Residents of a northern Chinese city were treated to a big screen showing of a banned Hong Kong porn film when a maintenance worker accidentally played it on a giant display board in a busy square.
"The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks" was beamed across the square for
10 minutes as the worker watched the illicit film on his computer, without
realising it was still connected to an advertising screen he had been fixing.
An audience of hundreds gathered to watch as the erotic movie blared from the
display board, which loomed from the side of a building close to the railway
station in the city of Jilin.
The advertising company which owned the screen finally alerted the worker,
identified in state media on Monday by his surname, Yuan.
He immediately disconnected the computer from the screen and threw the
prohibited disc out of a window.
State news agency Xinhua said it was unclear whether Mr Juan was in trouble
with Chinese authorities, or
whether police had recovered the disc
But it said that under Chinese law, an individual who plays porn on a giant
screen can be held responsible for disseminating pornographic audiovisual
products. The crime is punishable with a prison sentence of up to two years.
"The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks" is based on a notorious Chinese erotic novel from the 16th century by an unknown author, "The Plum in the Golden Vase".
The book is set in the Northern Song dynasty in the early 12th century, and centres on the exploits of Ximen Qing, a corrupt womaniser with 19 sexual partners including six wives and several concubines.
Officially banned for centuries, the taboo novel is nevertheless regarded as a classic by many liberal Chinese.
The Hong Kong-made film follows the same storyline but is considerably more graphic and is outlawed on the Chinese mainland.
It has also been spun into a sequel, "The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks 2".
"The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks" is based on a notorious Chinese erotic novel from the 16th century by an unknown author, "The Plum in the Golden Vase".
The book is set in the Northern Song dynasty in the early 12th century, and centres on the exploits of Ximen Qing, a corrupt womaniser with 19 sexual partners including six wives and several concubines.
Officially banned for centuries, the taboo novel is nevertheless regarded as a classic by many liberal Chinese.
The Hong Kong-made film follows the same storyline but is considerably more graphic and is outlawed on the Chinese mainland.
It has also been spun into a sequel, "The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks 2".