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I never knew China has nudist beaches. Even now, I am still not sure. I
have not seen one myself, but then I must confess I have not been to one of
those "hot" places.
If netizens are to be believed, a popular resort in Sanya, Hainan province,
has evolved into an au naturel habitat. At its most crowded, there are 400-500
swimmers in their birthday suits, claimed one online posting.
A call to the local authorities turned up nothing. They would not confirm
it.
This reminds me of previous reports I had read about nudist locations in
other Chinese cities, for instance, one outside Harbin. They struck me as just
grapevine news that could not be verified or denied.
Then it dawned on me that local officials have intuitively taken on the
Bill Clinton strategy: Don't ask, don't tell. They surely know what is happening
in their backyard, but they risk scaring away tourists and curiosity-seekers if
they play tough; or they risk incurring the ire of higher-ups as well as the
general public if they openly announce a policy of tolerance. The only sensible
way out may be to keep their mouths shut and pretend it does not exist.
Is public nudity legal in China? I do not know. I have not heard of a law
that legitimizes or forbids it, but it certainly goes against China's social
mores. The puritanical constraints of Confucianism essentially put these matters
off limit for rational debate. If you look online, the most oft-repeated
argument by critics is: Would you take your wife to go skinny-dipping?
Paradoxically, the Chinese society has long put up with social nudity.
Someone told me of women in rural places, young and old, who in the old days did
not bother to wear tops in the suffocating heat of summer.
It is civilization, I realized, that put the camouflage of clothing on
those who did not feel awkward before. In a sense, it is like the topless men
who wander out of their urban homes in the summer. The government has made
efforts to discourage them from the old habit, which dies hard. I guess you will
not see such an "ungainly" sight during the Olympics because their neighbors
will talk them into wearing a T-shirt.
My first time at a nudist beach was by pure accident. It was my first trip
overseas - to Vancouver. I took an aimless walk along a beach near a university,
and one turn, I found myself among a group of totally naked people.
One cannot separate nudity from sexuality until one has been to a nudist
colony. No amount of squabbling can convince the non-believer. I am still amazed
that China has nude models at fine arts academies. It took someone like the
painter Liu Haisu to pioneer it and Mao Zedong to prevent it from being
abolished. Actually, Mao called the efforts to ban it "feudal thinking", adding
that even when bad incidents came out of it, it is a small sacrifice for the
sake of art.
I am sure there are people who go to a nudist beach mainly to ogle. When
China reintroduced social dancing in the early 1980s, people were also worried
that it could lead to a spurt of extramarital affairs. If you ask around at one
of those ubiquitous park dancethons, they will laugh and say the idea is
ludicrous.
In a country with more pressing issues to solve, naturism is something that
concerns a tiny slice of social life. People who are into it should exercise
common sense and refrain from creating a scene; they should visit secluded
locations for their activities such as sun-bathing and swimming. While the
public should be more open-minded, the gradual pace of social acceptance is the
intangible rule that guides such things. |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:50:57