Warning： saying this character aloud may induce heart attacks in middle-aged ladies， provoke creepy stares from odd men， or cause severe giggling in teenagers. When it comes to the Chinese word for sex， or 性（x#ng）， avoid it in daily speech like you are a proper “sir” from the Victoria era. At least， this is the status quo in many parts of the country where speaking directly about sex is still taboo. Some fi rmly believe that， in Chinese tradition， sex is a low-class， vulgar subject that should never be mentioned. Others simply feel ashamed and regard it as something that should be kept private. Well， those defenders of decency might be disappointed to learn the original meaning and history of 性.

On the left of 性， the “heart”radical （忄） signifi es the characters meaning while the right part 生（sh8ng） denotes pronunciation. But， as is often the case， the phonetic radical no longer stands for the exact pronunciation of the character due to the evolution of language. Originally， 性 meant the innate properties of ones heart， the inalienable qualities of mankind.“What is endowed from the heavens is named xing， （天命謂之性。Ti`nm#ng w-i zh～ x#ng.）” stated the Confucian classic Doctrine of the Mean（《中庸》Zh4ngy4ng）.

When it comes to human nature， philosophers just cannot resist debating inherent good and evil.“At birth， people are naturally good； their natures are similar， but their later environments and habits make them different from each other.” （人之初，性本善；性相近，習(xí)相遠(yuǎn)。 R9n zh～ ch$， x#ng b0n sh3n； x#ng xi`ng j#n， x！ xi`ng yu2n.） Those are the fi rst few words from the Three-Character Primer（《三字經(jīng)》S`nz#j～ng）， an ancient teaching book for young children. Mencius was known to support this view. However， the philosopher， Xunzi， thought that people are ruled by their basic emotions and desires， which is 情 （q！ng）. “In xing， love and hate， happiness and anger， sorrow and delight are all called qing.” （性之好惡、喜怒、哀樂，謂之情。 X#ng zh～ h3ow&、x@n&、`il-， w-i zh～ q！ng.） Xunzi believed that these basic instincts exist in everyone and that only through later learning can people conquer their fl aws and acquire virtues. Pick your side in the philosophical debate， but note that， in modern Chinese， 性情 （x#ngq！ng） is actually one word， meaning “temperament or disposition”. Besides sex， 性represents a wide range of meanings in different words， from “l(fā)ife” （性命x#ngm#ng） to “property” （性能 x#ngn9ng）. This fi rst group of words is close to the words original meaning： 性格 （x#ngg9） means ones character； 天性 （ti`nx#ng） means natural instincts；個性 （g-x#ng） means personality； and 性子 （x#ngzi） means temper， such as hot temper （急性子 j！x#ngzi） or spitfi re （烈性子 li-x#ngzi）. Beginning as an expression of characteristics and properties， the meaning of性 expanded to various words such as 酸性 （su`nx#ng， acidity）， 彈性 （t1nx#ng， elasticity）， and 毒性（d%x#ng， toxicity）. 感性 （g2nx#ng） refers to peoples ability to perceive the world， while 理性 （l@x#ng） refers to the ability to reason and draw rational conclusions. Add 性 at the end of certain nouns， verbs， and adjectives， and you will end up with an even wider range of abstract nouns， explaining properties and traits， such as 全國性 （qu1ngu5x#ng， nationwide），創(chuàng)造性 （chu3ngz3ox#ng， creativity） and普遍性 （p^bi3nx#ng， universality）.

Obviously， 性 also means gender， as in 性別 （x#ngbi9）， 男性 （n1nx#ng， man or male）， and 女性 （n）x#ng， woman or female） are used for people. For animals， apply 雄性 （xi5ngx#ng） and 雌性 （c！x#ng） instead. Heterosexuality is異性戀 （y#x#ngli3n） and homosexuality is同性戀 （t5ngx#ngli3n）.

When it comes to the specifi c meaning of 性， or sex， that causes so much embarrassment， a famous quote from the book Mencius should cause people to take pride in this base natural state： “Having food and sex are both human nature.” （食、色，性也。Sh！、s-， x#ng y0. ） It might be a while before sex is spoken about like food， but for issues such as sexual harassment （性騷擾 x#ngs`or2o） or sex education 性教育 （x#ngji3oy&）， more conversation is imperative. A series of relevant words include the following： having sex is 性交 （x#ngji`o）， similarly， sexual activity is 性行為 （x#ngx！ngw9i）； Sexual drive， or libido is 性欲 （x#ngy&）； Sex life is 性生活 （x#ngsh8nghu5）. Additional topics that could really use some more conversations are 性病（x#ngb#ng， STD）， 性侵犯 （x#ngq～nf3n， sexual assault） and 性賄賂 （x#nghu#l&， sexual bribery）. From human nature to the modern day taboo， we can only hope that social perception of this simple character changes in the future. Sex， after all， serves as the motor of human history. - HUANG WEIJIA （黃偉嘉） AND LIU JUE（劉玨）