2010 Update: What's up with Gay/Lesbian Lit in the People's Republic?
By Bruce Humes, published February 12, 2010, 6:54p.m.
A gutsy young Hui from Xinjiang has reportedly just arrived in Oslo to take part in the Worldwide Mr. Gay. One can only surmise that, as much of a hassle as he may have been given, he couldn't have left China with a valid passport unless somebody upstairs gave the nod. Read the details here.
And so, my questions: What is the current status of gay and lesbian writing in China today, both by homosexual authors, and by others writing about the topic? Translation-wise, which works have been translated into or from Chinese? What kind of censorship do such works face?
Comments
This is a good topic. I wonder if we should start a category for LGBT fiction and non-fiction. It would be a great addition, but I also worry about type-casting authors who deal with LGBT themes. Any list of iconic works would probably include Wang Xiaobo and Li Yinhe's Their World: A Study of Homosexuality in China 《他们的世界——中国男同性恋群落透视》 (Cosmos Press, Hong Kong, 1992; Shanxi People’s Press, 1993) and the fiction of Cui Zi'en, known primarily as a filmmaker. LGBT themes are also beginning to emerge in mainstream Chinese fiction: sometimes they're essential to the plot, but in other instances, they're simply part of the cultural background, presented with none of the religious hubris or back-breaking political correctness that we often find in western literature. In a recent short-story project we did for the Shenzhen/Hong Kong Biennale, two of the nine short stories dealt with gay and trans-gender themes.
Also Wang Xiaobo: his story East Palace, West Palace is a classic of Chinese LGBT literature, and has been remade as play and film. It's still considered a little too edgy for open acceptance.
Hong Ying is also another important figure in Chinese gay literature – she's written a few fairly definitive stories about lesbians, in particular, and while she's not gay herself she's considered something of a figurehead for the lesbian community.
She wrote a book called The Carnation Club (康乃馨俱乐部) in 1994 (not published until 2005), about a club of misanthropic lesbians, that was way ahead of its time in terms of subject matter and explicit descriptions.