Magic Spells and the Scent of Arabian Nights in Old China (A Review of the Recently Released Four Volumes of the Russian Edition of “Jin Ping Mei, or The Plum in the Golden Vase”)

Abstract

The proposed review analyzes the recently released four volumes of the Russian translation of the mysterious medie-val Chinese novel “Chin Ping Mei” (in Russian, “The Plum in the Golden Vase”). The lengthy story written as a semi-erotic romance, can be compared with the best editions of “Arabian Nights” (in Russian, “A Book of A Thousand and One Nights”). The impressive edition depicts the life story of a lustful Chinese merchant who has devoted himself to spending his days among his wives, concubines and other “divas of amusement”. The profound publication includes a great amount of comments, remarks, scientific articles and original engravings. The new, impressively expanded (compared with the first 1977 edition in 2 volumes) scientific publication was prepared by several generations of Rus-sian scholars in the field of Chinese studies. The editor-in-chief and supervisor of the project Artyom Kobzev (Mos-cow Institute for Oriental Studies) has provided a brilliant edition, having created an opportunity for a wider audience to become acquainted with a unique and educational history of ancient China.