Ruyijun zhuan

Ruyijun zhuan
Original title如意君傳
TranslatorCharles Stone
LanguageChinese
Publication date
Early 16th-century
Publication placeChina (Ming dynasty)
Media typePrint
Pages45
Ruyijun zhuan
Traditional Chinese如意君傳
Simplified Chinese如意君传
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinRúyìjūn zhuàn
A mid 18th-century edition of Ruyijun zhuan

Ruyijun zhuan (如意君傳),[a] translated into English as The Lord of Perfect Satisfaction,[2][3][4] is a Chinese erotic novella written in the Ming dynasty by an unknown author. Set in the Tang dynasty, it follows the political career and love life of Empress Wu Zetian. One of the earliest erotic novels published in China, it was repeatedly banned after its publication.

Plot

At age fourteen, Wu Zetian becomes one of Emperor Tang Taizong's minor concubines. Some twelve years later, the emperor falls gravely ill; while tending to her husband at his deathbed, Wu makes love with the crown prince Tang Gaozong.[5] Upon Taizong's death, however, Wu is forced to become a Buddhist nun along with the other royal spouses.[5] She is rescued by Gaozong a year later and becomes his wife. Following his death seven years later, she rises through the ranks and becomes the first and only female emperor of China after demoting the crown prince, Tang Zhongzong.[6][7]

Dissatisfied with her present sexual partners, Wu, who at this point is a septuagenarian, summons an aide to bring her a Luoyang virgin named Xue Aocao (薛敖曹),[b] who is rumoured to be extremely well-endowed.[9] After personally examining his penis, Wu has sex with Xue;[10] she names him the "Lord of Perfect Satisfaction"[11] and renames the calendar year the "First Year of Perfect Satisfaction".[12] Xue becomes her favourite lover and she dismisses her other consorts.[13] After threatening to castrate himself, Xue successfully convinces her to return the throne to Zhongzong.[14] As Wu's health declines,[15] her romantic relationship with Xue comes to an end, and they bid each other farewell in a complex ritual involving the burning of genitals with ambergris[16] and the reenactment of various sexual positions ten times each.[7] Xue disappears and is reportedly sighted in Chengdu as an immortal many years later.[17]

Composition

Empress Wu Zetian.

Ruyijun zhuan chronicles Wu Zetian's rise to power while detailing her numerous sexual encounters,[5] especially with the male protagonist Xue Aocao.[4][18] The title refers to Xue,[19] a thirty-year-old virgin[19] who is conferred the title of "Ruyijun" or "Lord of Perfect Satisfaction" by Empress Wu Zetian.[19][20] Apart from Xue Aocao, all of the empress' lovers depicted in Ruyijun zhuan are historical figures.[4] Ruyijun zhuan "barely amounts to forty-five pages"[21] and was predominantly written in Classical Chinese,[22] interspersed with some vernacular Chinese dialogue.[4] It extensively quotes from and alludes to notable works like the Records of the Grand Historian, the Mencius, the Analects, the Classic of Poetry, and the I Ching.[23] Ruyijun zhuan also contains extensive descriptions of genitalia which do "not appear to be conducive to the stimulation of lewd desires"; for instance, Xue Aocao's penis is compared with snails and earthworms,[20] while Wu Zetian's cervix is written to be "like a flower pistil enveloped by a calyx beginning to frondesce".[20]

Publication history

According to Liu Hui, the preface and postscript of the novella are dated 1514 and 1520 respectively, suggesting that the story itself was written sometime in between.[24] However, Charles Stone, who published an English translation and critical study of Ruyijun zhuan, dates the novella to between 1524 and 1529, and argues that its preface and postscript were likely written in 1634 and 1760 respectively. Stone argues that the Ryuijun zhuan was written by the scholar and civil servant Huang Xun (黃訓; 1490–c.1540),[24][25] who made what is believed to be the earliest known reference to Ruyijun zhuan in a three-page-long essay published between 1525 and 1540.[24][26] Ruyijun zhuan was repeatedly banned after its publication.[19] An abridged version of the story, titled Wu Zhao zhuan (武曌傳) or The Story of Empress Wu Zhao, was published around 1587;[27] it omits all the poetry and allusions found in the original text, while presenting a much shorter cast of characters.[28] Having previously been circulated as a manuscript, the earliest printed edition of Ruyijun zhuan was published in 1763[29] by Tokyo-based publisher Ogawa Hikokurô.[30]

Literary significance and influence

Ruyijun zhuan is one of the earliest erotic books published in China,[31][32] and is seen by some scholars as the first pornographic novel written in Chinese.[33] Charles Stone writes that "most Chinese erotic fiction written during the next hundred years was ultimately inspired by the Ruyijun zhuan or borrowed from its vocabulary."[34] Alongside Chipozi zhuan (癡婆子傳; The Story of the Foolish Woman) and Xiuta yeshi (繡榻野史; The Embroidered Couch), Ruyijun zhuan is one of the three erotic works referenced in The Carnal Prayer Mat believed to have been written by Qing dynasty writer Li Yu.[2] About three hundred years after the original Ruyijun zhuan was published, Chen Tianchi (陳天池) wrote an erotic novel with the same title; the Qing dynasty Ruyijun zhuan follows a well-endowed male protagonist who curries favour with three emperors of the Ming dynasty and later becomes an immortal.[19]

The Sui Tang liangchao shizhuan (隋唐兩朝志傳; 1619)[35] or Historical Record of the Sui and Tang Dynasties copies a number of pages from Ruyijun zhuan word-for-word.[36] Similarly, the Nongqing kuaishi (濃情快史; 1712)[37] or Heart-throbbing History of Powerful Passions plagiarises much of the original Ruyijun zhuan,[34] but omits "inappropriate references that detract from the portrayal of sex".[27]

Notes

  1. ^ Also referred to as Kun yu qing zhuan (閫娛情傳) or A Tale of Pleasure and Love From the Boudoir.[1]
  2. ^ "Filthy Xue"[8] or "Smelly Xue".[4]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Stevenson & Wu 2017, p. 14.
  2. ^ a b Hanan 1988, p. 123.
  3. ^ Huang 2004, p. 190.
  4. ^ a b c d e Lo 2005, p. 331.
  5. ^ a b c Stone 2003, p. 1.
  6. ^ Stone 2003, p. 2.
  7. ^ a b McMahon 2013, p. 201.
  8. ^ Stone 2003, p. 91.
  9. ^ Stone 2003, p. 141.
  10. ^ Stone 2003, p. 144.
  11. ^ Stone 2003, p. 145.
  12. ^ Stone 2003, p. 147.
  13. ^ Stone 2003, p. 151.
  14. ^ Stone 2003, p. 55.
  15. ^ Stone 2003, p. 157.
  16. ^ Stone 2003, p. 158.
  17. ^ Stone 2003, p. 160.
  18. ^ Epstein 2005, p. 180.
  19. ^ a b c d e Huang 2004, p. 196.
  20. ^ a b c Stone 2003, p. 22.
  21. ^ Stone 2003, p. 120.
  22. ^ McMahon 1987, p. 224.
  23. ^ Stone 2003, p. 5.
  24. ^ a b c Huang 2004, p. 203.
  25. ^ Stone 2003, pp. 57–59.
  26. ^ Stone 2003, p. 57.
  27. ^ a b Lo 2005, p. 332.
  28. ^ Stone 2003, pp. 116–117.
  29. ^ Stone 2003, p. 107.
  30. ^ Stone 2003, p. 216.
  31. ^ McMahon 1987, p. 222.
  32. ^ Huang 2020, p. 114.
  33. ^ Stone 2003, p. 13.
  34. ^ a b Stone 2003, p. 3.
  35. ^ Stone 2003, p. 119.
  36. ^ Stone 2003, p. 116.
  37. ^ Stone 2003, p. 117.

Bibliography

Read other articles:

Romaine Fielding

Romaine FieldingMotion Picture Magazine (Agustus 1915) Vol. X No.7, New YorkLahirWilliam Grant Blandin(1867-05-22)22 Mei 1867Riceville, IowaMeninggal16 Desember 1927(1927-12-16) (umur 60)Hollywood, CaliforniaKebangsaanAmerika SerikatNama lainRoyal A. BlandinPekerjaanPemeran Romaine Fielding (nama lahir William Grant Blandin, 22 Mei 1867 – 15 Desember 1927) adalah seorang pemeran, penulis naskah dan sutradara film bisu Amerika Serikat yang dikenal karena berkarya dal...

 

Eparki Syzran

Gereja di Syzran Eparki Syzran adalah sebuah eparki Gereja Ortodoks Rusia yang terletak di Syzran, Federasi Rusia. Eparki tersebut didirikan pada tahun 2017.[1] Referensi ^ http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/4886239.html lbsKeuskupan Gereja Ortodoks RusiaPatriark MoskwaEparki di Rusia Abakan dan Khakassia Akhtubinsk Alapayevsk Alatyr Alexdanrov Almetyevsk Amur Anadyr Ardatov Arkhangelsk Armavir Arsenyev Astrakhan Balashov Barnaul Barysh Belgorod Belyov Bezhetsk Birobidzhan Birsk Biysk ...

 

1972 en France

Chronologies Groupe d'enfants et d'adolescents, 5 janvier 1972.Données clés 1969 1970 1971  1972  1973 1974 1975Décennies :1940 1950 1960  1970  1980 1990 2000Siècles :XVIIIe XIXe  XXe  XXIe XXIIeMillénaires :-Ier Ier  IIe  IIIe Chronologies géographiques Afrique Afrique du Sud, Algérie, Angola, Bénin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Cap-Vert, République centrafricaine, Comores, République du Congo, République démo...

Latin Pop Airplay

US radio airplay music chart Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on Billboard magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established by the magazine on October 8, 1994 as a subchart of the Hot Latin Songs chart until October 2012 when the Hot Latin Songs changed its methodology. The first number-one song on the chart was Mañana by Cristian Castro.[1]...

 

Haplorrhini

Come leggere il tassoboxHaplorrhini Cercopiteco con cucciolo Classificazione scientifica Dominio Eukaryota Regno Animalia Sottoregno Eumetazoa Ramo Bilateria Superphylum Deuterostomia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Infraphylum Gnathostomata Superclasse Tetrapoda Classe Mammalia Sottoclasse Theria Infraclasse Eutheria Superordine Euarchontoglires (clade) Euarchonta Ordine Primates Sottordine Haplorrhini Infraordini Simiiformes Tarsiiformes Gli aplorrini (Haplorrhini) sono uno dei due so...

 

Kesenian Lais

Lais mengadopsi Akrobatik Kucingan. Foto Tahun 1980 Lais seni pertunjukkan masyarakat di Garut, Jawa Barat Kesenian Lais merupakan sebuah kesenian pertunjukan akrobatik dalam seutas tali sepanjang 6 meter yang dibentangkan dan dikaitkan di antara dua buah bambu dengan ketinggian 10 sampai 13 meter untuk di panjat dan melakukan aksi yang spetakuler.[1] Pada tahun 2010, Lais tercatat sebagai warisan budaya takbenda dengan domain seni pertunjukkan yang berasal dari Provinsi Jawa Barat.&#...

José Manuel García-Margallo

Spanish politician In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García-Margallo and the second or maternal family name is Marfil. José Manuel García-MargalloMinister of Foreign Affairs and CooperationIn office22 December 2011 – 4 November 2016Prime MinisterMariano RajoyPreceded byTrinidad JiménezSucceeded byAlfonso DastisMember of the Congress of DeputiesIn office13 January 2016 – 21 May 2019ConstituencyAlicanteIn office22 June 1986 – 19 ...

 

Francesco Canova da Milano

Italian composer Francesco da Milano redirects here. Not to be confused with Francesco da Milano (painter). A possible portrait of Francesco Canova da Milano (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan) Francesco Canova da Milano (Francesco da Milano, also known as Il divino, Francesco da Parigi, etc.) (18 August 1497 – 2 January 1543) was an Italian lutenist and composer. He was born in Monza, near Milan, and worked for the papal court for almost all of his career. Francesco was heralded throughout Euro...

 

1994 Kansas gubernatorial election

Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of Kansas 1994 Kansas gubernatorial election ← 1990 November 8, 1994 1998 →   Nominee Bill Graves Jim Slattery Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 526,113 333,589 Percentage 61.1% 38.9% County resultsGraves:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Slattery:      50–60%...

List of paintings by Édouard Manet

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paintings by Édouard Manet. This is a list of some of the more well-known paintings of French artist Édouard Manet (1832–1883). List Image Title Date Dimensions Collection Christ the Gardener 1856–59 68 × 56.8 cm Unidentified location The Absinthe Drinker 1859 180.5 × 105.6 cm Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (Copenhagen) Spanish Cavaliers 1859–60 45.5 × 26.5 cm Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon Portrait of Monsieur and Madame Manet 1860 111.5...

 

NGC 65

NGC 65NGC 65 by 2MASSData pengamatan (J2000 epos)Rasi bintangCetusAsensio rekta 18j 58m 07dDeklinasi -22° 52′ 48″Pergeseran merah0,024327Kecepatan radial helio7315 ± 59Jarak952 ± 00 Mpc (3.105 ± 0 Mly)Magnitudo semu (V)13.4Ciri-ciriJenisS[1]Penamaan lainPGC 1229, MCG-04-02-001 NGC 65 (ESO 473-10A/PGC 1229) adalah sebuah galaksi yang terletak di rasi bintang Cetus. Galaksi ini memiliki magnitudo semu 13.4 dan terl...

 

Ontario Highway 655

Ontario provincial highway Highway 655Kidd Creek (Texas Gulf) HighwayRoute informationMaintained by Ministry of Transportation of OntarioLength74.7 km[1] (46.4 mi)Existed1965 (Original length)1979 (Current length)–presentMajor junctionsSouth end Highway 101 in TimminsNorth end Highway 11 near Driftwood LocationCountryCanadaProvinceOntarioMajor citiesTimmins Highway system Ontario provincial highways Current Former 400-series ← Highway 6...

Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (femminile)

Paris Saint-GermainCalcio Segni distintiviUniformi di gara Casa Trasferta Terza divisa Colori sociali Blu, rosso, bianco Dati societariCittàParigi Nazione Francia ConfederazioneUEFA Federazione FFF CampionatoPremière Ligue Fondazione1971 Presidente Nasser Al-Khelaïfi Allenatore Jocelyn Prêcheur StadioStadio Jean Bouin(20 000 posti) Sito webwww.psg.fr PalmarèsTitoli nazionali1 campionato francese Trofei nazionali4 Coppe di Francia Stagione in corso Dati aggiornati al 27 giug...

 

NGC 2862

NGC 2862 La galaxie spirale NGC 2862. Données d’observation(Époque J2000.0) Constellation Lion Ascension droite (α) 09h 24m 55,1s[1] Déclinaison (δ) 26° 46′ 29″ [1] Magnitude apparente (V) 12,9[2] 13,7 dans la Bande B[2] Brillance de surface 13,14 mag/am2[2] Dimensions apparentes (V) 2,5′ × 0,5′[2] Décalage vers le rouge 0,013606 ± 0,000007[1] Angle de position 114°[2] Localisation dans la constellation : Lion Astrométrie Vitesse rad...

 

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli 1995-1996

Voce principale: Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli. SSC NapoliStagione 1995-1996 Sport calcio Squadra Napoli Direttore tecnico Vujadin Boškov Allenatore Aldo Sensibile Amministratore unico Gian Marco Innocenti Serie A12º Coppa ItaliaSecondo turno Maggiori presenzeCampionato: Taglialatela (34)Totale: Taglialatela (35) Miglior marcatoreCampionato: Di Napoli (5)Totale: Di Napoli (5) StadioSan Paolo Abbonati19 005[1] Maggior numero di spettatori62 127 vs Juventus (18 febbr...

قفص صدري

القفص الصدري الاسم العلميcavea thoracis تفاصيل يتكون من ضلع،  وعظم القص،  وناتئ رهابي،  وغضروف ضلعي،  وفقرة صدرية  نوع من كيان تشريحي معين  [لغات أخرى]‏  جزء من هيكل محوري،  وصدر  ترمينولوجيا أناتوميكا 02.3.04.001   FMA 7480  UBERON ID 0003252  ن.ف.م.ط. A02.835.232.570 ...

 

Simon V, Count of Lippe

Simon V, Count of LippeBorn1471Died1536Noble familyHouse of LippeSpouse(s)Walpurgis of BronckhorstMagdalene of Mansfeld-MittelortIssueDetailBernhard VIII, Count of LippeFatherBernard VII, Lord of LippeMotherAnna of Holstein-Pinneberg Count Simon V of Lippe (1471 – September 17, 1536) was Noble Lord of Lippe, and from 1528 Count of Lippe. During his reign, the Reformation was introduced in Lippe. Life Simon V was the fifth child and eldest son of Bernard VII the Bellicose and An...

 

Vivian Mercier

Irish literary critic This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Vivian Mercier – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Vivian Mercier Vivian Mercier (1919 – 4 November 1989) was an Irish literary critic.[1] He was born at Clar...

Bruce Trigger

Canadian archaeologist (1937–2001) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Bruce G. TriggerOC OQ FRSCBorn(1937-06-18)June 18, 1937Preston, Ontario, CanadaDiedDecember 1, 2006(2006-12-01) (aged 69)[2]Occupation(s)archaeologist and ethnohistorianSpouseBarbara Welch [2&#...

 

Kaskazi

Kaskazi is a name used to refer to an ancient ethno-linguistic group of Bantu peoples which took shape in the Western Rift area in the early centuries of the last millennium BC within the Mashariki group. The name comes from the Swahili word for northern wind, in opposition to the Kusi subgroup (southern wind). The Kaskazi subgroup settled north of Mozambique and Malawi, while the Kusi settled in the south.[1] Both the Kaskazi and Kusi did not form as single communities with a single ...