However, for more than 1,000 years, "The Art of the Bedchamber" underlined the
pleasure, sensitivity and desires of both men and women, said Sumiyo Umekawa, a
professor with the Otsuma Women's College.
Manuals starting from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) noted that females should
receive as much pleasure from sexual intercourse as she gave to the man, and
introduced practical skills to achieve mutual satisfaction, said Sumiyo, at the
22nd International Congress of History of Science.
"The Art of the Bedchamber" in ancient Chinese recorded little-known sexual
skills and fitness exercises. The earliest art of bedchamber can be traced to
Shang and Zhou dynasties (1,600 BC to 221 BC).
"It was very important to increase female sexual pleasure and bring her to an
ecstatic state, for the sake of both men's and women's health and joy," she
quoted the manuals as saying.
However, like other issues dominated by men in ancient China, The Art of the
Bedchamber also revealed the selfishness of men, telling men to use
aphrodisiacs for their own advantage, said the professor.
Apart from studying The Art of the Bedchamber, Sumiyo also summarized the
functions of aphrodisiacs disclosed in ancient folk records, which include
accelerating insemination and pregnancy and the treatment of gynecological and
obstetrical diseases.
"Those aphrodisiacs which cured gynecological and obstetrical illness like
irregular menstruation reflected the attention and care of the health and
feelings of females in sex," she said.
Xinhua
