Laws and Taboos in Sexual Relationships: Analyzing the Principles of Emotional Harmony, Appropriate Frequency, and Environmental Factors that Require Restraint in Desire [i]

Sexual life requires emotional harmony and unity[i]. The ancients recognized that sexual life is an emotional life, and the mutual affection between men and women is very important[i]. As early as the Mawangdui Han Tomb bamboo slips "Discourse on the Supreme Way of the World", it was pointed out: "First play and enjoy each other, then engage in intercourse when both parties have a strong sexual desire, this is called knowing the right time[i]". This means that before intercourse, men and women should play and entertain each other, and strengthen their feelings for each other. They should wait until both parties have a strong sexual desire before engaging in intercourse. This is called "knowing the right time", that is, grasping the appropriate time for intercourse[i]. The bamboo slips also pointed out: "Do not force it, this is called abstinence[i]". This means that if one party is unwilling, the other party should not force intercourse[i]. This refers to the fact that if the woman is unwilling, but the man forces intercourse, this is very harmful. It not only harms the woman's physical and mental health, but is also detrimental to eugenics[i]. Sun Simiao also emphasized that before intercourse, "one must first play slowly and enjoy each other, so that the spirit and mind are in harmony for a long time", before engaging in intercourse[i]. Only when couples conceive under conditions of high emotional harmony will the quality of the fetus be high [i]. Fourth, sexual activity should be arranged according to different age characteristics and physical conditions [i]. The Jade Chamber Secrets states that "people have different strengths and weaknesses, and ages vary," therefore, the arrangement of sexual activity can only be "according to each person's strength" [i]. Furthermore, it was pointed out that: "Those aged 20 should ejaculate once a day, while the strong should ejaculate once a day; those aged 30 should ejaculate once a day, while the weak should ejaculate once every two days; those aged 40 should ejaculate once every three days, while the weak should ejaculate once every four days; those aged 50 should ejaculate once every five days, while the weak should ejaculate once every ten days; those aged 60 should ejaculate once every ten days, while the weak should ejaculate once every twenty days; those aged 70 should ejaculate once every thirty days, while the weak should not ejaculate [i]." Sun Simiao proposed: "Those aged 20 should ejaculate once every four days; those aged 30 should ejaculate once every eight days; those aged 40 should ejaculate once every sixteen days; those aged 60 should abstain from ejaculation, and if their physical strength is still strong, they can ejaculate once a month [i]." In fact, these frequencies of sexual intercourse could not be absolute standards. Those with strong bodies could exceed them, while those with weak bodies could not possibly reach them at all [i]. Fifth, the ancients advocated late marriage and opposed early marriage [i]. This meant that men should wait until they were 30 years old to marry [i]. In his book "Sanyuan Yanshou Canzan Shu" (三元延寿参赞书), Li Pengfei of the Yuan Dynasty clearly pointed out: "If a man deflowers too early, it will damage his essence and qi; if a woman deflowers too early, it will damage her blood vessels."[i] Wang Ang of the Qing Dynasty also said in "Wuyao Yuanquan" (无药元诠): "Too early to have intercourse will destroy one's vital essence, which is the cause of premature death."[i] He believed that marrying too early would inevitably damage the body and might even lead to premature death.[i] Early marriage is also detrimental to fertility. Having sexual intercourse before the sexual organs are fully developed is very unfavorable for procreation.[i] Liang Qichao, a modern scholar, wrote an article entitled "On Prohibiting Early Marriage."[i] He believed that early marriage had five major harms: first, it harms health; second, it harms procreation; third, it harms early childhood education; fourth, it harms academic pursuits; and fifth, it harms the national economy.[i] These opinions are very worthy of attention and have extremely high reference value for both sexual health and eugenics.[i] ★Masturbation is a normal male sexual function: According to reports from domestic and foreign sources, more than 90% of men have masturbated, which does not harm their health[i]. However, frequent masturbation can lead to physical weakness, lethargy, and insomnia, which are signs of excessive masturbation and should be reduced and controlled[i]. Ge Hong said in "Baopuzi": Those who are good at using the art of the bedroom are beneficial to their health and can prolong their lives, but sexual life cannot be done at will[i]. Chinese sexual health preservation attaches great importance to taboos in the bedroom, emphasizing "desire should be avoided" and "desire should be avoided"[i]. The so-called taboos are that sexual life should be prohibited in certain situations[i]. If taboos are violated, health can be damaged and many diseases can be caused[i]. Peng Zu said: Sexual life should be avoided in the coldest, hottest, windiest, rainy, snowy, solar and lunar eclipses, earthquakes, thunder, and other weather conditions, as these are taboos of Heaven[i]. Modern medicine believes that when the weather is too hot, the body and physiology are under too much load, and engaging in sexual activity at this time will increase energy consumption and damage essence; when the weather is too cold, the body and physiology are in a low-load state, and there is not enough energy, so sexual activity will feel powerless; when the weather is stormy, windy and rainy, sexual activity will stimulate the nerves due to external interference, leading to mental tension and causing impotence, frigidity and other symptoms[i]. Engaging in sexual activity when in a bad mood is also detrimental to the body[i]. The "seven emotions" refer to joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear and shock[i]. If one is angry, troubled, frightened, sad, or depressed during sexual activity, not only will both parties not enjoy pleasure, but it will also seriously affect physical and mental health[i]. Therefore, Tao Hongjing's "Zhen Gao" believes that it is not advisable to have sexual activity when drunk, full, joyful, angry, sad, griefful, or fearful[i]. Peng Zu said that one should avoid having sexual activity when drunk, full, joyful, angry, sad, griefful, or fearful, as this is a taboo[i]. Taoism believes that engaging in sexual intercourse when experiencing negative emotions such as anger, depression, or fear can cause various illnesses in both men and women, including weakness, fainting, and night sweats [i]. The *Sanyuan Yanshou Canzan Shu* (三元延寿参赞书) states that engaging in sexual intercourse during periods of panic and fear can, over time, lead to tuberculosis [i]. The *Qianjin Yaofang* (千金要方) states that when a person is angry, their qi and blood are unstable, and if they engage in intercourse, carbuncles and boils may develop [i].