15 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Inside a wealthy merchant’s household, gossip cuts deep, desire breeds rivalry, and money bends the law.
In The Plum in the Golden Vase, Xiaoxiaosheng turns the world of Ximen Qing into a crowded portrait of appetite and power. A rich merchant in Qinghe, Ximen owns a pharmacy, lends money, and cultivates officials. He wants pleasure, rank, and greater wealth—and his household becomes a battleground for favour.
Pan Jinlian, beautiful and sharp-minded, fights to keep her place among wives, concubines, and servants. Wu Yueniang guards her standing as principal wife, while Li Ping’er changes the balance of jealousy. Beyond the courtyard, bought office and bent laws expose a wider corruption. Frank sexual scenes and biting satire make private desire part of a searching social critique.
What you’ll discover
- A household at war Watch gifts, gossip, and well-timed complaints become weapons in the struggle for favour.
- Women guarding their place Meet Pan Jinlian and Wu Yueniang, each determined to protect her position under one roof.
- The reach of silver Follow Ximen Qing’s wealth beyond his courtyard, into bought office and a law bent by money.
- Everyday life in focus Enter a detailed world of merchants, servants, officials, and hangers-on, all drawn into household affairs.
- Appetite under scrutiny Explore the uneasy bond between pleasure and greed in a novel many read as a warning.
Who will love it
For readers who love sweeping social novels, sharp satire of money and office, and close portraits of household rivalry. It also suits anyone curious about Ming China and its food, songs and manners.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Appetite drives Ximen Qing upward
- Jinlian wants beyond her marriage
- An accident becomes a purchased affair
- Bought justice protects the guilty
- Favor turns the household against itself
- Silver purchases rank and influence
- Mourning becomes a display of rank
- Every pleasure carries a cost
- A household reveals a traded world
Who’s who
- Ximen QingA rich druggist and moneylender of Qinghe who buys official rank and chases every woman he meets, trusting that silver can settle anything.
- Pan JinlianA clever, bitter and passionate woman, once sold as a girl, who becomes Ximen Qing's fifth wife and fights to be his favorite.
- Wu YueniangXimen Qing's principal wife, a dignified woman who tries to keep the household in order and curb her husband's excess.
- Li Ping'erA neighbor's wife with a fortune in silver, soft in manner, who comes to Ximen Qing's house and hopes for a secure place.
- Pang ChunmeiA sharp young maid taken by Ximen Qing, who grows from servant into a figure with ambitions of her own.
- Ying BojueThe chief of Ximen Qing's idle friends, a sponger and joker who lives on loans, meals and flattery.
- Wu SongThe tiger-fighting constable, stern and loyal, who wants justice for his gentle elder brother Wu Da.
- Chen JingjiXimen Qing's son-in-law, a charming young man living in the house, who flirts with the wives and wants an easy life.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 15 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Plum in the Golden Vase in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Plum in the Golden Vase
by Xiaoxiaosheng · 1610
A rich druggist's heir in Shandong buys office, wives and favours until the bill comes due.
ChallengingOver 20 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Picture a man who owns a medicine shop, lends money at interest, and bribes his way into a government post. He keeps a houseful of wives, chases every woman who catches his eye, and is welcome at every banquet in town.
The Plum in the Golden Vase at a glance
- Reading time
- About 42 h33 h 20 min fast, 50 h slow
- Length
- 599,700 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1610by Xiaoxiaosheng
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A sermon on greed opens the story
The book begins with poems and a sermon that warns against four dangers: wine, sex, wealth and anger. The sermon says wealth and sex are the worst, and that everything people chase is illusion. Then the tale begins, as if to test the sermon at once.
Ximen Qing lives in Qinghe County in Shandong. He has inherited a drug business and lends money at a profit. He is shrewd, rich and ruled by appetite, and he already has a household of wives and wants more. Around him gather idle friends, led by the sponger Ying Bojue. They flatter him, eat his food, borrow his silver, and never tire of finding him new pleasures.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1610
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 15 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Xiaoxiaosheng. The Plum in the Golden Vase. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-plum-in-the-golden-vase.
Xiaoxiaosheng. (2026). The plum in the golden vase. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-plum-in-the-golden-vase (Original work published 1610)
Xiaoxiaosheng. The Plum in the Golden Vase. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-plum-in-the-golden-vase.
@book{xiaoxiaosheng2026plum,
author = {Xiaoxiaosheng},
title = {The Plum in the Golden Vase},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-plum-in-the-golden-vase},
note = {First published 1610}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Plum in the Golden Vase
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Plum in the Golden Vase about?
It follows Ximen Qing, a rich merchant and official in a Shandong town, and the women of his household. Through banquets, bribes and rivalries it shows how money, lust and ambition shape one family and one town.
Why is it called The Plum in the Golden Vase?
The title joins part of the names of three women in the story: Pan Jinlian, Li Ping'er and the maid Pang Chunmei. Their names hold the words for gold, vase and plum.
Is The Plum in the Golden Vase a true story?
No, it is a novel written in the late Ming period. It is set in the Song dynasty but paints the manners of the author's own time, and it grows from an episode of an older tale about Wu Song.
The author
Xiaoxiaosheng
1530–1600 · Chinese Ming dynasty novelist
Pseudonym of the author of Jin Ping Mei.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
