Sex in the Cloister: Behind the Image of the “Criminal Monk” in Ming Courtroom Tales

Junqing Wu

doi:10.1163/15685322-10556p02

Abstract

Abstract Buddhist monks were commonly portrayed as seducers and even rapists in late sixteenth-century vernacular literature, including, most commonly, courtroom tales (gong’an 公案). Do these stories reflect a deterioration in clerical morality and behavior, or a decline in Buddhist faith and practice, as is sometimes argued? Neither explanation is credible. I argue that the image of monks in courtroom tales should be understood as a literary convention, growing out the burgeoning market for entertainment literature, rather than a window onto social reality. It also reflects an increasing male anxiety about the control of women.

Highlights

The late sixteenth-century Chinese book market witnessed the emergence of a new type of literature: collections of courtroom tales or gong’an 公案,1 written in simple classical language with some colloquial elements,2 and sold in cheaply bound editions
Buddhist monks were commonly portrayed as seducers and even rapists in late sixteenth-century vernacular literature, including, most commonly, courtroom tales
Do these stories reflect a deterioration in clerical morality and behavior, or a decline in Buddhist faith and practice, as is sometimes argued? Neither explanation is credible

Summary

Wu Junqing University of Liverpool

The late sixteenth-century Chinese book market witnessed the emergence of a new type of literature: collections of courtroom tales or gong’an 公案, written in simple classical language (wenyan 文言) with some colloquial elements, and sold in cheaply bound editions. The story about monks swindling money by hiding in a Buddha statue was included in the Yiyuji and the Zheyu guijian and it was copied and embellished in the Ming courtroom-tale collection Zhusi gong’an 諸司公案 in Guben xiaoshuo congkan, 4:1960-70. The “criminal or rapist monk” theme was not entirely an invention of the authors of late Ming gong’an stories It existed already in Song and Yuan times, in various genres: biji anecdotes, legal case collections, classical tales, vernacular novellas (huaben), dramas, and plays. The author of Lianming gong’an (probably Yu Xiangdou himself) was not serious about getting the legal aspects of the case right, as he must have known that Zuiweng tanlu was a fictional anthology Compare this to a real adultery and murder case recorded in a case compilation from the Qianlong reign (1736-1796)—the Ming legal records furnish no cases involving lecherous monks, but we can assume that such cases would have been written up in a similar fashion: Qing legal practice followed Ming practice closely.

Monks and Sex Crimes in Late Imperial Times

Literary Culture in the Ming

Male Anxieties about Female Chastity

Findings

Concluding Remarks