A sexual vampire practiced esoteric Daoist sexual techniques where one partner purportedly strengthened their own body by absorbing the other partner's (" life force") and ("sexual energy") without emitting any of one's own. Practitioners believed that sexual vampirism could enable them to maintain

eternal youth Eternal youth is the concept of human physical immortality free of ageing. The youth referred to is usually meant to be in contrast to the depredations of aging, rather than a specific age of the human lifespan. Eternal youth is common in mytho ...

and become a Daoist ("transcendent; immortal"). However, an unwitting victim repeatedly subjected to sexual vampirism would supposedly weaken and die. Myths about

Chinese gods and immortals Chinese gods and immortals are beings in various Chinese religions seen in a variety of ways and mythological contexts. Many are worshiped as deities because Chinese folk religion, traditional Chinese religion is Polytheism, polytheistic, ste ...

recount sexual vampires who allegedly became transcendents. For instance, after having sexual intercourse with 1,200 young women, the legendary

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

achieved spiritual transcendence and ascended into heaven. In Chinese

erotic literature Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (concept), eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically ...

and

sex manuals Sex manuals are books which explain how to perform sexual practices; they also commonly feature advice on birth control, and sometimes on safe sex and sexual relationships. Early sex manuals In the Graeco-Roman era, a sex manual was written ...

, intercourse is often metaphorically referred to as a "battle" or "war" of the sexes. This metaphor emphasizes the idea of one partner "defeating" the "enemy" through a zh, p=caizhan, c=採戰, tr=battle of absorption. These texts are predominantly written for a male audience, guiding men to defeat their female enemy in a "sexual battle" by mastering Daoist ejaculation control. The goal is to excite the female partner until she reaches orgasm and sheds her essence, which the male then absorbs. Two Chinese mythological creatures are comparable to sex vampires. A kills people to absorb their ("life force"). A or shapeshifts into a beautiful woman who seduces men to absorb their ("semen; sexual essence"). In both Chinese mythology and popular literature, the themes of vampires and "other monsters avid for sperm abound". A Chinese sexual vampire is analogous to English terms like psychic vampire,

energy vampire A psychic vampire is a creature in folklore said to feed off the " life force" of other living creatures. The term can also be used to describe a person who gets increased energy around other people, but leaves those other people exhausted or "drai ...

succubus A succubus () is a female demon who is described in various folklore as appearing in the dreams of male humans in order to seduce them. Repeated interactions between a succubus and a man will lead to sexual activity, a bond forming between them, ...

, or

incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

. These mythical beings feed on human vital forces, similar to traditional vampires (

sanguinarian The vampire lifestyle, also known as the vampire subculture or vampire community (sometimes spelled "vampyre"), is an alternative lifestyle and subculture inspired by the mythology and popular culture surrounding vampires. Participants often iden ...

s or hematophages) who purportedly feed on blood.

Theoretical background

The ancient Chinese belief in achieving immortality through predatory intercourse might appear outlandish to contemporary readers, but it is deeply rooted in traditional Chinese theories of . is considered the fundamental substance that animates all living beings and forms the basis of the universe. Within the human body, manifests through various aspects, including and , prevalent in women and men, respectively. At the moment of orgasm, people release a highly concentrated form of known as . In men, is equated with semen, while in women, it is associated with vaginal lubrication or menstrual fluid. and are part of the Three Treasures in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

, along with . In ("internal alchemy") practices, these Three Treasures can be transmuted sequentially. Using the concept of , Daoist sexual techniques posited that by absorbing a partner's genital fluids without releasing one's own, one could increase one's store of at the expense of the partner, who could waste away and die if the technique was overused. Chinese bedchamber manuals aimed to teach methods of inducing orgasms in sexual partners while preventing the leakage of one's vital liquids. In heterosexual intercourse, each partner would exchange their abundant aspect of with the other's, creating a healthy balance of and . However, in homosexual intercourse, partners would absorb the same aspect of they secreted, resulting in no net benefit to either. The theory of vampiric intercourse involved "sucking in" a partner's secretions without emitting any , either by suppressing orgasm or through injaculation, to extend one's lifespan. Techniques such as , (squeezing the base of the penis to induce retrograde ejaculation), and (semen retention by pressing the

perineum The perineum (: perineums or perinea) in placentalia, placental mammals is the space between the anus and the genitals. The human perineum is between the anus and scrotum in the male or between the anus and vulva in the female. The perineum is ...

) were employed to achieve this goal. Paul R. Goldin, a professor of Chinese Thought at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, explains that two fundamental aspects of Chinese culture made belief in sexual vampirism possible. First, early

Chinese views on sin The concept of sin, in the sense of violating a universal moral code, was unknown in Chinese philosophy and folk religion until around the second century CE, when Buddhism arrived from India and religious Daoism originated. While English lexically ...

did not consider sex sinful. Unless legally or religiously forbidden, partners were free to engage in any sexual activities they desired. This laissez-faire attitude allowed the consumption of sexual partners for nutritive purposes to be seen as no different from consuming food or medicine. Second, the "materialistic cosmology" of Chinese culture viewed people as containers of that a knowledgeable person could manipulate and consume for their benefit. Ultimately, sexual vampires, along with the underlying Chinese concepts of life force and sexual energy, are

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

. "Why should one speak of ‘sexual vampirism’, even though the topic is largely neglected by our technical texts? Is this silence not precisely what reveals the outright imaginary character of the nourishing transfer? Texts on sexual body techniques are thus being silent, where literary, fictional texts fill in the blank space with the figure of dangerous fox ghosts that seduce men in human female appearance".

Battle of the sexes

Some Daoist texts on sexual alchemy consider intercourse mainly as a means for attaining transcendence, and figuratively refer to it as a "battle". This metaphor is also common in Western literature, for example, Robin Baker's '' Sperm Wars''. Distinctly Chinese is, however, the notion that the "victory" belongs to the sex partner who "succeeds in obtaining the other's vital essence thereby increasing one's supply of vital force". The arcane term , first recorded in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

(960–1279), describes the practice of sexual vampirism in which one partner tries to obtain energies at the loss of the other. This word combines , translatable as "pick, pluck, gather; cull, select, choose, adopt; extract, exploit; collect, cluster; bunch up, assemble"; and , "battle, combat; fight with weapons; clash of arms; war; struggle, contend for". The unabridged monolingual (Comprehensive Chinese Word Dictionary), which is lexicographically comparable to the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'', defines as , which in turn is defined as . Various English translations of reflect its complexity: *"plucking in combat" *"gathering through battle" *"plucking battle" *"the battle of gathering" *"reaping the rewards of battle" *"battle of stealing essences" *"battle of absorption" Two sex-specific compounds related with are for men and for women. The 2nd- or 3rd-century (Classic of the Unsullied Woman) contains an early "sexual enemy" reference.

In engaging the enemy [] a man should regard her as so much tiles or stone and himself as gold or jade. When his is aroused, he should immediately withdraw from her territory. One should mount [] a woman as if riding a galloping horse with rotten reins or as if fearful of falling into a deep pit lined with knife blades. If you treasure your [], your life will have no limit.

The translator Wile notes that this phrase is a military and sexual double entendre for "to resist the enemy" and "to have intercourse". The 5th- or 6th-century text begins, "A superior general aoist adeptwhen he exuallyengages the enemy

oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

will first concentrate on drawing out his opponent, and as it were suck and inhale the enemy's strength. He will adopt a completely detached attitude, resembling a man who closes his eyes in utter indifference." This metaphorical extension from martial to erotic terminology is appropriate because

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

and sexual alchemy share two common

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

-like principles: begin by yielding to one's opponent to catch them off balance; conserve one's force while utilizing that of the opponent.

''Yufang zhiyao'' and ''Yufang mijue''

Two

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

(202 BCE-220 CE) sex manuals, the and (Secrets of the Jade Chamber), offer insights into the complex and often sexist Chinese views of sexual vampirism. These texts are part of the broader category of . The , like most Daoist texts predominantly describes male sex vampires, while the uncommonly describes female ones. Both sexological classics, along with several others such as the above, were lost in China by the end of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

in 907, but fortunately, they were preserved in Japan as part of Tambo Yasunori's () 984 Chinese medical

chrestomathy A chrestomathy ( ; from the Ancient Greek 'desire of learning', from 'useful' + 'learn') is a collection of selected literary passages (usually from a single author); a selection of literary passages from a foreign language assembled for stu ...

Ishinpō is the oldest surviving Japanese medical text. It was completed in 984 by Tamba Yasuyori (also referred in some sources as Tanba no Yasuyori) and is 30 volumes in length. The work is partly based on a Chinese medical work called '' Zhubing yuan ...

'' (), and those recovered textual fragments were reconstructed in the early 20th century. The (Essentials of the Jade Chamber) emphasizes male sexual practices, and begins by quoting the mythical Chinese Methuselah

Peng Zu Peng Zu (彭祖, ) is a legendary long-lived figure in China. He supposedly lived 450 years in the Shang dynasty. Some legends say that one year was 60 days in ancient China; that made him more than 130 years old. Others say he was 400 years old. ...

The Yellow Emperor mounted 1,200 women and thus achieved immortality, whereas the ordinary man cuts down his life with just one. Is there not a great gap between knowledge and ignorance? Those who know the regret only having too few opportunities for mounting. It is not always necessary to have those who are beautiful, but simply those who are young, who have not yet borne children, and who are amply covered with flesh. If one can secure but seven or eight such women, it will be of great benefit.

There is no mystery to the of intercourse. It is simply to be free and unhurried and to value harmony above all. Fondle her and "seek to fill her mouth." Press deeply into her and move ever so slightly to induce her . When the woman feels the influence of there are subtle signs. Her ears become hot as if she had drunk good wine. Her breasts swell and fill the whole hand when held. She moves her neck repeatedly while her feet agitate. Becoming passionate and alluring she suddenly clasps the man's body. At this moment, draw back slightly and penetrate her shallowly. The will then gain at the expense of the .

Kristofer Schipper Kristofer Marinus Schipper (23 October 1934 – 18 February 2021), also known as Rik Schipper and by his Chinese name Shi Zhouren (), was a Dutch sinologist. He was a professor of Oriental studies at Leiden University, appointed there in 1993. Sc ...

described this gap between knowledge and ignorance as "a mixed bag of tricks, some rather funny, but in general frankly morbid". The (Secrets of the Jade Chamber) presents a unique perspective by describing female sexual vampirism for longevity, particularly through the figure of the

Queen Mother of the West The Queen Mother of the West, known by #Names, various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion and Chinese mythology, mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient ...

(), who supposedly had intercourse with numerous young boys and consumed their life force, thereby cultivating her sexual energy and becoming a transcendent and famed goddess.

Jolan Chang Jolan Chang (9 December 1917 – 25 April 2002) was a Canadian sexologist and Taoist philosopher who wrote the luminary classics on Eastern Sexuality ''The Tao of Love and Sex'' and ''The Tao of the Loving Couple''. He was born in Hangzhou as the ...

interprets this "somewhat apocryphal" story to indicate that the Queen Mother had all the characteristics of a vampire and conformed with the cross-cultural trope of the ''

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

'' (or "vamp", a

clipping Clipping may refer to: Words * Clipping (morphology), the formation of a new word by shortening it, e.g. "ad" from "advertisement" * Clipping (phonetics), shortening the articulation of a speech sound, usually a vowel * Clipping (publications ...

of "vampire"). Nevertheless, other passages in this same text follow the tradition of male-centric sexual vampirism. The one directly preceding the Queen Mother passage is an excellent example.

To frequently change female partners brings increased benefit. More than ten partners in one night is especially good. If one constantly has intercourse with the same woman, her will become weak, and this is not only of no great benefit to the man, but will cause her to become thin and emaciated."

The Daoist canonical tradition represents the Queen Mother of the West as the goddess of immortality who resides on mythical

Mount Kunlun The Kunlun Mountains constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the broadest sense, the chain forms the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau south of the Tarim Basin. Located in Western China, the Kunlun ...

, where she served the famous

Peaches of Immortality In Chinese mythology, Peaches of Immortality ( or ) are consumed by the immortals due to their mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all who eat them. Peaches symbolizing immortality (or the wish for a long and healthy life) are a common symbo ...

to human and divine guests. In stark contrast, the sexually represents her as a woman who "attained eternal youth and transcendency through a combination of sexual techniques designed to suck the vitality from her male partners", which suggests that sexual vampirism will allow any woman who follows its instructions "to achieve transcendency at the cost of the ill-health of any man unfortunate enough to fall into her clutches."

It is not only that can be cultivated, but too. The
Queen Mother of the West The Queen Mother of the West, known by #Names, various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion and Chinese mythology, mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient ...
cultivated her and attained the . As soon as she had intercourse with a man he would immediately take sick, while her complexion would become radiant without the use of rouge or powder. She always ate curds and plucked the "five stringed lute" thereby harmonizing her heart, concentrating her mind, and was without any other desire. The Queen Mother had no husband but was fond of intercourse with young boys. Therefore, this cannot be an orthodox teaching; but can the Queen Mother be alone in this? When having intercourse with men, you must calm the heart and still the mind. If the man is not yet fully aroused, you must wait for his {{bracket, {{tlit, zh, qi] to arrive and slightly restrain your emotion to attune yourself to him. Do not move or become agitated lest your {{bracket, {{tlit, zh, yinjing become exhausted first. If your {{bracket, {{tlit, zh, yinjing becomes exhausted first, this leaves one in a deficient state and susceptible to Traditional Chinese medicine#Six Excesses, cold wind illnesses. … If a woman knows the way of cultivating her {{tlit, zh, yin and causing the two {{bracket, {{tlit, zh, qi to unite harmoniously, then it may be transformed into a male child. If she is not having intercourse for the sake of offspring, she can divert the fluids to flow back into the hundred vessels. By using {{tlit, zh, yang to nourish {{tlit, zh, yin, the hundred ailments disappear, one's color becomes radiant and the flesh fine. One can enjoy long life and be forever like a youth. If a woman is able to master this {{bracket, {{tlit, zh, dao and have frequent intercourse with men, she can fast for nine days without knowing hunger. Those who are sick and have sexual relations with ghosts are able to fast but become emaciated. How much more can we expect from intercourse with men?

According to Paul R. Goldin, this {{tlit, zh, Yufang mijue sexual vampiristic account of the Queen Mother's "apotheosis is radically amoral, non-Daoist, and this-worldly". It is amoral because there is no suggestion that she "attained her divinity on account of moral excellence or virtuous conduct", and she was originally an ordinary woman, but was able to harness the "extraordinary power" afforded by Daoist sexual practices. This account is non-Daoist because it contradicts orthodox teachings. For instance, the early Way of the Celestial Master

Xiang'er The ''Xiang'er'' () is a commentary to the '' Daodejing'' that is best known for being one of the earliest surviving texts from the Way of the Celestial Master variant of Daoism. The meaning of the title is debated, but can be translated as 'th ...

{{tlit, zh,

Daodejing The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated po ...

commentary criticizes sexual techniques such as those given in the {{tlit, zh, Secrets of the Jade Chamber.

The Way teaches human beings to congeal their essence and make spirits. In the present generation there are those who practice counterfeit arts and slyly call them the Way, teaching by means of the texts of the Yellow Emperor, the Dark Maiden, Master Gong, and Rongcheng. When engaged with a woman, they do not ejaculate, but think they can circulate their essence hrough their bodiesand cause it to fortify their brains. But because their mind and spirit are not at one {{bracket, with the Way, they lose what they try to preserve; though they store up their pleasure, they cannot treasure it for long.

And it is "this-worldly" or material immortality. Sexual vampirism was conceived as one of several "nourishing life" methods of attaining this-worldly immortality in China, along with {{tlit, zh,

neidan Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...

and {{tlit, zh,

waidan , translated as 'external alchemy' or 'external elixir', is the early branch of Chinese alchemy that focuses upon compounding elixirs of immortality by heating minerals, metals, and other natural substances in a luted crucible. The later bran ...

alchemy, dietary regimens, grain avoidance,

daoyin ''Daoyin'' is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Daoist ''neigong'', meditation and mindfulness to cultivate '' jing'' (essence) and direct and refine '' qi'', the internal energy of the body according t ...

gymnastics,

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, embryonic breathing, and circulating breath. The "Yufang zhiyao" and "Yufang mijue" offer valuable glimpses into the historical intersections of sexuality, health, and spirituality in Daoist traditions.

Xia Ji

Lady

Xia Ji Xia Ji (; born 630 BC) was a Chinese noblewoman of the Spring and Autumn period known for her exceptional beauty, and who reportedly had multiple marriages in her lifetime. Her biography provided the basis for the late Ming dynasty erotic novel ...

({{lang, zh, 夏姬, fl. 600-589 BCE) was a legendarily beautiful seductress who had numerous lovers and several husbands. Chinese histories record that she openly engaged in

group sex Group sex is sexual activity involving more than two people. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their own na ...

with Duke Ling of Chen ({{lang, zh, 陳靈公, r. 613-599 BCE) and two of his court officials. Xia Zhengshu ({{lang, zh, 夏徵舒), the son of Xia Ji and her husband Xia Yushu ({{lang, zh, 夏御叔), subsequently killed the duke for joking about which of her sex partners was his biological father. According to the sinologist

Olivia Milburn Olivia Milburn (born 1976) is a sinologist, author and literary translator who specialises in Chinese cultural history and in Chinese minority groups. Life and career Milburn is a professor at the School of Chinese, Hong Kong University. Milbur ...

, Xia Ji was traditionally considered one of the "most wicked women of Chinese antiquity". For centuries, Xia Ji was a

literary Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...

trope for a

. For instance, the{{zhp, p=Xi jing fu, c=西京賦, tr=Western Metropolis Rhapsody by

Zhang Heng Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty#Eastern Han (25–220 AD), Eastern Han dynasty. Educated in the capital citi ...

(78–139 CE): "They snuggled together on a narrow mat in the center of the hall, And feathered goblets made the rounds countless times. Rarely seen dances were performed in succession; Marvelous talents showed off their skills. Their bewitching magic was more seductive than that of Xia Ji". David R. Knechtges says, "She was married seven times, and even in old age she attracted men." Then in the late

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368–1644), Xia Ji became the subject of a popular

erotic novel Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically on sexual feeli ...

. The c. 1610-1620 {{tlit, zh, Zhulin yeshi (Unofficial History of the Bamboo Grove) portrayed her as using esoteric sexual vampirism to kill her lovers, each of whom she gradually sucked dry of

vital energy Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...

, to maintain her

and become a Daoist transcendent. In

Chinese history The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

, the earliest textual references to Xia Ji are from the c. 4th-century BCE {{tlit, zh,

Zuozhuan The ''Zuo Zhuan'' ( zh, t=左傳, w=Tso Chuan; ), often translated as ''The Zuo Tradition'' or as ''The Commentary of Zuo'', is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the '' ...

(Zuo's Commentary) to the c. 5th-century BCE {{tlit, zh, Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals) historical chronicle; compare the c. 18 BCE {{tlit, zh,

Lienu zhuan The ''Biographies of Exemplary Women'' () is a book compiled by the Han dynasty scholar Liu Xiang . It includes 125 biographical accounts of exemplary women in ancient China, taken from early Chinese histories including '' Chunqiu'', ''Zuozhua ...

historical references to Xia Ji, discussed

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

. The missionary

James Legge James Legge (; 20 December 181529 November 1897) was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator who was best known as an early translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the Lond ...

, the first English-language translator of the {{tlit, zh, Zuozhuan, condemned Xia Ji as "Xia Zhengshu's mother, a widow, was a vile woman, and was carrying on a licentious connexion with the marquis of Chen and two of his ministers at the same time. The things which are related about the four are inexpressibly filthy." The {{tlit, zh, Zuozhuan entry for 600 BCE (

Xuan Xuan () may refer to: * Xuancheng, formerly Xuan Prefecture (Xuanzhou), Anhui, China ** Xuanzhou District, seat of Xuancheng and Xuan Prefecture ** Xuan paper, from Xuan Prefecture * Xuan (surname), Chinese surname * Xuan (given name) Chinese ru ...

9) describes Xia Ji's infamous orgy in the court of Duke Ling of Chen ({{lang, zh, 陳靈公, 613-599) with his officials Kong Ning ({{lang, zh, 孔寧) and Yi Xingfu/Hangfu ({{lang, zh, 儀行父).

Lord Ling of Chen together with Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu engaged in an illicit sexual relationship with Lady Xia Ji and they all wore her underwear in order to make a joke at court. Xie Ye {{bracket, {{lang, zh, 洩冶 remonstrated: "For a ruler and his ministers to announce their debauchery gives the people no model to follow and your reputation will be ruined. Your lordship should put an end to it." His lordship said: "I can reform {{bracket, my behavior." His lordship reported this to the two other men and they requested permission to kill him. His lordship did not forbid them to do so, so they murdered Xie Ye.

The entry for 599 BCE (Xuan 10) records that Xia Ji's son Zhengshu assassinated Duke Ling for joking that his father was not Yushu, but Ling, Kong, or Yi.

Lord Ling of Chen was drinking wine at the Xia house with Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu. His lordship said to Xingfu: "{{bracket, Xia Zhengshu looks like you." He replied: "He also looks like your lordship." {{bracket, Xia Zhengshu was enraged by this. His lordship went out, and {{bracket, Xia Zhengshu shot him dead from his stables. The two other men fled to
Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...
.

The {{tlit, zh, Zuozhuan entry for 589 BCE ( Cheng 2) narrates how both

King Zhuang of Chu King Zhuang of Chu (), personal name Xiong Lü, was a monarch of the Chu state. He was one of the "Five Hegemons" who attempted to wrest control of China during the Spring and Autumn period. Life The son of King Mu, King Zhuang ascended the th ...

(r. 613-591 BCE) and his brother Prince Zifan ({{lang, zh, 子反) were infatuated with Xia Ji and wanted to make her his

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

, but a

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

official named Wu Chen ({{lang, zh, 巫臣) successfully remonstrated against it. The king afterward presented her in marriage to a minor official named Xiang Lao ({{lang, zh, 襄老), and after his death, she began having incestuous sex with her stepson Xiang Heiyao ({{lang, zh, 襄黑要), who became her third husband. After Chu conquered Chen, King Zhuang sentenced Duke Ling's murderer Xia Zhengshu to death by {{zhp, p= julie, c=車裂, tr=attaching five chariots to a convict's head and four limbs and tearing him to pieces.

When Chu punished the Xia family of Chen, King Zhuang wanted to take Lady Xia Ji into his own harem. Shengong Wu Chen said: "You cannot do this. When you summoned the other lords, it was to punish the guilty. If you now take Lady Xia Ji into your own household, then you are greedy for her beauty. If you are greedy for her beauty, then you are debauched. Debauchery will result in terrible punishments. … Your majesty should consider this!" His majesty then stopped. Zifan wanted to take her. Wu Chen said: "This is an inauspicious person. It is she who made the Honorable Man die young, who killed Yushu, murdered Lord Ling, brought Xia {{bracket, Zinan to the scaffold, forced Kong {{bracket, Ning and Yi {{bracket, Xingfu into exile and brought tragedy to the state of Chen. When has there been such an unlucky person? It is hard enough to survive; why should you suffer a premature demise? There are lots of beautiful women in the world, so why does it have to be this one?"

Milburn translates Ziman or Zi Man or ({{lang, zh, 子蠻) as "Honorable Man"—where {{tlit, zh,

Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

means a "southern ethnic group" rather than a "man"—and notes that {{tlit, zh, Zuo zhuan commentators are divided about whether the name refers to Xia Ji's brother or her first husband.

Du Yu Du Yu (223 – January or February 285), courtesy name Yuankai, was a Chinese classicist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the late Three Kingdoms period and early Jin dynasty. Life Du Yu was from Duling County ...

suggested that Man ({{lang, zh, 蠻) was the {{zhp, p=zi, c=字, tr=

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

of Xia Ji's half-brother Lord Ling of Zheng ({{lang, zh, 鄭靈公, r. 605 BCE) before his accession, however, another {{tlit, zh, Zuozhuan context gives his courtesy name as Hao ({{lang, zh, 貉). Compare "She brought er brotherZiman, to an early death".

Yang Bojun Yang Bojun (; 1 September 1909 − 1992) was a Chinese philologist best known for his ''Chunqiu Zuozhuan Zhu'' (), an annotated commentary of the ancient Chinese historical text and Confucian classic ''Zuo Zhuan''. The work took him more than tw ...

hypothesized that Man was Xia Ji's previously unknown first husband, making Lord Yushu ({{lang, zh, 御叔) her second, despite the absence of corroborating textual references to him. Lastly, the harem official Wu Chen who advised King Zhuang and Prince Zifan against making Xia Ji a concubine, wanted to marry her himself and they fled to Jin and then Wu. In the {{tlit, zh, Zuozhuan, "Lady Xia Ji married at least four times and had four recorded illicit sexual relationships, one of which was an incestuous affair with her stepson". In

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

, a

(1368–1644) erotic novel repopularized the femme fatale Xia Ji. The c. 1610-1620 {{tlit, zh, Zhulin yeshi (Unofficial History of the Bamboo Grove) made Lady Xia Ji the basis for the main protagonist named Su'e ({{lang, zh, 素娥), an allusion to the contemporary Ming pornographic novel {{tlit, zh,

Su'e pian ''Su'e pian'' (), also ''Su E Pian'', translated into English as ''The Moon Goddess'' or ''The Lady of the Moon'', is a Chinese erotic novel by an anonymous writer published in the late Ming dynasty. It follows the sexual escapades of Wu Sansi () ...

(Chapters of Su'e). Set in around 600 BCE during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

(770-481 BCE), Su'e was a young unmarried woman who dreamed that the Daoist transcendent Hua Yue ({{lang, zh, 華月) taught her esoteric techniques of love-making, and gave her a sex manual entitled {{zhp, p=Sunǚ caizhan zhi shu, c=素女採戰之術, tr=the Plain Girl's Arts for Reaping the Rewards of Battle. A similar story is found in the c. 2nd-century CE {{tlit, zh,

Liexian Zhuan The ''Liexian Zhuan'', sometimes translated as ''Biographies of Immortals'', is the oldest extant Chinese hagiography of Daoist '' xian'' "transcendents; immortals; saints; alchemists". The text, which compiles the life stories of about 70 mytho ...

(Biographies of Exemplary Transcendents), which has the earliest known example of a woman "achieving first eternal youth and then transcendency through esoteric sexual practices with multiple partners". It records a woman named Nü Wan ({{lang, zh, 女丸) or occasionally Nü Ji ({{lang, zh, 女几) who learned esoteric sexual practices after an anonymous transcendent gave her a text entitled {{zhp, p= Sunǚ jing, c=素女經, tr=The Plain Girl's Classic. The original Chinese reads: {{zhp, p=nei xie jishu, gai lao er fu zhuang zhe, c=內挾伎術蓋老而復壯者, tr={{bracket, Lady Xia Ji was someone who {{bracket, had mastered the techniques of internal compression, whereby even though she was old she could restore her youth. First using her newfound sexual techniques to retain her youthful appearance throughout her life; she then seduced multiple men until she was stopped by a rival Daoist master who became her lover and joined her in their quest for spiritual transcendence. "Such themes were a staple of early Chinese erotic literature, and were closely related to a heterodox tradition in which the achievement of transcendency was completely divorced from moral cultivation."

In the course of the narrative every single man who has a sexual relationship with Lady Xia Ji dies. This theme might suggest that she is being portrayed as a kind of sexual vampire, draining vitality from the men with whom she has sex. However, the vampire motif is developed only in the case of her first two human sexual partners: her half-brother, the Honorable Man of Zheng, and her first husband. Subsequently, Lord Ling of Chen is murdered by Lady Xia Ji's irate son, Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu find themselves the victims of vengeful ghosts, her second husband dies in battle, his son is beheaded for the crime of committing incest with his stepmother, Wu Chen and Luan Shu ({{lang, zh, 欒書) are both executed for the crime of wife-swapping.

In the novel's conclusion, Lady Xia Ji has acquired a disciple, a young woman of high social status like herself; the wife of the minister Luan Shu. This young woman is foolish enough to be tempted into a sexual relationship with Wu Chen, who victimized her, "Wu Chen being as much of a vampire as his wife."

Van Gulik's influence

Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik (, 9 August 1910 – 24 September 1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century ...

, a Dutch diplomat, orientalist, and author, made significant contributions to the understanding of traditional Chinese sexuality through his seminal works, ''Erotic Colour Prints of the Ming Period'' (1951) and ''Sexual Life in Ancient China; A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D.''. In these works, van Gulik delved into the complex and often misunderstood aspects of ancient Chinese sexual customs, and was the first scholar to call Daoist sexual practices "sexual vampirism" Theoretical complications underlying his scholarship have been criticized by scholars such as

Charlotte Furth Charlotte Davis Furth (January 22, 1934 – June 19, 2022) was an American scholar of Chinese history. She was a professor at California State University, Long Beach, and at the University of Southern California. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fel ...

: "Van Gulik's message to his mid-twentieth-century English-speaking reader was that traditional Chinese sexual norms were healthy, neither 'repressed' nor 'perverted'. Van Gulik's criteria here are those of Freudian discourse: what is repressive is abstinence, while perversions divert libido away from its proper genital outlets or channel it into sadomasochistic cruelties." Van Gulik's interest in this field began during his posting to the Netherlands Embassy in Tokyo in 1949, when he obtained a set of Chinese original printing woodblocks for a rare Ming dynasty erotic picture album. His initial plan was to publish them in a limited edition, and add a brief preface on the "historical background of Chinese erotic art." However, upon beginning to research ancient Chinese sexual life and customs, he found that there was a paucity of serious literature available, either in Chinese sources (owing to "excessive prudery" during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

) or in Western sinological publications. The materials van Gulik assembled and examined convinced him that "the current foreign conception of the depraved and abnormal sexual habits of the ancient Chinese was completely wrong." In 1951, he privately published ''Erotic Colour Prints'' in a limited edition, distributing copies to academic institutions worldwide to ensure the content remained accessible only to qualified readers. Due to his concerns about limiting readership, van Gulik's English translations of sexually explicit Chinese passages were rendered in Latin; an attitude that Goldin says "smacks of elitism and is clearly outmoded today". The pioneering scholar's 1951 ''Erotic Colour Prints'' referred to "sexual vampirism" in two contexts. The first described the metaphorical "battle" of the sexes:

These alchemists considered woman as the "enemy" because through her causing the man to emit semen, she robs him of his precious Yang essence. This conception resulted in woman being degraded to a mere source of supply of the coveted Yin essence. The Art of the Bedchamber as the alchemists interpreted it was a kind of cruel sexual vampirism. They believed not only that absorbing large quantities of Yin essence from the women they copulated with could lengthen their years and rejuvenate them, but also that the Elixir of Immortality resided in the "Original Femininity" {{bracket, {{tlit, zh, yuanpin {{lang, zh, 元牝. This mysterious substance they described as concentrated, inactivated Yin essence, that could be extracted from the vaginal secretions especially of a young virgin. This substance could be tapped by performing the sexual act in a special way, or also be extracted from the woman by artificial means. Accordingly the alchemists engaged in various revolting and cruel experiments which not seldom caused the death of the unfortunate victim. … The sexual vampirism of the Taoist alchemists must be considered as quite apart from the Art of the Bedchamber, which, contrary to the allegations of later Confucianist writers, is by no means peculiar to Taoism.

The second context elaborates upon the first,

… Taoist alchemical treatise where the sexual act is considered exclusively as a means for attaining immortality. Above I referred to these depraved practices as "sexual vampirism." The Taoist teachings relating to this subject, however, bear a vicious character. They have nothing to do with love, not even with the satisfying of carnal desire or with sexual pleasure. These teachings preach a kind of sexual black magic, aimed at acquiring supernatural power at the expense of the sexual partner.

Although van Gulik popularized "sexual vampire" referring to Chinese sexual acts, he but did not coin the term. For instance,

Arthur Eustace Morgan Arthur Eustace Morgan (26 July 1886 – 3 February 1972) was the eighth Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University. Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at University College, Bristol (now the University of Bristol) and Trinity ...

wrote, "Her heart has yearned for maternal love; but suddenly the idealized picture has dissolved and clearly and unmistakably there stands out the figure of a sexual vampire, Mrs. Warren—procuress." Van Gulik's portrayal of Daoist sexual practices was not without controversy. In 1954,

Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, initia ...

, the eminent historian of

science and technology in China Science and technology in the People's Republic of China have developed rapidly since the 1980s to the 2020s, with major scientific and technological progress over the last four decades. From the 1980s to the 1990s, the government of the P ...

, and his international group of collaborators began publishing the monumental series "

Science and Civilisation in China ''Science and Civilisation in China'' (1954–present) is an ongoing series of books about the history of science and technology in China published by Cambridge University Press. It was initiated and edited by British historian Joseph Needham (19 ...

". When Needham independently started researching ancient Daoist sexual alchemy, he read van Gulik's 1951 book and disagreed with some of its remarks, especially concerning "sexual vampirism". The two scholars subsequently corresponded, as described in the second volume of ''Science and Civilisation in China'', which praises van Gulik's ''Erotic Colour Prints'' as an "excellent book". Needham notes that, "The only difference in our conclusions is that I think van Gulik's estimate of the Taoist theories and practices in his book (e.g. pp. 11, 69) was in general too unfavourable; aberrations were few and exceptional. Dr. van Gulik and I are now in agreement on the subject (personal communication)." Van Gulik's preface to 1961 ''Sexual Life'' provides more information about their correspondence.

eedhamconsulted the copy of my book which I had presented to the library of his university, and found himself in disagreement with my unfavourable remarks on certain Taoist sexual disciplines. I must confess that those Taoist practices had rather shocked me at first and as a reaction I had characterized them as "sexual vampirism." Although when studying these matters as a layman it is difficult to maintain always the proper detached attitude of mind, I went much too far in stating that Taoist thought had exercised a detrimental influence on the treatment and position of women in ancient China. Needham pointed out to me in private correspondence that on the contrary Taoism had on the whole enhanced the position of Chinese women in general. Needham showed me that my interpretation of Taoist data had been too narrow, and that his broader views were indeed right.

Needham was already a world-famous scholar, while van Gulik was a diplomat who collected art and wrote books, for example, the

Judge Dee Judge Dee, or Judge Di, is a semi-fictional character based on the historical figure Di Renjie, County magistrate (China), county magistrate and statesman of the Tang dynasty, Tang court. The character appeared in the 18th-century Chinese detectiv ...

historical mysteries. By accepting Needham's "broader views", Van Gulik augmented his belief that Chinese sexual practices were not "depraved." Goldin says, "But with hindsight, we can see today that Van Gulik's earlier thoughts on the matter were more judicious, and it is a pity that he allowed himself to be hectored." Despite van Gulik's agreement with Needham's opinion, his 1961 ''Sexual Life'' still refers to sex vampires in two circumstances. The former uses "sexual vampirism" to describe two erotic

novels. In the {{zhp, p= Zhulin yeshi, c=竹林野史, tr=Unofficial History of the Bamboo Garden, "the teachings of the old handbooks of sex are Debased to a kind of sexual vampirism", and the {{zhp, p=Zhaoyang chushi, c=朝陽初時, tr=Birth of the Morning Sun blends plot elements of "sexual vampirism, a perversion of the old Taoist disciplines" and fox-lore. The latter mentions sex vampires along with mythological

fox spirit Huli jing () are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, charact ...

s, {{zhp, p=hulijing, c=狐狸精, tr=fox spirit or {{zhp, p=jiuweihu, c=九尾狐, tr=nine-tailed fox, was believed capable of

shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existen ...

into a beautiful young woman to seduce men and absorb their {{tlit, zh, jing ("semen; life-essence"). If a

nocturnal emission A wet dream, sex dream, or sleep orgasm, is a spontaneous occurrence of sexual arousal during sleep that includes ejaculation (nocturnal emission) and orgasm for a male, and vaginal lubrication and/or orgasm for a female. Context Nocturnal e ...

is "induced by the man seeing a woman in his dreams, he must be on his guard against that woman if he actually meets her, for she may be a vampire or a fox-spirit." Voluntary celibacy for men and women was viewed with contempt and sharply denounced, particularly celibate women who "were suspected of being vampires or harbouring nefarious designs, and they were often persecuted …".(van Gulik 1961: 50). Robert van Gulik's pioneering studies opened a window into the complex sexual culture of ancient China, challenging stereotypes and offering a nuanced perspective that continues to influence modern sinology.

References

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External links

Sex in Ancient China
interview with Paul R. Goldin.
卷第二十八房内, Within the Bedchamber
Japanese ''

'' (醫心方) chapter 28,

Chinese Text Project The Chinese Text Project (CTP; ) is a digital library project that assembles collections of early Chinese texts. The name of the project in Chinese literally means "The Chinese Philosophical Book Digitization Project", showing its focus on books ...

*Qin Yuhan (2017)
A Political Fantasy: Female Images in the Late Ming-Dynasty Chinese Erotic Paintings

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

thesis. Sex manuals Sexology Sexual acts Sexuality in China Taoist practices Vampires Vampirism