Historic hoes

When it comes to the preservation of historic buildings, I'm...less than passionate. Most of the time, that is. But in this case, I think it's important. Very important.

A centuries-old brothel teetering on the verge of collapse has red-faced Chinese officials pondering heritage versus morality behind closed doors, state media reported on Thursday.

A local government in Jinggang, a town in central Hunan province, must decide whether to restore crumbling Hongtaifang, a brothel established in 1733, and face the ire of residents who see it as debauched, Xinhua news agency said.

"The brothel was a place where women were humiliated in the old society," Xinhua quoted Xiao Yisheng, a retired university professor, as saying.

"Its restoration could be seen as promoting prostitution."

Tan Feng, a student from Xiao's alma mater, begged to differ, saying the site was bound to prompt different reactions in different people.

"When I entered the brothel, it reminded me that it was a place where the ancients indulged in sensual pleasures," Tan said.

In other words, he gets a tingle in his no-no place thinking about old-timey prostitutes. But really, if you can get people thinking and talking about history, isn't that the important thing?

No, I guess not.