Minor characters are Dr. Chiang, a weak character who treats Madam Slender and is, briefly, her husband; and Uncle Fu, manager of the squire’s drugstore.
The Chin P‘ing Mei offers little in the way of over-all plot but much in its frank descriptions of life in those lusty days when evil flourished and retribution was often belated. The squire, a selfish, masterful, lustful character, pursues his ruthless way of enjoyment. The first part of the novel shows his rise, the second his fall.
In this second part, subsequent to our story here, the latent jealousies break out openly in the family. Madam Slender Li has a child, arousing Madam Tiny Feet to action. She frightens the child to death, as a result of which Madam Slender Li pines to death. The squire, feeling the effects of his debauched life, has recourse to drugs to excite his fading passions. This finally results in his death.
Thereafter the family rapidly disintegrates. Madam Tiny Feet reaps the reward of her wickedness, being killed by the brother of the husband she had formerly murdered. Madam Moon runs away with the child to which she gave birth at the time of the squire’s death, while the other ladies go their own ways. Thus at last the squire’s line is brought to an end. Fate has done its duty.
The story describes all sorts of people—civil and military officials, merchants and shop keepers, marriage brokers and fortunetellers, doctors and charlatans, Taoist priests and Buddhist monks and nuns, entertainers and courtesans.
These last were formerly a very definite part of China’s social scene. Establishments for courtesans were an old institution in China, from which are descended the entertainers and dancing girls of the modern night clubs. These establishments kept girls who were trained to entertain men. They were the property of the mother of the establishment and took her family name. One cruel aspect was that many of the girls came from the families of proscribed officials; thus, delicately nurtured girls could be found among them.
In this story appear the courtesans Miss Silver Wu (Wu Yin-erh) of the Wu establishment, Miss Love Perfume Cheng (Cheng Ai Hsiang-erh) of the Cheng establishment, and Miss Cassia (Li Kuei-chein) of the Li establishment.
At these establishments, wealthy men spent much money eating and drinking, and even more on the girls themselves. By paying a large sum of money to a girl’s owner, a man could redeem her and take her as a secondary wife. Such was the case with the squire’s second wife, Madam Charm. It could easily have also been the case with Madam Tiny Feet, as her jealous mistress might have sold her into an establishment just as easily as marrying her to the dwarfed peddler. Probably her jealousy was better satisfied by seeing her so miserably married; in an establishment she might have made a good marriage whereas it seemed most unlikely that she could ever escape this revenge that her mistress devised.
The reader must reflect upon the hidden issues in the minds of the characters. For instance, although the squire and Madam Slender Li fall in love at first sight, their love is purely physical. They both have the same determination—to overrule all obstacles. They have to preserve appearances, especially so since it was somewhat immodest for a widow to remarry.
The jealousies among the squire’s wives are kept well under control. Madam Slender Li means to have the squire to herself, but she sees someone like herself in Madam Tiny Feet. These two understand each other perfectly—in the end, too well.
Madam Slender Li’s marriage to the doctor was intended to make the squire jealous, which it did, thus forcing him to show his hand. The squire would have preferred to have an affair without marrying the woman. But she would not agree, being intent on securing her future, and she was always pressing him to name the date. She got her way in the end, just as the Chinese woman usually does.
Every word the characters speak has a definite purpose, often one which is not expressly stated. This sort of thing is thoroughly understood by the Chinese reader, who loves the tortuous minds of the characters in a good story. It is hoped that this little book may give Westerners a better understanding of the minds of these remarkable people.
The abbreviated text of the Chin P‘ing Mei together with Miss Kwan Shan-mei’s illustrations represents a recent development in the frequent retellings of the ever-popular Chinese novels. Since the advent of the modern news paper and magazine in China, there has been an increasing demand for the cartoon form of story. In a way this is a modern development of the ancient technique of the storyteller. In the last few years this trend has been encouraged by the influx of people from all parts of China into Hongkong. Among these refugees were many capable artists who have had to turn to their talent for a living.
Miss Kwan is one of these. She was born at Kirin, in the North-East Provinces, which we know as Manchuria, but was brought up in Peking. This is responsible for her fine appreciation of the artistic contribution of Chinese architecture. Her style was developed by herself after studying under the amateur artist Ts‘ao Han-mei. It was from this beginning that she became proficient in the geometrical forms of her drawings. She also has a deep knowledge of historical detail—ornaments, clothes, hair styles, furniture. For this reason her pictures are much admired by the Chinese and also by those Westerners who have seen them. The pictures and text in this book first appeared as a series of cartoons in a large Chinese evening newspaper.
In my translation I have tried to be precise and. to give the exact sense of what the characters say to each other. Having had many years of contact with the ordinary Chinese and read much of their popular literature, I hope I have caught the knack of rendering the idiom that may be expected in stories where real people talk to each other in language that, though not always refined, is most expressive. For the convenience of the reader who is not familiar with the complexities of Chinese names, I have given the characters English names which reflect the sense of the Chinese originals.
SAMUEL BUCK
Hongkong, Spring, 1960
Don Juan of China
ONE day Squire Hsi-Men Ch‘ing went to the apartment of his chief wife, Madam Moon. She said: “Today Mr. Flowers sent a boy round with an invitation for you to a party.”
The squire examined the note, which ran: “Miss Silver Wu is giving a party today at the Wu establishment. I hope you can come round to pick me up and we can go together.”
So the squire dressed up and did his headdress. Then he went to the Flowers’ home, which was next door. Mr. Flowers was out, but his wife, Li P‘ing-erh, was standing at the top of the steps in front of the inner entrance at the very moment when the squire happened to come in. This brought the two of them face to face.
And thus began the story of Squire Hsi-Men Ch‘ing and Li P’ing-erh, called Madam Slender Li.
THE SQUIRE advanced with a deep bow, which the woman returned with a wish for his eternal happiness, after which she turned round and disappeared into the apartment at the back.
A little serving-maid, Opal Spring, then invited the squire to sit in the guest’s seat inside.
Madam Slender Li ordered the serving-maid to offer the squire a cup of tea, meanwhile standing at a side door and exposing slightly her shy beauty.
She murmured politely: “Do sit down a moment, sir. My husband has just gone out about some matter and will be back presently. Today he has invited you to a party over at that place. When you see him, please do persuade him to come back home early.”
THE SQUIRE said: “What you say is right. His home is the most important. Now that you have asked me, I shall certainly see him there and back.”
Hardly had he finished speaking when Mr. Flowers returned, and his wife withdrew into the inner apartments. He saw the squire ready for the party and said: “I’m very sorry for being so rude in not being here to receive you when you favored me by accepting my invitation. The fact is that I had a little matter to attend to. It’s