This book was just what the Chinese government did not want the public to see. It contained very graphic and intimate details were the main aspect of the scandal with the novel. The Chinese government saw the novel as a threat to the political and mental well-being of it's citizens. It talks about things that China is trying to abolish, like the increase in prostitution and drug abuse.
             There are a few categories that place this book on the banned list in China. The first and most obvious is the content of pornography. There is quite an extent of indecent material, reports inaccurate, fabricated or sensationalist stories. It also offers other materials that the government probably deems to have an unhealthy impact on readers.
             A large portion of the book is filled up with indecency or pornography. This book is definitely not considered to be G-rated with its graphic mention of sex acts, masturbation, pleasure, sexual organs and promiscuity. Even though it is a fictitious novel, there are many points that tend to shock the reader and these points are viewed to be unhealthy by the Chinese government.
             There is a few times that the author ties in sex with the city of Shanghai. "Standing on the roof, we looked at the sihouttes of the building lit up by the streetlights on both sides of the Huangpu River, specially the Oriental Pearl TV tower, Asia's tallest. Its long, long steel column pierces the sky, proof of the city's phallic worship" (page 14). Another comment "Shanghai is a city obsessed with pleasure" (page 40). "Some people call Shanghai the Woman's city...in comparison to the macho cities of northern China" (page 116).
             Another possibility is that the book was banned for political reasons. After all, the Chinese government banned anything that puts a negative light on China's affairs including government and economy. "There are eight billion peasants in our cou...