#bao qing tian

[luminouslumity]

Watch "the rise of the danmei fandom" on YouTube

[ii-thoughts]

[boyuans]

090523 种地吧李昊 Weibo Update

[nemainofthewater]

Welcome to the 'Best Character with [X] surname' polls!

This is where I take several characters from different Chinese media (mostly cnovels and cdrama) and run a poll on which one is the 'best'. What does best mean? It's up to you! Whether you love them, are intrigued by their characters, love to hate them, or they're your '2 second blorbos whose personality you made up wholesale', these are all reasons for you to vote for your favs!

NB: the surnames are not exactly the same in all the cases, as often they will be a different character. I am, however, grouping them all together otherwise things got more complicated.

If you can't find a surname, it's because I couldn't find enough candidates (at least 3 from 3 distinct medias) to compete. Feel free to submit candidates!

I will be posting several polls at a time, so do come back and check this masterpost to remember which polls are ongoing, who the winners are, and who's coming up next!

Finished polls: Xing/Rong/Nan/Ren/Pan/Qu/Fu/Sui/Tan/You/Sima/Xuan/Chang/Xun/Shangguan/Jian/Qian/Shu/Xi/Yuwen/Cai/Sha/Yin/Ceng/Helian/Zeng/Lou/Mi/Ji/Ping/Tong/Tuoba/Ge/Murong/Hei/Niu/Tao/Si/Pang/Zi/Gongsun/Mao/Qing/Lian

Chi/Shan/Tian/Dao/Chao/Xin/Ran/Sang/Cang/Miao/Yao/Zang/Chong/Nangong/Kong/Hai/Deng/Kang/Jun/Chun/Gui/Peng/Gong/Dai/Bao/Bian/Leng/Xian/Kan/Hou/Shao/Kou/Zuo/Lai/Tie/Huan/Min/Xiong/Cen/Dou/Misc

There's only a certain number of hyperlinks that can be added per post, so the rest of the completed polls can now be found here

All the details of the individual polls under the readmore

An - posted 15/03/24 WINNER An Zhe

Bai - posted 28/02/24 WINNER Bai Fengxi

Baili - posted 22/03/24 WINNER Baili Qingmiao

Bao - posted 1/05/24 WINNER Bao Rongxing

Bi - posted 26/03/24 WINNER Bi Changfeng

Bian - posted 1/05/14 WINNER Bian Cheng

Cai - posted 7/04/24 WINNER Cai Quan

Cang - posted 23/04/24 WINNER Cang Jiumin

Cao - posted 8/02/24. WINNER - Cao Weining

Cen - posted 7/05/24 WINNEER Cen Xiao

Ceng - posted 8/04/24 WINNER Ceng Aiyu

Chang - posted 3/04/24 WINNER Chang Geng

Chao - posted 21/04/24 WINNER Chao Zi

Chen - posted 9/02/24 WINNER Chen Qingxu

Cheng - posted 10/03/24 WINNER Cheng Shaoshang

Chi - posted 19/04/24 WINNERS Chi Zhanggui and Chi Xiaochi

Chong - posted 25/04/24 WINNER Chong Ming

Chu - posted 12/03/24 WINNER Chu Wanning

Chun - posted 28/04/24 WINNER Chun Shen

Cui - posted 11/03/24 WINNER Madam Cui

Dai - posted 30/04/24 WINNER Dai Mubai

Dao - posted 20/04/24 WINNER Dao Mingsi

Deng - posted 27/04/24 WINNER Deng Kuan

Di - posted 16/02/24 WINNER Di Feisheng

Ding - posted 7/03/24 WINNER Ding Rong

Dong - posted 21/03/24 WINNER Dong Yi

Dongfang - posted 25/03/24 WINNER Dongfang Qingcang

Dou - posted 7/05/24 WINNER Dou Cheng

Du - posted 26/03/24 WINNER Du Cheng

Duan - posted 23/03/24 WINNER Duan Baiyue

Fan - posted 27/02/24 WINNER Fan Xian

Fang - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Fang Duobing

Fei - posted 20/03/24 WINNER Fei Du

Feng - posted 28/02/24 WINNER 'Other'

Fu - posted 31/03/24 WINNER Fu Yao

Gao - posted 13/02/24 WINNER Gao Xiaolian

Ge - posted 13/04/24 WINNER Ge Chen

Gong - posted 30/04/24 WINNER Gong Yu

Gongsun - posted 17/04/24 WINNER Gongsun Heng

Gu - posted 7/03/24 WINNER Gu Xiang

Guan - posted 17/03/24 WINNER Guan Hemeng

Gui - posted 29/04/24 WINNERS Gui Wen, Gui Yang, Gui Bai and 'Other'

Guo - posted 9/02/24 WINNER Guo Changcheng

Hai - posted 26/04/24 WINNER Hai Lanshi

Han - posted 17/03/24 WINNER Han Ying

Hao - posted 16/03/24 WINNER Hao Du

He - posted 22/03/24 WINNER He Xuan

Hei - posted 14/04/24 WINNER Hei Xiazi

Helian - posted 9/04/24 wINNER Helian Yi

Hong - posted 8/03/24 WINNER Hong Qigong

Hou - posted 3/05/24 WINNER Hou Bin

Hu - posted 6/03/24 WINNER Hu Tianying

Hua - posted 21/02/24 WINNER Hua Cheng

Huan - posted 6/05/24 WINNER Huan Xiaoyan

Huang - posted 20/03/24 WINNER Huang Shaotian

Huo - posted 25/02/24 WINNER Huo Xiuxiu

Ji - posted 11/04/24 WINNER Ji Xue

Jia - posted 18/03/24 WINNER Jia Kui

Jian - posted 4/04/24 WINNER Jian Buzhi

Jiang - posted 12/02/24 WINNER Jiang Cheng

Jiao - posted 27/03/24 WINNER Jiao Liqiao

Jin - posted 29/02/24 WINNER Jin Ling

Jing - posted 14/03/24 WINNER Jing Beiyuan

Jun - posted 28/04/24 WINNER 'Other"

Kan - posted 3/05/24 WINNER Kan Jian

Kang - posted 27/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Kong - posted 26/04/24 WINNERS Kong Xiu and Alexis Kong

Kou - posted 4/05/24 WINNER Kou Baimen

Lai - posted 5/05/24 WINNER Lai Zhongshu

Lan - posted 23/02/24 WINNER Lan Wangji

Lei - posted 12/03/24 WINNER Lei Wujie

Leng - posted 2/05/24 WINNER Leng Yue

Li - posted 18/02/24 WINNER Li Lianhua

Lian - posted 18/04/24 WINNERS Lian Yufan and Lian Qiao

Liang - posted 13/03/24 WINNER 'Other'

Lin - posted 14/02/24 WINNER Lin Chen

Ling - posted 6/03/24 WINNER Ling Wen

Liu - posted 16/02/24 WINNER Liu Qingge

Long - posted 23/03/24 WINNER Long Zhi

Lou - posted 10/04/24 WINNER Lou Yao

Lu - posted 5/03/24 WINNER Lu Guang

Luo - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Luo Binghe

Ma - posted 13/03/24 WINNER Ma Xiuying

Mao - posted 17/04/24 WINNER Mao Panfeng

Mei - posted 14/02/24 WINNER Mei Changsu

Meng - posted 29/02/24 WINNER Meng Zhi

Mi - posted 10/04/24 WINER Mi Chong

Miao - posted 23/04/24 WINNER Miao Renfeng

Min - posted 6/05/24 WINNER Min Yunzhong

Ming - posted 26/02/24 WINNER Ming Yi

Misc - posted 7/05/24 WINNER Gongyi Xiao

Mo - posted 18/02/24 WINNER Mo Xuanyu

Mu - posted 22/02/24 WINNER Mu Nihuang

Murong - posted 13/04/24 WINNER Other

Nan - posted 29/03/24 WINNER Nan Feng

Nangong - posted 25/04/24 WINNER Nangong Si

Nie - posted 15/03/24 WINNER Nie Huaisang

Ning - posted 19/03/24 WINNER Ning Yingying

Niu - posted 14/04/24 WINNER Niu Chunmiao

Ouyang - posted 5/03/24 WINNER Ouyang Zizhen

Pan - posted 30/03/24 WINNER Pan Zi

Pang - posted 16/04/24 WINNER Pang Yizhi

Pei - posted 20/02/24 WINNER Pei Ming

Peng - posted 29/04/24 wINNER Peng Sanbian

Ping - posted 11/04/24 WINNER Ping An

Qi - posted 22/02/24 WINNER 'Other'

Qian - posted 5/04/24 WINNER Qian Jin

Qiao - posted 10/02/24 WINNER Qiao Wanmian

Qin - posted 16/03/24 WINNER Qin Banruo

Qing - posted 18/04/24 WINNER Qing Ge

Qiu - posted 25/03/24 WINNER Qiu Congxue

Qu - posted 30/03/24 WINNER Qu Lingfeng

Ran - posted 22/04/24 WINNERS Ran Lin and Ran Yun

Ren - posted 29/03/24 WINNER Ren Ruyi

Rong - posted 28/03/24 WINNER Rong Changqing

Ruan - posted 21/03/24 WINNER Ruan Nanzhu

Sang - posted 22/04/24 WINNER Sang Zan

Sha - posted 7/04/24 WINNER Sha Hualing

Shan - posted 19/04/24 WINNER Shan Gudao

Shang - posted 3/03/24 WINNER Shang Qinghua

Shangguan - posted 4/04/24 WINNER Shangguan Qin

Shao - posted 4/05/24 WINNER Shao Lin

Shen - posted 23/02/24 WINNER Shen Wei

Sheng - posted 4/03/24 WINNER Sheng Minglan

Sima - posted 2/04/24 WINNER Sima Yi

Shi - posted 8/03/24 WINNER Shi Qingxuan

Shu - posted 5/04/24 WINNER Shu Yanyan

Si - posted 15/04/24 WINNER Si Yilin

Song - posted 19/02/24 WINNER Song Lan

Su - posted 13/02/24 WINNER Su Zhe

Sun - posted 15/02/24 WINNER Sun Wukong

Sui - posted 31/03/24 WINNER Sui Zhou

Tan - posted 1/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Tang - posted 12/02/24 WINNER Tang Fan

Tao - posted 15/04/24 WINNER Tao Ran

Tian - posted 20/04/24 WINNER Tian Qi

Tie - posted 5/05/24 WINNERS Tie Yinyi and Tie Miansheng

Tong - posted 12/04/24 WINNER Tong Lu

Tuoba - posted 12/04/24 WINNER Tuoba Yan

Wan - posted 24/03/24 WINNER Consort Wan

Wang - posted 26/02/24 WINNER Wang Pangzi

Wei - posted 8/02/24 WINNER Wei Wuxian

Wen - posted 2/03/24 WINNER Wen Kexing

Wu - posted 15/02/24 WINNER Wu Xie

Xi - posted 6/04/24 WINNER Xi Ping

Xia - posted 11/03/24 WINNER Xia Dong

Xian - posted 2/05/24 WINNERS Xian Ge and Xian Qing

Xiang - posted 19/03/24 WINNER Xiang Liu and Xiang Nanfang

Xiao - posted 20/02/24 WINNER Xiao Jingyan

Xie - posted 21/02/24 WINNER Xie Lian

Xin - posted 21/04/24 WINNER Xin Ziyuan

Xing - posted 28/03/24 WINNER Xing Zhi

Xiong - posted 7/05/24 WINNERS Xiong yipei and Xiong Chumo

Xu - posted 25/02/24 WINNER Xu Da

Xun - posted 3/04/24 WINNER Xun Feizhan

Xuan - posted 2/04/24 WINNER Xuan Shen'an | The Empress

Xue -posted 11/02/24 WINNER Xue Yang

Yan - posted 19/02/24 WINNER Yan Wushi

Yang - posted 3/03/24 WINNER Yang Wuxie

Yao - posted 24/04/24 WINNER Yao Zhen

Ye - posted 10/02/24 WINNER Ye Baiyi

Yi - posted 9/03/24 WINNER Yi Bichen

Yin - posted 8/04/24 WINNER Yin Yu

Ying - posted 17/02/24 WINNER Ying Hecong

You - posted 1/04/24 WINNER You Huo

Yu - posted 11/02/23 WINNER Yu Ziyuan

Yun - posted 1/03/24 WINNER Yun Biqiu

Yuan - posted 27/02/24 WINNER Yuan Boya

Yue - posted 4/03/24 WINNER Yue Qingyuan

Yuwen - posted 6/04/24 WINNER Yuwen Xuan

Zang - posted 24/02/24 WINNER Zang Ming

Zeng - posted 9/04/24 WINNER Zeng Xiangdong

Zhan - posted 10/03/24 WINNER Zhan Yunfei

Zhang - posted 17/02/24 WINNER Zhang Qiling

Zhao - posted 1/03/24 WINNER Zhao Yunlan

Zhen - posted 24/03/24 WINNER Zhen Ping

Zhi - posted 14/03/24 WINNER Zhi Xiu

Zhong - posted 27/03/24 WINNER Zhong Li

Zhou - posted 2/02/24 WINNER Zhou Zishu

Zhu - posted 9/03/24 Winner Zhu Hong

Zhuge - posted 18/03/24 WINNER Zhuge Liang

Zi - posted 16/04/24 WINNER 'Other'

Zuo - posted 5/05/24 WINNER Zuo Ran

[nattaphum]

Question6. pick a song to dedicate to each other.

apo: i would pick elvis’ “jailhouse heartbreak”. in my imagination, he gives me this feel. and i will think of this song, plus we both like songs from that era.

mile: there’s a song i think is perfect for apo. i listened to it a lot as a kid, it’s the theme song of bao qing tian. really! i can sing it, but only the thai version. let me look up the song name.

apo: “bao qing tian loves eating eggs”, *jokingly* no, no

mile: “A New Dream of an Affectionate Couple of Butterflies”. i don’t remember the name of the song but i really heard it a lot as a child.

apo: but if you really want to know who i am like… what’s his name again?

mile: zhan zhao

apo: if you want to see come to our world tour. i really forgot it for a moment.

mile: at least you didn’t say a character from “journey to the west”. thank you.

[follow-up-news]

Giant pandas will return to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., this year, officials announced Wednesday.  Two 2-year-old pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, will arrive at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute by the end of the year,in a partnership with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the zoo said in a press release, bringing cuddly joy to bear lovers across the country. First Lady Jill Biden partnered with National Zoo director Brandie Smith and Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III to announce the exciting news in a video Wednesday, joking about preparing for two special guests at the White House.  “We can’t wait to celebrate this historic moment here in our nation’s capital. Join us. It’s official! The pandas are coming back to D.C.!” she said. Bao Li, a male whose name means “treasure” and “energetic” in Mandarin Chinese, and Qing Bao, a female whose name means “green” and “treasure,” were both born at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan. Bao Li’s mother Bao Bao was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in 2013, and his grandparents Tian Tian and Mei Xiang lived there from 2000 to 2023.  Animal lovers will be able to visit the bears for free at the zoo or watch their antics on the panda cam, which will relaunch at the zoo when the new pandas make their public debut.

[shookethdev]

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

NAKU 🫵

[eyenaku]

Ji ji fu ji ji

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

[rigelmejo]

I think my Chinese is pretty fine when it comes to watching shows

Then My friend tells me to check out Shao Nian Bao Qing Tian 少年包青天 and its like I'm watching Legend of the Condor Heroes 2008 all over again ;-;

(By which I mean I go from "Oh Guardian or Word of Honor cool I know what everyone is saying" to "I'm roughly certain this guy is bragging and that one is insulting and a royal person just walked in but i couldn't tell you for the life of me the specifics")

[suhali]

Yu Qing

Career: X Aspiration: Trendsetter Traits: Bookworm, active, mean snob Childhood: Little explorer Toddler: Charmer

Heritage: 81% Chinese, 6% Russian, 6% Saudi Arabian, 3% Afghan, 3% Kenyan Parents: Xiao, Ji Bao Siblings: Tao, Jang Liu, Rong Tie, Mei Li, Bei Tian, Lei Gong, Cai Shen Orientation: Spouse: Children:

[life story]

[ii-thoughts]

[tasendagallery]

Loki’s the kind of kid who ends up in the principal office a lot, isn’t he?

[kkdas]

(via GIPHY)

[shandian-go]

[PRE-ORDER] Legend of Exorcism x Qing Cang - Mini Figurine

Catalogue link

How to order

To order, please fill out the pre-order form on the pinned post as soon as possible. If you have never joined one of my group orders before, please read the guide and FAQ before signing up.

[verdebian]

The character introduction

[hunnibee26]

References and Allusions to Male Same-Sex Relations in Chinese Literature

I am tired at this point of reading and watching Danmei/Dangai and be exposed to the same “cut sleeve” reference to allude to male same-sex attraction and relationships.

Don’t get me wrong, I thank the creative team and the writers for finding such a unique (?) way of bypassing censorship but there are so many more literary and historical references that they could use to allude to same-sex attraction. I’m kinda over the same old “Cut Sleeve” reference. 😖

Here are some of the most popular allusions used by writers in Chinese literature to reference male same-sex desire.

The Four Male Love Icons of Chinese Literature

I’m pretty sure that, if you are into Chinese history, folk, literature, etc, you have heard of the four beauties of ancient and imperial China. You have the four most beautiful Chinese women and the four most handsome Chinese men.

The same thing is true for the tradition of male same-sex love. Those are:

Mizi Xia (彌子瑕) and Duke Ling of Wey (衛靈公)

Lord Longyang (龍陽君) and King Anxi of Wei (魏安僖王）

Prince Zixi, Lord of È (鄂君子皙), and the Yue man (越人)

Emperor Ai of Han (漢哀帝) and Dong Xian (董賢)

Other literary allusions include:

Pan Zhang (潘章) and Wang Zhongxian (王仲先)

Lord Chan of Anling (安陵君) and King Xuan of Chu (楚宣王）

Hu Tian Bao (胡天保) as Tu’er Shen (兔兒神)

The four revered bottoms of Chinese literature and history are:

Mizi Xia (彌子瑕)

Longyang (龍陽君)

Dong Xian (董賢)

Chan (纏), Lord of Anling (安陵君)

If you ever come across a poem or prose that mentions any of those names to refer to a male beauty, just know that it’s an allusion to their stories. They were considered the peak of bottom literary reference.

The Passion of the Half-Eaten Peach (餘桃癖) 🍑

Art above credit: Felix d’Eon (@FelixdEon on Twitter)

The story of Mizi Xia and Duke Ling of Wey (534-493 BCE) takes place in the Zhou dynasty in the state of Wey (not to be confused with the other Wei). It was recorded by Han Fei (韓非) in the legalist classic Han Fei Zi (韓非子). The story goes as follows:

Squire Mi gained favor with Duke Ling of Wey due to his beauty. There is a law in the land that states only the duke himself can ride in the duke’s carriage and that, if someone else dares to do the same, they will have their feet cut off. When squire Mi learned that his mother was sick, he took the ruler’s carriage and rushed to visit her. The duke, far from reprimanding him, praised Mi’s filial piety and his willingness to risk his feet be cut off to visit his sick mother. On another occasion, Mi and the ruler were strolling through an orchard. He got a hold of a peach, started eating it, and, upon noticing how sweet and delicious it was, he stopped eating and gave the other half to duke Ling. He praised Mi’s attention and lack of regard for his own appetite in order to please his ruler. When Mi’s looks started to wane, the duke’s love did the same. Then, the squire was accused of a crime and the duke stated it was not surprising since he had broken the law before to ride in the ruler’s carriage and disrespected him by giving him a half-eaten peach to eat.

Han Fei recorded this story as a cautionary tale of what happens when one depends on the fickle nature of their lord for favor rather than one’s own merits. One day, you are praised and, the other, you are labeled a criminal and beheaded. From this story, we get “the passion of the shared peach (分桃癖)” and “the passion of the half-eaten peach (餘桃癖)” allusions to male homosexuality.

The Passion of Longyang (龍陽癖) 🐠

The next story comes from the Annals of the Warring States, Zhan Guo Ce (戰國策), in the section of the “Strategies of Wei”, Wei Ce (魏策). There is not one author signaled out as the sole writer and it’s theorized that the annals were written by multiple people. This Zhou dynasty story goes as follows:

Lord Longyang and the King Anxi of Wei went fishing on the ruler’s boat. The favorite, at first, was delighted at catching so many fish in a row. However, after he caught a big one, he started to sob and lament. The king asked his favorite why he was crying to which Longyang expressed sadness at the realization that, upon catching the latest fish, due to its incredible size and desirability, he wanted to throw away the previous ones he had caught. Longyang further confessed that he was afraid that the ruler would one day grow tired of him upon learning of other beauties and would discard him away in the same manner he had planned to do with the previous fish he caught before. With an air of resolution, the king Anxi declared that anyone who mentioned other beauties in his presence would be executed along with his entire family/clan.

This dramatic story serves as a way to illustrate how male favorites in ancient China that obtained favor at court and, with it, enormous privilege, would try to hold on to those positions as much as possible. From this story, is where we get the “Passion of Longyang (龍陽癖)” and “a better catch” allusions that are included in poems regarding male love. The former, most notably, in one of the Emperor Jianwen of Liang’s (梁簡文帝) love poems to his favorite.

Song of the Yue Botman (越人歌) 🎶

The following is an extremely interesting story. The earliest text translated into Chinese from a foreign language that we know of comes from “Song of the Yue Boatman” (越人歌). It is a poem of unknown authorship and origin that details the pleasure the singer feels at having met the prince (Lord of È) for the first time. What makes it special is that it’s the only written account we have of the Yue language spoken by the Yue people who are an ethnic group who lived to the South of the Yangtze River. The song isn’t written using the Yue language itself, instead, compiler Liu Xiang (劉向) in his book, Garden of Stories (說苑), used Chinese characters to write down the sound of the words. In Garden of Stories, in the section, “Virtuous Speech” (善說), Liu Xiang details the story of official Zhuang Xin (莊辛) and Lord Xiang Cheng of Chu (楚襄成君). The story goes as follows:

Soon after being enfeoffed (being given land), Lord Xiang Cheng visited his lands decked out in precious garments and sporting a jade sword. Upon arriving at a river, his attendant asked whether there was someone who could help Lord Xiang Cheng cross the river. Official Zhuang Xin, who grew enamored with the sight of his lord in finery, stepped forward and said he was willing to help in exchange for the lord to let him hold his hand. Xiang Cheng was speechless and disgruntled due to the lack of propriety the lower official showed by asking to touch the hand of a man much higher in rank. However, Zhuang Xin asked his lord whether he had heard of the story of the Lord of È and his boatman.

Here is when the author introduces a story within a story.

Lord of È was traveling in his barge when he heard one of his boatmen sing in a foreign language. Intrigued by this, he asked one of his servants to fetch an interpreter. After hearing the translation of the song, the lord grew endeared towards the boatman, hugged him, and covered him in his embroidered quilt (had sex). Once the tale was over, the official Zhuang Xin asked his lord how could it be possible that he thinks he sits higher than the Lord of È enough to refuse a humble official his hand when the Lord of È, who is a prince, had “embraced” (had sex) a low boatman.

Although the English word used is boatman, due to the Chinese language not being gendered, the gender of the boatman is not explicitly mentioned. Although the character 人 can be used to refer to a man, its principal meaning is person or people. Therefore, 越人 is more closely translated as Yue person/people. As such, there have been scholars who believe that the song is most likely sung by a woman and not a man. I don’t agree with this interpretation, however, for multiple reasons.

The first is the context. Liu Xiang added the song, which was written centuries before he was born, to his chapter on eloquent speeches as a tool the official Zhuang Xin used to convince his lord to let him hold his hand. Zhuang Xin found Xiang Cheng attractive and wished to physically express that attraction. Thus, he used the song and the story of Lord of È as a precedent to convince his lord that a low ranking man could take the initiative to begin physical contact with another of much higher rank. If Liu Xiang didn’t perceive the boatman to be male and his relationship to the Lord of È to closely mirror that of Zhuang Xin and Xiang Cheng, then he wouldn’t have included it in the first place.

The second reason why I don’t think that the Yue boatman was a woman is because Chinese scholars who read the tale back in its original form and with the same historical and lexical sensibilities, considered the boatman to be a man. Multiple Chinese writers included references to the “Song of the Yue Boatman” story with Lord È in their own writings to explicitly symbolize male love such as Ming dynasty scholar Feng Menglong (馮夢龍) in his History of Love (情史) anthology, Emperor Jianwen of Liang’s poem to his favorite catamite (孌童), Liang dynasty poet Liu Zun (劉遵), and influential Qing dynasty poet Yuan Mei (袁枚). They have all used fragments of the story such as the expression “embroidered quilt” in conjunction to Lord of È’s name as well as other male-love allusions in their poems. This indicates that Chinese scholars themselves, even those who lived closer in time with Liu Xiang, interpreted the tale and the boatman to be symbols of male love. From this story we get the “embroidered quilt” expression, Lord of È, and his boat as male love allusions.

The Passion of the Cut Sleeve (斷袖之癖)✂️

The next story was featured in History of the Former Han (漢書), also knows as The Book of Han, by Ban Gu (班固) in Volume XI, “Annals of Emperor Ai” (哀帝紀). Dong Xian’s autobiography and the story are written on the section dedicated to favored courtiers.

Emperor Ai of Han favored greatly a minor official by the name of Dong Xian and they often slept together. One afternoon, after waking up from a nap, the emperor noticed that one of his sleeves was caught under the head of Dong Xian who kept sleeping beside him. Rather than disturbing his lover’s sleep, the emperor decided to cut off his sleeve. From this story we get the terms, “cut-sleeve (斷袖)” and “the passion of the cut-sleeve (斷袖之癖)”

That’s it, that’s the story. Compared to the others, I don’t understand why it’s so iconic and well-known, probably because Dong Xian’s biography as a male favorite was much more detailed than others contained in the book.

Mount Luofu Joint Burial (羅浮山合葬) ⛰

This tale originates from the Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties period in Chinese history and was recorded in a compilation titled Anthology of Tales From Records of the Taiping Era (太平廣記) by Song dynasty scholar Li Fang (李昉). The tale goes as follows:

A beautiful and poised scholar by the name of Pan Zhang drew the attention and admiration of others, not only due to his bearing but also due to his talent as a teacher and writer. Wang Zhongxian of the state of Chu came to know of the scholar’s reputation and requested to become his student and learn together. Upon meeting for the first time, they fell in love at first sight. Afterwards, they decided to live together in the same home where they shared the same sheets and pillow while being intimate with each other. They grew so close to one another that people would say they loved each other as much as husband and wife. After they died, the townsfolk buried them together at Mount Luofu (羅浮山). On the peak, there grew a tree soon after with green leaves and long branches that embraced each other. Considering this a miracle, the townsfolk started to call the tale the “Shared Pillow Tree”.

Such a wonderful and happy story between teacher and student! One of the few ones with a happy ending and overall positive feelings in Chinese literature. It reminds me of an alternate reality 2ha where Meatbun doesn’t rip out our hearts. Also, many of these stories of male love either take place in Wei or Chu; interesting…From this tale, we get the “shared pillow tree” reference.

The Yellow Springs (黃泉) 🔥

Another story that comes from the Annals of the Warring States and takes place in the state of Chu (again) is the one of Prince Chan or Tan (壇), Lord of Anling, and King Xuan of Chu. This specific account is mentioned in the section of “Strategies of Chu”, Chu Ce (楚策), and goes as follows:

Prince Chan or Tan, was favored by King Xuan of Chu. However, as he grew older, he became increasingly worried that he may lose favor once the physical signs of aging started to show. In an attempt to establish a deeper connection with his king, he consulted with the ruler’s advisor, Jiang Yi (江乙). The older man told him that his position in Chu was precarious because he had no family members in the state, nor had arisen at court due to talent. Instead, he received a high salary and others were made to bow before him when he walked past simply because he received the king’s favor. However, the position of a favorite, just as that of a concubine, was never assured. Jiang Yi proceeded to advise Prince Chan that what he needed to do was to say that he would follow the king to the afterlife. Essentially, to claim that he would sacrifice himself for the ruler. Three years passed and Chan had yet to do what Jiang Yi told him because the opportunity to say something like that had not yet arrived. One day, the king went hunting. Upon shooting an arrow at a great distance that landed in an ox’s head, the king, pleased with his accomplishment, asked who could possibly share his joy 10,000 years and 1,000 autumns from then. Seizing the opportunity Chan answered that he was willing to go to the afterlife (黃泉) and sacrifice himself for his king. As a result he was promoted and given the lands of Anling. From that day on, the people of Chu held him in great esteem.

The story features, both a cautionary tale and a lesson on the importance of listening to advice and waiting for the right opportunity to seize the moment. From this story we get “Anling” as term used to allude to same sex love but also to symbolize devotion, self-sacrifice and loyalty.

Rabbit God (兔兒神)🐇

Another story that originates on the south of China is that of Hu Tianbao, also known as the Rabbit God (or deity). The tale where he’s featured and that gave rise to his legend was compiled by influential Qing dynasty writer and scholar Yuan Mei in his collection of supernatural stories titled What the Master Would Not Discuss (子不語). Despite it being compiled and published in 1788, the tale has its origins as part of Fujian Province (福建省)‘s oral tradition. It goes as follows:

During the Qing dynasty, there lived a handsome provincial official in Fujian. A lowly soldier, by the name of Hu Tianbao, became instantly attracted to him. He followed the official wherever he went, even to other districts. After a while of being stalked, the official grew increasingly worried but dismissed it. While the official went to the toilet, Tianbao hid nearby behind some bushes in order to get a glance at the official’s buttocks. However, Tianbao was caught and interrogated. He confessed his love, attraction, and admiration for the official but the latter was disgusted by Tianbao’s affection and wanted none of it. He condemned the soldier to death. A month later, Tianbao appeared as a rabbit at night in the dream of one of the villagers of his hometown. Although resigned to his fate and agreeing that the punishment of death was just, Tianbao declared that his actions were born from a pure feeling and that love between men should not be condemned. He asked the man to build a temple in his honor from which he would help men find a male significant other. The temple was erected and became so popular in Fujian that the Qing authorities targeted it for regulation.

From this story, we get the terms “Cult to Hu Tianbao”and “the Rabbit God”. Rabbits were used before this story was even compiled in late imperial China to refer to homosexuals in general. If you are ever wondering, “what is up with all of the rabbits in Danmei/Dangai media?” There you go, now you know.

Other literary allusions to male love and sex include:

Mandarin Ducks (鴛鴦) 🦆

Although these animals have been used throughout Chinese literature and history as symbols of love in general, both same-sex and heterosexual, it was first used to symbolize “fraternal love”. The ancient Chinese considered mandarin ducks to be symbols of love and loyalty because they believed the animals mated for life.

The Rear Courtyard (后庭) 🍌🍑

One popular phrase writers used, mostly towards the end of Chinese imperial history, to allude to anal sex and buttocks was “the rear courtyard” (后庭). Variations include “the pleasures of the rear courtyard” and “playing in the inner courtyard”. You will find those expressions in multiple works by Ming and Qing dynasty poets and writers.

Male Mode & Southern Mode (男風) & (南風)💨

Literally translated to “male wind” and “southern wind” they are both references to male-homosexuality. For some reason, the south of China has been more historically and culturally inclined to same-sex love than other places. We find this from the many mentions of the state of Chu in early works of literary reference to male love, in the lesbian Golden Orchid Society (金兰会) in Guangdong Province (广东省), and in the male-male marriages of Fujian province. In fact, homosexual practices were such a staple of southern Chinese provincial life that multiple writers satirized it in their works such as Qing dynasty playwright Li Yu (李漁).

And that concludes this veeeeeeeery long post. If you read all of that then, damn, you really are bored lol. But I thank you, nonetheless. I apologize if I mixed traditional and simplified Chinese characters. I tried to use traditional characters for the names to preserve their aesthetic appearance and authenticity. I will leave some of the resources I used for this post. I welcome you to take a look at them whenever you want.

With that being said, I only scratched the surface of literary references with this post. There are many, many more, however, I touched on the general ones. With how rich the male same-sex love Chinese literary field is, I cannot help but grow frustrated and tired at the lack of usage by modern Danmei/Dangai creative teams. Let’s leave the cut-sleeve to the side for a while and focus on the other awesome male-love references in Chinese literary history. Ok?

Anyways, 拜拜 👋

hunnibee26

Resources:

Birrell, A. (1982). New songs from a Jade Terrace: An anthology of early Chinese love poetry. Routledge. [Translation of Birrell of Xu Liang’s classic anthology of the same name]

Hinsch, B. (1990). The passion of the cut sleeve. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Owen, S., & Swartz, W. (Trans.). (2017). The poetry of Ruan Ji and Xi Kang. (S. M. Allen., P. W. Kroll, C. M. B. Nuget, S. Owen, A. M. Shields, X. Tian, D. X. Warner, Eds.) De Gruyter.

Stevenson, M., & Wu, C. (Eds.). (2013). Homoeroticism in imperial China: A sourcebook. Taylor & Francis.