tianjin china chinese university tutor xie shus core subject is communist ideology but he has diversified from the dry annals of political doctrine for a more handson subject seductionhis theory and practice of romantic relations course at tianjin university includes lectures on pickup techniques selfpresentation and how to entice the opposite sexhow should you react when youve been rejected xie asked his young charges at one lecture in a cafe on the campus in the northern port city clearly dont throw the roses that you bought the girl at her keep calmtianjin is chinas first university to integrate such a course into its curriculum giving students credit towards their degrees for attending an indication of slowly loosening social norms in china after decades of more straightlaced traditionalismit also demonstrates officials increasing concern over the social acumen of the countrys youth many of whom grew up as pampered little emperors without brothers or sisters as a result of chinas onechild policythe generation of only children lack relationships with people their own age chinas most prominent sexologist li yinhe told afp adding a boy who has a sister might have a better understanding of how to interact with a girlat the cafe xie flipped through powerpoint slides showing the boys how to upgrade their look by avoiding tank tops and long shorts and urging them not to ask girls questions like its a police investigationbe courteous serve the girl before yourself but dont go overboard either he advisedhis female charges he suggested should run their hands through their hair and look the boy in the eye even if they feel intimidatedsitting towards the back of the pack zijun qian 23 who has never had a relationship diligently typed up the teachers advice on her laptopwhen i learned that a class like this existed i thought it was incredible she saidxie occupies a particularly chinese academic role as a fudaoyuan who instructs students in marxismleninismmao zedong thought as well as social counselling but his authority on the issue of relationships is open to questionhe is single he admitted sheepishly i dont have a wife or a girlfriend he laughed which is a bit embarrassingmany young chinese entering university have little practical experience in matters of the heartconservative attitudes are widespread and most simply have not had time to date in high school due to the intensive study necessary to pass the dreaded gaokao exam which determines college placement and is seen as a key to ones futureparents generally frown upon relationships that might distract their children from their allimportant studiesas soon as students graduate from university however the opposite becomes true families often push for them to marry quite quickly preferably before 27 for girls and before 30 for boys prolonged singledom can prompt taunts concerns and unrelenting pressureeven as chinas economy boomed between 2000 and 2015 transforming material wealth the average age for first time sexual intercourse declined only fractionally from 227 years to 22 years according