Su Nü Jing

Su Nü Jing (Chinese: 素女經, "Classic of the Pure Woman") is a Chinese sexology book thought to be written between the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period, around 27–260 AD. Quotes The Yellow Emperor asked the Plain Girl: "Now what if one decides to refrain entirely from sexual intercourse?" The Plain Girl answered: "This is wrong. Heaven and Earth have their opening and closing, Yin and Yang develop from each other. Man is modeled after Yin and Yang and embodies the sequence of the four seasons. If one should resolve to abstain from sexual intercourse, one's spirit will not develop since the interchange of Yin and Yang will then come to a halt. How could one thus supplement one's vital essence? Blending the vital essence during frequent exercise of the sexual act, substituting the new for the old, this is how one benefits oneself. If the Jade Stalk becomes inactive a man will die. But its activity should be controlled and guided. If one knows how to copulate without emitting semen, then the semen will 'return'. To make the semen 'return' so as to benefit one's system—this is the secret of life." Reported in R. H. Van Gulik, Sexual Life in Ancient China (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1961), pp. 137–8 External links Category:Chinese literature Category:Erotic literature