In 1961 Robert van Gulik published his pioneering overview of Sexual Life in Ancient China. This edition of the work is preceded by an elaborate introduction by Paul Rakita Goldin assessing the value of Van Gulik’s volume, the subject itself, and its author.
The introduction is followed by an extensive and up-to-date bibliography on the subject, which guides the modern reader in the
literature on the field which appeared after the publication of Van Gulik's volume.
One of the criticisms in 1961 regarded the Latin translations of passages deemed too explicit by Van Gulik.
In this 2002 edition all Latin has for the first time been translated into unambiguous English, thus making the full text widely available to an academic audience.