Translating Jin Ping Mei: a preliminary comparison of The Golden Lotus and The Plum in the Golden Vase

A number of classical Chinese novels have been translated into English, which has helped these works reach a broader audience in the English-speaking world. Jin Ping Mei a sixteenth-century Chinese masterpiece, is one such book. There are two well-known English translations of this work. The first translation, entitled The Golden Lotus was completed by Clement Egerton. The second, entitled The Plum in the Golden Vase is a projected five-volume translation work in progress by David Roy. Despite the reviews of the two translations, a systematic comparison of them is still lacking. This article aims to compare and contrast The Golden Lotus and The Plum. I contend that each translation should be examined as a ‘full package’ in order to reveal the strategies of each translator within the context of their time periods and cultures. I demonstrate that The Golden Lotus and The Plum reflect the different views that Egerton and Roy had in mind when translating Jin Ping Mei. Furthermore, I argue that despite their manifest differences, the philosophies of the two translators share similar paradoxes, which suggests affinities between The Golden Lotus and The Plum.