Dragging a Spear in Snow - fancy cat coat names from the 19th c. Cat Garden

 Learn about the meaning and tradition behind this coat pattern. 

Queer characters in the literary classics of China's Qing era

The best-known works of literature from the 17th-18th centuries attest to the presence of gay, bisexual, asexual and trans characters in Qing China.

If a ghost asks you to help xem stop a pandemic, what would your response be?

 In the folktale “Ten Thousand Words to Quell a Pestilence”, a ghost guards an imprisoned disease demon who breaks forth to ravage the human world every 60 years. 60 years ago, humans were saved from a pandemic when a Taoist priest locked the demon in a box.  But as the years went by, the seal on the box grew weaker. The ghost guardian cannot reinforce the seal that keeps the disease demon imprisoned – this must be done by a living human...

Pansexual and bisexual emperors of the Han Dynasty, according to 1st c. BCE court historian Sima Qian

Pansexual and bisexual emperors of the Western Han era, up to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han

Btw,  Bisexuality Awareness Week starts on Sep 16.

Enjoy more queer history and folklore on our Patreon: Queer Lore | Collection from Wolfberry Studio

19th century face reading for cats

Happy International Cat Day! Enjoy Part 2 of the Cat Physiognomy Guide. 

Tiger Art: a curated collection

More than 50 pieces from museums around the world, via Google Arts and Culture. Centering artists from Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. Btw, July 29 is International Tiger Day

The House of Cat Pride

How many pride flags can you find?

 

From 16th c. China and 21st c. India, two accounts of virtuous transgender mothers who protected children

Meet You Ruiniang from 16th c. China and Gauri Sawant  from 21st c. India, 2 transgender women who devoted themselves to their adoptive children, protecting them from cisgender predators.

The ducks in the picture are Lesser Whistling Ducks, a species present in the India subcontinent, southern China and Southeast Asia. Female and male ducks are similar in plumage.

Read more LGBTQ history on our Substack

Happy Mother's Day to the trans moms!

Abstract Art by African Artists: a curated collection

 A selection of more than 25 modern abstract art pieces from East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa and Central Africa from museums around the world, via Google Arts and Culture.

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

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.

Homoerotic poetry from 8th-19th century West Asia

Since medieval times, poets have been writing about same-sex desire in Arabic, Kurdish, Persian and Turkish

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

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.