Friday, March 8, 2024

Zhang Yujing, trans masculine folk hero, honored by the Emperor of China in 1405

15th century Chinese man holding up sheathed sabre

Zhang Yujing (a gender-neutral name) was born to Old Man Zhang of  Tongwei County in 1387. When their father wondered at the child’s pugilistic talent and disinterest in women’s work, Yujing told their father that they wanted to serve their country with martial arts and did not want to live as a girl. Old Man Zhang let Yujing live as a boy.  They became a local martial arts coach at age 15, and was selected for the National Academy at age 18.

Read more about their life at Zhang Yujing, trans masculine folk hero, honored by the Yongle Emperor in 1405

Share on Instagram.  Btw, March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility.

Monday, January 8, 2024

Big Gold Drop - fancy coat names from the 19th century Cat Garden

Yellow Persian cat sitting in front of overturned honey jug watching ants

Mao Yuan (The Cat Garden) is a 19th century compendium of contemporary cat lore and cat literature from antiquity. It was compiled around 1852-1853 by Huang Han, a native of Wenzhou. Enjoy selections from the Cat Garden and other works of late Imperial Chinese cat lore here.

Friday, December 8, 2023

Zheng Banqiao, openly bisexual 18th century magistrate, honored with a shrine for disaster relief work

In 1750,Zheng Banqiao, magistrate of Wei County in Shandong, declared his bisexuality in an autobiographical essay after 4 years of winning peoples' hearts through his famine relief work.

Read more about the storied life of this eccentric, multi-talented character here. Zheng's legacy remains influential to this day; he inspired no less than 3 (straight-washed) TV series and feature films. 

Sunday, October 8, 2023

The Righteous Ghosts

 Illustration for Epidemic Ghost Story: The Righteous Ghosts

3 blue-skinned ghostly figures in armor standing in front of family of living people

We translated this during the COVID pandemic, as part of a series of epidemic-related folktales that we hope would inspire the reader to reflect on how working together to care for other people, including those who are not regarded as members of one's immediate community, was what helped communities survive past epidemics. 

Btw, just because it's 2023 and the pandemic is supposedly over and the media has moved on, it doesn't mean anti-Asian hate in North America has gone out of style:

Saturday, September 2, 2023

17th century Chinese folktale with a bisexual protagonist

The story False Gods Wreak Havoc at Huaguang Shrine is recorded in Chapter 27 of Jingshi Tongyan (Stories to Caution the World), a collection of legends and folktales edited by 17th century writer Feng Menglong.

The protagonist is a bisexual youth named Wei who lived in Hangzhou during the Song Dynasty.

English and Chinese text on pink, violet and blue background

Btw, Bisexuality Awareness Week starts on September 16.