Fleur: Sir, is it the Lee Theatre here? Where has the theatre gone?

Man: Yes, it’s the Lee Theatre Plaza, but the theatre has been demolished decades ago, big sister!After the appearance of white lines:

Fleur: Oh…I used to come here a lot for watching movies with the 12th Young Master. Sometimes we watched Sit Kok Sin, MaSi Tsang in Chinese Opera, and sometimes Western movies. Coming from Shek Tong Tsui and having our intimate talks on the tram by night, or wandering about Cheung Yuan, Yue Yuanin Happy Valley was so much fun… Sir, I just came from the underworld to look for a person. Might I ask if you have ever seen the 12th Young Master?

Man: Oh my God! You’re Fleur? Hadn’t you come up in the 1980s once? ! Here you’re again?!

Fleur: Sir, Hong Kong has changed, and all is beyond recognition. I can’t find my own way. Can you bring me back to Shek Tong Tsui? Along the way, I can tell you about the erotic history of old Hong Kong…

Man: According to the script of <Rouge>, do I still have other options…Let’s go!

Fleur: The so-called “Erotic Romance of West Quarry” actually referred to the sex industry in Hong Kong’s early developmentup to the ban on prostitution in the mid-1930s. Among all the red-light districts at that time, Shek Tong Tsui in the west of Hong Kong Island was the most popular, hence the phrase “Tong Sai Fung Yuet” - Erotic Romance of West Quarry. Hong Kong was a commercial port populated by a mix of Chinese and foreigners in its early development. At the time, people who came and earned a living here were mostly youngmen, be it Chinese or people from other countries. As such, the ratio between females and males was severely imbalanced. Prostitution was then a natural phenomenon. Moreover, during this transitional period from an old era into anew one, the newly rich Chinese merchants upheld the tradition of the erotic life-style of the Chinese society. They viewed patronizing prostitutes as a normal way of life. Not only were these flings refinements in life which were decent enough to be mentioned in the public, they were actually widely circulated as romantic tales of talented young men andbeauties. The foreigners’ community in turn introduced a mix of East and West elements into the existing erotic culture. TheBritish Hong Kong colonial government enforced control on the sex industry by rendering it a legal activity. This led the Hong Kong erotic industry and its derivative industries to boom as the most flourishing, refined and meticulous model inthe South of China at the time.In old Hong Kong, apart from the local Chinese prostitutes like myself, Fleur, who were renowned both at home and abroad, there were Western prostitutes aiming at the market of Westerners and Japanese prostitutes serving the Japanese. Every time when there was turmoil in Mainland China, or whenthere were campaigns against prostitution by provincial or municipal authorities, or by warlords to purify the society, numerous mainland prostitutes would flee to Hong Kong to make a living. Among them, the most competitive were those from Guangdong, who were filled with the traditional charm ofSouth China, and those from Shanghai, who were sophisticated and had some knowledge of English and French.Erotic Romance of West Quarry was a recollection of reminiscences of the tales of gallantry in old Hong Kong, and also an important piece in the understanding of the development of the economy and social culture of Hong Kong.Moreover, the erotic culture of that time has cast its influence in a subtle way on even people of your generation…

Man: Wow! Surprised to learn that the erotic industry comprises such a serious topic of study…