The Carnal Prayer Mat Author:LI Yu In the three hundred years since its initial publication, Li Yu's The Carnal Prayer Mat has been widely read in China, where it is recognized as a benchmark of erotic literature and currently enjoys the distinction of being a banned-in-Beijing classic. The story centers on Scholar Vesperus, a handsome orphan and student of Zen. Before taking his... more » monastic vows, Vesperus embarks on a career of licentiousness. His adventures as "hero of the boudoir, a champion of sex" take both comic and calamitous turns, until eventually he attains "enlightenment on the carnal prayer mat".
One in a series of "Sexual Erotica" from the Book of the Month Club with cover art by Richard Merkin« less