bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...hooksInlinePlusWidgetContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksInlinePlusWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Sherry Lee

REPORTERS ALWAYS have to make sacrifices. I gave up my beautiful hair for a $36 haircut to do a story on one of Hong Kong's oldest barbers; I braced myself for allergies and flea bites when I ventured into a house with 90 feline lodgers to profile a cat collector. And my drink was spiked with party drugs when I went to a Shenzhen disco to investigate drug abuse. But this time it was different - my innocence could be up for grabs. I had been asked to meet a professor with sex on his mind.

Julian Lee is the writer of five erotic novels, 30 erotic newspaper columns and the sexually explicit Chinese movie, The Accident. He adores sex symbol Madonna and Annabel Chong, who had sex with more than 200 men in one day for a movie. Assistant professor of School of Creative Media, City University, Lee says he does not write about love or sex, but one-night stands. And now he is teaching others to do it in his Creative Workshop on Erotic Writing. Conducted in Cantonese, the course is part of Le French May Film Festival and this year's theme is 'body and desire'.

Initially I am rather taken with the idea of writing about love and romance and becoming famous. But then I become nervous. What sort of research would be involved?

Day one

I dress to protect myself from any sexual advances: a turtleneck top to hide my breasts and trousers to cover my snow-white legs. I am 10 minutes late. Unfortunately, the professor is late too and is in the same lift as me. Dressed in a striped blue shirt and brown shoes, Lee pushes a TV set into the lift. A narrow moustache, circular-framed glasses and a side-parting, he looks like an old friend of mine, a love cheat. I avoid eye contact and make my way to a seat.

Believed to be the first of its kind in Hong Kong, the workshop at the Hong Kong Arts Centre is popular, with more than 30 participants. Others have had to be turned away.

Students of the workshop are from all walks of life: fashion and graphic designers, students, clerks, a Web site editor and an assistant curator. Most are unmarried. Some are scriptwriters who want tips on how to write pornographic films. Others are just curious.

I take a seat next to a shy-looking guy who tells me his name is Nick. I ask him what he does for a living.

'I make heng seng,' the 27-year-old says in mainland-accented Cantonese. I start to wonder if this 'workshop' might be for more experienced Eros-seekers as heng seng means 'moan' in Chinese.

'What? You make moan sound effects for movies?' I ask him, trying to remain cool.

'No, we make heung shui,' he says, smiling slightly. Maybe it is his pronunciation or the fact that my mind is already focused on sex but the by-now bemused fellow actually means 'perfume'. I try not to seem too relieved by this clarification. He quickly tells me that he is a fragrance developer for a Swiss company. Phew! Trendy Christine, 29, says she is planning to write a series of erotic short stories based on her own sexual experiences. 'I will write about homosexuality,' Christine bravely reveals. I am taken aback by her admission - I had no intention of asking her sexual preferences.

Despite their enthusiasm, few students know the difference between eroticism and pornography. In the Longman dictionary, pornography is 'the treatment of sexual acts in pictures, film or writing in a way that is intended to make people feel sexually excited', but eroticism is not aimed at excitement. It is 'a style or quality that expresses strong feelings of sexual love and desire, especially in works of art'.

Before I started the course, I believed eroticism involved sensuality, romance and passionate love - not purely sex.

But Lee has his own definition. He says eroticism does not cover love, only sex, and that the process of its creation is soul-searching. 'Eroticism is to understand yourself through sex, it helps you know more about yourself and your world,' he says. 'After a sexual encounter, life will never be the same again, the person will change.'Asked if he thinks he is promoting sex, he says: 'I am only educating people to respect sex.'

While some criticise him for finding excuses for promiscuity, Lee says he does not concern himself with the morals of his actions.

That becomes clear when the classroom turns into a 'pornographic' cinema. It is breathtaking. Lee shows us round after round of porn-like music videos of his idol, France's renowned sexual provocateur: Serge Gainsbourg. A controversial writer, composer, and film director, Gainsbourg famously told Whitney Houston on a live TV show that 'I want to **** you!' - a scene we watch. The class appears shocked and nervous laughter erupts. It is quite a relief after the tension-charged atmosphere during the screening.

Gainsbourg touched all kinds of taboos, from S & M, homosexuality, underage girls - even incest with his own daughter - and his creations in the 1960s were frequently banned. His most scandalous movie is 1976's Je T'aime Moi Non Plus (I Love You No More) which also starred his British actress lover, Jane Birkin. The title song, describing intercourse, became so popular that many British fans of the film confessed to playing it while making love.

With the Frenchman's exploits still whirling through our heads, the room falls quiet. I am embarrassed by some of the nudity and try not to catch anyone's attention.

Gainsbourg died in 1991, but his spirit is unquestionably permeating our class. Gerard Henry, editor of the Hong Kong-based French periodical Le Parole, joins the class to translate the explicit lyrics from French to English, word by word. Henry reads falteringly 'I come and go between your kidneys . . .' of the song Je T'aime Moi Non Plus.

It's quiet now, as if everyone in the classroom has stopped breathing except for Henry, who pants nervously. He doesn't know the English word for a female private part. I am blushing by now and embarrassed - for him, for me, for the whole class. I don't know why Henry agreed to come. 'I was a little embarrassed, I listened a lot to Gainsbourg's songs, but I never realised the words are so sexually explicit,' he says.

Gainsbourg used his own women and even his daughter for his songs and films while Lee exposes his sex life - which involves eight years of one-night stands throughout Europe - through writing. 'Many of my stories are my first-hand experience,' he says. Good erotica, he believes, lies in originality and personal experiences.

Before the class ends we are given our homework - to answer six questions we have probably never asked ourselves: what is your most erotic experience? (Lee says an example would be seeing your next-door neighbour going to the toilet. We are clearly not on the same wavelength.) What part of your body is most erotic? (Lee says some people fancy the fingertips, others ears.) How does eroticism relate to your work and your personal life? How do you implement eroticism into your life? What are your fantasies? (Such as sucking toes or making love to a priest.) What is the most erotic element you have ever seen? (I have no idea what this last question is about.) I leave my first lesson a little overwhelmed.

Day two

Everybody seems more relaxed. But less than half the students have done their homework - including me. Truth be told, I don't want Lee to know that much about me so I make the excuse that I was too busy at work. He is disappointed.

He explains that to write an erotic piece, one needs to follow three steps: erotic stimulation, setting and theme. The rule applies to both Chinese and English erotic writing. The stimulation comes from an erotic element which will drag a reader into the story. An erotic element could be a blood stain, a mask, a drop of perfume. It could also be a person, such as a woman in a short skirt and fish-net stockings sitting on the MTR. But no cliches are allowed - the MTR appears to save the fishnets from being labelled such.

One classmate starts his story with 'a naked woman lying in bed'. Lee says it can't work, it's too obvious. How about 'a pair of well-shaped breasts?' Lee shakes his head. A slim neck and arm? That is not erotic at all, the professor protests. How about lace underwear? Cliche!

Places for making love also have to be original. In one story, a man says he had sex with a classmate in a university lecture hall. Lee says that is not erotic enough, and suggests making love to the principal in her office instead because 'it is more erotic having sex with a teacher or a principal'.

After you have decided on your erotic element, you can decide the setting of your story. Lee says public places where there is a chance of being discovered are good. Churches and public buses are ideal places for making love, he says, 'many people I know have tried it'.

Next come themes. They are wide-ranging but successful erotic stories share one characteristic: breaking down taboos in order to liberate one's self. A taboo could be homosexuality, incest, adultery - the list goes on.

Last but not least, Lee suggests putting a notepad, a pen and a video camera, to record intercourse, by your bed.

Being married or monogamous is no bar to being an erotic writer, he says, as long as the couple generate their own adventures. Erotic writers also have to decide the 'power play'. In the game of sex, Lee says, there is no equality - 'one has to be the master and the other has to be the slave'.

All of this sounds rather sinister, but the teacher shows no shame. 'One has to forget morals when it comes to writing erotica,' he says.

Things are becoming clearer now and I'm almost tempted to have a go at this week's assignment - a short erotic story. My partner, not surprisingly, does not take to Lee's suggestion of keeping a video camera next to our bed.

Day three

At the final lesson, we are shown the infamous Je T'aime Moi Non Plus, a voyage of sexual discovery for Jane Birkin, who is mostly naked or engaged in sex. I cringe. Sitting next to me, I can hear Nick breathe and giggle, while I find myself holding my breath. I move slowly away from him. About half a dozen students have submitted their writing, but when Lee reads them out and asks who wrote them, few raise their hands. To hide their sexual preference, most refuse to say what kind of stories they want to write. Others deny the works are their personal experience.

Reed, 33, is the best erotic writer in the class. His story on phone sex, titled Can You Give Me 10 Minutes?, gets the thumbs up from Lee. But Reed, a salesman in a shipping company, says the piece is not his own experience because he hasn't had many. He says he was inspired by a chapter of a book which dealt with phone sex. Asked if he will engineer one-night stands to get novel material, he says: 'I won't do it, I am afraid of getting Aids, it is not worth it just to be able to write about it.'

There are mixed feelings at the end of the course. Some feel it was too superficial, others thought it was a workshop on Gainsbourg, others say they learned a lot and would like to write erotic stories, or at least use elements of eroticism in their writing.

I have decided I don't want to be an erotic writer. Unlike Gainsbourg and Lee, I can't devote myself to sex. The course has made me more aware of the meaning of sex but I don't need to learn more - I am not interested in sleeping with strangers, my father or my doctor, not to mention a priest. But to broaden my creativity as a writer, I am interested in writing erotic stories about my past experiences and fantasies.

What are they? Still secret - for now.



Lessons in Lust