Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China

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University of California Press, Aug 10, 1990 - History - 256 pages
The first detailed treatment of the Chinese homosexual tradition in any Western language, Passions of the Cut Sleeve shatters preconceptions and stereotypes. Gone is the image of the sternly puritanical Confucian as sole representative of Chinese sexual practices—and with it the justification for the modern Chinese insistence that homosexuality is a recent import from the decadent West. Rediscovering the male homosexual tradition in China provides a startling new perspective on Chinese society and adds richly to our understanding of homosexuality.

Bret Hinsch's reconstruction of the Chinese homosexual past reveals unexpected scenes. An emperor on his deathbed turns over the seals of the empire to a male beloved; two men marry each other with elaborate wedding rituals; parents sell their son into prostitution. The tradition portrays men from all levels of society—emperors, transvestite actors, rapists, elegant scholars, licentious monks, and even the nameless poor.

Drawing from dynastic histories, erotic novels, popular Buddhist tracts, love poetry, legal cases, and joke books, Passions of the Cut Sleeve evokes the complex and fascinating male homosexual tradition in China from the Bronze Age until its decline in recent times.

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Contents

Introduction
1
Peaches Pillows and Politics Zhou Dynasty 1122 to 256 BC
15
Cut Sleeves as the Height of Fashion Han Dynasty 206 BC to AD 220
34
Powdered Jade Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties 220 to 581
55
Men of the Misty Moon Tang and Song Dynasties 618 to 1279
77
Popular Indulgence and Bawdy Satire Homosexuality in Humor
98
Husbands Boys Servants Yuan and Ming Dynasties 1264 to 1644
118
Reflections at the End of a Tradition Qing Dynasty 1644 to 1912
139
Epilogue
162
Lesbianism in Imperial China
173
Notes
179
Glossary of Chinese Terms
203
Bibliography
205
Index
217
Copyright

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Page 5 - ... points of comparison with the Occidental development. For only in this way is it possible to attempt a causal evaluation of those elements of the economic ethics of the Western religions which differentiate them from others, with a hope of attaining even a tolerable degree of approximation. Hence these studies do not claim to be complete analyses of cultures, however brief. On the contrary, in every culture they quite deliberately emphasize the elements in which it differs from Western civilization....
Page 36 - Hui had a boy favourite named Hong. Neither Ji nor Hong had any particular talent or ability; both won prominence simply by their looks and graces. Day and night they were by the ruler's side, and all the high ministers were obliged to apply to them when they wished to speak to the emperor. As a result all the palace attendants at the court of...
Page 20 - Tzu-hsia was strolling with the ruler in an orchard and, biting into a peach and finding it sweet, he stopped eating and gave the remaining half to the ruler to enjoy. "How sincere is your love for me!
Page 71 - I kiss you, lotus and hibiscus. Your appearance is already pure, your clothing is new. The chariot follows the wind, flying after fog and currents of mist. Inclined toward extravagance and festiveness. gazing around at the leisurely and beautiful.
Page 67 - Pei Kai possessed outstanding beauty and manners. Even after removing his official cap, with coarse clothing and undressed hair, he was always attractive. Contemporaries felt him to be a man of jade. One who saw him remarked, "Looking at Pei Kai is like walking on top of a jade mountain with the light reflected back at you.
Page 2 - Ricci found male prostitution commonplace: [T]here are public streets full of boys got up like prostitutes. And there are people who buy these boys and teach them to play music, sing, and dance. And then, gallantly dressed and made up with rouge like women these miserable men are initiated into this terrible vice.
Page 66 - Yan's (fnJ-H) face was extremely white. The emperor suspected that he used powder. At the peak of the summer months he offered him some hot soup and dumplings. After He Yan had eaten it, he broke into a profuse sweat and with his scarlet robe wiped his face, but his complexion became whiter than ever (SSXY, p.
Page 36 - Yet it is not women alone who can use their looks to attract the eyes of the ruler; courtiers and eunuchs can play at that game as well. Many were the men of ancient times who gained favor this way.

About the author (1990)

Bret Hinsch is professor of history at Fo Guang University, Yilan, Taiwan.

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