Mizi Xia
Mizi Xia (Chinese: 彌子瑕; pinyin: Mízi Xiá, also Mí Zǐxiá[a]) was a semi-legendary figure from the Zhou dynasty period of China. He was first recorded in the work Han Feizi, by Legalist philosopher Han Fei, as the companion of the historical figure Duke Ling of Wei.[2] While Mizi Xia may have actually existed, nothing is known about him beyond this story.
Mizi Xia was the favored courtier of Duke Ling because of his beauty. When Mizi Xia got news that his mother was ill, he forged an order from the Duke to use a ducal carriage to travel quickly to see her, and was praised for his filial piety. Another time, Mizi Xia bit into an especially delicious peach and gave the remainder to the Duke as a gift so he could taste it as well. Both acts ingratiated him further with the ruler. However, once Mizi Xia's looks faded, the Duke turned against him, claiming he stole the carriage and then insulted the Duke by offering him a half-eaten peach.[3]
Han Fei's primary goal in telling the story was to caution courtiers against getting too close to fickle rulers, but in later Chinese literature Mizi Xia became more alluded to for his beauty and his homosexuality. The phrase "bitten peach" became a byword for homosexuality and Mizi Xia became a byword for a young man desired as a sexual partner. Similar allusions would be later be applied to the "passion of the cut sleeve" and the Han dynasty courtier Dong Xian.[4]
The Liang dynasty poet Liu Zun wrote, "Favors of the cut sleeve are generous,/ Love of the half-eaten peach never dies," confident that any educated person reading the poem would know exactly to whom he alluded.[5] The earliest extant Chinese document to address homosexuality, the "Poetical Essay on the Supreme Joy" by Bo Xingjian, lists Mizi Xia amongst the famous examples of homosexuality: "Mizi Xia shared a peach with his lord".[6]
By the 12th century, male companions no longer tended to wield great power at the ducal or imperial courts, and the name Mizi Xia had become associated with common male prostitutes.[7] The narrowing of gender roles under the Qing dynasty and the influence of homophobic attitudes from the West would eventually make mention of "the bitten peach" completely taboo. In 1910, during a time of loosened censorship, Mizi Xia's story was included in the 80-volume compilation Xiangyan congshu or "Collected writings on fragrant elegance", alongside other writings on sexuality that had been proscribed during the Qing dynasty.[8] Nonetheless, by 1990, scholar Bret Hinsch wrote that Mizi Xia and Dong Xian had "[lost] their place as famed icons of male love," and the homosexual tradition they represented was mostly unknown inside China.[9]
References
- ↑ Stevenson, Mark, and Wu Cuncun. (2013). Homoeroticism in Imperial China. Published by Routledge. p.266.
- ↑ Stevenson, Mark, and Wu Cuncun. (2013). Homoeroticism in Imperial China. Published by Routledge. p.10.
- ↑ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by the University of California Press. pp. 20–22.
- ↑ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by the University of California Press. p. 53.
- ↑ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by the University of California Press. pp. 73.
- ↑ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by the University of California Press. p. 84.
- ↑ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by the University of California Press. p. 93.
- ↑ van Gulik, R.H. (2003). Sexual Life in Ancient China. Published by Brill. pp. xxxviii, 63.
- ↑ Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by the University of California Press. pp. 161-163.
Notes
- ↑ In this Chinese name, the family name is Mi. Zi (子), added after the surname, is a respectful term of address. Stevenson and Wu translate this name as Squire Mi Xia.[1]