Chinese sex culture

The subject of sex was central to early Chinese thought. Discussed openly and seriously as a fundamental topic of human speculation, it was an important source of imagery and terminology that informed the classical Chinese conception of social and political relationships. This sophisticated and long-standing tradition, however, has been all but neglected by modern historians. A survey of major pre-imperial sources, including some of the most revered and influential texts in the Chinese tradition, reveals the use of the image of copulation as a metaphor for various human relations, such as those between a worshiper and his or her deity or a ruler and his subjects.

Over the last 20 years, Chinese attitudes to sex have undergone a revolution - a process carefully observed, and sometimes encouraged, by the country's first female sexologist, Li Yinhe. It's one of many rapid changes she has recorded in her career. She uses the word "revolution" herself and it's easy to see why. Until , sex before marriage was actually illegal and could be prosecuted as "hooliganism". In the owner of a bathhouse was sentenced to death for organising prostitution, Li said in a lecture to the Brookings Institution last year, but now it is widely practised. The most severe punishment these days, according to Li, would be the closure of the business. Publishers of pornography could also be sentenced to death as recently as the s, as could those who organised sex parties.

As you may expect, dating is a little bit different in China than it is in most Western countries. The basics are the same—people are people everywhere—but there are still a few differences regarding culture and social cues to note. They simply have too much work to do. But in general, Chinese students leave high school with a lot less romantic experience than their American counterparts. More so than Westerners, many Chinese view dating as a pragmatic affair.

The difference illustrates how attitudes toward sex have changed in the last eight years. The Chen scandal was the first time dating culture among Chinese celebrities was exposed to the public. Intimate photos of Chen with various women, including a number of actresses from Hong Kong, were illegally distributed via the Internet. Although both Chen and his female partners were affected, the women had trouble convincing the public that they were also victims of having their sex lives maliciously exposed online.