The Daoist Art of the Bedchamber of Male Homosexuality in Ming and Qing Literature

Bibliographic Data

ID3359389
AuthorsWanrong Zhang (0009-0000-4108-8780, Fudan University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume15
Issue7
Pages841
Publication date2024-07-12
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel15070841
OpenAlexW4400577412
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited14

The Daoist art of the bedchamber (fangzhong shu 房中術) constitutes a form of cultivation practice with the objective of promoting health and longevity through sexual techniques, generally applied within heterosexual contexts. However, with the evolution of male homosexuality culture during the Ming and Qing dynasties, depictions of the art of the bedchamber related to male homosexuality emerged in the literature of that era. This art was imaginatively traced back to Laozi and his disciple Yin Xi 尹喜. The sources explained the beneficial outcomes of these techniques by referring to classical Chinese cosmology: underage males were considered to have yin energy in their bodies, a condition similar to that in females, aligning with the fundamental principles of the heterosexual art of the bedchamber. Serving as a religious interpretation of emerging cultural trends rather than representing a new cultivation technique, this fictive art legitimizes homosexual practices among males, particularly those adhering to Daoism

Aesthetics · Art · Homosexuality · Indian culture · Linguistics · Longevity · Male Homosexuality · Men who have sex with men · Sexual orientation · Sociology · Anthropology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Chinese history and philosophy · Gender Studies · History · Japanese History and Culture · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology · Gerontology

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