According to the author, but not substantiated by a quote, the sex industry makes up 12 % of China’s GDP, which is every reason for looking at this subject as an important element of modern China.

Ms. Zheng does so in her hometown Dalian, a former beachhead of Japanese colonialism and now again a place of heavy Japanese investment. Ms. Zheng, a “feminist” anthropologist, claims that this Japanese involvement is as important to her subject as the involvement of the Chinese government. The government’s stake is both as a consumer of the industry’s services and as a collector of tax income (the parlours are much more heavily taxed than most other industries).

The industry is peopled by women from the countryside, who run a high risk of (sexual) violence. However, it is also considered one of the few opportunities in Dalian to make good money, and for quite a few a way to move up the ladder by becoming the wife, girlfriend, or second wife of some local hot shot. Although it is not considered morally good, it allows these women to be more filial daughters than when they pursued other careers, and therefore not altogether bad.

The most interesting part of the book I found was about the role of the client. The author states that many men are tested by their superiors by the way they handle these women. It is a sign of mental strength to show a certain disdain for hostesses. Just like it gives you face to spend a lot of money on hostesses, too much generates loss of face. ( )