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As Chinese civilization evolved during the first millennium BC, two distinct, yet complementary philosophies shaped Chinese culture – Daoism and Confucianism, both that 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 provided visitors with a sweeping survey of Chinese erotica – from erotic Bronze Age poetry and tomb tile with explicit imagery dating from the 2nd century BC to the sexual excesses of the Emperor and his Court 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.
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 with the 10th century Imperial Court, eventually spread to the general populace. A woman’s “golden lotus” feet (no longer than five inches) represented her discipline and desirability, securing a good marriage. Practiced for and by women, a mother bound her little girl’s feet 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 1947, they made sex a sin. Intercourse outside of marriage was a punishable crime. Foot binding was outlawed, brothels were shut down, sexual 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 placed these exciting social developments in the context of the country’s long history of erotic obsession.
CURATORIAL
John E. Vollmer
Curator
Liana Zhou
Curatorial Consultant
Matthew Barrick and Ryan Chaney
Researchers
June M. Reinisch, Ph.D. and Beverley Jackson
Academic Advisors
Liu Dalin Glenn and Judy Roberts
Special Advisors
DESIGN
Casson Mann
Exhibition Design
AMP
Architectural Design
Pentagram
Graphic Design
Small Design Firm
Interactive Installations
Fish Media Inc.
Video Editing/Installations
Entropy8Zuper!
Website Design
Doris Mitsch
Lotus Photograph
SPECIAL APPRECIATION
C.V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University
The Sidney D. Gamble Foundation
Edmund Li, Reich + Petch Design International
Richard Rosenblum Family Foundation
Lisa Hanock-Jasie
Public Relations
Willy Wong
Graphic Design
Xiaomin Zhang
Translation
Matthew Barrick
Audio Production
George Johnson
Audio/Visual Design & Integration
Susan Lebovitz-Gluck
Webmaster/Graphics
LENDERS
Anonymous (2)
Bata Shoe Museum
Alberto Manuel Cheung
China’s Museum of Sexual Culture
Don Cohn
Vincent Comer
Gary Dickinson
Dr. John Fong
Edie & Joel Frankel
Dodi Fromson
Chris Hall
Beverley Jackson
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction
Reagan Louie, courtesy Von Lintel Gallery
Moke Mokotoff, courtesy Asian Art Inc.
Mutter Museum
Myrna and Sam Myers
June M. Reinsich, Ph.D.
Jon Eric Riis
Glenn Roberts
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College
The Schloss Collection
Michael Weisbrod, courtesy Weisbrod
Chinese Art Ltd.