Chinese eroticism is strongly conditioned by cultural canons embedded in history. Chinese culture is based on the following features: ethno-family foundation, ethnocentric tendencies, respect for age, gender roles with men's domination, emotional control, esteem of morality, education, authority and conservative attitudes.
In the personal relations of the Chinese people a significant introvert is revealed, they hide their feelings, the values are recognized: harmony, determinism and the concept of good reputation. The Chinese family is traditional, constant. For millennia it was based on the system of inheritance, property, worship of ancestors, unequal position of both sexes. At the end of the past era, there was a free choice of a spouse based on feeling; women had a high social position, there were polygamy among the aristocracy (eg, the emperors had: 1 first wife, 3 second wives, 9 third wives, 27 fourths and 81 concubines), patriarchal family model, sororate.
During the expansion of Confucianism, the image of the Chinese family underwent a transformation. The development of this direction has been dynamic since the 5th century AD Confucius disclosed anti-feminism and rated women as beings lower than men. Confucianism carried new ideals: restrained life, modesty, reason, righteousness, ethical virtues, respect for tradition, emphasized avoidance of lust and control over feelings. Love in choosing a life companion went to the foreground, and the principle of the good of the institution of the family emerged first. The man's personal ideal was the virtue of obedience to parents, respect for the family, submission to her good. In the case of a woman, they were modesty, submission to husband and his family, premarital sexual purity, fertility (the birth of many sons was expected from a woman).
Before marriage, a marriage contract was signed in which the date of the ceremony was set. The son's wedding ceremony was treated as a great event. The bride was dressed in red clothes. The young people bowed to Heaven and Earth, made many rites and then drank cups of wine. The wedding ceremony was full of symbolism of colors, food and bows, and expressed the eternal place of man and woman. After the ceremony, the bride passed under the authority of her mother-in-law, she belonged fully to the husband's family and had to identify with her. From that moment on, the meaning of her life was to give birth to children and serve her husband.
The division of roles in the family was unchangeable: the woman took care of the home, the daily household, and the man gained means of subsistence. Patriarchalism was expressed, for example, in the fact that a man started a meal, first chose food, gave consent to talk; he also decided to buy, spend free time, travel, place of residence, etc. The wife was obliged to be available to her husband's sexual needs. The reticence and sexual modesty of women was valued.
The law usually allowed men to use the services of prostitutesthey could also have concubines, why they had no right to oppose their wife because they were required to be faithful and not to be jealous. More attention was paid to the education of sons than to the education of daughters. One of the proverbs says simply that a woman should not be too intelligent. The role of the fathers of the family was enormous - the cult of the elderly made them not only the actual power in the family, but imposed on it the course of everyday life. The biggest compliment for a man was that he is older than he really is. The Chinese did not have to be afraid of old age.
Confucianism has deepened the principle of gender segregation, strengthened family hierarchy and made sex become a private matter and neutralized. The Chinese criticized men's masturbation (because the loss of semen was identified with the loss of vitality), they tolerated women's masturbation; gender segregation favored the development of male friendships, nudity was critically assessed.
Confucianism is not the only religion that affects Chinese eroticism. Many profess Taoism (in Southeast Asia), which in sexual life allows quite different behaviors. Taoism developed in the third century AD, the basic work is Tao-te-king by Lao-tsa. It contains the following ideas: the rhythm and unity of human life and nature, the praise of modesty, peace and adjustment to the laws of nature, the universe, the uselessness of pride and self-confidence. Matrimonial sexual contact among Taoist followers is extensive, rich, and the woman has the right to enjoy. In the Taoist family, patriarchism is smaller, and sexual partnership is more common.
Taoism fully accepts sexuality; He ascribes her mystical significance. The male element - yang (bright, red, luminous, hot, high, celestial, predominates in the dragon, bird, mutton, rooster, summer, mountains ...) - materialized in the seed and female element - jin (dark, black, bottomless, deep, prevails in clouds, water, vessels, fruits ...) - materialized in vaginal secretions, they combine in tao - harmony between man and the surrounding world. During the orgasm, the essences of life are released, which allows partners to exchange energy. To get to a higher level of self-development it is necessary to absorb a large amount of energy of the opposite sex. The combination of both sexes ensures vitality and longevity. Preliminary caresses were treated as very important because they were thought to stimulate energy production.
In Taoism, there are rich descriptions of sexual techniques and picturesque vocabulary, eg the vaginal depth has several terms (lute string, water chestnut teeth, small stream, black pearl, bottom of the valley, inner door, north pole), there are dozens of systems and positions, e.g. "flight of seagulls above the high bank", "inverted flight of ducks "," tree ram "etc .; Genitalia are symbolically defined (eg: red bird, jasper stem, turtle head, female: peach, developed peony flower, golden lotus, jasper gate). Taoist practices recommended life without ejaculation (preserving life-giving energy), sophisticated sexual techniques stimulating a woman, a variety of friction movements depending on feelings, mood or mutual expectations. Ars amandi in taoism can be reduced to a few tips: rare sperm shots, ability to experience orgasm without ejaculation, learning deep breathing, feeling of safety and compatibility of partners' desires, proper warmth, satiety, extension of sense of touch and smell, rich verbal communication between partners. The direct goal of intercourse is to satisfy a woman and lack of exhaustion in a man, the ability to perform "thousands of love thrusts", sexual ecstasy of two bodies and souls.
The human environment also exudes sexual energies - one should be able to extract them from olfactory impressions, visual impressions and sounds (hence, among others, assigning a great importance to culinary art). Taoism has complex erotic symbolism, eg plum blossom is a symbol of sexual vitality, developed peony flower symbolizes female sexuality, bed with decorative cracks expresses the awakening message, etc. Sexual life in Taoism is a meditation element, way (tao), not a goal. In Chinese mythology, the marriages of gods are monogamous, and the sex of deities is difficult to determine. Important in Chinese mythology, the dragon is the epitome of masculinity and became an imperial symbol.
The slogans were prepared on the basis of: Zbigniew Lew-Starowicz: Love and Sex. Encyclopedic dictionary. Wroclaw 1999
