Homosexuality in Chinese History

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Huseng
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Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Huseng »

China Daily has an interesting article outlining the historical data on homosexuality in China:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013 ... 086464.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In both Chinese history and literature, homosexuality was open and tolerated. Has social acceptance come full cycle as China increasingly engages the international community? Is there a place for same-sex relationships now? The China Daily Sunday team of Han Bingbin, Gan Tian, Shi Yingying and Xu Lin file the reports.

Pederasty, the erotic relationship between a male adult and an adolescent boy, was already prevalent around the time of the Yellow Emperor, who is credited with having founded Chinese civilization. At least, this is what various literary works have recorded through the ages.

In both folk myths and literary classics, there have been both brief and lengthy descriptions of same-sex relationships, for both genders.

Sociologist Pan Guangdan insists homosexuality is a natural fact of life, and that it must have existed much earlier in human history.

Being gay in China

While translating British psychologist Havelock Ellis' groundbreaking Psychology of Sex in the 1930s, Pan was inspired to search through historical documents for credible clues of the existence of homosexuality throughout Chinese history.

And he found plenty.

His research is compiled as an appendix in the Chinese edition of Psychology of Sex, making it arguably the first systematic study of same-sex relationships in China.

According to Pan's study, the earliest mention of homosexuality was in the Chronicles of Shang. Minister Yi Yin of the early Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC) set out punishment for "10 criminal acts" among officials. One of them was pederasty.

But Pan was surprised to find that in the Zhou Dynasty which followed (c. 11th century-256 BC), a widespread proverb went like this: "Good-looking males can distract emperors from the wisdom of old intellects".

Therefore, he believes that during the Shang and Zhou dynasties homosexuality was common.

Historical records of the periods provide vivid and detailed accounts of same-sex relationships, especially in imperial bedchambers.

Stories of romanticized gay love are often retold, even today, as people attempt to justify homosexuality.

The earliest such story, recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals, is the Pleasant Hug From Behind. When Jinggong threatens to kill an official who often looks at him, the sage Yanzi tells him it is wrong to kill someone who "admires your beauty". Appreciating what Yanzi says, Jinggong lets the official "hug him from behind".

In the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), historians Sima Qian and Ban Gu both included reports on ningxing, the emperors' male concubines. From these, Pan concludes that almost every emperor during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) had or was suspected of having male partners.

The best known among these was Dong Xian.

It is said that Emperor Ai woke up to find the sleeves of his imperial robes tucked under the sleeping body of his partner Dong Xian. Not wanting to wake his beloved concubine, Ai sliced off his sleeves, and hurried off to his day's routine.

From then on, same-sex love between males has often been referred to as the "sleeve-slicing affection" - a euphemism for a gay relationship by those who still find it embarrassing to publicly address the topic.

By the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), homosexuality had become a common practice among the upper classes and is frequently mentioned in official reports.

Pan says this is understandable as the Jin was one of few eras in world history when men were particularly attentive about their appearance. Pan says the other period was in Ancient Greece, where pederasty was an accepted part of life.

"Ancient Greek philosophers viewed homosexuality as more sacred than heterosexuality Without relevant literary references, we can't tell whether ancient people thought the same way, but it's obvious homosexuality during this time was free from excessive social prejudice and moral condemnation," Pan says.

In China, soon after the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), homosexuality gradually disappears from official records and Pan refers to novels and other casual references, the authenticity of which was often in doubt.

This situation extended through the Tang (AD 618-907) to Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. Homosexuality seems to have resurfaced only in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, but it was a very different scenario.

Homosexuality is frequently mentioned in the works of established writers such as the scholar Ji Yun and poet Yuan Mei.

In novelist Cao Xueqin's classic A Dream of Red Mansions, at least three male characters are explicitly portrayed as having homosexual leanings.

It was also in the Qing Dynasty that China's first homosexual novel was published, Pinhua Baojian (Treasury of Flower Appreciation).

During this time, trends shifted, and it became known as the "southern fashion", a homophonic pun on "south" and "man", as homosexuality became more common in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian.

But female homosexuality, for the first time, became publicly recognized for what it was.

It was said in Guangzhou and neighboring counties that it was acceptable for female couples to move in together, and stay unmarried their whole lives.

During the Qing Dynasty, the so-called "private residence" business developed.

After an anti-prostitution policy banned troupes from employing female musicians, male opera singers started singing female roles.

While performing on private occasions, some of these good-looking actors, known as xianggong, offered off-stage services to their male patrons.

But they did not escape social prejudice.

According to Pan, the xianggong had to resort to prostituting themselves because of their inferior social status.

But whereas female prostitutes often had a second chance at a normal life after they gave up their trade, xianggong suffered from social stigma all their lives. Their descendants were even banned from sitting for the imperial civil examinations.

In Qing Dynasty folklore, there is a deity who looks after homosexuals. This was the famous "rabbit god", known as Hu Tianbao, a man who had been killed for stalking a handsome official.

In hell, he was laughed at, but to show that they sympathized, the gods of hell appointed him the guardian god of same-sex lovers.

This was more than an amusing anecdote, for it reflected the prevalent social attitude at that time towards homosexuality.

Chinese sociologist Li Yinhe calls social tolerance China's "cultural advantage".

In an article she wrote on how "China had been ahead in the acceptance of homosexuality but had fallen behind again", Li notes that China had, in the past, treated homosexuals with more tolerance than some Western societies which had persecuted them, sometimes to death.

She feels that the culturally confident Chinese were not afraid of accepting an alternative lifestyle, but that they would rather ignore it than oppose it.

But, Li adds, tolerance does not mean full acceptance.

As you might have heard, Taiwan had its first same-sex Buddhist wedding a few months ago.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/1 ... 73086.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


One interesting thing to note is that in at least one prominent modern Chinese work on Buddhist precepts, homosexuality is outright declared sexual misconduct because of the "improper" use of genitals. Only heterosexual vaginal intercourse between man and wife is deemed appropriate.
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pueraeternus
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by pueraeternus »

Huseng wrote: The earliest such story, recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals, is the Pleasant Hug From Behind. When Jinggong threatens to kill an official who often looks at him, the sage Yanzi tells him it is wrong to kill someone who "admires your beauty". Appreciating what Yanzi says, Jinggong lets the official "hug him from behind".
During the Three Kingdoms period, even the heroic generals were said be homosexuals or have strong tendencies towards their counterparts. I remembered during a Chinese language class in my teens, our chinese teacher was relating an event where one of the generals (I forgot which ones by now) lost a battle and could have been hunted down and killed, but his opponent decided to let him go as he liked him. So some of the other boys giggled and asked "Oh is he gay?", and our teacher in a manner of fact way replied "Oh yes - they have always been gay. In fact, in Chinese history there has always been homosexuality all along." :lol:
"Men must want to do things out of their own innermost drives. People, not commercial organizations or chains of command, are what make great civilizations work. Every civilization depends upon the quality of the individuals it produces. If you over-organize humans, over-legalize them, suppress their urge to greatness - they cannot work and their civilization collapses."
- A letter to CHOAM, attributed to the Preacher
Huseng
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Huseng »

In the absence of social stigmas against homosexuality it seems rather common among humans.
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pueraeternus
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by pueraeternus »

Huseng wrote:In the absence of social stigmas against homosexuality it seems rather common among humans.
Agreed. As far as I know, the Buddha himself didn't proscribe it, only the later Abhidharma authors centuries after the Buddha's parinirvana.
"Men must want to do things out of their own innermost drives. People, not commercial organizations or chains of command, are what make great civilizations work. Every civilization depends upon the quality of the individuals it produces. If you over-organize humans, over-legalize them, suppress their urge to greatness - they cannot work and their civilization collapses."
- A letter to CHOAM, attributed to the Preacher
Huseng
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Huseng »

pueraeternus wrote:
Huseng wrote:In the absence of social stigmas against homosexuality it seems rather common among humans.
Agreed. As far as I know, the Buddha himself didn't proscribe it, only the later Abhidharma authors centuries after the Buddha's parinirvana.
And under Brahmin influence no less.
shaunc
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by shaunc »

Homosexuality has existed for as long as heterosexuality, not only in china but all over the world. It seems to me that westerners make a much bigger deal out of sex than asians in general. In SE Asia as far as sex goes you can get pretty much anything you want. Straight, gay & anything in between. It's a natural part of life like eating & sleeping for most people. But whenever a subject comes up with the word sex in it on an internet forum it gets a lot more replies then say when the word precepts or meditation comes up.
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Karma Dorje
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Karma Dorje »

Huseng wrote:In the absence of social stigmas against homosexuality it seems rather common among humans.
No, it's always common. It's just when there are strong social stigmas, it is often hidden.
"Although my view is higher than the sky, My respect for the cause and effect of actions is as fine as grains of flour."
-Padmasambhava
Huseng
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Huseng »

Karma Dorje wrote:
Huseng wrote:In the absence of social stigmas against homosexuality it seems rather common among humans.
No, it's always common. It's just when there are strong social stigmas, it is often hidden.
Of course.

I think though a lot of people won't pursue it though in a society where it would be frowned upon or worse.
Yudron
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Yudron »

Huseng wrote:
Karma Dorje wrote:
Huseng wrote:In the absence of social stigmas against homosexuality it seems rather common among humans.
No, it's always common. It's just when there are strong social stigmas, it is often hidden.
Of course.

I think though a lot of people won't pursue it though in a society where it would be frowned upon or worse.

Libido is a powerful force. Back in the 70's, when more countries had the death penalty for homosexuality, you could still find international guides about where to find gays and lesbians in that very country. But it would be places for anonymous encounters in parks, and the like.

You know, the actress and director Jody Foster just came out--in a very sheepish and indirect way--at an awards ceremony. Lesbians have known for 30 years she is a lesbian. So, even in the U.S. there are many people struggling with feeling good enough about their sexuality to come out about it. Maybe they are waiting for their parents to die!
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pueraeternus
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by pueraeternus »

Yudron wrote:But it would be places for anonymous encounters in parks, and the like.
Is this common for lesbians? I know it certainly is for gays, but I know very little about the lesbian world.
"Men must want to do things out of their own innermost drives. People, not commercial organizations or chains of command, are what make great civilizations work. Every civilization depends upon the quality of the individuals it produces. If you over-organize humans, over-legalize them, suppress their urge to greatness - they cannot work and their civilization collapses."
- A letter to CHOAM, attributed to the Preacher
Yudron
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Yudron »

pueraeternus wrote:
Yudron wrote:But it would be places for anonymous encounters in parks, and the like.
Is this common for lesbians? I know it certainly is for gays, but I know very little about the lesbian world.
No, not at all. In a country where homosexuality is illegal, you would have to rely on word of mouth for private parties, at best. Or, as it used to be here in the U.S. two women would get involved having never heard of lesbians before, and go on thinking that they were the only two in the whole world. Can you imagine how hard that would be?
plwk
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by plwk »

I have heard some horror stories on how some lesbians get trolled by straight men who pose as a lesbian online and when come the day of meeting up, a few men would turn up to the horror of the woman and no 'lesbian' in sight...

Here's a sample of what a Chinese lesbian have to endure...Ms Gigi Chao from Hong Kong

phpBB [video]
phpBB [video]
Yudron
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Yudron »

plwk wrote:I have heard some horror stories on how some lesbians get trolled by straight men who pose as a lesbian online and when come the day of meeting up, a few men would turn up to the horror of the woman and no 'lesbian' in sight...
Many, if not most, of the posts on Craig's list for women who want some lesbian action the same night are from men. Usually just one guy, I hear.
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pueraeternus
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by pueraeternus »

Yudron wrote:
pueraeternus wrote:
Yudron wrote:But it would be places for anonymous encounters in parks, and the like.
Is this common for lesbians? I know it certainly is for gays, but I know very little about the lesbian world.
No, not at all. In a country where homosexuality is illegal, you would have to rely on word of mouth for private parties, at best. Or, as it used to be here in the U.S. two women would get involved having never heard of lesbians before, and go on thinking that they were the only two in the whole world. Can you imagine how hard that would be?
That is indeed very tough. I am grateful that there is much progress compared to 30-40 years ago. But it seems there is still much to do to convince the general public that homosexuals are just the same as any others, only that they are attracted to the same gender.
"Men must want to do things out of their own innermost drives. People, not commercial organizations or chains of command, are what make great civilizations work. Every civilization depends upon the quality of the individuals it produces. If you over-organize humans, over-legalize them, suppress their urge to greatness - they cannot work and their civilization collapses."
- A letter to CHOAM, attributed to the Preacher
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Sara H
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Re: Homosexuality in Chinese History

Post by Sara H »

Huseng wrote:China Daily has an interesting article outlining the historical data on homosexuality in China:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013 ... 086464.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In both Chinese history and literature, homosexuality was open and tolerated. Has social acceptance come full cycle as China increasingly engages the international community? Is there a place for same-sex relationships now? The China Daily Sunday team of Han Bingbin, Gan Tian, Shi Yingying and Xu Lin file the reports.

Pederasty, the erotic relationship between a male adult and an adolescent boy, was already prevalent around the time of the Yellow Emperor, who is credited with having founded Chinese civilization. At least, this is what various literary works have recorded through the ages.

In both folk myths and literary classics, there have been both brief and lengthy descriptions of same-sex relationships, for both genders.

Sociologist Pan Guangdan insists homosexuality is a natural fact of life, and that it must have existed much earlier in human history.

Being gay in China

While translating British psychologist Havelock Ellis' groundbreaking Psychology of Sex in the 1930s, Pan was inspired to search through historical documents for credible clues of the existence of homosexuality throughout Chinese history.

And he found plenty.

His research is compiled as an appendix in the Chinese edition of Psychology of Sex, making it arguably the first systematic study of same-sex relationships in China.

According to Pan's study, the earliest mention of homosexuality was in the Chronicles of Shang. Minister Yi Yin of the early Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC) set out punishment for "10 criminal acts" among officials. One of them was pederasty.

But Pan was surprised to find that in the Zhou Dynasty which followed (c. 11th century-256 BC), a widespread proverb went like this: "Good-looking males can distract emperors from the wisdom of old intellects".

Therefore, he believes that during the Shang and Zhou dynasties homosexuality was common.

Historical records of the periods provide vivid and detailed accounts of same-sex relationships, especially in imperial bedchambers.

Stories of romanticized gay love are often retold, even today, as people attempt to justify homosexuality.

The earliest such story, recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals, is the Pleasant Hug From Behind. When Jinggong threatens to kill an official who often looks at him, the sage Yanzi tells him it is wrong to kill someone who "admires your beauty". Appreciating what Yanzi says, Jinggong lets the official "hug him from behind".

In the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), historians Sima Qian and Ban Gu both included reports on ningxing, the emperors' male concubines. From these, Pan concludes that almost every emperor during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) had or was suspected of having male partners.

The best known among these was Dong Xian.

It is said that Emperor Ai woke up to find the sleeves of his imperial robes tucked under the sleeping body of his partner Dong Xian. Not wanting to wake his beloved concubine, Ai sliced off his sleeves, and hurried off to his day's routine.

From then on, same-sex love between males has often been referred to as the "sleeve-slicing affection" - a euphemism for a gay relationship by those who still find it embarrassing to publicly address the topic.

By the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), homosexuality had become a common practice among the upper classes and is frequently mentioned in official reports.

Pan says this is understandable as the Jin was one of few eras in world history when men were particularly attentive about their appearance. Pan says the other period was in Ancient Greece, where pederasty was an accepted part of life.

"Ancient Greek philosophers viewed homosexuality as more sacred than heterosexuality Without relevant literary references, we can't tell whether ancient people thought the same way, but it's obvious homosexuality during this time was free from excessive social prejudice and moral condemnation," Pan says.

In China, soon after the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), homosexuality gradually disappears from official records and Pan refers to novels and other casual references, the authenticity of which was often in doubt.

This situation extended through the Tang (AD 618-907) to Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. Homosexuality seems to have resurfaced only in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, but it was a very different scenario.

Homosexuality is frequently mentioned in the works of established writers such as the scholar Ji Yun and poet Yuan Mei.

In novelist Cao Xueqin's classic A Dream of Red Mansions, at least three male characters are explicitly portrayed as having homosexual leanings.

It was also in the Qing Dynasty that China's first homosexual novel was published, Pinhua Baojian (Treasury of Flower Appreciation).

During this time, trends shifted, and it became known as the "southern fashion", a homophonic pun on "south" and "man", as homosexuality became more common in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian.

But female homosexuality, for the first time, became publicly recognized for what it was.

It was said in Guangzhou and neighboring counties that it was acceptable for female couples to move in together, and stay unmarried their whole lives.

During the Qing Dynasty, the so-called "private residence" business developed.

After an anti-prostitution policy banned troupes from employing female musicians, male opera singers started singing female roles.

While performing on private occasions, some of these good-looking actors, known as xianggong, offered off-stage services to their male patrons.

But they did not escape social prejudice.

According to Pan, the xianggong had to resort to prostituting themselves because of their inferior social status.

But whereas female prostitutes often had a second chance at a normal life after they gave up their trade, xianggong suffered from social stigma all their lives. Their descendants were even banned from sitting for the imperial civil examinations.

In Qing Dynasty folklore, there is a deity who looks after homosexuals. This was the famous "rabbit god", known as Hu Tianbao, a man who had been killed for stalking a handsome official.

In hell, he was laughed at, but to show that they sympathized, the gods of hell appointed him the guardian god of same-sex lovers.

This was more than an amusing anecdote, for it reflected the prevalent social attitude at that time towards homosexuality.

Chinese sociologist Li Yinhe calls social tolerance China's "cultural advantage".

In an article she wrote on how "China had been ahead in the acceptance of homosexuality but had fallen behind again", Li notes that China had, in the past, treated homosexuals with more tolerance than some Western societies which had persecuted them, sometimes to death.

She feels that the culturally confident Chinese were not afraid of accepting an alternative lifestyle, but that they would rather ignore it than oppose it.

But, Li adds, tolerance does not mean full acceptance.

As you might have heard, Taiwan had its first same-sex Buddhist wedding a few months ago.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/1 ... 73086.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


One interesting thing to note is that in at least one prominent modern Chinese work on Buddhist precepts, homosexuality is outright declared sexual misconduct because of the "improper" use of genitals. Only heterosexual vaginal intercourse between man and wife is deemed appropriate.
This is very, very interesting. Thank you!

I will show this to my spouse!

In Gassho,

Sara H.
Observing your mind is a good idea.
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