Transgender China

304 Pages·2012·3.21 MB·English

by  Howard Chiang (eds.)

Transgender China
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Transgender China
Edited by
Howard Chiang
TRANSGENDER CHINA
Copyright © Howard Chiang, 2012.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 978-0-230-34062-6
All rights reserved.
First published in 2012 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-34320-1 ISBN 978-1-137-08250-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137082503
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Transgender China / edited by Howard Chiang.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Transgenderism—China—History. 2. Transgender people—
China—History. I. Chiang, Howard, 1983–
HQ77.95.C6T73 2012
306.76(cid:2)8—dc23 2012031256
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: December 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Part I Introduction
1 Imagining Transgender China 3
Howard Chiang
Part II Trans Figurations of History
2 How China Became a “Castrated Civilization” and
Eunuchs a “Third Sex” 23
Howard Chiang
3 Gendered Androgyny: Transcendent Ideals and
Profane Realities in Buddhism, Classicism, and Daoism 67
Daniel Burton-Rose
4 The Androgynous Ideal in Scholar-Beauty Romances:
A Historical and Cultural View 97
Zuyan Zhou
5 Transgenderism as a Heuristic Device:
On the Cross-historical and Transnational
Adaptations of the Legend of the White Snake 127
Alvin Ka Hin Wong
Part III Trans Locations of Culture
6 Begin Anywhere: Transgender and Transgenre
Desire in Qiu Miaojin’s Last Words from
Montmartre (蒙馬牠遺書) 161
Larissa N. Heinrich
7 Trans on Screen 183
Helen Hok-Sze Leung
vi CONTENTS
8 Writing the Body 199
Carlos Rojas
9 Performing Transgender Desire: Male Cross-Dressing
Shows in Taiwan 225
Chao-Jung Wu
10 Transgenders in Hong Kong: From Shame to Pride 263
Pui Kei Eleanor Cheung
Part IV Afterword
11 De/Colonizing Transgender Studies of China 287
Susan Stryker
List of Contributors 293
Index 297
Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Drawing of an eunuch’s castration 34
2.2 Instruments used for castration 36
2.3 Photo of a castrated boy 36
2.4 Medical images of Chinese eunuchs 40
2.5 Photographs of eunuchs 41
3.1 Lactating paragon of fraternal duty 77
3.2 “The Infant Manifests Its Form” 85
5.1 Production still from New Legend of Madame
White Snake 149
7.1 Yan and Lily sitting together 192
7.2 Dieyi and Xiaolou 195
8.1 Ren Xiong, “Self-portrait” 200
8.2 Ma Liuming, “Dialogue with Gilbert and George” 206
8.3 Ma Liuming 208
8.4 Zhang Huan, “Weeping Angel” 210
8.5 Zhang Huan with prosthetic leg 211
8.6 Zhang Huan, “1/2” 213
8.7 Ma Liuming and Zhang Huan, “Third Contact” 220
9.1 Original appearance 239
9.2 Clear foundation, dark eye shadow, well-delineated
eyebrows 239
viii ILLUSTRATIONS
9.3 Concealed tattoo, underhose, and bra 240
9.4 Wig, necklace, earrings, pins 240
9.5 Stage appearance 241
10.1 Joanne on the International Human Rights Day 277
10.2 Photo of the International Day Against Homophobia 277
10.3 Photo of Joanne speaking at a gender seminar 278
Tables
9.1 Some fanchuan artists’ personal profiles 230
9.2 A feasible typology of male cross-dressing 248
Acknowledgments
This volume would not have been possible without the generous
support from the following programs at Princeton University: Program
in East Asian Studies, Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical
Studies, Department of History, Program in the Study of Women and
Gender (now the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies), Program
in History of Science, and the Department of English. I am especially
grateful for the support of Benjamin A. Elman, chair of the Department
of East Asian Studies and my dissertation co-advisor; Angela N. H.
Creager, the director of Graduate Studies of the Program in History
of Science in 2009 and my dissertation co-advisor; Daniel T. Rodgers,
director of the Davis Center for Historical Studies in 2009; William
C. Jordan, chair of the History Department in 2009; R. Marie Griffith,
director of the Program in the Study of Women and Gender in 2009;
and Claudia L. Johnson, chair of the English Department. I also
warmly thank Ta-wei Chi, David L. Eng, Susan Naquin, Gayle M.
Salamon, Tze-lan Deborah Sang, and Joan W. Scott for their partici-
pation in the conference that launched this volume, “Trans Ventures:
Trans/Formations of Gender in Sinophone Culture,” which was held
in spring 2009 at Princeton University. I am grateful as well for the
encouragement, advice, and patience of Brigitte Shull, Joanna Roberts,
and Maia Woolner at Palgrave Macmillan. All of these individuals
decided to place their trust in the efforts of a less-experienced scholar
in the early production stages of this book. I hope the research find-
ings presented in this anthology prove to be a meaningful investment
of their time and faith in what I have tried to accomplish. Finally,
I want to thank everyone who contributed to this project, but it is to
the authors that this book is ultimately dedicated.