Chin P'ing Mei is one of the best-known Chinese vernacular novels. Since its appearance, debate over the book never ceases, with a broad range of attitudes running from enthusiastic compliment to harsh criticism. Compared to such vernacular novel as Hong Lou Meng, the readership of Chin P'ing Mei is very small. Indeed, Chin P'ing Mei is such a highly-controversial book that a complete and unexpurgated version is hard to come by even in mainland China. Its journey to the English-speaking countries also proved to be a bumpy road. Specifically, many measures were taken to make sure it can reach the hands of foreign readers in the context of the Anglo-American literary censorship of obscenity in the 21th century, including downplaying or deletion of sexual description, restriction of readership, and endorsement from distinguished scholars.