Lord Longyang

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Lord Longyang (traditional Chinese: 龍陽君; simplified Chinese: 龙阳君; pinyin: Lóngyáng Jūn; Wade–Giles: Lung Yang Jun) was the favorite and lover of an unknown king of Wei during the Warring States period of the Zhou dynasty.[1] Little is known about him outside of his relationship with the king.[2]

Story[]

The story of Lord Longyang is recorded in the Records of the Warring States (or Zhangguo ce) in a section called "Records of Wei," (or Wei ce)[3] and does not appear in any other sources. The Records of the Warring States is generally considered a work of history.[4] In it, Lord Longyang and the king are in a fishing boat together when Longyang begins to cry. After the king pressures him to say why he is crying, Longyang reveals that he is afraid that the king will be tempted by other, more beautiful men, and lose interest in him. The king then forbids anyone to mention other beauties in his presence under penalty of death.[3][2] As a result of his status as a favorite of the king, Lord Longyang was given a small fief and a feudal title.[5] His story took place sometime between 276 and 243 BCE, and is the second account of a male same-sex relationship in Chinese historical records.[6]

Influence[]

In his book Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China, Bret Hinsch writes that the story of Lord Longyang serves as an example of both the sexual opportunism and openness of homosexuality in Zhou dynasty courts.[2] The 1632 book The Forgotten Tales of Longyang (or The Forgotten Stories of Longyang) tells twenty stories of male same-sex prostitution in the late Ming dynasty. In it, the author, known by the nom de plume "Jingjiang's besotted with bamboo recluse," uses the story of Lord Longyang to evoke an earlier golden age characterized by feeling.[7][8] In the poetry of Ruan Ji, Lord Longyang is used, along with Anling, to figuratively evoke male beauty and love between men, and specifically royal favor.[9][10] The word longyang is also used in China to euphemistically refer to gay men, and has been through much of Chinese history.[11][12]

References[]

  1. ^ Jiang, Quanhong; Tan, Longyan; Sun, Mei (2020-02-13). Research on Legislation of Homosexuality in China. Atlantis Press. pp. 138–141. doi:10.2991/assehr.k.200205.030. ISBN 978-94-6252-904-5.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hinsch, Bret (1990-08-10). Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-91265-6.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Zhang, Xuan (2014-01-01). "Portrayals of gay characters in Chinese movies: A longitudinal look". Graduate Theses and Dissertations. doi:10.31274/ETD-180810-2794. S2CID 56087157.
  4. ^ Kang, Wenqing (2010). Obsession: Male Same-Sex Relations in China, 1900-1950. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-988-8052-61-5. OCLC 1148078345.
  5. ^ Stevenson, Mark; Wu, Cuncun (2013). Homoeroticism in Imperial China: a sourcebook. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-07744-3. OCLC 827947100.
  6. ^ MA, Jing Wu (2003-02-25). "From "Long Yang" and "Dui Shi" to Tongzhi: Homosexuality in China". Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy. 7 (1–2): 117–143. doi:10.1300/J236v07n01_08. ISSN 0891-7140.
  7. ^ Wu, Cuncun (2016). Kam, Louie (ed.). The Plebification of Male-Love in Late Ming Fiction: The Forgotten Tales of Longyang. Hong Kong University Press. doi:10.5790/hongkong/9789888208562.001.0001. ISBN 978-988-8313-71-6.
  8. ^ Vitiello, Giovanni (1996-05-01). "The Fantastic Journey of an Ugly Boy: Homosexuality and Salvation in Late Ming Pornography". Positions: Asia Critique. 4 (2): 291–320. doi:10.1215/10679847-4-2-291. ISSN 1067-9847.
  9. ^ Zhang, Benzi (2010-06-30). "The Cultural Politics of Gender Performance". Cultural Studies. 25 (3): 294–312. doi:10.1080/09502386.2010.483803. S2CID 143191009.
  10. ^ Owen, Stephen; Swartz, Wendy; Tian, Xiaofei; Warner, Ding Xiang (2017). The Poetry of Ruan Ji and Xi Kang. Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-1-5015-0387-0. OCLC 999369785.
  11. ^ "A long history of 'cutting sleeves'". South China Morning Post. 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  12. ^ Kong, Travis S. K. (2019-08-15). Oral Histories of Older Gay Men in Hong Kong: Unspoken but Unforgotten. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-988-8528-06-6.
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