John E. Vollmer
Curator

As Chinese civilization evolved during the first millennium BC, two distinct, yet complementary philosophies shaped Chinese culture - Daoism and Confucianism, both addressed sexuality.

Daoist sexual practice stresses the balance of the primordial energies of the universe - the yin and yang. Sex plays an integral role in one's search for immortality. Confucianism looks at sex more pragmatically. Its most important purpose is to produce sons, ensuring the continuity of the family. While not mutually exclusive, both philosophies caused social and cultural tensions and divergent norms of behavior throughout China's long history.

Sex Among the Lotus: 2500 Years of Chinese Erotic Obsession provides visitors with a sweeping survey of Chinese erotica - from erotic Bronze Age poetry and tomb tiles with explicit imagery dating from the 2nd century BC to the sexual excesses of Tang dynasty emperors and the latest pornography hot off the commercial presses.

Throughout the dynasties, sex was considered a natural and essential act. In fact, sex and nature are synonymous, sharing the same word "xing." Therefore, nature's outdoor realm provided couples with the most satisfying settings for sex, in both fact and metaphor.

Chinese erotic literature flourished during the 16th and 17th centuries, with several novels still in print today. One of the most famous, Suwopien, recounts the erotic lovemaking of an Imperial Prince and his consort, while strolling through the Palace gardens. The novel offers the details of their encounters with nature and their sexual reactions. Each tree and flower suggests a new sexual position for pleasuring each other.

From the earliest times, men were instructed to have frequent intercourse to ensure a long and healthy life. Third century Chinese sex manuals are concerned with the balance of yin and yang through constant sexual intercourse with multiple partners. Men were instructed to satisfy a woman to orgasm, but refrain from ejaculating. By conserving their male yang force, they were encouraged to emulate the mythical "Yellow Emperor," who became immortal after having intercourse with 12,000 women!

Women's feet have been the focal point of Chinese erotic obsession for the last 1000 years. The practice of foot binding, which reportedly began in the court of a 10th century prince, whose favorite concubine wrapped her feet with silk ribbons to dance for him on her toes. Jealous of her popularity, his other concubines copied the idea. The practice spread to the upper classes and by the late 17th century, the majority of Han Chinese women of all classes embraced the custom.

The ideal "golden lotus" feet measuring three to four inches in length represented a woman's discipline and desirability and her hopes of securing a good marriage. Practiced for and by women, elders began the process of binding the feet of daughters in the household with tight strips of cloth, restricting their growth and reshaping them into the ideal "lotus bud" form. For centuries, the tiny bound foot was considered the most erotically charged part of the body.

In Shanghai, beauty pageants for prostitutes became the rage. First held in 1882, the pageants focused great attention and reward on the beauty of a woman's foot.

When the Communists came to power in 1949, foot binding was outlawed, brothels were shut down, sexually explicit materials were confiscated, and the publishing of erotic literature was banned.

While China stands on the verge of yet another sexual transformation, Sex Among the Lotus places these exciting social developments in the context of the country's long history of erotic obsession.