Jin Ping Mei (Chinese: ???; pinyin: Jin P铆ng M茅i); translated as The Plum in the Golden Vase or The Golden Lotus; is a Chinese naturalistic novel composed in vernacular Chinese during the late Ming Dynasty. The anonymous author took the pseudonym Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (?????); 'The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling'; and his identity is otherwise unknown. The earliest known versions of the novel exist only in handwritten scripts; the first block-printed book was released only in 1610. The more complete version available today comprises one hundred chapters; amounting to over a thousand pages.

Jin Ping Mei takes its name from the three central female characters 鈥?Pan Jinlian (???; whose given name means 'Golden Lotus'); Li Ping'er (???; given name literally means; 'Little Vase'); a concubine of Ximen Qing; and Pang Chunmei (???; 'Spring plum blossoms'); a young maid who rises to power within the family. According to some Chinese critics; each of the three Chinese characters in its title symbolizes an aspect about human nature; such as mei (?); plum blossoms; is metaphoric for sexuality. Pictures From History