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

by Roy, David Tod

  Wen Ch’en, one of the officials from the Ch’ing-ho Guard who comes to Hsi-men Ch’ing’s residence to offer a sacrifice to the soul of Li P’ing-erh after her death.

  Wen Hsi, military director-in-chief of Yen-chou in Shantung.

  Wen, Licentiate. See Wen Pi-ku.

  Wen, Pedant. See Wen Pi-ku.

  Wen Pi-ku, Warm-buttocks Wen, Pedant Wen, Licentiate Wen, pederast recommended to Hsi-men Ch’ing by his fellow licentiate Ni P’eng to be his social secretary, housed across the street from Hsi-men Ch’ing’s residence in the property formerly belonging to Ch’iao Hung, divulges Hsi-men Ch’ing’s private correspondence to Ni P’eng who shares it with Hsia Yen-ling, sodomizes Hua-t’ung against his will and is expelled from the Hsi-men household when his indiscretions are exposed.

  Wen Pi-ku’s mother-in-law.

  Wen Pi-ku’s wife.

  Wen T’ang, son of Auntie Wen.

  Wen T’ang’s wife.

  Wen, Warm-buttocks. See Wen Pi-ku.

  Weng the Eighth, criminal boatman who, along with his partner Ch’en the Third, murders Miao T’ien-hsiu.

  What a Whopper. See Hsieh Ju-huang.

  Wo-li-pu. See Wan-yen Tsung-wang.

  Wu, Abbot. See Wu Tsung-che.

  Wu, Battalion Commander, father of Wu K’ai, Wu the Second, Wu Yüeh-niang’s elder sister, and Wu Yüeh-niang, hereditary battalion commander of the Ch’ing-ho Left Guard.

  Wu, Captain. See Wu Sung.

  Wu Ch’ang-chiao, Longfoot Wu, madam of the brothel in the Southern Entertainment Quarter of Ch’ing-ho patronized by P’ing-an after he absconds from the Hsi-men household with jewelry stolen from the pawnshop.

  Wu Ch’ang-chiao’s husband.

  Wu Chih, Wu the Elder, Three-inch Mulberry-bark Manikin, elder brother of Wu Sung, father of Ying-erh by his deceased first wife, husband of P’an Chin-lien, simple-minded dwarf, native of Yang-ku district in Shantung who moves to the district town of Ch’ing-ho because of a famine and makes his living by peddling steamed wheat cakes on the street, cuckolded by P’an Chin-lien with his landlord, Mr. Chang, and then with Hsi-men Ch’ing, catches P’an Chin-lien and Hsi-men Ch’ing in flagrante delicto in Dame Wang’s teahouse but suffers a near-fatal injury when Hsi-men Ch’ing kicks him in the solar plexus, poisoned by P’an Chin-lien with arsenic supplied by Hsi-men Ch’ing.

  Wu Chih’s daughter. See Ying-erh.

  Wu Chih’s deceased first wife, mother of Ying-erh.

  Wu Chih’s second wife. See P’an Chin-lien.

  Wu the Elder. See Wu Chih.

  Wu the Fourth, Auntie, madam of the Wu Family Bordello on the back alley in the licensed quarter of Ch’ing-ho.

  Wu, Heartless. See Wu Tien-en.

  Wu Hsün, secretary of the Bureau of Irrigation and Transportation in the Ministry of Works, rewarded for his part in facilitating the notorious Flower and Rock Convoys and the construction of the Mount Ken Imperial Park.

  Wu Hui, younger brother of Wu Yin-erh, actor and musician from the Wu Family Bordello on the back alley in the licensed quarter of Ch’ing-ho.

  Wu, Immortal. See Wu Shih.

  Wu K’ai, eldest son of Battalion Commander Wu, elder brother of Wu the Second, Wu Yüeh-niang’s elder sister, and Wu Yüeh-niang, father of Wu Shun-ch’en, brother-in-law of Hsi-men Ch’ing, inherits the position of battalion commander of the Ch’ing-ho Left Guard upon the death of his father, deputed to repair the local Charity Granary, promoted to the rank of assistant commander of the Ch’ing-ho Guard in charge of the local State Farm Battalion as a result of Hsi-men Ch’ing’s influence with Sung Ch’iao-nien, accompanies Wu Yüeh-niang on her pilgrimage to Mount T’ai after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing and is instrumental in rescuing her from attempted rape by Yin T’ien-hsi.

  Wu K’ai’s son. See Wu Shun-ch’en.

  Wu K’ai’s wife, Sister-in-law Wu, mother of Wu Shun-ch’en, sister-in-law of Hsi-men Ch’ing and a frequent guest in his household.

  Wu, Longfoot. See Wu Ch’ang-chiao.

  Wu the Second, second son of Battalion Commander Wu, younger brother of Wu K’ai, second elder brother of Wu Yüeh-niang, brother-in-law of Hsi-men Ch’ing and manager of his silk store on Lion Street; engages in hanky-panky with Li Chiao-erh for which he is denied access to the household by Wu Yüeh-niang when it is discovered after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing although he continues to manage the silk store and later, along with Tai-an, the wholesale pharmaceutical business; accompanies Wu Yüeh-niang, Tai-an, Hsiao-yü, and Hsi-men Hsiao-ko when they flee the invading Chin armies to seek refuge with Yün Li-shou in Chi-nan; ten days after the climactic encounter with P’u-ching in the Temple of Eternal Felicity and Wu Yüeh-niang’s relinquishment of Hsi-men Hsiao-ko to a life of Buddhist celibacy he accompanies Wu Yüeh-niang, Tai-an, and Hsiao-yü back to their now truncated household in Ch’ing-ho.

  Wu the Second. See Wu Sung.

  Wu the Second’s wife, wife of Wu Yüeh-niang’s second elder brother.

  Wu Shih, Immortal Wu, Taoist physiognomist introduced to Hsi-men Ch’ing by Chou Hsiu who accurately foretells his fortune and those of his wife and concubines as well as Hsi-men Ta-chieh and P’ang Ch’un-mei; when Hsi-men Ch’ing is on his deathbed he is called in again and reports that there is no hope for him.

  Wu Shih’s servant boy.

  Wu Shun-ch’en, son of Wu K’ai, husband of Third Sister Cheng.

  Wu, Sister-in-law. See Wu K’ai’s wife.

  Wu Sung, Wu the Second, Captain Wu, younger brother of Wu Chih, brother-in-law of P’an Chin-lien; impulsive and implacable exponent of the code of honor; becomes a fugitive from the law for beating up T’ung Kuan in a drunken brawl; slays a tiger in single-handed combat while on his way to visit his brother and is made police captain in Ch’ing-ho for this feat; rejects attempted seduction by P’an Chin-lien and tells her off in no uncertain terms; delivers Li Ta-t’ien’s illicit gains from his magistracy to the safe keeping of Chu Mien in the Eastern Capital; returns to Ch’ing-ho and mistakenly kills Li Wai-ch’uan while seeking to avenge the murder of his brother; is sentenced to military exile in Meng-chou where he is befriended by Shih En and helps him in his struggle with Chiang Men-shen for control of the Happy Forest Tavern; is framed by Military Director-in-chief Chang with the help of his concubine, Chiang Yü-lan, the younger sister of Chiang Men-shen, in revenge for which he murders his two guards and the entire households of Military Director-in-chief Chang and Chiang Men-shen; sets out for An-p’ing Stockade with a hundred taels of silver and a letter of recommendation from Shih En but is enabled by a general amnesty to return to Ch’ing-ho where he buys P’an Chin-lien from Dame Wang for a hundred taels of silver and disembowels her to avenge the death of his brother; once more a fugitive he disguises himself as a Buddhist ascetic with the help of the criminal innkeepers Chang Ch’ing and his wife and goes to join Sung Chiang’s band of outlaws in Liang-shan Marsh.

  Wu-t’ai, Mount, monk from, who solicits alms from Wu Yüeh-niang for the repair of his temple.

  Wu Tien-en, Heartless Wu, originally a Yin-yang master on the staff of the district yamen in Ch’ing-ho who has been removed from his post for cause; makes his living by hanging around in front of the yamen and acting as a guarantor for loans to local officials and functionaries; crony of Hsi-men Ch’ing; member of the brotherhood of ten; manager employed by Hsi-men Ch’ing in various of his enterprises; misrepresents himself as Hsi-men Ch’ing’s brother-in-law and is appointed to the post of station master of the Ch’ing-ho Postal Relay Station in return for his part in delivering birthday presents from Hsi-men Ch’ing to Ts’ai Ching; receives an interest-free loan of one hundred taels from Hsi-men Ch’ing to help cover the expenses of assuming office; promoted to the position of police chief of a suburb of Ch’ing-ho after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing he apprehends the runaway P’ing-an and coerces him into giving false testimony that Wu Yüeh-niang has been engaged in hanky-panky with Tai-an, but when Wu Yüeh-niang appeals to P’ang Ch’un-mei he is dragged before Chou H
siu’s higher court and thoroughly humiliated.

  Wu Tsung-che, Abbot Wu, head priest of the Taoist Temple of the Jade Emperor outside the East Gate of Ch’ing-ho, presides over the elaborate Taoist ceremony at which Hsi-men Kuan-ko is made an infant Taoist priest with the religious name Wu Ying-yüan, later officiates at funeral observances for Li P’ing-erh and Hsi-men Ch’ing.

  Wu Yin-erh, Silver, elder sister of Wu Hui, singing girl from the Wu Family Bordello on the back alley of the licensed quarter in Ch’ing-ho, sweetheart of Hua Tzu-hsü, adopted daughter of Li P’ing-erh.

  Wu Ying-yüan. See Hsi-men Kuan-ko.

  Wu Yüeh-niang, Moon Lady, one of the female protagonists of the novel, daughter of Battalion Commander Wu, younger sister of Wu K’ai, Wu the Second, and an elder sister; second wife and First Lady of Hsi-men Ch’ing who marries her after the death of his first wife, née Ch’en, in a match proposed by Dame Wang; stepmother of Hsi-men Ta-chieh, mother of Hsi-men Hsiao-ko; a pious, credulous, and conventional Buddhist laywoman who constantly invites Nun Wang and Nun Hsüeh to the household to recite “precious scrolls” on the themes of salvation, retribution, and reincarnation, who has good intentions but is generally ineffectual at household management and is not a good judge of character; colludes with Hsi-men Ch’ing in taking secret possession of Li P’ing-erh’s ill-gotten property but quarrels with him over admitting her to the household; suffers a miscarriage but later takes Nun Hsüeh’s fertility potion and conceives Hsi-men Hsiao-ko who is born at the very moment of Hsi-men Ch’ing’s death; thoughtlessly betroths both Kuan-ko and Hsiao-ko to inappropriate partners while they are still babes in arms; makes a pilgrimage to Mount T’ai after Hsi-men Ch’ing’s death and narrowly escapes an attempted rape by Yin T’ien-hsi and capture by the bandits on Ch’ing-feng Mountain; expels P’an Chin-lien, P’ang Ch’un-mei, and Ch’en Ching-chi from the household when she belatedly discovers their perfidy but is unable to cope effectively with the declining fortunes of the family; forced to seek the assistance of P’ang Ch’un-mei when she is threatened by Wu Tien-en she has no alternative but to accept the condescension of her former maidservant; while fleeing from the invading Chin armies to seek refuge with Yün Li-shou in Chi-nan she encounters P’u-ching and spends the night in the Temple of Eternal Felicity where she dreams that Yün Li-shou threatens her with rape if she refuses to marry him; still traumatized by this nightmare, she allows P’u-ching to persuade her that Hsiao-ko is the reincarnation of Hsi-men Ch’ing and relinquishes her teenage son to a life of Buddhist celibacy without so much as asking his opinion; on returning safely to Ch’ing-ho she adopts Tai-an as her husband’s heir, renaming him Hsi-men An, and lives in reduced circumstances, presiding over a truncated household, until dying a natural death at the age of sixty-nine.

  Wu Yüeh-niang’s elder sister, wife of Brother-in-law Shen.

  Yang, Aunt, widow of Crooked-head Sun, paternal aunt of Yang Tsung-hsi and Yang Tsung-pao, forceful advocate of Meng Yü-lou’s remarriage to Hsi-men Ch’ing after the latter offers her a hundred taels of silver for her support, quarrels with Chang Lung when he tries to prevent this match.

  Yang Chien (d. 1121), Commander Yang, eunuch military officer related to Ch’en Hung by marriage, commander in chief of the Imperial Guard in the Eastern Capital, bribed by Hsi-men Ch’ing to intervene on his behalf against Wu Sung and in favor of Hua Tzu-hsü, impeached by Yü-wen Hsü-chung, reported in a letter from Chai Ch’ien to Hsi-men Ch’ing to have died in prison in 1117.

  Yang, Commander. See Yang Chien.

  Yang the Elder. See Yang Kuang-yen.

  Yang Erh-feng, second son of Yang Pu-lai and his wife, née Pai, younger brother of Yang Kuang-yen, a gambler and tough guy who scares off Ch’en Ching-chi when he tries to recover the half shipload of property that Yang Kuang-yen had stolen from him.

  Yang Kuang-yen, Yang the Elder, Iron Fingernail, native of Nobottom ward in Carryoff village of Makebelieve district in Nonesuch subprefecture, son of Yang Pu-lai and his wife, née Pai, disciple of the Barefaced Adept from whom he acquires the art of lying, husband of Miss Died-of-fright, con man employed by Ch’en Ching-chi who absconds with half a shipload of his property while he is in Yen-chou trying to shake down Meng Yü-lou and invests it in the Hsieh Family Tavern in Lin-ch’ing only to lose everything when Ch’en Ching-chi sues him with the backing of Chou Hsiu and takes over ownership of the tavern.

  Yang Kuang-yen’s father. See Yang Pu-lai.

  Yang Kuang-yen’s mother, née Pai.

  Yang Kuang-yen’s page boy.

  Yang Kuang-yen’s wife. See Died-of-fright, Miss.

  Yang, Poor-parent. See Yang Pu-lai.

  Yang, Prefect. See Yang Shih.

  Yang Pu-lai, Poor-parent Yang, father of Yang Kuang-yen and Yang Erh-feng, brother-in-law of Yao the Second.

  Yang Sheng, factotum on the domestic staff of Yang Chien.

  Yang Shih (1053–1135), Prefect Yang, prefect of K’ai-feng, protégé of Ts’ai Ching, agrees under pressure from Ts’ai Ching and Yang Chien to treat Hua Tzu-hsü leniently when he is sued over the division of Eunuch Director Hua’s property by his brothers Hua Tzu-yu, Hua Tzu-kuang, and Hua Tzu-hua.

  Yang T’ing-p’ei, battalion commander rewarded for his part in facilitating the notorious Flower and Rock Convoys and the construction of the Mount Ken Imperial Park.

  Yang Tsung-hsi, deceased first husband of Meng Yü-lou, elder brother of Yang Tsung-pao, nephew on his father’s side of Aunt Yang and on his mother’s side of Chang Lung, textile merchant residing on Stinkwater Lane outside the South Gate of Ch’ing-ho.

  Yang Tsung-hsi’s maternal uncle. See Chang Lung.

  Yang Tsung-hsi’s mother. See Chang Lung’s elder sister.

  Yang Tsung-hsi’s paternal aunt. See Yang, Aunt.

  Yang Tsung-pao, younger brother of Yang Tsung-hsi, nephew on his father’s side of Aunt Yang and on his mother’s side of Chang Lung, brother-in-law of Meng Yü-lou.

  Yang Wei-chung (1067–1132), commander-general of the Shansi region who leads the forces of Tse-lu against the Chin invaders.

  Yao family from outside the Eastern Capital, poor family into which Sun Hsüeh-o is reincarnated as a daughter.

  Yao the Second, brother-in-law of Yang Pu-lai, neighbor of Wu Chih to whom Wu Sung entrusts his orphaned niece Ying-erh when he is condemned to military exile in Meng-chou; gives Ying-erh back to Wu Sung when he returns to Ch’ing-ho five years later only to repossess her after the inquest on P’an Chin-lien’s murder when Wu Sung once more becomes a fugitive; later arranges for her marriage.

  Yeh the Ascetic, one-eyed illiterate Buddhist ascetic employed as a cook by Abbot Hsiao-yüeh of the Water Moon Monastery outside the South Gate of Ch’ing-ho, physiognomizes Ch’en Ching-chi when he is reduced to penury and working nearby as a day laborer.

  Yeh Ch’ien, prefect of Lai-chou in Shantung.

  Yeh the Fifth, wife of Pen Ti-ch’uan, mother of Pen Chang-chieh, originally a wet nurse who elopes with her fellow employee Pen Ti-ch’uan, carries on an intermittent affair with Tai-an while at the same time complaisantly accepting the sexual favors of Hsi-men Ch’ing.

  Yen the Fourth, neighbor of Han Tao-kuo who informs him of Hsi-men Ch’ing’s death when their boats pass each other on the Grand Canal at Lin-ch’ing.

  Yen P’o-hsi, singing girl slain by Sung Chiang.

  Yen Shun, Brocade Tiger, outlaw chieftan of the Ch’ing-feng Stronghold on Ch’ing-feng Mountain who is persuaded by Sung Chiang to let the captured Wu Yüeh-niang go rather than allowing Wang Ying to make her his wife.

  Yin Chih, Good Deed, chief clerk in charge of the files in the Ch’ing-ho office of the Provincial Surveillance Commission who recognizes that Lai-wang has been framed by Hsi-men Ch’ing and manages to get his sentence reduced and to have him treated more leniently.

  Yin Ching, vice-minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

  Yin Ta-liang, regional investigating censor of Liang-che, rewarded for his part in facilitating the notorious F
lower and Rock Convoys and the construction of the Mount Ken Imperial Park.

  Yin T’ien-hsi, Year Star Yin, younger brother of Kao Lien’s wife, née Yin, dissolute wastrel who takes advantage of his official connections to lord it over the Mount T’ai area with a gang of followers at his disposal, colludes with Shih Po-ts’ai, the corrupt head priest of the Temple of the Goddess of Iridescent Clouds on the summit of Mount T’ai, in attempting to rape Wu Yüeh-niang when she visits the temple on a pilgrimage after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing; later killed at Sung Chiang’s behest by the outlaw, Li K’uei.

  Yin, Year Star. See Yin T’ien-hsi.

  Ying, Beggar. See Ying Po-chüeh.

  Ying-ch’un, disciple of Abbot Wu Tsung-che of the Temple of the Jade Emperor outside the East Gate of Ch’ing-ho.

  Ying-ch’un, senior maidservant of Li P’ing-erh who after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing agrees to be sent to the household of Chai Ch’ien in the Eastern Capital and is raped by Lai-pao on the way.

  Ying the Elder, eldest son of the deceased silk merchant Master Ying, elder brother of Ying Po-chüeh, continues to operate his father’s silk business in Ch’ing-ho.

  Ying the Elder’s wife.

  Ying-erh, daughter of Wu Chih by his deceased first wife, niece of Wu Sung, much abused stepdaughter of P’an Chin-lien who turns her over to Dame Wang when she marries Hsi-men Ch’ing; repossessed by Wu Sung when he returns from the Eastern Capital after the death of her father; consigned to the care of his neighbor Yao the Second when he is condemned to military exile in Meng-chou after his first abortive attempt to avenge the murder of her father; taken back by Wu Sung on his return to Ch’ing-ho five years later and forced to witness his disembowelment of P’an Chin-lien and decapitation of Dame Wang; repossessed by Yao the Second after the inquest and provided by him with a husband.