Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China (Paperback)

by Bret Hinsch (Author) "Like so many aspects of Chinese culture, the origins of the homosexual tradition are both ancient and obscure..." (more)
Key Phrases: tongxinglian mishi, tongxingai shilu, changji shi, Dong Xian, Deng Tong, Mizi Xia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Harvard scholar Hinsch's careful study belies the official Chinese notion that homosexuality is a recent import from the decadent West. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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China derived primarily from literature--novels, poetry, and (often very frank and graphic) humor--and secondarily from historical documents.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.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (December 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520078691
• ISBN-13: 978-0520078697
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #699,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first of it's kind, May 10, 2005

By	David D. Evseeff (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China (Hardcover)

I've seen some somewhat unfair criticisms of this book on here, so I'd like to set the record straight. I'm an American graduate student studying in Taiwan, and my field of studies is Chinese homoerotic literature. It is true that Hinsch's book is a bit outdated, but it was the first of it's kind in English, and I still find many good insights in my own research. Before this book's publication, there was very little research on this topic either in the West or in China/Taiwan. In recent years, a number of scholars have taken up this subject and there have been a number of intruiging articles and books published. Hinsch's work provided the impetus for more research in this field, which is exactly what the author's purpose in writing it was. As for the secondary research material in Chinese that some reviewers believe is superior, I have found it to be exactly the opposite. While there are some books and quite a few articles on the subject in Chinese, they are heavy on primary source material and light on good analysis and lack much application of good literary criticism or theory. This is the advantage that Sinology in the West maintains over research in China/Taiwan. I would definitely recommend that no one overlook or dismiss this excellent book by Dr. Hinsch! By the way, he now does research on women in Chinese history, and has published a book called "Women in Early Imperial China," as well as a number of articles. They are all well worth looking at!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book on the History of Homosexuality in China, May 11, 1998

By A Customer

There are not many resources on the history of Homosexuality in China and many Chinese will tell you that there isn't a history of it at all. This book spans two thousand years of history to show that there was a gay literary tradition in China. It is really the first work of the kind on China in English. It is full of romantic antidotes, poetry and stories from a time that China, particularly under communist influence has tried to deny or at least forget.

Personally I would like to see an update of this first work or the expansion by another author on other Asian countries like Korea where their homophobia has also prevailed and they have taken to rewriting pages of history.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars the best survey in English, June 16, 1998

By A Customer

Anyone who can read Chinese would do better to find Xiaomingxiong's ZHONGGUO TONGXINGAI SHILU (a 2nd edition of which has just been published).

Even if the only originality is the language and some of the readings are naive(ly romantic), this book presents the best survey IN ENGLISH of male-male love across three millennia of Chinese literature and chronicles and points readers to literature both in Chinese and English bearing on the subject