Book Description

Homoerotic Sensibilities in Late Imperial China is the richest exploration to date of late imperial Chinese literati interest in male-love. Employing primary sources such as miscellanies (including diaries and letters), poetry, fiction and "flower guides", the author argues that male homoeroticism played a central role in cultural life of late imperial Chinese literati elites. Countering recent arguments that homosexuality was marginalized and disparaged during this period, this book also seeks to trace the relationship of homoeroticism to status and power, arguing that existing paradigms for the study of sexuality, centered on identity and behavior, must be extended and placed within the larger context of a sexual culture. Only with this shift in methodological focus is it possible to accurately account for the distinctive character of homoerotic sensibilities in late imperial China.

In addition to historical analysis the book also develops the concept of "sensibilities" as a method for interpreting the complex range of homoerotic texts produced in late imperial China, recognizing a need to think about sexuality not only in terms of behavior and identity but also in terms of culture: not necessarily national culture, but particular cultures in which practices and identities are given meaning and evaluated. Such an approach, employing a combination of historical and textual strategies, allows us to account for the rise in homoeroticism in late Qing China as a significant and far reaching sensibility (feng) that in turn acted upon the wider cultural landscape.