pale before the dangers of exuberant
female sexuality. Here, the discussion examines the crucial role that women—particularly
immoral or “loose” women—play in the downfall of men, as portrayed in The Carnal Prayer
Mat. In fact, for the majority of female characters, this is the only role that they play in the novel.
The reason for this is that only women with loose morals will cause problems for men.
These are the types of women who not only seek out other men but also make themselves seen.
The nature of this novel and also the characteristics of this type of woman make it so that this is
the only type of female present to discuss. Of course, not all women in late-imperial China were
immoral; but Li Yu uses the women he does to illustrate how this type of femininity becomes
threatening towards masculinity and contributes to the trap for men that has already been
discussed.
The way that this femininity (again, that of loose women) is portrayed in this novel has
everything to do with sex. To a significant extent, femininity is characterized by sexuality—
almost to the degree that one could say that femininity is female sexuality (again, not for all
women, but for women of loose morals as illustrated by Li Yu in this novel). Discussions of
women by and between the men of this novel revolve around sex and desire. In Confucian
settings, discussion of women focuses on her sexual virtue, such as the talk centering on Jade
Scent’s chastity in Chapter Three (Li 39-40). In Buddhist settings, discussion of women focuses
on their being paths toward adulterous sins (26-28). Being thus confronted with matters of sex
whenever a woman is brought up in discussion is telling of this implicit preoccupation with sex.
Whether physically or only in discussion, the presence of women creates a kind of erotic
atmosphere where it does not belong.
Even as the men in this novel are preoccupied with issues of the sexual variety when it
comes to women, women themselves are characterized as only talking about sex. Vesperus’s first
wife Jade Scent, once she stops being a prude, thinks only of sex, especially once her husband
leaves. Fragrance speaks to her neighbor only in terms of sex with Vesperus. Cloud Scent and
her sisters Lucky Peal and Lucky Jade, along with their Aunt Flora, all revel in discussions of
sex. Whether women are negotiating, planning, scheming, or otherwise engaged in conversation,
it has to do with sex.
This characterization of women reaches the point where female sexuality is dependent
upon men because women depend upon men to be sexually satisfied. This is true for the women
in this novel who react “as joyfully as if the sun had dropped down from the sky” when a man
enters their midst (262). With promiscuous women—the only women present in the novel—
portrayed as over-sexed creatures, femininity itself comes to be represented (or perhaps
exaggerated) as a state of sexual exuberance in excess. Given the societal context, Li Yu is likely
not alone in his portraying loose women as caring only about sexual fulfillment, paying no heed
to its repercussions, social and spiritual, until it is far too late; the only goal for these women is
immediate sexual fulfillment, for which they apparently try to make themselves available.
Sources indicate that it was indeed common for people to associate women who seem to flaunt
their appearance as asexually promiscuous (Theiss 54). Li Yu’s poem at the beginning of
Chapter Fourteen succinctly captures the attitude of this type of woman who likes to be see men
and be seen by them:
A wanton woman loves to spy on man
But gets indignant when on her he spies
Her indignation has a single purpose:
That on her pretty pout he feast his eyes. (Li 205)
As such, their husbands (and potential adulterers, as is the case with Vesperus) are aware of the
sexual needs of these women and take the sex act quite seriously. This is where their masculinity
is further compromised.
Because of the insatiability of women, men are burdened with ensuring their pleasure.
This might seem obvious and not very problematic at first; the fact that the high demands of
female sexual pleasure places a great a burden on the man to be the ultimate sexual partner
seems like it would have more consequences for the woman, who may now lose agency in sex
since she is not expected to contribute much. However, the men are the ones who are trapped by
female sexuality because their masculine status tends to depend upon their ability to satisfy
women.
This idea can even be observed in the standard Confucian marriage. Within one’s own
marriage, the pressure to sexually satisfy one’s wife can be critical in terms of cultivating
feelings for one another and thus contributing to a happy home. The relationship of love to sex in
this context is far different from the Western idea of love culminating in the sex act. Here, love
comes from sex, and “lovemaking” is literally that. This is evident in Chapter Three of this
novel, when Jade Scent and Vesperus are described as falling “more deeply in love than ever”
the more they had sex (53). Ultimately, great sex leads to love and happiness.
With that said, the opposite must be true in that bad sex will create no love, or worse,
give way to hate. This could be seen earlier in Chapter Three, when Jade Scent’s prudishness
prevents her from enjoying sex with her husband, leading her to only feel irritated by the act.
Because of this, men are pressured to satisfy their wives lest they be scorned by them instead of
loved by them. A similar scorn can also come from the man’s sexual inadequacy when his wife
worries that he is incapable of giving her children, which is the most sacred duty of all proper
Confucians, especially women. To be thus incapable was to fall short of expectations of
masculinity (Theiss, 50). It is not surprising that this kind of trouble would create friction within
a marriage.
Additionally, since immoral women are known to be constantly craving sex but are not
expected to be experts on sex, men have to be the ones to bridge the gap in experience. His
sexual prowess must be enough for the both of them to feel pleasure. He should be able to know
how to experience his own pleasure while also being mindful of the woman’s pleasure. For this
reason, it is clear why Fragrance was so impressed and “secretly pleased” with Vesperus in
Chapter Ten on realizing that he was an expert at sex, knowing that it would increase her own
pleasure. This is also important in situations like in Chapter Three where a woman is like Jade
Scent and is completely inexperienced.
In this way, it is evident how vital the sexual satisfaction of women is, even within a
moral realm of marriage. The idea of being the superior sexual performer within a marriage is
something that all husbands are burdened with. Outside of this moral realm, the demand for the
same satisfaction greatly increases to where men feel the need to be able to satisfy all women,
being as sexually talented as possible. This is certainly the case for Vesperus, being both a
husband and the ultimate adulterer. His story illustrates how men are trapped not only by
femininity and female sexuality within marriage, but also by the very definitions of masculinity
that must be accounted for in the sexual arena, when the issue becomes less about satisfying
one’s own wife to being the “lord of perfect satisfaction” for all women in general.
Much of this concept has to do with the rhetoric surrounding sex in most texts covering
the topic in late imperial China, which emphasize the similarity between the sex act and a battle.
The Carnal Prayer Mat is no exception and is rich in the use of this metaphor. It is a metaphor
that has obvious consequences for women, who are the “enemies” in sexual discourse (which is
almost always aimed at a male audience). However, it has more subtle implications in terms of
the male role in the sex act and masculinity.
First of all, in any battle, men are going to be the victors. When it comes to sex couched
in terms of battle, men must be the victors—not women. Gaining victory in this type of battle
means getting the woman to reach orgasm. Thus, if a woman “wins” the battle, both she and the
man are really losing: she is left unsatisfied, while he has failed to be the ultimate sexual partner.
In this light, it is crucial to see that women want the men to be victorious, because their pleasure
depends upon it.
When it comes to the sexual battle, however, it is masculinity which is predicated upon
female sexuality, which must be satisfied in order to validate a man’s masculinity. Earlier, it was
mentioned that female sexuality depended upon male sexuality in order to have its desires
fulfilled; but masculine pride has more at stake in the sex act than female pleasure. Because of
this, sexual prowess becomes a remarkably vital aspect to masculinity, the way that the same was
completely unnecessary (and perhaps even undesirable, given this competitive representation of
sex) to femininity.
Of course, to say that masculinity is dependent on female sexuality sounds like it is
taking power away from men. Again, the metaphor of the battle of sex has to be considered in
terms of what it means for the male to be the victor. In that sense, masculinity as depending upon
female sexual satisfaction should be interpreted, perhaps more correctly, as the knowledge, skill,
and ability to control and manipulate the female body, essentially “conquering” the woman
through the sex act. Men’s winning the battle is not mere chance or weakness on the part of the
female, especially considering the fact that women are not expected to have any sort of sexual
prowess. Rather, male victory is due to superior knowledge and skill of sex, as opposed to the
woman who is helpless before his talent—that is, in the best of cases.
The cases of adulterers in The Carnal Prayer Mat, although immoral situations, become
great illustrations for the other trap posed by masculinity, and that is of the competition between
all men to be the most masculine men. The time when the aforementioned superior talent is of
the most consequence is in cases like that of Vesperus, an adulterer, who try to seduce the wives
of other men. Already, it was discussed how this competition to be the most masculine takes
place between men in the civil, Confucian arena where it is expected and perhaps even
encouraged. Men all study hard in order to take the civil service exams and score as Top-of-theList, or at least second or third place, and thus gain their fame and their undisputed rights to
being the most successful Confucian man, and thus the most masculine.
The parallel to this type of masculine competition exists within the sexual realm, where
men face pressure to compete in the sexual arena in order to determine who the most sexually
competent opponent is. The battle for masculine superiority began as being between men and
women; yet it also manifests in a competition between only men, with the difference being that
each opponent is striving to succeed, instead of the typically more sexually passive female who
desires the man’s victory as much as he himself does.
Vesperus’s situation in the story speaks greatly to this type of competition since his role
as an adulterer forces him to be the most competent sexual partner. His obsession over the size of
his penis shows his insecurity over the standing of his masculinity in this all-too important yet
unspoken competition. Before his conversation with the Knave in Chapter Six, he is unconcerned
about the size of his penis because he believes it to dominate the competition. Once he realizes
how low his standing truly is in terms of size, he begins to worry. His main cause of anxiety is
not in whether or not he is able to satisfy his own wife (he is confident that he can). Rather, he is
instead anxious about whether or not it could surpass those of the husbands of the women he was
trying to seduce. In this regard, his anxiety is less about satisfying women than it is about other
men and his own masculinity. This is because he is competing with those men in terms of sexual
prowess, and the ultimate way to prove his ability is by seducing their women, thus stating that
he is a more formidable sexual “opponent” than those men.
It is interesting that he is not competing with women and their sexuality, but rather with
men through women. A situation in the novel where this concept is remarkably evident occurs
when Honest Quan seeks revenge against Vesperus and does so through sleeping with
Vesperus’s wife Jade Scent. This sex act essentially reclaims for Honest Quan the masculinity
that might have been diminished or questioned when Vesperus “conquered” Quan’s own wife,
Fragrance. Additionally, in a factual instance from the same time period, there is a court case of a
man who, upon hearing complaints from his wife about his small penis, asked her, “Whose stalk
have you seen that’s bigger?” When she responded indignantly and threatened to marry someone
else after his death, the husband killed her (Theiss 50). Both examples are indicative of men’s
sexual competitiveness, as well as how this manifests in obsession over penis size.
Furthermore, Vesperus’s anxiety over his problematic penis size is not as telling as the
lengths he is willing to go in order to rectify the problem. Not only does he forsake a life of
Buddhist cultivation by surgically attaching a dog’s member to his body (since dogs are
anathema to Buddhists), he also forsakes a life as a successful Confucian by risking the inability
to have sons. This bold statement in getting this penile enlargement operation shows that his idea
of being the most masculine man is through sex and nothing else. When discussing the merits of
a man with the Knave, Vesperus mentions intelligence and good looks, to which the Knave
responds that those are mere trifles compared to a man’s “true powers” (Li 101). Indeed,
Vesperus shuns the more honorable paths that men are expected to take in life in order to
cultivate his “true powers” in proving his success as a man. This illustrates how in claiming
one’s masculinity through sexual prowess—and, consequently, through sexual misconduct—one
forsakes a moral life for one of sinful transgression—which is as ignoble a life as one can live in
the context of life for men in the Ming and early Qing dynasties. Conversely, in the end,
Vesperus feels that the only way to live a proper life of religious cultivation is to completely
forsake a life of sexual desire, literally cutting it out of his life.
With such a fine line to walk, it would seem as if men of the late imperial era are doomed
to either a life of upright morals with sexual frustration or a pleasure-filled life with sexual
transgression. In novels of this time period, including The Carnal Prayer Mat, characters such as
Vesperus must ultimately reap the karmic consequences of their transgressions—especially those
of a sexual nature, according to Honest Quan’s conversation with the monk Lone Peak (307).
However, they are still able to renounce their desire, atone for their sins, and pursue a path of
enlightenment to become an immortal. This is all possible after they have experienced the extent
of their karmic retribution.
Thus, men can achieve a certain freedom in their religious redemption. The same cannot
be said for women, whose karmic retribution, especially for sexual transgressions, is
insurmountable compared to how men experience it. None of the women in The Carnal Prayer
Mat go on to be bodhisattvas or otherwise escape punishment to attain enlightenment. In this
sense, what used to be a trap for men in terms of sexuality now becomes a trap for women.
Speaking to Vesperus and Honest Quan at the end of the novel, Lone Peak says of their wives as
“redeeming [their] debts for [them]” through untimely deaths so that “the burden has been lifted
from [their] shoulders” (309). Women are doomed not only in this spiritual sense, but they are
also trapped socially by the transgressions of their husbands and “unjustly condemned to lives of
shame” (309). Here, the issues of sexuality and masculinity become an immediate for men, but a
long term trap for women.
Taking all of this into consideration, Li Yu’s The Carnal Prayer Mat offers the reader
this insight into the complexities of the moral trap of masculinity in late-imperial China through
its sexual hero/moral villain Vesperus. Although an example in the extreme, his story shows how
sex and sexuality, both male and female, work together to compromise understandings of
masculinity in a way that traps men in a struggle against not only women but, more importantly,
each other to be the best, most worthy sexual “opponent”. The trouble is that this often lookedover concept of masculinity as a sexual competition is not morally encouraged or even
acceptable in a society that praises Confucian values of virtue and solid family units, or the
ascetic lifestyle of Buddhist monks—the prescribed lifestyles for men. In trying to claim their
masculinity through sexual prowess, rather than intellectual cultivation, men must compromise
their moral standing. Fortunately for them, where they fall short in expectations of secular
Confucian society, they have the potential to gain redemption through a religious path of
repentance in Buddhism. It may be possible that as badly as the men have it, as far as
consequences for sexual transgressions that seem almost inevitable, the women may be the ones
left paying for their debts in the very end.
Works Cited
Li Yu. The Carnal Prayer Mat. Trans. Patrick Hanan. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
1996. Print.
Theiss, Janet. “Femininity in Flux”. Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities: A Reader.
Brownell, Susan, Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, and Thomas Laqueur, eds. Berkely: University
of California. 2002. E-book.