CHINESE MINISTRY OF CULTURE BANS VIOLENT, "BLOODY" OR "EROTIC" ART; ARTISTS WILL BE JAILED

BEIJING, CHINA -- Stating that it upsets social order and damages mental and physical health, the Chinese Ministry of Culture has issued regulations banning contemporary art considered "bloody", violent or erotic, according to the BBC NEWS ONLINE.

BBC News Online reports that the Chinese government has recommended jail sentences of up to three years for artists and exhibition organizers violating the ordnance. the sentences will increase up to 10 years for anyone promoting more "serious crimes" such as using animal or human parts. Videos or photographs of prohibited performances are also barred by the new rules.

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In 1989, after the Tian'anmen Square Incident, Chinese performance artist Sheng Qi left Beijing for Rome. Before leaving, he cut off the little finger from his left hand and buried it in a flowerpot.

A pioneer in the Chinese body work and performance Art movement Sheng Qi stated, according to CHINESE-ART.COM that although his body drifted abroad, a part of him, his soul, was still deeply rooted in China. "The process of severing a part of my hand will stay with me through my whole life," he said.

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