This volume presents two memoirs by famous men of letters, Reminiscences of the Plum Shadows Convent by Mao Xiang (1611-93) and Miscellaneous Records of Plank Bridge by Yu Huai (1616-96), that recall times spent with courtesans. They evoke the courtesan world in the final decades of the Ming dynasty and the aftermath of its collapse.

This volume presents two memoirs by famous men of letters, Reminiscences of the Plum Shadows Convent by Mao Xiang (1611?) and Miscellaneous Records of Plank Bridge by Yu Huai (1616?), that recall times spent with courtesans. They evoke the courtesan world in the final decades of the Ming dynasty and the aftermath of its collapse.

An elegant and erudite translation of iconic texts introducing the men and women of the Ming-Qing transition period, this volume evokes the richly imagined world of the Jiangnan courtesan through the words of her male admirers. Plum Shadows and Plank Bridge provides essential reading for courses on China's seventeenth century.