Sexual vampire

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Caizhan
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese採戰
Simplified Chinese采战
Literal meaningbattle of [sexual energy] absorption
Korean name
Hangul채전
Hanja採戦
Japanese name
Kanji採戦
Kanaさいせん

A sexual vampire practices the ancient Chinese sexual technique in which one partner is believed to replenish his or her own body by absorbing the other partner's qi ("life force") and its concentrate jing ("sexual energy") without emitting any of one's own. Supposedly, a vampiric partner could increase his or her supply of qi, thus extending longevity and ultimately transforming into a Daoist xian ("transcendent", traditionally mistranslated as "immortal"). Nevertheless, an unwitting partner repeatedly subjected to sexual vampirism could eventually weaken and die. Since mainstream Daoist schools described the ideal sexual union as an even exchange of yin and yang energies between partners, they criticized sexual vampirism as wrongful and heterodox.

Myths about Chinese gods and immortals recount individuals who allegedly achieved transcendence through sexual vampirism. For example, after having sex with 1,200 women, the Yellow Emperor became transcendent and ascended into heaven.

Chinese erotic literature and sex manuals metaphorically refer to intercourse as a "battle" or "war" of the sexes, in which one should "defeat" the "enemy" through caizhan (採戰, "battle of [energy] absorption"). The intended reader was nearly always a male; who should "defeat"' the female "enemy" in a "sexual battle" by controlling ejaculation, while simultaneously exciting her until she reaches orgasm and sheds her yin essence, which he then absorbs.

Two Chinese mythological creatures are comparable to sex vampires. A jiangshi (殭屍, lit. "stiff corpse", or "hopping vampire") kills people to absorb their qi ("life-force"); a hulijing (狐狸精, "fox spirit") or jiuweihu (九尾狐, "nine-tailed fox") shapeshifts into a beautiful woman who seduces a young man and absorbs his jing ("sperm; sexual essence").

In English terms, a Chinese sexual vampire roughly corresponds to a psychic vampire, energy vampire, succubus, or incubus. These mythical creatures who feed on human vital forces are less commonplace than vampires who feed on blood (technically known as sanguinarians or hematophages).

Theoretical background[edit]

The ancient Chinese belief that one can achieve immortality through predatory intercourse might seem outlandish to contemporary readers with differing views about religion and sexuality. However, understanding sexual vampirism hinges upon the Chinese theory of qi (氣, life force; vital breath; matter-energy"), which animates all living creatures and comprises the basic substance of the universe. Various facets of qi were thought to be realized within human bodies, including yin and yang that were prevalent in women and men, respectively. People release qi in an especially concentrated form called jing (精, "essence; sexual energy; vigor") at the moment of orgasm. For men, jing was conceived as semen, for women, vaginal lubrication or menstrual fluid (Goldin 2006: 286).

Jing and qi are two of the Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine), along with shen ("spirit; deity; god"). In neidan ("internal alchemy") practices, the Three Treasures can be sequentially transmuted (van Enckevort 2014).

Using the Chinese keyword xi (吸, "suck in, suck up; absorb; inhale, breathe in; attract, draw to oneself"; DeFrancis 1996: 1016) in a coital context, practitioners of Daoist sexual techniques theorized that if one could "suck in" the genital fluids of one's sexual partner during intercourse without releasing any fluids of one's own, one would emerge from the encounter with an increased store of qi — at the direct expense, of course, of the partner who would eventually waste away and die if the technique were excessively repeated.

The purpose of Chinese bedchamber manuals is to reveal "how to induce copious orgasm in one's sex partners while preventing the leakage of one's vital liquids" (Goldin 2006: 286). In typical heterosexual intercourse, each partner would secrete (in the form of genital emissions) that aspect of qi that he or she had in abundance and would simultaneously "suck in" that aspect that he or she lacked—an exchange producing a healthy equilibrium of yin and yang in both bodies. In homosexual intercourse, however, each partner would "suck in" precisely the same aspect of qi that he or she secreted, with no benefit to either person (Goldin 2001: 6–7).

The theory of vampiric intercourse, however, taught the art of "sucking in" one's partners' secretions but without emitting any qi of one's own, either by suppressing one's orgasm entirely or by "injaculating", someone could extend one's lifespan (Goldin 2015: 2–3). Several methods were employed. Coitus interruptus or "withdrawal method" is an ancient contraceptive method in which a man removes his penis from the vagina before ejaculation. Coitus saxonicus or coitus thesauratus is a birth-control method consisting of squeezing the base of the penis at the moment of orgasm, usually resulting in retrograde ejaculation into the bladder. Coitus reservatus or coitus conservatus is a semen-retention practice in which a man intentionally avoids or delays ejaculating during intercourse, typically by pressing on the perineum, which also can result in retrograde ejaculation.

Paul R. Goldin, University of Pennsylvania Professor of Chinese Thought, explains how two basic aspects of Chinese culture made the belief in sexual vampirism possible. First, in early Chinese views on sin, sex was not considered sinful. Unless partners were legally or religiously forbidden to have sex, they were free to practice and enjoy whatever sexual activities they desired. This laissez-faire attitude allowed one "to regard the consumption of legal sexual partners for nutritive purposes as no more or less objectionable than the consumption of food or medicine." Second, in the Chinese "materialistic cosmology" worldview, people, like all other physical things, are containers of qi, which a knowledgeable person can manipulate and consume for one's benefit (2006: 306–307).

Battle of the sexes[edit]

Some Daoist texts on sexual alchemy, which consider intercourse mainly as a means for attaining immortality, refer to copulation as a "battle". This metaphor is also common in Western literature, for example, Robin Baker's Sperm Wars. Markedly Chinese is, however, the notion that the "victory" belongs to him or her who, during sexual intercourse, "succeeds in obtaining the other's vital essence thereby increasing one's supply of vital force" (van Gulik 1961: 157).

The arcane Chinese word cǎizhàn (採戰), first recorded in the Song dynasty (960–1279), describes the practice of sexual vampirism in which one partner tries to obtain energies at the loss of the other (Despeux 2000: 405). This term combines cai (採 or 采) "pick, pluck, gather; cull, select, choose, adopt; extract, exploit; collect, cluster; bunch up, assemble" and zhan (戰) "battle, combat; fight with weapons; clash of arms; war; struggle, contend for" (Kroll 2017: 30, 591). The unabridged monolingual Hanyu Da Cidian (Comprehensive Chinese Word Dictionary), which is lexicographically comparable to the Oxford English Dictionary, defines cǎizhàn (采战 / 採戰) as yóu cǎibǔ (犹采补 / 猶採補) "similar to caibu (采补 / 採補) with bu "mend or patch clothing. repair, restore; remedy, redress; improve, ameliorate; add to, supplement; supplete, supply (a deficiency); replenish. … Kroll 2017: 29), which is defined as "谓汲取他人元气, 精血以补益己身" ("capturing/absorbing the energy, essence, and blood of others to nourish oneself") (Luo 1994; 6: 691–692, 10: 1307).

There are no conventional English translations of caizhan (採戰):

  • "plucking [of energy] in [amorous] combat" (Despeux 2000: 405)
  • "gathering through battle" (Despeux and Kohn 2003: 212)
  • "plucking battle" (Pfister 2012: 55)
  • "the battle of gathering" (van Enckevort 2014: 131)
  • "reaping the rewards of battle" (Milburn 2017: 10)
  • "battle of stealing essences" (Wile 2018: 5)
  • "battle of absorption" (Chiang 2018: 69)

Two derived sex-specific compounds are caiyin buyang (採陰補陽, "collecting yin and replenishing yang") for men and caiyang buyin (採陰補陽, "collecting yang and replenishing yin") for women.

The 2nd or 3rd century Sunü Jing (Classic of the Unsullied Woman) contains an early "sexual enemy" reference.

In engaging the enemy [御敵] a man should regard her as so much tiles or stone and himself as gold or jade. When his [jing] is aroused, he should immediately withdraw from her territory. One should mount [御] 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 [jing], your life will have no limit. (Wile 1992: 85).

The translator Wile notes that this phrase yudi (御敵) is a double entendre. In the military sense, yu means "to resist" and, in the sexual sense "to have intercourse"; di means both "enemy" and "sex partner". Yu can also mean "to drive; to mount (a horse-drawn vehicle)", and is a frequently used transitive verb for "male initiated sexual intercourse with women", which he concretely translates as "mount" rather than a euphemism. (Wile 1992: 230).

The Northern and Southern dynasties period (420–589) text Jiji zhenjing (既濟真經, True Classic of the Complete Union) exemplifies the sexual alchemy of some Daoist schools. "The man should 'defeat' the 'enemy' in the sexual 'battle' by keeping himself under complete control so as not to emit semen, while at the same time exciting the woman till she reaches orgasm and sheds her yin essence, which is then absorbed by the man." This metaphorical extension from martial to erotic terminology is appropriate because ancient Chinese military science and sexual alchemy share two common judo-like principles: beginning by yielding to one's opponent to catch him/her unexpectedly, and conserving one's force while utilizing the opponent's. The text begins, "A superior general [Daoist adept] when he [sexually] engages the enemy [woman] 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." (van Gulik 1961: 278).

Yufang zhiyao and Yufang mijue[edit]

Queen Mother of the West, Yongle Temple murals, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)

Two titularly paired Han dynasty Chinese sex manuals, from fangzhongshu (房中術, "the art of lovemaking"), exemplify sexist descriptions of sexual vampirism. The Yufang zhiyao (玉房指要, Essentials of the Jade Chamber), like almost all Chinese texts describes exclusively male practitioners, while the Yufang mijue (Secrets of the Jade Chamber) uniquely describes female sex vampires. Both these sexological classics, along with several others such as the Sunü Jing above, were lost in China by the end of the Tang dynasty in 907, but preserved in Japan as part of Tambo Yasunori's (丹波康頼) 984 Chinese medical chrestomathy Ishinpō (医心方), and those recovered textual fragments were reconstructed in the early 20th century.

The Yufang zhiyao (Essentials of the Jade Chamber) begins by quoting the mythical Chinese Methuselah Peng Zu,

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 tao 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 tao of intercourse. It is simply to be free and unhurried and to value harmony above all. Fondle her dantian and "seek to fill her mouth." Press deeply into her and move ever so slightly to induce her [qi]. When the woman feels the influence of yang 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 yang will then gain [qi] at the expense of the yin. (tr. Wile 1992: 100-101).

Kristofer Schipper described this gap between knowledge and ignorance as "a mixed bag of tricks, some rather funny, but in general frankly morbid" (1982: 148).

The Yufang zhiyao also quotes the Han Daoist transcendent Liu Jing (劉京) about sexual intercourse.

The tao of mounting women is first to engage in slow foreplay so as to harmonize your spirits and arouse her desire, to and only after a long time to unite. Penetrate when soft and quickly withdraw when hard, making the intervals between advancing and withdrawing relaxed and slow. Furthermore, do not throw yourself into it as from a great height, for this overturns the Five Viscera and injures the collateral meridians, leading to a hundred ailments. But if one can have intercourse without ejaculating and engage several tens of times in one day and night without losing [jing], all illnesses will be greatly improved and one's lifespan will daily increase. Even greater benefits are reaped by frequently changing female partners. To change partners more than ten times in one night is especially good. (Wile 1992: 101)

The Yufang mijue (Secrets of the Jade Chamber) says the Queen Mother of the West had intercourse with numerous young boys and consumed their yang life force, thereby cultivating her yin sexual energy and becoming a transcendent and famed goddess. This account is unusual in two ways. First, sexually representing the Queen Mother contrasts starkly with her conventional image as the goddess of immortality, holding court in her paradisical palace on Mount Kunlun, where she served the famous Peaches of Immortality to human and divine guests. Second, Chinese sex manuals almost always describe men, rather than women, using sexual vampirism for longevity (Goldin 2006: 288). This male-centric tradition is even seen in the Yufang mijue text, which precedes the following Queen Mother of the West passage by advising male practitioners: "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 [jingqi] will become weak, and this is not only of no great benefit to the man, but will cause her to become thin and emaciated." (tr. Wile 1992: 102).

It is not only yang that can be cultivated, but yin too. The Queen Mother of the West cultivated her yin and attained the [dao]. 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 [qi] to arrive and slightly restrain your emotion to attune yourself to him. Do not move or become agitated lest your [yinjing] become exhausted first. If your [yinjing] becomes exhausted first, this leaves one in a deficient state and susceptible to cold wind illnesses. …

If a woman knows the way of cultivating her yin and causing the two [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 yang to nourish 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 [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? (Wile 1992: 102-103)

In contrast to Xiwangmu's well-known Daoist religious persona from the canonical tradition, the Yufang mijue description of a woman who "attained eternal youth and transcendency through a combination of sexual techniques designed to suck the vitality from her male partners" 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." (Milburn 2017: 10–11)

According to Paul R. Goldin, this 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 (2006: 289). This account is non-Daoist because it contradicts orthodox teachings. For instance, the early Way of the Celestial Master Xiang'er Daodejing commentary criticizes sexual techniques such as those given in the 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 [through their bodies] and cause it to fortify their brains. But because their mind and spirit are not at one [with the Way], they lose what they try to preserve; though they store up their pleasure, they cannot treasure it for long (Goldin 2006: 292).

And it is "this-worldly" (in the sense of Needham and Wang 1956: 71–127) or material immortality. Sexual vampirism was conceived as one of several "nourishing life" methods of attaining this-worldly immortality in China, along with neidan and waidan alchemy, dietary regimens, grain avoidance, daoyin gymnastics, meditation, embryonic breathing, and circulating breath (Goldin 2006: 306).

Xia Ji[edit]

Iillustration of Xia Ji, 1870 Baimei xinyong tuzhuan (百美新詠圖傳)

Lady Xia Ji (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 with Duke Ling of Chen (陳靈公, r. 613-599 BCE) and two of his court officials; but Xia Zhengshu (夏徵舒), the son of Xia Ji and her husband Xia Yushu (夏御叔), killed the duke for joking about which of her sex partners was his biological father. According to the sinologist Olivia Milburn, Xia Ji was traditionally considered one of the "most wicked women of Chinese antiquity" (2017: 1).

For centuries, Xia Ji was a literary Chinese trope for a femme fatale. For instance, the Xi jing fu (西京賦, "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" by Zhang Heng (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" (tr. Knechtges 1982: 237). David R. Knechtges says, "She was married seven times, and even in old age she attracted men." (1982: 236).

Then in the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Xia Ji became the subject of a popular erotic novel. The c. 1610-1620 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, to maintain her eternal youth and become a Daoist transcendent.

In Chinese history, the earliest textual references to Xia Ji are from the c. 4th-century BCE Zuozhuan (Zuo's Commentary) to the c. 5th-century BCE Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals) historical chronicle. The missionary James Legge, the first English-language translator of the 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." (Legge 1872 V: 49, standardized to pinyin romanization).

1842 Xinkan gu lienu zhuan (新刊古列女傳, New Edition of Ancient Biographies of Exemplary Women) illustration of Duke Ling of Chen (陳靈公), Kong Ning (孔寧), Xia Zhengshu (夏徵舒), and Yi Xingfu (儀行父)

The Zuozhuan entry for 600 BCE (Xuan 9) describes Xia Ji's infamous orgy in the court of Duke Ling of Chen (陳靈公, 613-599) with his officials Kong Ning (孔寧) and Yi Xingfu/Hangfu (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 [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 [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. (Milburn 2017: 3)

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: "[Xia] Zhengshu looks like you." He replied: "He also looks like your lordship." [Xia] Zhengshu was enraged by this. His lordship went out, and [Xia Zhengshu] shot him dead from his stables. The two other men fled to Chu. (Milburn 2017: 4)

The Zuozhuan entry for 589 BCE (Cheng 2) narrates how both King Zhuang of Chu (r. 613-591 BCE) and his brother Prince Zifan (子反) were infatuated with Xia Ji and wanted to make her a concubine, but a harem official named Wu Chen (巫臣) successfully remonstrated against it. The king afterward presented her in marriage to a minor official named Xiang Lao (襄老), and after his death, she began having incestuous sex with her stepson Xiang Heiyao (襄黑要), who became her third husband. After Chu conquered Chen, King Zhuang sentenced Duke Ling's murderer Xia Zhengshu to death by julie (車裂, "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 [Zi]nan to the scaffold, forced Kong [Ning] and Yi [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 2017: 4-5)

Milburn translates zi man (子蠻) as "Honorable Man"—where Man means a "southern ethnic group" rather than a "man"—and notes that Zuo zhuan commentators are divided about whether Zi Man or Ziman refers to Xia Ji's brother or her first husband. Du Yu suggested that Man (蠻) was the zi (字, "courtesy name") of Xia Ji's half-brother Lord Ling of Zheng (鄭靈公, r. 605 BCE) before his accession, however, another Zuozhuan context gives his courtesy name as Hao (貉). Compare "She brought [her brother] Ziman, to an early death" (Legge 1872 V: 347). Yang Bojun hypothesized that Man was Xia Ji's previously unknown first husband, making Lord Yushu (御叔) her second, despite the absence of corroborating textual references to him (Milburn 2017: 5).

Lastly, the harem official Wu Chen who advised against making Xia Ji a concubine, wanted to marry her himself and they fled to Jin and then Wu. In the 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" (Milburn 2017: 6).

In Chinese literature, a Ming dynasty (1368–1644) erotic novel repopularized the femme fatale Xia Ji. The c. 1610-1620 Zhulin yeshi (Unofficial History of the Bamboo Grove) made Lady Xia Ji the basis for the main protagonist named Su'e (素娥), an allusion to the contemporary Ming pornographic novel Su'e pian (Chapters of Su'e). Set in around 600 BCE during the Spring and Autumn period (770-481 BCE), Su'e was a young unmarried woman who dreamed that the Daoist transcendent Hua Yue (華月) taught her esoteric techniques of love-making, and gave her a sex manual entitled Sunǚ caizhan zhi shu (素女採戰之術, the Plain Girl's Arts for Reaping the Rewards of Battle) (Milburn 2017: 9-10). A similar story is found in the c. 2nd-century CE Liexian Zhuan (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"(Milburn 2017: 10). It records a woman named Nü Wan (女丸) or occasionally Nü Ji (女几) who learned esoteric sexual practices after an anonymous transcendent gave her a text entitled Sunǚ jing (素女經, The Plain Girl's Classic). The relevant lines read: nei xie jishu, gai lao er fu zhuang zhe, (內挾伎術 蓋老而復壯者, "[Lady Xia Ji] was someone who [had mastered] the techniques of internal compression, whereby even though she was old she could restore her youth." (Milburn 2017: 11).

First using her newfound sexual techniques to retain her youthful appearance throughout her life (Milburn 2017: 10); 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 (Mair 2010: 665). "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." (Milburn 2017: 10).

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 (欒書) are both executed for the crime of wife-swapping (Milburn 2017: 15).

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." (Milburn 2017: 19).

Van Gulik's influence[edit]

Erotic Ming dynasty woodblock print from c. 1640-1650 Jiangnan xiaoxia (江南銷夏, "Whiling Away the Summer South of the River"), (van Gulik 1951: 215)

The Dutch diplomat, orientalist, and author Robert van Gulik (1910–1967) wrote two groundbreaking books on the history and scope of traditional Chinese sexuality: 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. (1961, 2nd ed. 2003).

In his 1961 preface, Van Gulik explains that he first thought of publishing Erotic Colour Prints in 1949 when he was a Counsellor of the Netherlands Embassy in Tokyo, and obtained a set of Chinese original printing woodblocks for a rare Ming dynasty erotic picture album. His original plan was to have a few copies "struck off from those blocks and publish them in a limited edition, adding 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 practically no serious literature available, either in standard Chinese sources (owing to "excessive prudery" during the Qing dynasty) 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 the book in a limited edition of fifty copies, since it "contained reproductions of erotic prints and other data that ought not to fall into the hands of unqualified readers", and presented them to university libraries and research centers worldwide. (2003: xxxi-xxxii). Reflecting this concern about readership, van Gulik's English translations from Chinese transform all sexually explicit passages into Latin, "presumably on the assumption that only educated readers—the kind who would consult the book for acceptable reasons—could understand that language. This attitude smacks of elitism and is clearly outmoded today (it might have seemed old-fashioned already in 1961)." (Goldin 2003: xvi).

The pioneering scholar's book 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" [yuanpin] 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. (van Gulik 1951: 11-13)

The second context refers back to and 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. (van Gulik 1951: 68-69).

Although van Gulik popularized "sexual vampire" referring to Chinese sexual activities, but did not coin the term. For instance, Arthur Eustace Morgan 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." (Morgan 1924: 46).

In 1954, Joseph Needham, the eminent historian of science and technology in China, and his international group of collaborators began publishing the monumental series "Science and Civilisation in China". 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 (1951) 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)." (Needham 1956: 146, fn. f.)

Van Gulik's preface to Sexual Life provides more information about their correspondence.

[Needham] consulted 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. (2003: xxxiii)

"Needham was already a renowned scholar, van Gulik a professional diplomat who collected art and wrote books in his spare time." (Goldin 2001: 1270). 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." (2003: xxii).

1725 Chinese encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng illustration of a Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit

Despite van Gulik's agreement with Needham's opinion, his 1961 Sexual Life refers to sex vampires in two circumstances. The former uses "sexual vampirism" to describe two erotic Ming dynasty novels. In the Zhulin yeshi (竹林野史, Unofficial History of the Bamboo Garden), "the teachings of the old handbooks of sex are Debased to a kind of sexual vampirism", and the Zhaoyang chushi (朝陽初時, Birth of the Morning Sun) blends plot elements of "sexual vampirism, a perversion of the old Taoist disciplines" and fox-lore (1961: 316, 317). The latter mentions sex vampires along with mythological fox spirits, hulijing (狐狸精, "fox spirit") or jiuweihu (九尾狐, "nine-tailed fox"), believed capable of shapeshifting into a beautiful young woman to seduce men and absorb their jing ("semen; life-essence"). If a nocturnal emission 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." (van Gulik 1961: 48). 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).

See also[edit]

Typical jiangshi costumes

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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