Description: In Saying All That Can Be Said, Keith McMahon presents the first full analysis of the sexually explicit portrayals in the Ming novel Jin Ping Mei (The Plum in the Golden Vase). McMahon places the novel in the historical context of premodern Chinese sexual culture and echoes its way of taking sex as a vehicle for reading the world.
Brief description: Keith McMahon is Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Kansas.
Review Quotes: Offers a rich analysis of the sexual themes in Jin Ping Mei...McMahon has written a history of textual sexuality that focuses not so much on realistic representations of sex as on largely imagined (and perhaps sometimes realistic) representations of sex that reflect broader social, economic, cultural, and sexual practices.--Shiau-Yun Chen "Journal of Chinese History" (4/14/2025 12:00:00 AM)