Hans-Jürgen Döpp

The Treaties of the Bedroom there is a conversation between the Emperor and one of his mistresses, a simple young girl:

‘The Yellow Emperor asks the simple young girl: My spirit is listless and lacking in substance; I live constantly in fear and my heart is full of sadness. What can I do to cure myself? The young girl replies quite simply: “All human weaknesses come from an unhappy union of bodies during the sexual act. As water wins in the fight against fire, so woman gains in the fight against man. Those who are skilled in pleasure are like good cooks who know which five spices to add to a soup.”

The imagined body is more meaningful than any real body.