Essay: Same-sex love in China

Chinese Modernity is closely associated with western civilization in China. Intellectualism has led to an examination of Chinese culture and lifestyle in recent years, mostly from the force of western civilization. Cultural reflection has laced most intellectual discourse in modern China. As part of these reflections, the examination of same-sex relationships has been one of the most significant themes in the analysis of Chinese culture. Same-sex relationship is not a western concept that has seeped into the Chinese culture as there are several documented evidences to suggest that this practice was present way before western contact in 184z0. Some works that support this topic range from scholarly articles to fictional creative works such as anime have continued to explore this topic in modern china. Homophobia only gained tract in more recent history and probably from influences of western culture as opposed to stemming from the culture itself.
Same-Sex Love in Traditional China
Scholarly articles have brought to light that the concept of same-sex relationship particularly between males has been prevalent in the Chinese society for a very long time. While the concept of homosexuality in traditional China differs with the western definition based on their differences in the social background, its aspects could still be considered as a homosexual relationship in today’s context. From ancient times to the fall of the Qing dynasty, homosexuality was widespread and openly practiced. It was particularly fashionable for elites or upper-class men to have what they referred to as “boy entertainers.” The prevalence of homosexual prostitution had been so rampant that some scholars argue that it was one of the primary reason that led to the decline of female brothels particularly in Beijing.
Male-love in Qing dynasty Beijing
It is often argued that pornography and commercialization of prostitution have risen with the emergence of modernity. This claim is largely false as existing evidence points out that prostitution existed as early as in the South Song dynasty that existed between 1127 and 1279. There was a boom in male prostitution in the Ming dynasty particularly, currently known as Beijing. Some historical accounts speak of a popular prostitution court known as Lane of Lotus-Seeds which offered homosexual services and housed hundreds of boy entertainers (Wu & Mark 48). These accounts reveal that most of the clients who visited this establishment were mainly upper-class men such as court officials. Some homoerotic novels, paintings and stories also came into publication towards the sunset years of the Ming Empire.
Theatres, restaurants and private residents were places where most homosexual practices took place. The young boys mostly belonging to destitute or poverty-ridden families were purchased from their parents who were helpless due to the prevailing harsh circumstances such as natural calamities, to sell their children for survival. A troupe master purchased the boys and recruited them for acting but this often led to them being prostituted to the high-class gentlemen of the time. The theatres of the capitals where women were prohibited became avenues to fulfil other desires, as opposed to places for appreciating art and performance. The wealthy particularly paid for seats located in strategic places where they could have a clear view of the young actors. The performances were in most cases a prelude of other “performances” to be pursued in the evening at the close of the stage. The conclusion is drawn from accounts in contemporary observations that patrons of these theatres not only used the venue as a means of through pleasure which could be publicly ostentatious but also used them as places for eroticism.
After the theatre, the other popular public sphere were the restaurants. Men from the high class would carry their boy toys or sometimes order for their friends. Some of these restaurants liaised with those that provided these services. It was not uncommon to find that some of these restaurants had secret private rooms furnished with beds and quilts. Private residence, also known as siyu were a common front for homoerotic activities. In Qing’s dynasty, it was a polite way of referring to a person’s private residence while in the context of a theatre it was made in reference to a master trainer’s private residence where his most favourite ‘actors’ were given what would translate currently as apartments. These actors would sometimes entertain private admirers in these apartments. The terminology siyu became closely associated with a residence housing high-class male prostitute.
At the onset of the 20th century, the siyus started declining. The writer Lanling Youhuansheng, in 1909, notes that the lanterns which lit the pleasure houses of xianggu are long gone and the streets that led to these houses all transformed. The police started raiding these houses especially, in 1912, accusing the owners of luring young boys from decent families being dressed up as singers while being secretly employed for other foul purposes. Much of the efforts put to bring an end to this old Chinese system reflected the entry of western legal and societal values into the Chinese administrative values. Modernity suppressed the use of males for pleasure and saw a bloom in the female brothels that were previously declining.
Homosexual Love in Modern China
It is widely believed that the event that marked an entry of modernization in China was the first opium wars of 1840. It was during that war that the feudal system came to an end and semi-colonialism and semi-feudal systems came to place. The Republic of China was established in 1912, signifying unification and acceptance of the western administrative systems. In 1949, The People Republic of China came into force bringing a new era of modernity and acceptance of some western fundamental values as a replacement of the now largely obsolete Chinese system of governance.
Advancement in communication and maritime technology exposed China to the rest of the world mainly through trade. While the interaction was mainly to facilitate the exchange of goods, other exchanges like cultural, ideas and concepts also took place. Western religion like Catholicism was one of the major influencers of some of the ideas that were propagated to the Chinese population. Catholic missionaries were particularly surprised and disgusted to find out that the Chinese people openly practiced and participated in homosexual behaviour and believed they needed to be liberated from this vice.
With the establishment of The People Republic of China in 1912, the feudal system of governance was abolished, and the national leadership started to pursue western styles of governance aggressively. This new culture influenced the intellectuals at the time to shift their study of homosexuality about western values and socio-cultural contexts. These studies brought their attention to the practice as defined by western values, medical researchers and Christian homophobia. The influence propagated by western, scientific discourse thus formed a basis under which Chinese intellectuals came to view homosexual love and relationships as gender pervasiveness or a mental condition. Homosexuality is often viewed from a psychosexual perspective requiring some form of medical treatment. From a widely accepted value, the practice has become increasingly associated with a stigmatized minority having a medical condition that requires treatment. This mentality has primarily been heavily influenced by the Christian ideology of marriage and family.
Same sex relationships and communities in Mainland China have expanded in recent years particularly from the 1980s due to a rise of dialog and engagement. While the existence of these communities is an open secret, the levels of oppression have significantly decreased. There is an increase in the emergence of gay bars, gay restaurants and discos that are often unadvertised or unmarked. Similar to other western culture, homosexuality is not openly condemned, and neither is it readily acceptable. It is widely accepted as a social norm and rarely makes for discourse in the arena of ‘important’ matters (Kong 21). The attitudes and mentality toward same-sex love in modern china have been informed and influenced by scholarly articles and the media.
Media
The context of the media in this discussion is in reference to audio-visual sources such as movies and motion pictures. A genre of male to male relationship known as Danmei has recently become popular in the portrayal of men and women sexual minorities. This genre is widespread. It is portrayed through various platforms and mediums such as manga, animes, games, audio dramas and cosplays. This genre was first introduced to the Chinese consumers in the 70s through a Japanese girl’s comic and was subsequently adopted by local creatives as it started appearing in their works (Xu 11). Its close association with pornography and homosexuality has made it a target of state sponsorship. Its growth increased due to the increasing demand from its growing fan base as opposed to the cultural industries. It has promoted the acceptance of love between men as a societal norm rather than a mental condition that requires intervention (Choi 1485). The media has also promoted acceptance of these minorities by portraying them as normal people that go through social and economic challenges like the rest of the population.
Literature
Scholarly articles in China have significantly explored same-sex relationships in China for some time now. In the 1920s, intimacy between females and their relationship gained prominent attention. Respectable journals that focused on gender, sexuality and education explored neologism for the context of same-sex love in women. Writers engaged themselves in defining this relationship and primarily defined the understanding and the term same-sex love among urbanites (Sang 148). Some intended to foster understanding while others were only reinforcing the negative sentiments that were generally given to same-sex relationship at the time.
The anxiety mainly drove the discourse at the time that females would refuse to get married due to their female-female love. Negative sentiments by some writer especially among May Four fictional writers enforced false notions such as women who were past the age of marriage involved themselves in this kind of relationship, as an inferior substitute to heterosexual marriage (Sang 130). The attacks also seem to suggest that the pleasure of sex could only be enjoyed when the activity involved a man and a woman. The patriarchal system was persistently trying to make the notion that men were indispensable in mainstream ideology of a relationship. Writers such as Edward Carpenter and Marie Stopes contributed significantly to challenge these ideologies through their works on love and marriage which became widely circulated. Both sides of these narratives do exist even in present times, in China, with the only difference being that there is more freedom and less fear as was the case in previous years.
Conclusion
As an emerging economic powerhouse, China has made great strides in facilitating human rights and respecting individual rights. While the governments still stand accused of violating other freedoms such as those of assembly or expression, its liberal views on homosexuality or same-sex love has ensured that the individuals in these communities have some freedom in matters concerning their sexuality. Same-sex love can be a very divisive subject and often a tool employed by oppressive systems to subjugate these communities. In China, however, it cannot be said that it is a result of western influence because it existed long before the Chinese people came in contact with the western civilization. While intellectually there are arguments for and against it, however, there can be no arguments whether fundamental human rights should be upheld or altogether discarded. This, therefore, makes it a subject of upholding the liberties of an individual as opposed to that of societal rot as propagated by opponents of same-sex love.
Work Cited
Choi, Kyung-Hee, et al. “Sexual stigma, coping styles, and psychological distress: a longitudinal study of men who have sex with men in Beijing, China.” Archives of sexual behavior 45.6 (2016): 1483-1491.
Kong, Travis S.K. “Outcast Bodies: Money, Sex and Desire of Money Boys in Mainland China.” As Normal As Possible: Negotiating Sexuality and Gender in Mainland China and Hong Kong, edited by YAU CHING, Hong Kong University Press, 2010, pp. 17–36. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1xwgvm.6.
Sang, Deborah Tze-lan, “Female Same-Sex Love in May Fourth Fiction,” in Emerging Lesbian:  Female Same-Sex Desire in Modern China, Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 2003:  127-162.
Wu Cuncun and Mark Stevenson “Male Love Lost:  The Fate of Male Same-Sex Prostitution in Beijing in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries,” Embodied Modernities:  Corporeality, Representation, and Chinese Cultures, ed. Martin, Fran and Larissa Heinrich, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 2006:  42-59.
Xu, Yanrui. “Chinese Danmei Fandom and Cultural Globalization from Below.” Boys’ Love, Cosplay, and Androgynous Idols: Queer Fan Cultures in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, edited by Ling Yang et al., 1st ed., Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, 2017, pp. 3–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1rfzz65.6.