In the first volume of a five-volume set, the author provides a complete and annotated translation of the "Chin P'ing Mei", an anonymous 16th-century Chinese novel that focuses on the domestic life of Hsi-men Ch'ing, a corrupt, upwardly mobile merchant in a provincial town, who maintains a harem of six wives and concubines. This work, known primarily for its erotic realism, is also a landmark in the development of the narrative art form - not only from a specifically Chinese perspective, but also in a world-historical context.