Delving into three hundred years of Chinese literature, from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-nineteenth, "The Libertine's Friend" uncovers the complex and fascinating history of male homosexual and homosocial relations in the late imperial era. Drawing particularly on overlooked works of pornographic fiction, Giovanni Vitiello offers a frank exploration of the importance of same-sex love and eroticism to the evolution of masculinity in China. Vitiello's story unfolds chronologically, beginning with the earliest sources on homoeroticism in pre-imperial China and concluding with a look at developments in the twentieth century. Along the way, he identifies a number of recurring characters - for example, the libertine scholar, the chivalric hero, and the lustful monk - and sheds light on a set of key issues, including the social and legal boundaries that regulated sex between men, the rise of male prostitution, and the aesthetics of male beauty. Drawing on this trove of material, Vitiello presents a historical outline of changing notions of male homosexuality in China, revealing the integral part that same-sex desire has played in its culture.

About the Author
Giovanni Vitiello is associate professor of Chinese at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Reviews
"This is an ambitious study that analyzes a long list of erotic and romantic fiction from the late Ming to the late Qing to argue that male homosexuality provides a somewhat unlikely arena in which the notions and institutions of gender, love, ethics, law, and politics are brought into play." (David Der-wei Wang, Harvard University)"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226857923
Author Giovanni Vitiello
Format Hardback
Page Count 312
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 16mm * 2mm