Calligraphy by Japanese porn star Sola Aoi has sparked controversy in China, where she has a huge fan base, with purists dismissing her work as "unskilled" after it was reportedly auctioned for US$95,000.
Eight Chinese characters the actress wrote with brush and ink at a theme park in the eastern city of Ningbo were sold earlier this month, the Liberation Daily newspaper, which is backed by Shanghai's Communist Party branch, said yesterday.
"The style of calligraphy is childish, unskilled," it added.
Sola Aoi, 29, is best known for her work in adult movies, with some of her less risqué titles including Virgin Sky and Cosmic Girl. Despite China's official censorship of films, pornography is widely available on pirate DVDs.
She has recently moved into mainstream films, appearing in one 2010 movie as a zombie-killing stripper, and her blog has nearly 14 million followers. Her fans jumped to her defence.
"'Teacher Aoi' excels in both performing skills and moral integrity. This price is certainly worth it," Duoyan Sanwei said in a microblog posting.