The popular Chinese movie, Painted Skin, not only scored big at the box office, but also sparked a nationwide debate about marital morals on the Internet.

The storyline is about a handsome warrior having an extramarital affair.In Painted Skin, Wang Sheng must choose between his loyal wife and beautiful lover.

China Youth Daily

, a Beijing-based newspaper, launched an on-line survey after the movie debuted asking, "If you were Wang Sheng, who would be your choice?"

Around 1,093 netizens responded. Almost half, or 49.4 percent, said they would choose the wife. But interestingly, 30.7 percent would like to have both women.

"The survey, by some degree, revealed people's real attitudes toward extramarital affairs," said Zhou Xiaopeng, a consultant with the China Marriage Society.

Infidelity happens more often in China than people might think. Of the divorce cases Zhou handles, 90 percent are caused by affairs.

In the Internet survey, 44.7 percent said extramarital affairs were quite common among couples they knew. Almost as many people, 41.5 percent, said they knew of occasionally affairs. Only 3.3 percent said they have never come across infidelity.

"Many people involved in extramarital affairs are in a dilemma," Zhou said. "On one hand, they want to keep the marriage and on the other hand, they want their lovers, just as those netizens in the survey want to have both."

A comment from a netizen, surnamed Cheng, supported Zhou's opinion.

"Quite often my clients request other entertainment, such as prostitutes, after inviting me for a dinner," said Cheng who works for a state-owned enterprise. "Extramarital affairs are understandable, as long as you still remember to go back to your wife."

Chen Xiaomin, director of the Women's Studies Center in Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said Chinese society has a dangerous tendency to link the number of lovers outside marriage to a person's financial capability or social status.

"I know some young girls who are willing to trade themselves for money. They want to be some rich man's lover because it is a quick and easy way to live a life of luxury," Chen said.

Nearly half of those surveyed attributed high numbers of extramarital affairs to poor morals. It explains why half of those questioned would have chosen their wife, just as the hero does in the movie.

Painted Skin is adapted from one of China's most famous ghost stories, The Strange Tales of Liao Zhai. Written in the late 1600s, the book won readers over because of its compelling love story.

The same appears to be true of the movie. In the past three weeks, Painted Skin pulled in about 190 million yuan (US$28 million).

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2008)