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Bret Hinsch
Passions of the Cut Sleeve
The Male Homosexual Tradition in China
$21.95, £12.95 paperback
978-0-520-07869-7
Available Now
256 pages,
August 1990, Available worldwide
Categories: History; Asian History; China; Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Studies
August 1990, Available worldwide
Categories: History; Asian History; China; Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Studies
"Hinsch's careful study belies the official Chinese notion that homosexuality is a recent import from the decadent West. Using literary, ethnographic and historical sources, he demonstrates that male homosexuality was relatively open and tolerated through most of China's dynasties. . . . This revealing study fills a major gap."—Publishers Weekly
"Well worth reading . . . for its details. Some of these are ribald, others utterly charming."—Lynn Pan, Far Eastern Economic Review
"We must thank Hinsch for his bold introduction to a subject some in the China field would still prefer to remain tabu."—Charlotte Furth, Journal of Asian Studies
"This study sheds light on an important aspect of Chinese social history about which virtually nothing has been written previously, and does so with sensitivity, good sense, and grace. It opens entirely new vistas on the history of sexuality. Readers will learn new and unexpected things not only about Chinese history and homosexuality, but about human nature itself."—John Boswell, Yale University
"Well worth reading . . . for its details. Some of these are ribald, others utterly charming."—Lynn Pan, Far Eastern Economic Review
"We must thank Hinsch for his bold introduction to a subject some in the China field would still prefer to remain tabu."—Charlotte Furth, Journal of Asian Studies
"This study sheds light on an important aspect of Chinese social history about which virtually nothing has been written previously, and does so with sensitivity, good sense, and grace. It opens entirely new vistas on the history of sexuality. Readers will learn new and unexpected things not only about Chinese history and homosexuality, but about human nature itself."—John Boswell, Yale University
The first detailed treatment of the Chinese homosexual tradition in any Western language, Passions of the Cut Sleeve shatters preconceptions and stereotypes. Gone is the image of the sternly puritanical Confucian as sole representative of Chinese sexual practices—and with it the justification for the modern Chinese insistence that homosexuality is a recent import from the decadent West. Rediscovering the male homosexual tradition in China provides a startling new perspective on Chinese society and adds richly to our understanding of homosexuality.
Bret Hinsch's reconstruction of the Chinese homosexual past reveals unexpected scenes. An emperor on his deathbed turns over the seals of the empire to a male beloved; two men marry each other with elaborate wedding rituals; parents sell their son into prostitution. The tradition portrays men from all levels of society—emperors, transvestite actors, rapists, elegant scholars, licentious monks, and even the nameless poor.
Drawing from dynastic histories, erotic novels, popular Buddhist tracts, love poetry, legal cases, and joke books, Passions of the Cut Sleeve evokes the complex and fascinating male homosexual tradition in China from the Bronze Age until its decline in recent times.
Bret Hinsch's reconstruction of the Chinese homosexual past reveals unexpected scenes. An emperor on his deathbed turns over the seals of the empire to a male beloved; two men marry each other with elaborate wedding rituals; parents sell their son into prostitution. The tradition portrays men from all levels of society—emperors, transvestite actors, rapists, elegant scholars, licentious monks, and even the nameless poor.
Drawing from dynastic histories, erotic novels, popular Buddhist tracts, love poetry, legal cases, and joke books, Passions of the Cut Sleeve evokes the complex and fascinating male homosexual tradition in China from the Bronze Age until its decline in recent times.