Master Ximen Battering Sun Xue’e

This album leaf is from an erotic yet satirical novel from the late 1500s. The novel tells the story of several daring concubines and mistresses in the circle of a corrupt merchant, Master Ximen. The leading women, Golden Lotus (Pan Jinlian) and Little Vase (Li Ping’er), not only enjoy seducing men but also plot malicious schemes to gain access to their affluent lifestyles.

To convey both the luxurious lifestyle and eroticism in the novel, the painters depict these women with fashionable hairdos and colorful outfits. Looking closely, some women slip their tiny bound feet from under their long skirts, subtly suggesting they are available.

Golden Lotus (not shown in the painting) was irritated by Sun Xue’e, one of Master Ximen’s other concubines. She devised a malicious plan to have her husband beat Sun Xue’e.