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Passions of the cut sleeve : the male homosexual tradition in China
Hinsch, Bret.
Adult Nonfiction HQ76.2.C5H56 1990
From Publishers' Weekly:
Harvard scholar Hinsch's careful study belies the official Chinese notion that homosexuality is a recent import from the decadent West. Using literary, ethnographic and historical sources, he demonstrates that male homosexuality was relatively open and tolerated through most of China's dynasties. Contrary to the accepted image of the rigid Confucian family that permitted only marriage-based sex, Hinsch's broad canvas encompasses same-sex relationships between members of different generations and social classes. Bisexuality was even more widespread than exclusive homosexuality; same-sex marriages for both men and women were institutionalized. Although very little documentation survives on lesbian life in China, Hinsch summarizes the existing information in an appendix. Homosexuals in contemporary China, he observes, live in isolation and fear of legal prosecution. This revealing study fills a major gap. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
Hinsch cites evidence of the homosexual tradition in China derived primarily from literature--novels, poetry, and (often very frank and graphic) humor--and secondarily from historical documents. This evidence reveals societal attitudes toward various facets of the issue, such as superior-inferior relationships, prostitution, and political corruption. Examples from the earlier dynasties are few, and here Hinsch often resorts to reading between the lines; throughout there are conclusions based on supposition or assumptions. Nevertheless, the material is well covered, and monographic treatment of the topic is scanty. Recommended for Chinese and gay studies collections.-- Kenneth W. Berger, Duke Univ. Lib., Durham, N.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Hinsch, Bret.
Adult Nonfiction HQ76.2.C5H56 1990
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From Publishers' Weekly:
Harvard scholar Hinsch's careful study belies the official Chinese notion that homosexuality is a recent import from the decadent West. Using literary, ethnographic and historical sources, he demonstrates that male homosexuality was relatively open and tolerated through most of China's dynasties. Contrary to the accepted image of the rigid Confucian family that permitted only marriage-based sex, Hinsch's broad canvas encompasses same-sex relationships between members of different generations and social classes. Bisexuality was even more widespread than exclusive homosexuality; same-sex marriages for both men and women were institutionalized. Although very little documentation survives on lesbian life in China, Hinsch summarizes the existing information in an appendix. Homosexuals in contemporary China, he observes, live in isolation and fear of legal prosecution. This revealing study fills a major gap. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
Hinsch cites evidence of the homosexual tradition in China derived primarily from literature--novels, poetry, and (often very frank and graphic) humor--and secondarily from historical documents. This evidence reveals societal attitudes toward various facets of the issue, such as superior-inferior relationships, prostitution, and political corruption. Examples from the earlier dynasties are few, and here Hinsch often resorts to reading between the lines; throughout there are conclusions based on supposition or assumptions. Nevertheless, the material is well covered, and monographic treatment of the topic is scanty. Recommended for Chinese and gay studies collections.-- Kenneth W. Berger, Duke Univ. Lib., Durham, N.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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