Exploratory cultural journey

Author: Liu Dalin / Hu Hongxia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: This is a travel guide book primarily focused on sex culture. By "travel guide," it doesn't just mean directions and activities, but more importantly, it combines travel with the dissemination of knowledge about sex culture. The aim is to spark people's interest and attention to sex culture, promoting its development toward health and widespread understanding. China has a rich and long-standing culture, naturally including a rich and long-standing sex culture. Some architectural sites clearly exhibit sex culture, such as brothels, Xue Tao Well, and Helan Mountain rock paintings, which are immediately recognizable. Others are less obvious, like Naitou Mountain, Zhongfeng Rock Carvings, and "Aqibai," requiring further study and interpretation. These are all cultural landscapes, but many natural landscapes, such as Yin Yuan Stone, Yang Yuan Stone, Jinqiang Feng, and Xiuni Rock, are natural formations that have existed for hundreds of thousands of years, not cultural artifacts. However, people's attitudes toward them are undeniably cultural, such as burning incense and bowing in reverence, praying for marriage or children. We wrote this book based on our experiences over the years—our footsteps, what we heard, saw, and felt—presented in the form of emotions, scenery, stories, accompanied by photos and artifact images. Currently, we do not believe this book offers significant practical guidance for actual travel activities, as people's openness to sex concepts in China is not yet sufficient to organize "sex culture" tours. Perhaps in the near future, this will become possible, especially for overseas or foreign visitors. Many of them are deeply interested in China's sex culture and have visited mainland China multiple times, having already explored iconic sites like the Forbidden City and Great Wall in Beijing, and the Terracotta Army in Xi'an. They might consider selecting cultural tourism. For Chinese readers, we simply want to share some historical knowledge about sex culture through this book, letting them know that sex is not mysterious and is present everywhere in China. If you have the opportunity, please pay attention! This book is not a "comprehensive guide." There are too many and too deep sexual heritage sites in China, and new ones are still being discovered. For example, the Great Sleeping Buddha in Minjiang, Sichuan, was discovered in 1988; Yin Yuan Stone in Danxia Mountain, Guangdong, in 1997; a large group of rock carvings depicting male genitalia in Zhongfeng Town, Chongqing's Qijiang, in 2001; and the Human Root Peak and Mother's Gate in Inner Mongolia, which were only developed in 2005. Life is short, and our footsteps are limited—no one can fully explore them. Therefore, for the places we have visited, this book provides detailed information, while for those we haven't, we can only offer brief details. For places we have visited multiple times, we mainly record our most memorable experiences, as those visits left a deeper impression and more passion. But no matter how superficial or incomplete, this is a book that has never been published before, with some pioneering significance. We hope readers will enjoy it and continue to provide corrections and supplements. China has a long and brilliant traditional culture, yet its sex culture has been buried and sealed away for centuries due to feudal taboos. Now that the 21st century has arrived, many modern people still feel confused about "sex" and avoid discussing it. How should we correctly understand "sex" and accurately interpret the traditional Chinese concept of "sex culture"? Why did ancient people burn incense and kneel in reverence in certain valleys? Why was Wu Zetian buried on Naitou Mountain? What do pagodas symbolize? Why does the Chinese character "zu" (), meaning "ancestor," contain a symbol of the male reproductive organ? The authors, with clear and meticulous penwork, guide readers into a magical realm through travelogues, unraveling the mysteries between natural wonders and ancient Chinese sex culture. Readers will receive both a light-hearted and serious education in traditional Chinese sex culture during their journey. More historical origins and current evidence tell us: "Human history includes the history of sex development."