Freedom in the bedroom is a novel concept in China, where for decades communist minders dictated most aspects of people’s private lives. Dressed in baggy Mao suits–hardly outfits to set the pulse racing–citizens of the People’s Republic had to ask permission from local officials on everything from whom to marry to what kind of birth control to use. But these days many Chinese are walking on the wilder side. Sparked by the easing of government control over individual lifestyle choices and the spread of more permissive, Western attitudes toward sex, Chinese are copulating earlier, more often and with more partners than ever before.