Princeton University Press, in describing the Roy translation, calls the novel "a landmark in the development of the narrative art form—not only from a specifically Chinese perspective but in a world-historical context...noted for its surprisingly modern technique" and "with the possible exception of "The Tale of Genji" (c. 1010) and "Don Quixote" (1605, 1615), there is no earlier work of prose fiction of equal sophistication in world literature." "Jin Ping Mei" is considered one of the six classics of Chinese literature.