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[[Image:Love play in China - wiki.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Young men sipping tea, reading poetry, and making love; Individual panel from a hand scroll on homosexual themes, paint on silk; [[China]], [[Qing Dynasty]] (eighteenth to nineteenth centuries); [[Kinsey Institute]], Bloomington, Indiana]]
[[Image:Love play in China.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Young men sipping tea and having sex. Individual panel from a hand scroll on homosexual themes, paint on silk; [[China]], [[Qing Dynasty]] (eighteenth to nineteenth centuries); [[Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction|Kinsey Institute]], Bloomington, Indiana, United States]]
The situation of '''[[homosexuality]] in [[China]] and [[Taiwan]]''' is currently quite ambiguous, although many instances have been recorded in the dynastic histories. In this article, "China" means the [[Chinese region]], including [[People's Republic of China]], [[Republic of China|Taiwan]], [[Hong Kong]], and [[Macau]].


The existence of '''homosexuality in China''' has been [[LGBT history in China|well documented]] since ancient times. According to one study, homosexuality was regarded as a normal facet of life in China, prior to the Western impact of 1840 onwards.<ref name="Hinsch56"/> However, this has been disputed.<ref name="Cut Sleeve 1992 p. 170">Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China by Bret Hinsch; Review by: Frank Dikötter. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 55, No. 1(1992), Cambridge University Press, p. 170</ref> Many early Chinese emperors are speculated to have had homosexual relationships, accompanied by heterosexual ones.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve''. University of California Press. pp. 35–36.</ref> Opposition to homosexuality, according to the study by Hinsch, did not become firmly established in China until the 19th and 20th centuries, through the [[Westernization]] efforts of the late [[Qing Dynasty]] and early [[Republic of China]].<ref name="Kang1"/> On the other hand, Gulik's influential study argued that the Mongol [[Yuan dynasty]] introduced a more ascetic attitude to sexuality in general.<ref>Robert Hans Van Gulik 1961. Sexual life in Ancient China: a preliminary survey of Chinese sex and society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D. Leiden: Brill.</ref><ref>Needham, J: Science and Civilization in China: Sexual Techniques. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, Vol. 2, 1954.</ref> It is also argued that the classical Chinese were unable to express homosexuality in a coherent and empathetic manner."<ref name="Cut Sleeve 1992 p. 170"/><ref>M. P. Lau and M. L. Ng: Homosexuality in Chinese Culture. Review of: History of Homosexuality in China (Chinese ed.). Xiaomingxiong. Hong Kong: Samshasha and Pink Triangle Press, 1984. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 13: 465--488, 1989. O 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers</ref> Thus, it may remain for further research to determine the question of whether anti-gay attitudes in Modern China can be significantly attributed to the entrance of Western attitudes into China, or whether opposition was merely not expressed in a coherent manner. Either way, it is indisputable that homosexual sex was banned in the [[People's Republic of China]] from at least the twentieth century, until it was legalized in 1997. In 2001, homosexuality was removed from the official list of [[mental health in China|mental illnesses in China]].<ref>China Decides Homosexuality No Longer Mental Ilness. Associated Press, South China Morning Post, March 08 2001. See http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55/325.html</ref>
Please see [[transgender in China]] for information on that topic.


==Terminology in China and Taiwan==
==Terminology in China==
In the old days, the terms included "the passion of the cut sleeve" (断袖之癖, [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin]], [[pinyin]] dùanxìu zhī pǐ), and "the bitten peach" (分桃 [[Pinyin|py]] fēntáo). Other, less obscure terms have included "male trend" (男風 [[Pinyin|py]] nánfēng), "allied brothers" (香火兄弟 [[Pinyin|py]] xīanghǔo xīongdì), and "masculine-dragon preference" (龍陽癖 [[Pinyin|py]] lóngyángpǐ).


{{See also|Tongzhi}}
The formal word for "homosexuality/homosexual(s)" is ''tongxinglian'' (同性戀, [[pinyin|py]] tóngxìnglìan, literally ''same-sex relations/love'') or ''tongxinglian zhe'' (同性戀者, [[pinyin|py]] tóngxìnglìan zhě, homosexual people). Instead of this formal word, "tongzhi" (同志 [[Pinyin|py]] tóngzhì), simply a head-rhyme word, is more commonly used in gay community. ''Tongzhi'' (literally means 'comrade', and sometimes ''nü tongzhi'', 女同志 [[Pinyin|py]] nǚ tóngzhì, literally "female comrade") which was first adopted by Hong Kong researchers in Gender Studies, is used as slang in Mandarin Chinese referring to homosexuals, while in [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]] ''gei1'' (基), adopted from English ''[[gay]]'', is used. This term is also somewhat common in [[Taiwan]]. "Gay" is sometimes considered to be offensive when used by heterosexuals or even by homosexuals in certain situations. Another slang term is ''boli'' (玻璃, [[Pinyin|py]]: bōlí, crystal or glass), which is not so commonly used. Among gay university students, the [[neologism]] "''datong''" (大同, [[Pinyin|py]] dàtóng, which also refers to '''[[utopia]]''' in Chinese) is becoming popular. "''datong''" is short for "'''''da'''xuesheng '''tong'''zhi''" (university students [that are] homosexuals).


Traditional terms for homosexuality included "the passion of the cut sleeve" ({{zh|c=断袖之癖|p=duànxiù zhī pǐ}}), and "the bitten peach" ({{zh|c=分桃|p=fēntáo}}). An example of the latter term appears in a 6th-century poem by Liu Xiaozhuo:
In Taiwan, lesbians usually call themselves ''lazi'' (拉子, [[Pinyin|py]] lāzi) or ''lala'' (拉拉, [[Pinyin|py]] lālā). These two terms are abbreviations of the transliteration of the English term "lesbian". These slang terms are also commonly used in Mainland China now.
<blockquote>— She dawdles, not daring to move closer, / Afraid he might compare her with leftover peach.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve''. University of California Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-520-06720-7</ref></blockquote>


Other, less literary, terms have included "male trend" ({{zh|c=男風|p=nánfēng}}), "allied brothers" ({{zh|c=香火兄弟|p=xiānghuǒ xiōngdì}}), and "the passion of Longyang" ({{zh|c=龍陽癖|p=lóngyángpǐ}}), referencing a [[homoerotic]] anecdote about [[Lord Long Yang]] in the [[Warring States period]]. The formal modern word for "homosexuality/homosexual(s)" is ''tongxinglian'' ({{zh|c=同性戀|p=tóngxìngliàn|l=same-sex relations/love}}) or ''tongxinglian zhe'' ({{zh|c=同性戀者|p=tóngxìngliàn zhě}}, homosexual people). Instead of that formal word, "[[tongzhi]]" ({{zh|c=同志|p=tóngzhì}}), simply a [[head rhyme]] word, is more commonly used in the gay community. ''Tongzhi'' ({{zh|l=comrade}}; sometimes along with ''nü tongzhi'', {{zh|l=female comrade|c=女同志|p=nǚ tóngzhì}}), which was first adopted by Hong Kong researchers in Gender Studies, is used as slang in Mandarin Chinese to refer to homosexuals. Such usage is seen in Taiwan. However, in Mainland China, ''tongzhi'' is used both in the context of the traditional "comrade" sense (e.g., used in speeches by Communist Party officials) and to refer to homosexuals. In [[Cantonese]], ''gei1'' (基), adopted from English ''[[gay]]'', is used. "Gay" is sometimes considered to be offensive when used by heterosexuals or even by homosexuals in certain situations. Another slang term is ''boli'' ({{zh|c=玻璃|p=bōli|l=crystal or glass}}), which is not so commonly used. Among gay university students, the [[acronym and initialism|acronym]] "''datong''" ({{zh|c=大同|p=dàtóng|l=[[Great Unity|great togetherness]]}}), which also refers to [[utopia]], in Chinese is becoming popular. ''Datong'' is short for '''''da'''xuesheng '''tong'''zhi'' (university students [that are] homosexuals).
==Traditional views towards homosexuality in China's society==
[[Image:Woman spying on male lovers.jpg|thumb|280px|A woman spying on a pair of male lovers]]
All major religions in ancient China have some sort of codex, which have traditionally been interpreted as being against exclusive homosexuality when it interferes with continuation of the family lineage. For example the [[Confucius|Confucians]] have the codex that a man should behave according to somewhat traditional male [[gender roles]] and a woman likewise. So, for example, [[crossdressing]] is a deed that is against the Confucian natural law.


Lesbians usually call themselves ''lazi'' ({{zh|c=拉子|p=lāzi}}) or ''lala'' (拉拉, {{zh|p=lālā}}). These two terms are abbreviations of the transliteration of the English term "lesbian". These slang terms are also commonly used in Mainland China now.
There were some historical accounts of emperors who used to dress themselves in women's clothes, and this was always interpreted as an ill omen; and to beget children (especially sons) is a very important duty for a man in traditional Chinese society. So a man who only has male lovers is not dutiful. [[Taoism]] emphasizes maintaining the balance between ''[[Yin]]'' and ''[[Yang]]''. A man-man relation is thought to be a Yang-Yang relation and so is imbalanced and destructive.


==Traditional views of homosexuality in China==
In [[Buddhist views of homosexuality|Buddhism]] sexual desire (regardless of being homosexual or heterosexual) is something that prevents a soul from achieving [[nirvana]], so it is something to be avoided.
[[Image:Woman spying on male lovers.jpg|thumb|200px|A woman [[Voyeurism|spying on a pair]] of male lovers]]
The political ideologies, philosophies, and religions of ancient China regarded homosexual relationships as a normal facet of life, and in some cases, promoted homosexual relationships as exemplary. Ming Dynasty literature, such as ''Bian Er Chai'' (弁而釵/弁而钗), portrays homosexual relationships between men as enjoyable relationships.<ref>Kang, Wenqing. ''Obsession: male same-sex relations in China, 1900-1950'', Hong Kong University Press. Page 2</ref> Writings from the [[Liu Song Dynasty]] claimed that homosexuality was as common as heterosexuality in the late 3rd century:
{{quote|All the gentlemen and officials esteemed it. All men in the realm followed this fashion to the extent that husbands and wives were estranged. Resentful unmarried women became jealous.<ref name="Hinsch56">Hinsch, Bret. (1990). ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve''. University of California Press. p. 56</ref>}}


Confucianism, being primarily a social and political philosophy, focused little on sexuality, whether homosexual or heterosexual. However, the ideology did emphasize male friendships, and Louis Crompton has argued that the "closeness of the master-disciple bond it fostered may have subtly facilitated homosexuality".<ref name="Crompton">Crompton, Louis. ''Homosexuality and Civilization''. Harvard University Press. p. 221</ref> Although [[Taoist alchemy]] regarded heterosexual sex, without ejaculation, as a way of maintaining a male's "life essence", homosexual intercourse was seen as "neutral", because the act has no detrimental or beneficial effect on a person's life essence.<ref name="Crompton"/>
But on the other hand, none of the Chinese major religions condemn homosexuality as a [[sin]] as many [[Homosexuality and Christianity|Christian churches]] do. Compared to sin in Christian culture, the list of sinful deeds in the codex of Confucianism does not include homosexuality. As long as a man does his duty and sires children, it is his private affair to have other male lovers.


In a similar way to [[Buddhism and sexual orientation|Buddhism]], Taoist schools sought throughout history to [[Five Precepts (Taoism)|define]] what would be sexual misconduct. Consequently, the literature of some schools included homosexuality as one of the forms of sexual misconduct, while others maintained neutrality.<ref>The Ultra Supreme Elder Lord's Scripture of Precepts(太上老君戒經), in "The Orthodox Tao Store"(正統道藏)</ref><ref>The Great Dictionary of Taoism"(道教大辭典), by Chinese Taoism Association, published in China in 1994, ISBN 7-5080-0112-5/B.054</ref>
This is also true in [[Taoism]]. Although each man is regarded as ''yang'' (masculine), every man also has some ''yin'' (feminine) in him. Some men can have much ''yin'' in them. So the presence of some feminine behavior is not viewed as unnatural for men. In this view, homosexuals can even be regarded as something very natural, according to the natural balance of ''yin'' and ''yang''. It is also remarkable that many Taoist gods and goddesses live alone or together with some equal deities of the same sex. The very common example is ''Shanshen'' (mountain god) and ''Tudi'' ("earth", i.e., local god). Every place has its ''Shanshen'' and ''Tudi'', and they sometimes live together. ''Shanshen'' and ''Tudi'' are often both males (Tudi is always a male). More intriguingly, they sometimes manifest themselves as an old man and an old woman. (Such appearances are described quite often in the classical novel ''[[Journey to the West]]'').


Opposition to homosexuality in China rose in the medieval [[Tang Dynasty]], being attributed by some writers to the influence of Christian and Islamic values,<ref name="Hinsch, Bret 1990 p. 77-78">Hinsch, Bret. (1990). ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve''. University of California Press. p. 77-78.</ref> but did not become fully established until the late [[Qing Dynasty]] and the [[Republic of China]].<ref name="Kang1">Kang, Wenqing. ''Obsession: male same-sex relations in China, 1900-1950'', Hong Kong University Press. Page 3</ref> There exists a dispute among sinologists as to when negative views of homosexual relationships became prevalent among the general Chinese population, with some scholars arguing that it was common by the time of the [[Ming Dynasty]], established in the 14th century, and others arguing that anti-gay attitudes became entrenched during the [[Westernization]] efforts of the late [[Qing Dynasty]] and the early [[Republic of China]] in the 19th and 20th centuries.<ref name="Kang1"/> Although rejection of homosexuality originating in the Tang Dynasty might also suggest Indian influences, given the fact that some Hindu and Buddhist literature disapproved of homosexuality.<ref>[[Manu Smriti]] Chapter 8, Verse 370. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu/manu08.htm Text online]</ref><ref>Mahanirvana Tantra 12:104</ref><ref name="Abhidharmakośa">[[Abhidharmakośa]]</ref><ref>[[Abhidharma-samuccaya]]</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Hurvitz | first = Leon | title = Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma(The Lotus Sutra) | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 1976 | isbn = 978-0231148955 | pages=209}}</ref><ref name="harvey 2000 421">{{cite book| last = harvey | first = peter | title = An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2000 | isbn = 9780511800801 | pages=421-}}</ref><ref name="Newland p.220">Cutler/Newland ''The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightnment'' p.220</ref>
==Same-sex love in literature==
Another remarkable thing is the prominence of friendship between men in the ancient Chinese culture. There are many examples in the classic novels, especially in ''[[Water Margin]]'', a book about very deep and long lasting male friendships. These bonds were based on revolutionary comradeship in war, instead of homosexual tendencies. However, other works depict less Platonic relationships. In the seminal novel ''[[Dream of the Red Chamber]]'', there are examples of males engaging in both same-sex and opposite-sex acts.


The earliest law against a homosexual act dates from the [[Song Dynasty]], punishing "young males who act as prostitutes." The first statute specifically banning homosexual intercourse was enacted in the [[Jiajing]] era of the [[Ming Dynasty]].<ref>{{cite book
There is also a tradition of [[erotic literature]], which is less known as it is supposed that most such works have been purged in the periodic book burnings that have been a feature of Chinese history. However, isolated manuscripts have survived. Chief among these is the anthology "Bian er Zhai", ''Cap but Pin'', or ''A Lady's Pin under a Man's Cap'', a series of four short stories in five chapters each, of passion and seduction. The first short story, ''Chronicle of a Loyal Love'', involves a twenty-year-old academician chasing a fifteen-year-old scholar and a bevy of adolescent valets. In another, "Qing Xia Ji" ''Record of the Passionate Hero'', the protagonist, Zhang, a valiant soldier with two warrior wives, is seduced by his younger friend Zhong, an unusual arrangement as it is usually the older man who takes the initiative with a boy. The work appeared in a single edition some time between 1630 and 1640.
| last = Sommer
| first = Matthew
| title = Sex, Law, and Society in Late Imperial China
| publisher = Stanford University Press
| year = 2000
| pages = 413
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=E6ClbegXuWUC&pg=PA119
| isbn = 0-8047-3695-2}}
</ref>


Lu Tongyin, author of ''Misogyny, Cultural Nihilism & Oppositional Politics: Contemporary Chinese Experimental Fiction'', said "a clear-cut dichotomy between heterosexuality and homosexuality did not exist in traditional China."<ref name="Lu150">Lu 150.</ref>
==Ancient China==
[[Image:Beijing.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Young men engaged in erotic play; Hand scroll with homosexual theme, opaque watercolor on paper; [[Beijing]], [[Qing Dynasty]], late 19th c. Private collection]]


==Same-sex relationships in literature==
Homosexuality has been documented in China since ancient times. According the scholar Ji Yun of the [[Qing Dynasty]], already at the very beginning, [[Huang Di]] (The Yellow Emperor, 2697? - 2597? BCE), legendary king and founder of the Chinese culture, had male lovers. This is naturally not very trustworthy because whether there was really a person called Huang Di is not very clear. Two notable royal examples come from a ''[[formulaic expression]]'', ''yútáo duànxiù'' (余桃断袖). ''Yútáo'', or "the leftover [[peach]]", recorded in ''[[Hanfeizi]]'', speaks of Mi Zixia (彌子瑕), a beautiful youth cherished by [[Duke Ling of Wei]] (衛靈公) who once shared an already bitten but very delicious peach with the duke, who appreciated the gesture (although once the growing Mi Zixia lost his beauty, the duke looked back on this event and said Mi was being insincere [http://www.androphile.org/preview/Library/Mythology/Chinese/MiziXia/MiziXia.htm]). ''Duànxiù'', or "breaking the sleeve", refers to [[Emperor Ai of Han China]]'s act of cutting his sleeve, on which his adored male concubine Dongxian (董賢) was sleeping, in order not to wake him.
Same-gender love can sometimes be difficult to differentiate in [[Classical Chinese]] because the pronouns '''he''' and '''she''' were written with the same character, like tā (他). And like many East and Southeast Asian languages, Chinese does not have grammatical gender. Thus, poems such as [[Tang poetry|Tang Dynasty poems]] and other [[Chinese poetry]] may be read as either heterosexual or homosexual, or neutral in that regard, depending on the reader's desire.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. pp. 16- 17.</ref> In addition, a good deal of ancient Chinese poetry was written by men in the female voice, or [[persona]].<ref>Samei, Maija Bell. (2004). Gendered Persona and Poetic Voice: The Abandoned Woman in Early Chinese Song Lyrics. Lexington Books. pp. 1.</ref> Some may have portrayed semi-sexual relationships between teen-aged girls, before they were pulled apart by marriage.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} Male poets would use the female narrative voice, as a persona, to lament being abandoned by a male comrade or king.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}


Another complication in trying to separate heterosexual and homosexual themes in Chinese literature is that for most of Chinese history, writing was restricted to a cultivated [[Scholar-bureaucrats|elite]], amongst whom blatant discussion of [[sex]] was considered vulgar. Until adopting European [[homophobia|values]] late in their history, the Chinese did not even have nouns to describe a heterosexual or homosexual person per se. Rather, people who might be directly labeled as such in other traditions would be described by veiled allusions to the actions they enjoyed, or, more often, by referring to a famous example from the past.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 7.</ref> The most common of these references to homosexuality referenced [[Dong Xian]] and [[Mizi Xia]].
Scholar Pan Guangdan (潘光旦) came to the conclusion that nearly every emperor in the [[Han Dynasty]] had one or more male sex partners. There are also descriptions of [[lesbian]]s in some history books. It is believed homosexuality was popular in the [[Song dynasty|Song]], [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties. Chinese homosexuals did not experience high-profile persecution comparing with that was received by homosexuals in [[Europe]] during the [[Middle Ages]].


The [[Tang Dynasty]] "Poetical Essay on the Supreme Joy" is a good example of the allusive nature of Chinese writing on sexuality. This manuscript sought to present the "supreme joy" ([[sex]]) in every form known to the author; the chapter on homosexuality comes between chapters on sex in Buddhist monasteries and sex between peasants. It is the earliest surviving manuscript to mention homosexuality, but it does so through phrases such as "cut sleeves in the imperial palace", "countenances of linked jade", and "they were like [[Lord Long Yang]]", phrases which would not be recognizable as speaking of sexuality of any kind to someone who was not familiar with the literary tradition.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by University of California Press. p. 84.</ref>
In some areas, same sex love was particularly appreciated. The province of Fujian was especially noted for the widespread practice of male love, and even its tradition of boy marriage, a temporary arrangement that lasted only until the boy reached maturity and took a female wife.


While these conventions make explicit mentions of homosexuality rare in Chinese literature in comparison to the Greek or Japanese traditions, the allusions which do exist are given an exalted air by their frequent comparison to former Golden Ages and imperial favorites.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 6.</ref> A [[Han Dynasty]] poem describes the official Zhuang Xin making a nervous pass at his lord, Xiang Cheng of [[Chu (state)|Chu]]. The ruler is nonplussed at first, but Zhuang justifies his suggestion through allusion to a legendary homosexual figure and then recites a poem in that figure's honor. At that, "Lord Xiang Cheng also received Zhuang Xin's hand and promoted him."<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by University of California Press. p. 23.</ref>
The Qing official Zhu Gui (1731-1807), a grain tax circuit intendant of Fujian in 1765, intending to improve the moral shortcomings of the people under his jurisdiction, promulgated a "Prohibition of Licentious Cults," criticizing the respect the people of Fujian paid to such cults (yinci). One cult which he found particularly troublesome was the cult of Hu Tianbao. As he reports,


A remarkable aspect of traditional Chinese literature, in contrast to English literature, is the prominence of same-gender friendship. [[Bai Juyi]] is one of many writers who wrote dreamy, lyrical poems to male friends about shared experiences. He and fellow scholar-bureaucrat [[Yuan Zhen]] made plans to retire together as Taoist recluses once they had saved enough funds, but Yuan's death kept that dream from being fulfilled.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by University of California Press. p. 80-81.</ref> In ''[[Water Margin]]'', a [[Song Dynasty]] novel, male revolutionary soldiers form deep, long lasting, and arguably romantic friendships.
<blockquote>The image is of two men embracing one another; the face of one is somewhat hoary with age, the other tender and pale. [Their temple] is commonly called the small official temple. All those debauched and shameless rascals who on seeing youths or young men desire to have illicit intercourse with them pray for assistance from the plaster idol. Then they make plans to entice and obtain the objects of their desire. This is known as the secret assistance of Hu Tianbao. Afterwards they smear the idol's mouth with pork intestine and sugar in thanks. ''(Michael Szonyi, "The Cult of Hu Tianbao and the eighteenth-Century Discourse of Homosexuality." Late Imperial China - Volume 19, Number 1, June 1998, pp. 1-25)''</blockquote>


Other works depict less [[platonic love|platonic]] relationships. A [[Ming Dynasty]] rewriting of a very early [[Zhou Dynasty]] legend recounts a passionate male relationship between [[Pan Zhang & Wang Zhongxian]] which is equated to heterosexual [[marriage]], and which continues even beyond death.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 24-25.</ref> The daring 17th century author [[Li Yu (author)|Li Yu]] combined tales of passionate love between men with brutal violence and cosmic revenge.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. pp. 121- 131.</ref> In China's best-known novel, ''[[Dream of the Red Chamber]]'', from the [[Qing Dynasty]], there are examples of males engaging in both same-sex and opposite-sex acts.<ref name="hinsch">{{cite book
Same-sex love was also celebrated in Chinese art, many examples of which have survived the book burnings of the [[Cultural Revolution]]. Though no large statues are known to still exist, many [[hand scrolls]] and paintings on silk can be found in private collections[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/China/NEWindex.htm].
| last = Hinsch
| first = Bret
| title = Passions of the Cut Sleeve
| publisher = University of California Press
| year = 1992
| pages = 147
| url = http://books.google.com/?id=1LmEC1b1bncC&pg=PA147
| isbn = 978-0-520-07869-7}}
</ref>


There is a tradition of clearly [[erotic literature]], which is less known. It is supposed that most such works have been purged in the periodic book burnings that have been a feature of Chinese history. However, isolated manuscripts have survived. Chief among these is the anthology "Bian er chai" (弁而釵，[[Pinyin]]: Biàn ér chāi), ''Cap but Pin'', or ''A Lady's Pin under a Man's Cap'', a series of four short stories in five chapters each, of passion and seduction. The first short story, ''Chronicle of a Loyal Love'', involves a twenty-year-old academician chasing a fifteen-year-old scholar and a bevy of adolescent valets. In another, "Qing Xia Ji" (情俠記 [[Pinyin]]: Qíng xiá jì, ''Record of the Passionate Hero''), the protagonist, Zhang, a valiant soldier with two warrior wives, is seduced by his younger friend Zhong, a remarkable arrangement as it is stereotypically the older man who takes the initiative with a boy. The work appeared in a single edition some time between 1630 and 1640.
In the year 1944, the scholar Sun Cizhou published a work stated that one of the most famous ancient Chinese poets, [[Qu Yuan]], was a lover of his King. Sun cited the poetry of Qu Yuan to prove his claim. In Qu Yuan's most important work ''[[Li Sao]]'' (Sorrow of parting), Qu Yuan called himself a beautiful man (or woman, ''mei ren''). A word he used to describe his king was used at that time by women to characterize their lovers.


More recently, [[Ding Ling]] (丁玲 Dīng Líng), an author of the 1920s in China, was a prominent and controversial feminist author, and it is generally agreed that she had lesbian (or at least bisexual) content in her stories. Her most famous piece is "Miss Sophia's Diary" (莎菲女士的日記 [[Pinyin]]: Shāfēi Nǚshì de rìjì), a seminal work in the development of a voice for women's sexuality and sexual desire. Additionally, a contemporary author, Huang Biyun (黄碧云, [[Pinyin]]: Huáng Bìyún, Cantonese: Wong Bikwan), writes from the lesbian perspective in her story "She's a Young Woman and So Am I" (她是女士，我也是女士 [[Pinyin]]: Tā shì nǚshì, wǒ yě shì nǚshì"). Author [[Pai Hsien-yung]] created a sensation by [[coming out]] of the closet in Taiwan, and by writing about gay life in [[Taipei]] in the 1960s and 70s.<ref>Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 163.</ref>
The first [[law]] against homosexuals in China went into effect in 1740. There was no record in the history as to how effectively the law was enforced. The more devastating event for Chinese homosexuals was, ironically, the enlightenment that came after the [[Self-Strengthening Movement]], when [[homophobia]] was imported to China along with Western science and philosophy.


Same-sex love was also celebrated in Chinese art, many examples of which have survived the various traumatic political events in recent Chinese history. Though no large statues are known to still exist, many hand scrolls and paintings on silk can be found in private collections [http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/China/NEWindex.htm].
==Modern China==
Homosexuality went underground after the formation of the [[People's Republic of China]]. The Communist regime persecuted homosexuals, especially during the [[Cultural Revolution]], when many homosexuals were punished with long prison terms and sometimes execution. Social tolerance of homosexuality declined.


==Gay, lesbian and queer culture in contemporary Mainland China==
Since the policy of [[History of the PRC (1976-present)#Reform and Opening-up|Reform and Opening Up]] in 1979, the communist party has been loosening its control over this kind of behavior. But the practice of homosexuality is still labeled as a "moldering life style of capitalism".
Gay identities and communities have expanded in China since the 1980s as a result of resurfacing dialogue about and engagement with queer identities in the public domain. While lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) culture remains largely underground, there are a plethora of gay cruising zones and often unadvertised gay bars, restaurants and discos spread across the country. The recent and escalating proliferation of gay identity in Mainland China is most significantly signaled by its recognition in mainstream media despite China's media censorship. There are also many gay websites and LGBT organisations which help organise gay rights' campaigns, AIDS prevention efforts, film festivals and pride parades. Yet public discourse on the issue remains fraught - a product of competing ideologies surrounding the body; the morality of its agency in the public and private arena.


Like in many other western and non-western societies, public sentiment on homosexuality in China sits within a liminal space. While it is not outright condemned, neither is it fully accepted as being part of the social norm. In many instances, those who associate with the queer community also associate with another marginalised group, such as rural-to-urban migrants and sex workers, and therefore the stigma that is attached to aspects of queer identity is often a manifestation of perceived social disobedience against different intersecting vectors of 'moral rights'. As Elaine Jeffreys and Haiqing Yu note in their book, Sex in China, individuals who interact within the queer community do not necessarily identify as being homosexual. 'Money boys', men who provide commercial sexual services to other men, but do not identify as being homosexual, are an example of such a social group. Their minority status is imbued with aspects of criminality and poverty. This suggests that the 'perverseness' attached to homosexuality in Mainland China is not purely informed by a biological discourse, but, depending on the circumstances, can also be informed by accepted notions of cultural and social legitimacy.
A notable change occurred during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when [[sodomy]] was decriminalized in 1997, and the new ''Chinese Classification and Diagnostic Criteria of Mental Disorders'' removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses on [[April 20]], [[2001]]. The situation has continued to evolve in 2004. Many consider the magazine "Menbox" [http://www.mdjh.com.cn/] to be a gay magazine in all but name. Recently, a [[transsexual]] woman, ''Chen Lili'' was allowed to compete in the China selection pageant for the [[Miss Universe]] competition.


Justice [[Anthony Kennedy]] quoted [[Confucius]] in his majority ruling in ''[[Obergefell v. Hodges]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/07/04/confucius-say-sex-marriage/29639591/ |title=What would Confucius say about same-sex marriage? |date=4 July 2015 |work=Delaware Online Opinion}}</ref> leading to discussion of the ruling on [[Sina Weibo]],
An Internet survey in 2000 showed that Chinese people are becoming more tolerant towards homosexuality: among the 10,792 surveyed, 48.15% were in favor, 30.9% disapproved, 14.46% were uncertain, and 7.26% were indifferent. [[Gay-bashing]] is rare in modern China. But some scholars complain that the government is too indifferent on this issue, doing nothing to promote the situation of homosexuality in China. During the 2002 [[Gay Games]], only 2 persons from the mainland were sent to take part in, and apart from gay websites the media gave little coverage to the event. Many gay men admit having unsafe sex, and more than one sex partner, which worsens the spread of [[AIDS]] in China, because the Chinese government makes little effort to educate citizens about the danger of AIDS among gay people. The authorities still refuse to promote either gay issues or [[gay rights]] in China. Although there is no explicit law against homosexuality or same-sex acts between consenting adults, neither are there laws protecting gays from discrimination, nor are there any gay rights organizations in the PRC. It is believed that the Chinese policy towards the gay issue remains the "Three nos": no approval, no disapproval, and no promotion (不支持, 不反对, 不提倡).
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2015-06/29/content_21135058.htm|title=US gay marriage ruling divides opinion in China|work=China Daily|date=29 June 2015}}</ref> along with issues on the [[Microblogging in China|microblogging]] service like gay Chinese [[coming out]] to parents,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-33510481|title=How young Chinese are coming out to their parents|date=13 July 2015|work=BBC Trending}}</ref> and articles in the [[People's Daily]] on gay men.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.people.cn/n/2015/0709/c90000-8917590.html|title=72-Year-Old Chinese Gay Tells His Sad Life Story|work=People's Daily Online|date=7 Jul 2015}}</ref>


==History==
The number of homosexuals in China remains unclear. From one source, the homosexuals number between 360,000 and 480,000, another statement based on Chinese government documents and academic studies states that the figure is 15 million. Compared to the higher proportions of homosexuals in other countries, many find these figures unconvincing.
{{main|LGBT history in China}}


==Recent occurrences==
The loosening of restrictions on [[Internet]] use has resulted in a blossoming of gay websites in the PRC, even though the police sometimes intervene and shut down such websites. The Internet has been very important to the Chinese gay community. Although there are no gay organizations in China, there are some organized Internet sites that function as advisory institutions.
In 2009 a male couple held a symbolic wedding in public, and China Daily took the photo of the two men in a passionate embrace across its pages. Other symbolic gay and lesbian weddings have been held across the country and have been covered positively by the Chinese media.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harris|first=Dan|title=Homosexuality in China|url=http://www.chinalawblog.com/2013/07/homosexuality-in-china.html|accessdate=1 May 2014}}</ref>
In 2012, Luo Hongling, a university professor, committed suicide because she knew her husband was a gay man. She alleged their marriage was just a lie since the man could not admit he was gay to his parents. Luo was considered a 'homowife' - local slang for a woman married to a homosexual male, akin to the English term 'beard'.<ref>{{cite web|last=Yang|first=Chaoqing|title=Homowife Chose To Suicide To Blame Her Gay Husband|url=http://www.afinance.cn/new/xwpl/201207/470255.html|accessdate=1 May 2014}}</ref>


==Legal status==
The mainstream media sometimes cover notable gay events abroad, such as [[pride parade]]s. But some critics charge that the purpose of the media is mostly to smear homosexuality. Lacking a [[Motion picture rating systems|film rating system]], the Chinese government forbids gay movies to be shown on TV or in theaters because they are "inappropriate". Despite having received much attention in [[Taiwan]], [[Hong Kong]] and other places, the gay-themed movie ''[[Lan Yu]]'' is still forbidden in the PRC (the film also feature references to the [[Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989]]) although the actors are all Mainlanders, and the story is based on a quite popular Internet story written by a mainland [[netizen]]. New Western films like ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' in 2006, was denied release in the mainland, even though there was an overall public interest as the film was directed by [[Ang Lee]].
{{further|LGBT history in China|Recognition of same-sex unions in the People's Republic of China}}
Adult, consensual and non-commercial homosexuality has been legal in China since 1997, when the national penal code was revised. Homosexuality was removed from the Ministry of Health's list of mental illnesses in 2001 and the public health campaign against [[AIDS]]-[[HIV]] pandemic does include education for [[men who have sex with men]]. Officially, overt police enforcement against gay people is restricted to gay people engaging in gay sex acts in public or gay prostitution, which are also illegal for heterosexuals. {{Citation needed|date=January 2014}}


However, despite these changes, no civil rights law exists to address discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The media tends to censor positive depictions of gay couples in films and television shows and households headed by same-sex couples are not permitted to adopt children and do not have the same privileges as heterosexual married couples.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}}
There are some gay bars and nightclubs in big cities, like [[Shanghai]], [[Guangzhou]], [[Shenzhen]], and [[Beijing]], which are subject to police harassment. The difficulties surrounding homosexuality in China make those gays who cannot afford to go to gay bars or nightclubs look for casual sex in public washrooms, parks, and public shower centers. As everywhere in the world, being gay is a huge problem in the countryside; in China this is especially severe as the vast majority of people lives in the countryside with no Internet access and no possibility to move to a city. Country dwellers do not often speak of homosexuality, and when they do, it is usually considered a disease. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4503552]


Research conducted by The Chinese Journal of Human Sexuality in 2014 showed that nearly 85 percent of the 921 respondents supported same-sex marriage, while about 2 percent of them oppose the idea, and 13 percent of them said "not sure."<ref>[http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/929367.shtml US gay marriage ruling sparks debate in China]</ref>
Many cases show that gays still have to endure prejudice from the justice system and harassment from police, including detention and arrest. In October 1999, a [[Beijing]] court ruled that homosexuality was "abnormal and unacceptable to the Chinese public" [''[[Washington Post]]'' [[24 January]] [[2000]]], which was the first time this official attitude was stated openly. Another notable case happened in July 2001, when at least 37 gay men were detained in [[Guangdong Province]]. Recently, in late April, the [[State Administration of Radio Film and Television]] (国家广播电影电视总局) has initiated a campaign to clear violence and sexual content from the media. Programs related to homosexual topic, scene or language are considered to be "going against the healthy way of life in China", and are banned. [http://www.pybk.com/news_read.asp?id=3511] [http://www.sdgay.net/web/readnews.asp?newsid=437]


==Slang in contemporary Chinese gay culture==
===Same-sex marriage in China===
The following terms are not standard usage; rather, they are colloquial and used within the gay community.
During the evaluation of the amendment of the [[marriage law]] in China in 2003, there was the first discussion about homosexual marriage. Though this issue was rejected, this was the first time that an item of gay rights was discussed in China. However, just not long before the new marriage law went into effect, an officer stated in a press conference that [[same-sex marriage]] is still forbidden in China, on [[August 19]], [[2003]].


{|class="wikitable" text-align="left" style="width:400px" border="1"
Li Yinhe (李銀河), a well-known sexology scholar among Chinese gay community, has tried to legalize same-sex marriage during the [[National People's Congress]] in 2000 and 2004 (''Legalization for the Chinese Same-Sex Marriage'', 《中国同性婚姻合法化》 in 2000 and ''Chinese Same-Sex Marriage Bill'', 《中国同性婚姻提案》 in 2004). According to Chinese law, 35 delegates' signatures are needed to make an issue a bill to be discussed in the Congress. Her effort failed due to her not being able to get enough supports from the delegates. Still, many scholars and homosexuals don't think it's possible for China to pass such a law in the near future.
! '''Chinese''' !! '''[[Pinyin]]''' !! '''English'''
|-
! 同性
| tóng xìng || same sex
|-
! 拉拉
| lā lā || lesbian
|-
! 1 号
|yī hào || top (1 symbolises a penis)
|-
!0.5 号
!líng diǎn wu hào
!ver ( 0.5 is the mediant of 1 and 0)
|-
! 0 号
|líng hào || butt hole/bottom (0 symbolises a hole)
|-
! 搞（搅）基
| gǎo(jiǎo) jī (Canto: gao2 gay1)|| the activities and lives of gays
|-
! 攻
| gōng|| the more aggressive partner
|-
! 受
| shòu|| the more receptive partner
|-
! T
||| Tomboy lesbian
|-
! P （婆）
|po || Wife (femme) lesbian
|-
!G吧
| g BAR || [[gay bar]]
|-
! 18禁
| shí bā jìn || forbidden below 18 years of age. Could also mean pornographic material, without regard to sexuality.
|-
!同性浴室
|tóng xìng yù shì || [[Gay bathhouse|same-sex bathhouse]]
|-
! 出柜
|chū guì || [[coming out|come out of the closet]]
|-
! 直男
| zhí nán || straight (man)
|-
! 弯男
| wān nán || gay
|-
! 卖的
|mài de || [[male prostitution|rent boy]] (can also be called MB for money boy)
|-
! 熊
|xióng || [[Bear (gay culture)|bear]]
|-
! 狒狒
|fèi fèi || someone who likes bears - literally '[[baboon]]'
|-
! 猴子
|hóu zi || [[Twink (gay slang)|twink]] - literally '[[monkey]]'
|-
! 同妻
| tóng qi || woman whose husband is gay man- literally '[[homowife]]'
|-
|}


==Culture==
In 2006, Li purposed a same-sex marriage bill again. Some gay websites called for their members to sign their names for the supports of this bill. But as expected, this bill was dismissed again.


==Hong Kong==
===Historical people===
Male homosexual behavior was illegal before 1991 in [[Hong Kong]], the maximum sentence being life imprisonment. The [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|Legislative Council]] agreed to decriminalize [[buggery]] after the public debate that arose in 1980. But two other attempts of introducing anti-discrimination legislation failed in 1993 and 1997.


:See'' [[LGBT history in China]]''.
There are several gay-rights organizations in Hong Kong, such as [[Rainbow Action]] and [[Tongzhi Culture Society]]. In 2003, the Catholic Church of Hong Kong released an article condemning [[same-sex marriage]]. As a result, a group of protestors rushed into a church and interrupted the service.


===Modern people===
Currently in Hong Kong, sex between two consenting males is illegal for those aged under 21. In 2005, a Hong Kong High Court case brought by William Roy Leung triggered debate within the Hong Kong community regarding this law. The government lost the case, with Judge Hartmann finding that the current legislation is discriminatory towards gay men. [http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid23918.asp ''The Advocate: Hong Kong gays fight sodomy laws'']
The following are prominent Mainland Chinese and Hong Kongese people who have come out to the public or are actively working to improve gay rights in Mainland China and Taiwan:


*[[Wan Yanhai]] (signatory on [[The Yogyakarta Principles]] and participant of [[2009 World Outgames]])
==Taiwan==
*[[Leslie Cheung]] (singer and actor from Hong Kong - died 2003)
The status of homosexuals has been improving in Taiwan. In the 1970s, some novels regarding homosexuality were published. One of the most prominent writers is [[Pai Hsien-yung]], who introduced gay characters in his novels, the most famous being ''[[Crystal Boys]]''. More recently, some gay TV series and movies have been produced and gained great attention among gay communities in both Taiwan and China, including the TV series ''Crystal Boys'', adapted from Pai Hsien-yung's novel by the same title, and the movie ''[[Formula 17]]''.

===Recent Taiwanese homosexual news and events===
*At the end of October 2003, the government of [[Taiwan]] announced plans to legalise [[same-sex marriage]], which would make [[Taiwan]] the first place in [[Asia]] to permit it. However, so far these plans have not been implemented.
*On [[November 1]], [[2003]] [[Taiwan Pride]], the first gay pride parade in the Chinese-speaking world, was held in [[Taipei]], with over 1,000 people attending [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2003/11/02/2003074355]. Still, many participants wore [[mask]]s to hide their identity because homosexuality remains a social [[taboo]] in Taiwan.
*On [[January 17]], [[2004]] Taipei's police raided and arrested 93 gay men at a private orgy party, amidst allegations that they were using drugs. Many people in Taiwan were shocked by reports which revealed that nearly one-third of the attendees were [[HIV]] positive. These arrests received severe condemnation from the local gay community. This event is now known as the "HOMEPA(Home Party) Event" by the Taiwanese gay community.
*In [[2004]]-[[2005]], the Taiwanese director, [[Ang Lee]] directed the gay Western film, ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'', who received high critical acclaim and academy awards for it.

==Culture==
===People===
The following are prominent Chinese and Taiwanese people who have come out to the public or actively working to improve gay rights in China and Taiwan:

*[[Leslie Cheung]] (bisexual or gay singer and actor from Hong Kong - deceased)
*[[Pai Hsien-yung]] (gay writer from Taiwan)
*[[Li Yinhe]] (the well known scholar on sexology in China)
*[[Li Yinhe]] (the well known scholar on sexology in China)
*[[Josephine Ho]] (researcher and political activist in Taiwan)
*Siu Cho (researcher and political/ social activist in Hong Kong)
*[[Raymond Chan Chi-chuen]] (Hong Kong legislator)
*[[Denise Ho]] (Hong Kong Celebrity/Actor/Singer)
*[[Anthony Wong (singer)|Anthony Wong]] (Hong Kong Singer/Activist)
*[[Suzie Wong (TV host)|Suzie Wong]] (Hong Kong TV Host)
*[[Elaine Jin]] (Hong Kong Actor)
*[[Gigi Chao]] (Hong Kong Activist/Heiress to Cheuk Nang Holdings)<ref>http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/weekend-australian-magazine/gigi-chaos-father-makes-an-indecent-proposal/story-e6frg8h6-1226663280154</ref>
*Vinci Wong (Hong Kong TV Host)
*Dr Chow Yiu Fai (Hong Kong Lyricist/Activist/Associate Professor of Humanities in Hong Kong Baptist University)<ref>http://hk.asia-city.com/city-living/article/reality-dykes</ref>
*[[Winnie Yu]] (Hong Kong Radio Host/Ex-CEO of Commercial Radio Hong Kong)
*Joey Leung (Leung Jo Yiu) (Hong Kong Stage performer)
*Edward Lam (Lam Yik Wah) (Hong Kong Playwright)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scmp.com/article/293488/edward-lam-yik-wah|title=Edward Lam Yik-wah|work=South China Morning Post|accessdate=13 June 2015}}</ref>
*Alton Yu (Yu Dik Wai) (Hong Kong Radio Host)
*[[Chet Lam]] (Hong Kong Indie Singer/Song Writer)
*Ip Kin Ho (aka Gin Ng 健吾) (Author/Radio Host/Journalist/CUHK Lecturer in Hong Kong)


===Movies and TV series===
===Movies and TV series===
Many gay movies or TV series have been made in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, including:
Many gay movies or TV series have been made in Hong Kong and mainland China, including:
*''[[Bishonen]]'' (HK)
*''[[All About Love (2010 film)|All About Love]]'' (HK)
*''[[Buffering]]'', (HK)
*''[[Amphetamine (film)|Amphetamine]]'' (HK)
*''[[Crystal Boys]]'' (Taiwan)
*''[[Bishonen (film)|Bishonen]]'' (HK)
*Buffering... (HK)
*''[[East Palace West Palace]]'' (China)
*''[[Fleeing by Night]]'' (Taiwan, 2000)
*''[[Butterfly (2004 film)|Butterfly]]'' (HK)
*''[[Butterfly Lovers#Stage plays and operas|Butterfly Lovers]]''(2005 Stage Act by Denise Ho)
*''[[Formula 17]]'' (Taiwan)
*''[[Happy Together (movie)|Happy Together]]'' (HK)
*''[[East Palace, West Palace]]'' (China)
*''[[Farewell My Concubine (film)|Farewell My Concubine]]'' (China)
*''[[Happy Together (1997 film)|Happy Together]]'' (HK)
*''[[I Am Not What You Want]]'' (HK)
*''[[I Am Not What You Want]]'' (HK)
*''[[Lanyu]]'' (China)
*''[[Lan Yu (film)|Lanyu]]'' (China)
*''[[The Wedding Banquet]]'' (Taiwan)
*''[[Love Actually... Sucks!]]'' (HK)
*''[[Permanent Residence (film)|Permanent Residence]]'' (HK)
*''[[Portland Street Blues]]'' (HK)
*''Speechless'' (China)
*''[[Spring Fever (2009 film)|Spring Fever]]'' (2009)
*''[[Tongzhi in Love]]'' ([[documentary film]], China/US, 2008)
*''[[Yóuyuán Jīngmèng]]''


==See also==
==See also==
{{gay rights}}
{{multicol}}
*[[Shanghai Pride]] 2009 First Event
* Queer representation on Chinese Film - [[Cui Zi En|Cui Zi En 崔子恩]]
*[[Recognition of same-sex unions in the People's Republic of China]]
*[[Transgender in China]]
*[[Gender/Sexuality Rights Association Taiwan]]
*[[Gender/Sexuality Rights Association Taiwan]]
*[[Human rights in the People's Republic of China]]
*[[Human rights in the People's Republic of China]]
*[[LGBT themes in Chinese mythology and folklore]]
*[[History of homosexuality]]
{{multicol-break}}
*[[Homosexuality in India]]
*[[Homosexuality in India]]
*[[Homosexuality in Japan]]
*[[Homosexuality in Japan]]
*[[Homosexuality in Singapore]]
*[[LGBT in Singapore]]
*[[LGBT in the Philippines]]
*[[Homosexuality]]
*[[Queer studies]]
*[[LGBT rights in Taiwan]]
*[[LGBT rights in Hong Kong]]
{{multicol-break}}
{{Portal|China|LGBT}}

{{multicol-end}}

==References==
*[[Timothy Brook (historian)|Brook, Timothy]]. (1998). ''[[The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China]]''. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22154-0 (Paperback).
* Lu, Tonglin. ''Misogyny, Cultural Nihilism & Oppositional Politics: Contemporary Chinese Experimental Fiction''. [[Stanford University Press]], 1995. ISBN 0-8047-2464-4, ISBN 978-0-8047-2464-7. Pages 134-140, 151-154.
*Szonyi, Michael. "The Cult of Hu Tianbao and the eighteenth-Century Discourse of Homosexuality." ''Late Imperial China'' (Volume 19, Number 1, June 1998): 1&ndash;25.
{{Reflist|3}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|LGBT in China}}
*[http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=130&catid=11&subcatid=76 Homosexuals and Gay Life in China], Factsanddetails.com
*[http://www.china-underground.com/magazine/first-same-sex-marriage-in-china-26-images First same-sex marriage in China: 26 images]
*[http://www.smile4gay.org Smile4Gay Action Network 同志你好行动网络]
*[http://www.gayographic.org/ Gayographic.org]
*[http://www.gaychina.com GayChina.com]
*[http://neptune.lunarpages.com/~active2/cr4sd/production/eng/main/index.html Civil Rights for Sexual Diversities (CR4SD)] A rights advocacy group based in Hong Kong
*[http://www.csssm.org/English/front.htm CSSSM (Chinese Society for the Study of Sexual Minorities)]
*[http://www.csssm.org/English/front.htm CSSSM (Chinese Society for the Study of Sexual Minorities)]
*[http://sex.ncu.edu.tw/english/english.htm Center for the Study of Sexualities at National Taiwan Central University]
*[http://sex.ncu.edu.tw/english/english.htm Center for the Study of Sexualities at National Taiwan Central University]
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*[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Culture/China/china.htm Chinese Tradition of Male Love]
*[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Culture/China/china.htm Chinese Tradition of Male Love]
*[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/China/ Male Love Art from Ancient China]
*[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/China/ Male Love Art from Ancient China]
*[http://ekhome.net/ First Chinese website to provide gay information in Hong Kong]
*[http://www.weandwe.com/2002/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=1348&BigClassID=75&SmallClassID=81&SpecialID=0 Gay rights in 90s China]:Paper Presented at the Human Rights Forum on People's Summit on APEC, November, 1997
*[http://www.weandwe.com/2002/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=1348&BigClassID=75&SmallClassID=81&SpecialID=0 Gay rights in 90s China]:Paper Presented at the Human Rights Forum on People's Summit on APEC, November, 1997
* [http://www.barhome.com/ Home&Bar]: The most popular gay bar in Shanghai
*[http://www.utopia-asia.com/womchin.htm Lesbian information for China]
*[http://www.pekingduck.org/2002/10/the-plight-of-chinas-gays The plight of China's gays] (The Peking Duck)

*[http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TPRSSTRG&source=login_payBarrier Comrades-in-arms: Gay rights in China - The long march out of the closet], [[The Economist]], Jun 18th 2009
==Books==
*[http://uschina.usc.edu/article@usct?homosexuality_in_china_14740.aspx Homosexuality in China], [http://uschina.usc.edu US-China Today], Mar 10, 2010
*Bret Hinsch, ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China'', The University of California Press, 1990, ISBN 0-520-06720-7.


{{Asia in topic|Gay rights in}}
{{Asia topic|LGBT rights in}}
{{Asia in topic|Homosexuality in}}
{{Homosexuality around the world}}
{{China topics}}


{{LGBT in Taiwan}}
[[Category:Sexual orientation and society]]
[[Category:LGBT history|China]]
[[Category:History of China]]
[[Category:LGBT culture|China]]
[[Category:Chinese culture]]
[[Category:Mainland China]]
[[Category:Hong Kong law]]
[[Category:Taiwanese law]]
[[Category:Chinese law]]
[[Category:Gay rights by country|China]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Homosexuality In China}}
[[de:Homosexualität in China]]
[[Category:LGBT history prior to the 19th century]]
[[it:Omosessualità in Cina]]
[[Category:LGBT in China| ]]
[[pl:Sytuacja homoseksualistów w Chinach i na Tajwanie]]
[[Category:LGBT history in China]]
[[zh:中國同性戀]]

Revision as of 09:42, 5 November 2015

Young men sipping tea and having sex. Individual panel from a hand scroll on homosexual themes, paint on silk; China, Qing Dynasty (eighteenth to nineteenth centuries); Kinsey Institute, Bloomington, Indiana, United States

The existence of homosexuality in China has been well documented since ancient times. According to one study, homosexuality was regarded as a normal facet of life in China, prior to the Western impact of 1840 onwards.[1] However, this has been disputed.[2] Many early Chinese emperors are speculated to have had homosexual relationships, accompanied by heterosexual ones.[3] Opposition to homosexuality, according to the study by Hinsch, did not become firmly established in China until the 19th and 20th centuries, through the Westernization efforts of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.[4] On the other hand, Gulik's influential study argued that the Mongol Yuan dynasty introduced a more ascetic attitude to sexuality in general.[5][6] It is also argued that the classical Chinese were unable to express homosexuality in a coherent and empathetic manner."[2][7] Thus, it may remain for further research to determine the question of whether anti-gay attitudes in Modern China can be significantly attributed to the entrance of Western attitudes into China, or whether opposition was merely not expressed in a coherent manner. Either way, it is indisputable that homosexual sex was banned in the People's Republic of China from at least the twentieth century, until it was legalized in 1997. In 2001, homosexuality was removed from the official list of mental illnesses in China.[8]

Terminology in China

See also: Tongzhi

Traditional terms for homosexuality included "the passion of the cut sleeve" (Chinese: 断袖之癖; pinyin: duànxiù zhī pǐ), and "the bitten peach" (Chinese: 分桃; pinyin: fēntáo). An example of the latter term appears in a 6th-century poem by Liu Xiaozhuo:

— She dawdles, not daring to move closer, / Afraid he might compare her with leftover peach.[9]

Other, less literary, terms have included "male trend" (Chinese: 男風; pinyin: nánfēng), "allied brothers" (Chinese: 香火兄弟; pinyin: xiānghuǒ xiōngdì), and "the passion of Longyang" (Chinese: 龍陽癖; pinyin: lóngyángpǐ), referencing a homoerotic anecdote about Lord Long Yang in the Warring States period. The formal modern word for "homosexuality/homosexual(s)" is tongxinglian (Chinese: 同性戀; pinyin: tóngxìngliàn; lit. 'same-sex relations/love') or tongxinglian zhe (Chinese: 同性戀者; pinyin: tóngxìngliàn zhě, homosexual people). Instead of that formal word, "tongzhi" (Chinese: 同志; pinyin: tóngzhì), simply a head rhyme word, is more commonly used in the gay community. Tongzhi (lit. 'comrade'; sometimes along with nü tongzhi, Chinese: 女同志; pinyin: nǚ tóngzhì; lit. 'female comrade'), which was first adopted by Hong Kong researchers in Gender Studies, is used as slang in Mandarin Chinese to refer to homosexuals. Such usage is seen in Taiwan. However, in Mainland China, tongzhi is used both in the context of the traditional "comrade" sense (e.g., used in speeches by Communist Party officials) and to refer to homosexuals. In Cantonese, gei1 (基), adopted from English gay, is used. "Gay" is sometimes considered to be offensive when used by heterosexuals or even by homosexuals in certain situations. Another slang term is boli (Chinese: 玻璃; pinyin: bōli; lit. 'crystal or glass'), which is not so commonly used. Among gay university students, the acronym "datong" (Chinese: 大同; pinyin: dàtóng; lit. 'great togetherness'), which also refers to utopia, in Chinese is becoming popular. Datong is short for daxuesheng tongzhi (university students [that are] homosexuals).

Lesbians usually call themselves lazi (Chinese: 拉子; pinyin: lāzi) or lala (拉拉, pinyin: lālā). These two terms are abbreviations of the transliteration of the English term "lesbian". These slang terms are also commonly used in Mainland China now.

Traditional views of homosexuality in China

A woman spying on a pair of male lovers

The political ideologies, philosophies, and religions of ancient China regarded homosexual relationships as a normal facet of life, and in some cases, promoted homosexual relationships as exemplary. Ming Dynasty literature, such as Bian Er Chai (弁而釵/弁而钗), portrays homosexual relationships between men as enjoyable relationships.[10] Writings from the Liu Song Dynasty claimed that homosexuality was as common as heterosexuality in the late 3rd century:

All the gentlemen and officials esteemed it. All men in the realm followed this fashion to the extent that husbands and wives were estranged. Resentful unmarried women became jealous.[1]

Confucianism, being primarily a social and political philosophy, focused little on sexuality, whether homosexual or heterosexual. However, the ideology did emphasize male friendships, and Louis Crompton has argued that the "closeness of the master-disciple bond it fostered may have subtly facilitated homosexuality".[11] Although Taoist alchemy regarded heterosexual sex, without ejaculation, as a way of maintaining a male's "life essence", homosexual intercourse was seen as "neutral", because the act has no detrimental or beneficial effect on a person's life essence.[11]

In a similar way to Buddhism, Taoist schools sought throughout history to define what would be sexual misconduct. Consequently, the literature of some schools included homosexuality as one of the forms of sexual misconduct, while others maintained neutrality.[12][13]

Opposition to homosexuality in China rose in the medieval Tang Dynasty, being attributed by some writers to the influence of Christian and Islamic values,[14] but did not become fully established until the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.[4] There exists a dispute among sinologists as to when negative views of homosexual relationships became prevalent among the general Chinese population, with some scholars arguing that it was common by the time of the Ming Dynasty, established in the 14th century, and others arguing that anti-gay attitudes became entrenched during the Westernization efforts of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China in the 19th and 20th centuries.[4] Although rejection of homosexuality originating in the Tang Dynasty might also suggest Indian influences, given the fact that some Hindu and Buddhist literature disapproved of homosexuality.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

The earliest law against a homosexual act dates from the Song Dynasty, punishing "young males who act as prostitutes." The first statute specifically banning homosexual intercourse was enacted in the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty.[22]

Lu Tongyin, author of Misogyny, Cultural Nihilism & Oppositional Politics: Contemporary Chinese Experimental Fiction, said "a clear-cut dichotomy between heterosexuality and homosexuality did not exist in traditional China."[23]

Same-sex relationships in literature

Same-gender love can sometimes be difficult to differentiate in Classical Chinese because the pronouns he and she were written with the same character, like tā (他). And like many East and Southeast Asian languages, Chinese does not have grammatical gender. Thus, poems such as Tang Dynasty poems and other Chinese poetry may be read as either heterosexual or homosexual, or neutral in that regard, depending on the reader's desire.[24] In addition, a good deal of ancient Chinese poetry was written by men in the female voice, or persona.[25] Some may have portrayed semi-sexual relationships between teen-aged girls, before they were pulled apart by marriage.[citation needed] Male poets would use the female narrative voice, as a persona, to lament being abandoned by a male comrade or king.[citation needed]

Another complication in trying to separate heterosexual and homosexual themes in Chinese literature is that for most of Chinese history, writing was restricted to a cultivated elite, amongst whom blatant discussion of sex was considered vulgar. Until adopting European values late in their history, the Chinese did not even have nouns to describe a heterosexual or homosexual person per se. Rather, people who might be directly labeled as such in other traditions would be described by veiled allusions to the actions they enjoyed, or, more often, by referring to a famous example from the past.[26] The most common of these references to homosexuality referenced Dong Xian and Mizi Xia.

The Tang Dynasty "Poetical Essay on the Supreme Joy" is a good example of the allusive nature of Chinese writing on sexuality. This manuscript sought to present the "supreme joy" (sex) in every form known to the author; the chapter on homosexuality comes between chapters on sex in Buddhist monasteries and sex between peasants. It is the earliest surviving manuscript to mention homosexuality, but it does so through phrases such as "cut sleeves in the imperial palace", "countenances of linked jade", and "they were like Lord Long Yang", phrases which would not be recognizable as speaking of sexuality of any kind to someone who was not familiar with the literary tradition.[27]

While these conventions make explicit mentions of homosexuality rare in Chinese literature in comparison to the Greek or Japanese traditions, the allusions which do exist are given an exalted air by their frequent comparison to former Golden Ages and imperial favorites.[28] A Han Dynasty poem describes the official Zhuang Xin making a nervous pass at his lord, Xiang Cheng of Chu. The ruler is nonplussed at first, but Zhuang justifies his suggestion through allusion to a legendary homosexual figure and then recites a poem in that figure's honor. At that, "Lord Xiang Cheng also received Zhuang Xin's hand and promoted him."[29]

A remarkable aspect of traditional Chinese literature, in contrast to English literature, is the prominence of same-gender friendship. Bai Juyi is one of many writers who wrote dreamy, lyrical poems to male friends about shared experiences. He and fellow scholar-bureaucrat Yuan Zhen made plans to retire together as Taoist recluses once they had saved enough funds, but Yuan's death kept that dream from being fulfilled.[30] In Water Margin, a Song Dynasty novel, male revolutionary soldiers form deep, long lasting, and arguably romantic friendships.

Other works depict less platonic relationships. A Ming Dynasty rewriting of a very early Zhou Dynasty legend recounts a passionate male relationship between Pan Zhang & Wang Zhongxian which is equated to heterosexual marriage, and which continues even beyond death.[31] The daring 17th century author Li Yu combined tales of passionate love between men with brutal violence and cosmic revenge.[32] In China's best-known novel, Dream of the Red Chamber, from the Qing Dynasty, there are examples of males engaging in both same-sex and opposite-sex acts.[33]

There is a tradition of clearly erotic literature, which is less known. It is supposed that most such works have been purged in the periodic book burnings that have been a feature of Chinese history. However, isolated manuscripts have survived. Chief among these is the anthology "Bian er chai" (弁而釵，Pinyin: Biàn ér chāi), Cap but Pin, or A Lady's Pin under a Man's Cap, a series of four short stories in five chapters each, of passion and seduction. The first short story, Chronicle of a Loyal Love, involves a twenty-year-old academician chasing a fifteen-year-old scholar and a bevy of adolescent valets. In another, "Qing Xia Ji" (情俠記 Pinyin: Qíng xiá jì, Record of the Passionate Hero), the protagonist, Zhang, a valiant soldier with two warrior wives, is seduced by his younger friend Zhong, a remarkable arrangement as it is stereotypically the older man who takes the initiative with a boy. The work appeared in a single edition some time between 1630 and 1640.

More recently, Ding Ling (丁玲 Dīng Líng), an author of the 1920s in China, was a prominent and controversial feminist author, and it is generally agreed that she had lesbian (or at least bisexual) content in her stories. Her most famous piece is "Miss Sophia's Diary" (莎菲女士的日記 Pinyin: Shāfēi Nǚshì de rìjì), a seminal work in the development of a voice for women's sexuality and sexual desire. Additionally, a contemporary author, Huang Biyun (黄碧云, Pinyin: Huáng Bìyún, Cantonese: Wong Bikwan), writes from the lesbian perspective in her story "She's a Young Woman and So Am I" (她是女士，我也是女士 Pinyin: Tā shì nǚshì, wǒ yě shì nǚshì"). Author Pai Hsien-yung created a sensation by coming out of the closet in Taiwan, and by writing about gay life in Taipei in the 1960s and 70s.[34]

Same-sex love was also celebrated in Chinese art, many examples of which have survived the various traumatic political events in recent Chinese history. Though no large statues are known to still exist, many hand scrolls and paintings on silk can be found in private collections [1].

Gay, lesbian and queer culture in contemporary Mainland China

Gay identities and communities have expanded in China since the 1980s as a result of resurfacing dialogue about and engagement with queer identities in the public domain. While lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) culture remains largely underground, there are a plethora of gay cruising zones and often unadvertised gay bars, restaurants and discos spread across the country. The recent and escalating proliferation of gay identity in Mainland China is most significantly signaled by its recognition in mainstream media despite China's media censorship. There are also many gay websites and LGBT organisations which help organise gay rights' campaigns, AIDS prevention efforts, film festivals and pride parades. Yet public discourse on the issue remains fraught - a product of competing ideologies surrounding the body; the morality of its agency in the public and private arena.

Like in many other western and non-western societies, public sentiment on homosexuality in China sits within a liminal space. While it is not outright condemned, neither is it fully accepted as being part of the social norm. In many instances, those who associate with the queer community also associate with another marginalised group, such as rural-to-urban migrants and sex workers, and therefore the stigma that is attached to aspects of queer identity is often a manifestation of perceived social disobedience against different intersecting vectors of 'moral rights'. As Elaine Jeffreys and Haiqing Yu note in their book, Sex in China, individuals who interact within the queer community do not necessarily identify as being homosexual. 'Money boys', men who provide commercial sexual services to other men, but do not identify as being homosexual, are an example of such a social group. Their minority status is imbued with aspects of criminality and poverty. This suggests that the 'perverseness' attached to homosexuality in Mainland China is not purely informed by a biological discourse, but, depending on the circumstances, can also be informed by accepted notions of cultural and social legitimacy.

Justice Anthony Kennedy quoted Confucius in his majority ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges[35] leading to discussion of the ruling on Sina Weibo, [36] along with issues on the microblogging service like gay Chinese coming out to parents,[37] and articles in the People's Daily on gay men.[38]

History

Main article: LGBT history in China

Recent occurrences

In 2009 a male couple held a symbolic wedding in public, and China Daily took the photo of the two men in a passionate embrace across its pages. Other symbolic gay and lesbian weddings have been held across the country and have been covered positively by the Chinese media.[39]

In 2012, Luo Hongling, a university professor, committed suicide because she knew her husband was a gay man. She alleged their marriage was just a lie since the man could not admit he was gay to his parents. Luo was considered a 'homowife' - local slang for a woman married to a homosexual male, akin to the English term 'beard'.[40]

Further information: LGBT history in China and Recognition of same-sex unions in the People's Republic of China

Adult, consensual and non-commercial homosexuality has been legal in China since 1997, when the national penal code was revised. Homosexuality was removed from the Ministry of Health's list of mental illnesses in 2001 and the public health campaign against AIDS-HIV pandemic does include education for men who have sex with men. Officially, overt police enforcement against gay people is restricted to gay people engaging in gay sex acts in public or gay prostitution, which are also illegal for heterosexuals. [citation needed]

However, despite these changes, no civil rights law exists to address discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The media tends to censor positive depictions of gay couples in films and television shows and households headed by same-sex couples are not permitted to adopt children and do not have the same privileges as heterosexual married couples.[citation needed]

Research conducted by The Chinese Journal of Human Sexuality in 2014 showed that nearly 85 percent of the 921 respondents supported same-sex marriage, while about 2 percent of them oppose the idea, and 13 percent of them said "not sure."[41]

Slang in contemporary Chinese gay culture

The following terms are not standard usage; rather, they are colloquial and used within the gay community.

Chinese Pinyin English
同性 tóng xìng same sex
拉拉 lā lā lesbian
1 号 yī hào top (1 symbolises a penis)
0.5 号 líng diǎn wu hào ver ( 0.5 is the mediant of 1 and 0)
0 号 líng hào butt hole/bottom (0 symbolises a hole)
搞（搅）基 gǎo(jiǎo) jī (Canto: gao2 gay1) the activities and lives of gays
攻 gōng the more aggressive partner
受 shòu the more receptive partner
T Tomboy lesbian
P （婆） po Wife (femme) lesbian
G吧 g BAR gay bar
18禁 shí bā jìn forbidden below 18 years of age. Could also mean pornographic material, without regard to sexuality.
同性浴室 tóng xìng yù shì same-sex bathhouse
出柜 chū guì come out of the closet
直男 zhí nán straight (man)
弯男 wān nán gay
卖的 mài de rent boy (can also be called MB for money boy)
熊 xióng bear
狒狒 fèi fèi someone who likes bears - literally 'baboon'
猴子 hóu zi twink - literally 'monkey'
同妻 tóng qi woman whose husband is gay man- literally 'homowife'

Culture

Historical people

See LGBT history in China.

Modern people

The following are prominent Mainland Chinese and Hong Kongese people who have come out to the public or are actively working to improve gay rights in Mainland China and Taiwan:

  • Wan Yanhai (signatory on The Yogyakarta Principles and participant of 2009 World Outgames)
  • Leslie Cheung (singer and actor from Hong Kong - died 2003)
  • Li Yinhe (the well known scholar on sexology in China)
  • Siu Cho (researcher and political/ social activist in Hong Kong)
  • Raymond Chan Chi-chuen (Hong Kong legislator)
  • Denise Ho (Hong Kong Celebrity/Actor/Singer)
  • Anthony Wong (Hong Kong Singer/Activist)
  • Suzie Wong (Hong Kong TV Host)
  • Elaine Jin (Hong Kong Actor)
  • Gigi Chao (Hong Kong Activist/Heiress to Cheuk Nang Holdings)[42]
  • Vinci Wong (Hong Kong TV Host)
  • Dr Chow Yiu Fai (Hong Kong Lyricist/Activist/Associate Professor of Humanities in Hong Kong Baptist University)[43]
  • Winnie Yu (Hong Kong Radio Host/Ex-CEO of Commercial Radio Hong Kong)
  • Joey Leung (Leung Jo Yiu) (Hong Kong Stage performer)
  • Edward Lam (Lam Yik Wah) (Hong Kong Playwright)[44]
  • Alton Yu (Yu Dik Wai) (Hong Kong Radio Host)
  • Chet Lam (Hong Kong Indie Singer/Song Writer)
  • Ip Kin Ho (aka Gin Ng 健吾) (Author/Radio Host/Journalist/CUHK Lecturer in Hong Kong)

Movies and TV series

Many gay movies or TV series have been made in Hong Kong and mainland China, including:

See also

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References

  • Brook, Timothy. (1998). The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22154-0 (Paperback).
  • Lu, Tonglin. Misogyny, Cultural Nihilism & Oppositional Politics: Contemporary Chinese Experimental Fiction. Stanford University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8047-2464-4, ISBN 978-0-8047-2464-7. Pages 134-140, 151-154.
  • Szonyi, Michael. "The Cult of Hu Tianbao and the eighteenth-Century Discourse of Homosexuality." Late Imperial China (Volume 19, Number 1, June 1998): 1–25.
  1. ^ a b Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 56
  2. ^ a b Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China by Bret Hinsch; Review by: Frank Dikötter. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 55, No. 1(1992), Cambridge University Press, p. 170
  3. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. pp. 35–36.
  4. ^ a b c Kang, Wenqing. Obsession: male same-sex relations in China, 1900-1950, Hong Kong University Press. Page 3
  5. ^ Robert Hans Van Gulik 1961. Sexual life in Ancient China: a preliminary survey of Chinese sex and society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D. Leiden: Brill.
  6. ^ Needham, J: Science and Civilization in China: Sexual Techniques. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, Vol. 2, 1954.
  7. ^ M. P. Lau and M. L. Ng: Homosexuality in Chinese Culture. Review of: History of Homosexuality in China (Chinese ed.). Xiaomingxiong. Hong Kong: Samshasha and Pink Triangle Press, 1984. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 13: 465--488, 1989. O 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers
  8. ^ China Decides Homosexuality No Longer Mental Ilness. Associated Press, South China Morning Post, March 08 2001. See http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55/325.html
  9. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-520-06720-7
  10. ^ Kang, Wenqing. Obsession: male same-sex relations in China, 1900-1950, Hong Kong University Press. Page 2
  11. ^ a b Crompton, Louis. Homosexuality and Civilization. Harvard University Press. p. 221
  12. ^ The Ultra Supreme Elder Lord's Scripture of Precepts(太上老君戒經), in "The Orthodox Tao Store"(正統道藏)
  13. ^ The Great Dictionary of Taoism"(道教大辭典), by Chinese Taoism Association, published in China in 1994, ISBN 7-5080-0112-5/B.054
  14. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 77-78.
  15. ^ Manu Smriti Chapter 8, Verse 370. Text online
  16. ^ Mahanirvana Tantra 12:104
  17. ^ Abhidharmakośa
  18. ^ Abhidharma-samuccaya
  19. ^ Hurvitz, Leon (1976). Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma(The Lotus Sutra). Columbia University Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0231148955.
  20. ^ harvey, peter (2000). An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 421-. ISBN 9780511800801.
  21. ^ Cutler/Newland The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightnment p.220
  22. ^ Sommer, Matthew (2000). Sex, Law, and Society in Late Imperial China. Stanford University Press. p. 413. ISBN 0-8047-3695-2.
  23. ^ Lu 150.
  24. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. pp. 16- 17.
  25. ^ Samei, Maija Bell. (2004). Gendered Persona and Poetic Voice: The Abandoned Woman in Early Chinese Song Lyrics. Lexington Books. pp. 1.
  26. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 7.
  27. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by University of California Press. p. 84.
  28. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 6.
  29. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by University of California Press. p. 23.
  30. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by University of California Press. p. 80-81.
  31. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 24-25.
  32. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. pp. 121- 131.
  33. ^ Hinsch, Bret (1992). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-520-07869-7.
  34. ^ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. University of California Press. p. 163.
  35. ^ "What would Confucius say about same-sex marriage?". Delaware Online Opinion. 4 July 2015.
  36. ^ "US gay marriage ruling divides opinion in China". China Daily. 29 June 2015.
  37. ^ "How young Chinese are coming out to their parents". BBC Trending. 13 July 2015.
  38. ^ "72-Year-Old Chinese Gay Tells His Sad Life Story". People's Daily Online. 7 Jul 2015.
  39. ^ Harris, Dan. "Homosexuality in China". Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  40. ^ Yang, Chaoqing. "Homowife Chose To Suicide To Blame Her Gay Husband". Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  41. ^ US gay marriage ruling sparks debate in China
  42. ^ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/weekend-australian-magazine/gigi-chaos-father-makes-an-indecent-proposal/story-e6frg8h6-1226663280154
  43. ^ http://hk.asia-city.com/city-living/article/reality-dykes
  44. ^ "Edward Lam Yik-wah". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
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