情色吊诡 ：《肉蒲团》 的肉身救赎与明清艳情小说 = Paradoxical erotica : savagery and salvation in the carnal prayer mat and the Ming-Qing erotic novel

Abstract

In the field of pre-modern Chinese literary studies, the Ming and Qing dynasties are best known for the production of vernacular novels such as The Water Margin and Dream of the Red Chamber, which enjoyed a wide readership. What is less known, however, is the flourishing of the genre of erotic novels and short stories,with its savagely direct but paradoxically apologetic depiction of sexual stories. The most (in)famous work of this genre is The Carnal Prayer Mat, believed to be written by the famous literatus Li Yu, which chronicles the sexual odyssey and transcendental salvation through the flesh of the protagonist. Perceived mainly as pornographical and as a form of patriarchal discourse, this genre of literary production has long struggled to gain respectability in scholarship while maintaining a notorious reputation among its avid readers.