Bian er chai

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Bian er chai
An illustration of a rape scene in the fourth story "Qingqi ji" (情奇纪) from an edition of Bian er chai published in the Ming dynasty, c. 1639.[1]
Author"The Moon-Heart Master of the Drunken West Lake" (醉西湖心月主人)
Original title弁而釵
CountryChina (Ming dynasty)
LanguageChinese
Publication date
c. 1628–1644
Media typePrint

Bian er chai (Chinese: 弁而釵; pinyin: Biàn ér chāi)[a] is an anthology of homoerotic short stories by an unknown author published in the late Ming dynasty.

Contents[edit]

Bian er chai comprises four short stories that revolve around homosexual relationships; each story is five chapters long.[3] "Qingzhen ji" (情贞纪) or "A Story of Chaste Love"[4] follows a member of the Hanlin Academy who poses as a student to seduce a boy;[3] in "Qingxia ji" (情侠纪) or "A Story of Chivalric Love",[4] a decorated soldier is seduced by a man;[5] "Qinglie ji" (情烈纪) or "A Story of Sacrificing Love"[4] explores the love life of a young male opera singer;[6] and in "Qingqi ji" (情奇纪) or "A Story of Extraordinary Love",[4] a young catamite is rescued from the brothel by an older lover, only to encounter further tribulations.[6]

Publication history[edit]

Bian er chai was written in classical Chinese[7] by an anonymous writer using the pseudonym "The Moon-Heart Master of the Drunken West Lake" (醉西湖心月主人),[8][b] who is also believed to have written another homoerotic short story collection titled Yichun xiangzhi (宜春香質) or Fragrance of the Pleasant Spring,[8] as well as a preface for Cu hulu (醋葫蘆), a novella about a shrewish wife.[3] Surviving editions of Bian er chai also contain interlinear commentary by "The Daoist Master Haha What Can You Do About Fate" (奈何天呵呵道人).[10] The novel was first published during the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor (1628–1644)[11] by the obscure "Plowing the Mountain with a Brush Studio" (筆耕山房),[10] and was later banned by the Qing government.[12] Two extant editions of Bian er chai are known to exist: one is housed at the Beijing Municipal Library and the Tenri Central Library in Japan, while the other is held in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.[10]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Translated into English as Caps with Hairpins,[2] Hairpins Beneath His Cap[3] or Hairpins Beneath the Cap.[4]
  2. ^ Also "West Lake Besotted Moon Heart Master".[9]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Stevenson & Wu 2012, p. 173.
  2. ^ Stevenson & Wu 2012, p. 170.
  3. ^ a b c d McMahon 1987, p. 229.
  4. ^ a b c d e Huang 2020, p. 176.
  5. ^ McMahon 1987, p. 231.
  6. ^ a b McMahon 1987, p. 233.
  7. ^ Volpp 2002, p. 951.
  8. ^ a b Huang 2020, pp. 176–177.
  9. ^ Stevenson & Wu 2012, p. 183.
  10. ^ a b c Volpp 2020, p. 252.
  11. ^ Huang 2020, p. 177.
  12. ^ Duberman, Vicinus & Chauncey 1990, p. 84.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Duberman, Martin B.; Vicinus, Martha; Chauncey, George (1990). Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past (4 ed.). Meridian. ISBN 9780452010673.
  • Huang, Martin W. (2020). "Qing and Homoerotic Desire in Bian er chai and Lin Lan Xiang". Desire and Fictional Narrative in Late Imperial China. Brill. pp. 176–205. doi:10.1163/9781684173570_009. ISBN 9781684173570.
  • McMahon, Keith (1987). "Eroticism in Late Ming, Early Qing Fiction: The Beauteous Realm and the Sexual Battlefield". T'oung Pao. 73 (4). Brill: 217–264. doi:10.1163/156853287x00032. JSTOR 4528390. PMID 11618220.
  • Stevenson, Mark; Wu, Cuncun (2012). Homoeroticism in Imperial China (1 ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203077443. ISBN 9780203077443.
  • Volpp, Sophie (August 2002). "The Literary Circulation of Actors in Seventeenth-Century China". The Journal of Asian Studies. 61 (3): 949–984. doi:10.2307/3096352. JSTOR 3096352.
  • Volpp, Sophie (2020). Worldly Stage: Theatricality in Seventeenth-Century China. Brill. doi:10.1163/9781684174355. ISBN 9781684174355.
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