Series of Sex Blooks - Part 2

At the end of 2003, Publisher's Marketplace announced:

"Mu zimei's ASHES OF LOVE: THE DIARY OF LI LI, the sexual-revolutionary "blog" diary of 25-year-old columnist from Canton, who received millions of hits a day, but when the book was published in China, the book was banned, her website shut down, and she was fired from her magazine job, to Prometheus Publishers in Holland in a pre-empt, in a nice deal, by Barbara J. Zitwer Agency in association with Vicki Satlow Associates (Holland)."

That, my friends, is a heck of a journey for any author!

Let's start with Li Li, the real woman behind the pseudonym Mu zimei or Muzi Mei or Muzimei. Danwai asked the author in an interview about the correct spelling. Li Li replied, "I think it should be spelled Muzi Mei. In Chinese, 'muzi' represents my surname 'Li' (a character containing 'mu' or wood) and mei (beautiful) is the same meaning as my real given name 'Li'."

According to Jim Yardley in The New York Times:

"Li Li began working in 2001 as a feature writer at City Pictorial, a glossy magazine covering fashion and social trends. At the end of 2002, editors overhauled the magazine and decided they wanted a sex columnist who could write about 'real life' issues.

"Her biweekly column in City Pictorial began in January. Her topics included recommendations on the best music for good lovemaking, the aphrodisiacal benefits of eating oysters and technical pointers on making love in a car. It was racy stuff for China, but hardly without precedent." (November 30, 2003)

So far, so good.

Three months later in April, she began a blog called "Ashes of Love." In July she posted about a liaison with a minor Chinese rock musician - naming him - and the info was picked up and posted everywhere - resulting in an interview with the Chinese edition of Cosmopolitan! "By early November, Sina.com had bought the serialization rights to Ms. Mu's book, a compilation of her magazine columns, poems and some diary entries" (ibid). Not bad for three months' blogging and one dropped name!

A campaign was launched to hype the upcoming book. The site, "which normally attracts 20 million visitors a day, saw a jump to 30 million and stayed there for 10 days" (ibid).

The blook has been translated into French, Journal sexuel d'une jeune Chinoise sur le net (Éditions Albin Michel, 2005) and German Mein intimes Tagebuch (Aufbau-Verlag, 2007). Li Li told Danwei, "My second book 'Vessel' (rongqi) has also already been published in Hong Kong."

One is left to wonder how much of a fluke including the rock muscian's name was. More on names in The Washingtonienne.

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Sex blooks Introduction

Muzi Mei's Ashes of Love: The Diary of Li Li

Jessica Cutler's The Washingtonienne: A Novel;

Ana Marie Cox's Dog Days

Anonymous's Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl

Abby Lee's Diary of a Sex Fiend: Girl with a One Track Mind>