Niubi! (15 page)

 

男风
nán fēng
(
nahn fung
) or 南风
nán fēng
(
nahn fung
)

The former literally means “male practice” and was more or less a technical term referring to homosexuality during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The latter was a homophonous, and poetic, play on that word and literally means “southern custom,” also connoting “southern wind.” The euphemism “southern custom” was based on a common belief throughout China that homosexuality originated in, or at least was more common in, the South (mainly Fujian and Guangdong provinces). There is indeed a great deal of documentation of commonly practiced homosexual customs in those areas. For example, it was noted during the seventeenth century that it was usual for upper-class and educated men in Fujian to marry other men. An older man would buy a boy-bride from the boy’s parents, a marriage ceremony was performed, and the older man’s family would financially support the younger man in every way, just as in a traditional heterosexual marriage. The older man was called 契兄
qìxiōng
(
chee shyohng
), literally “sworn older brother,” and the younger one was called 契弟
qìdì
(
chee dee
), “sworn little brother.” There is documentation of some such marriages that lasted as long as twenty years, but typically they only lasted until the younger man reached the standard age for heterosexual marriage, upon which they “divorced” and the older man often paid to secure him a good female bride and otherwise helped establish him in society.

 

对食
duìshí
(
dway shih
)

Literally “eat facing each other.” The earliest mention of lesbianism in Chinese history was of two women from the harem of the emperor Cheng of Han, who, according to imperial records, always ate facing each other and slept together.

Many Chinese simply say “gay” in English. “Gay” is usually understood to mean gay men, while lesbians mainly go by 拉拉
lālā
(
lah lah
). Nonetheless, there are several Chinese terms for homosexuality as well:

 

同性恋
tóngxìnglìan
(
tohng sheeng lyinn
)

Homosexual.

 

同性爱
tóngxìng’ài
(
tohng sheeng aye
)

Gay love. Literally “same-sex love.”

 

同志
tóngzhì
(
tohng jih
)

Gay. Literally “comrade,” the form of address used during revolutionary times and still used today by government officials and older Chinese. First adopted in 1987 by gay rights activists in Hong Kong.

 

女同志
nǚ tóngzhì
(
nee tohng jih
)

Lesbian. Literally “female comrade.”

 

大同
dàtóng
(
dah tohng
)

A relatively new term coined by university students, short for 大学生同志
dàxuéshēng tóngzhì
(
dah shreh shung tohng jih
), which means “gay university students.”

 

断背
duànbèi
(
dwun bay
)

Literally “brokeback,” after Ang Lee’s movie
Brokeback Mountain
. A euphemism for homosexuality.

Duàn bèi

玻璃
bōlí
(
bwuh lee
)

A euphemism for “gay.” Literally “crystal” or “glass.” Not often used in speech, but known by most gay Chinese people. It comes from the seminal 1980 novel
Crystal Boys
, by the gay Taiwanese writer Pai Hsien-Yung. The novel’s mention of “crystal boys” is itself a reference to a passage from the classic work
Dream of the Red Chamber
.

 

拉拉
lālā
(
lah lah
) or 拉子
lāzi
(
lah dz
)

The most commonly used word for “lesbian.”
Lāzi
is used in Taiwan and was coined (based on the sound of the English “lesbian” or “lez”) by a lesbian Taiwanese writer named 邱妙津
Qiu Miaojin
(
chyoe myow gene
). When the term spread to the mainland it became
lālā
instead.

 

T & P

Terms for lesbian roles. The
T
stands for “tomboy” and the
P
refers to 老婆
lǎopó
(
laow pwuh
), or “wife” in Chinese. The terms are equivalent to “butch” and “femme” in English.

 

娘 T
niáng T
(
nyahng T
)

Girly T, soft butch. A lesbian who identifies asaTbut is still a bit feminine or girly.

 

爷 P
yé P
(
yeh P
)

Grandfather P. A lesbian who identifies as a P but is a bit manly.

 

不分
bù fēn
(
boo fen
)

Literally “don’t differentiate.” Means that you don’t particularly identify as a T or P, and that you also have no preference in terms of which type you’re into.

 

帅 T 美 P
shuài T měi P
(
shwhy T may P
)

帅 T
Shuài T
(
shwhy T
) means “handsome tomboy(s)” and 美 P
měi P
(
may P
) is “pretty wife” or “pretty wives.” You might use them together to say something like “This club is full of handsome tomboys and pretty wives tonight!”

 

TT 恋
TT liàn
(
TT lyinn
)

Tomboy-tomboy love, when two tomboys date.

 

T 吧
T ba
(
T bah
)

A lesbian bar just for tomboys. Since most Chinese lesbians believe that a T and a P should date each other, the exact reason for the existence of a tomboy-only bar is somewhat mystifying.

 

自梳女
zì shū nǚ
(
dz shoe nee
)

Comb sisters (literally “a woman who combs her hair by herself”). Referring to a group of women in Guangdong and other parts of southern China during the late 1800s and early 1900s who vowed to resist the oppressions of the Confucian conception of marriage. While
zì shū nǚ
were not necessarily all lesbians, they are perceived in popular culture as some sort of lesbian cult and have also been embraced as such by the Chinese lesbian community.

 

主动
zhǔdòng
(
joo dohng
)

Top, giver, pitcher, husband. Literally “active.”

 

被动
bèidòng
(
bay dohng
)

Bottom, taker, catcher, wife. Literally “passive.”

 

1 号
yī hào
(
ee how
) or just 1
yī
(
ee
)

Literally “number one” or just “one.” Means “top,” “pitcher,” or “husband” because the number one looks like a penis.

 

0 号
líng hào
(
ling how
) or just 0
líng
(
ling
)

Literally “number zero” or just “zero.” Means “bottom,” “catcher,” or “wife” because a “one” can be inserted into a

“zero.” You might hear two guys flirting at a bar ask, “你是 1 还是 0?” “
Nǐ shì yī hái shì ling?”
: “Are you a one or a zero?”

 

 

0.5
líng diǎn wǔ
(
ling dyinn oo
)

Either, versatile. That is, you can be either the 1 or the 0. You can also indicate that you’re a 0.5 by saying 全能
quán néng
(
chren nung
), which means “all can”; that is, “can do all.”

 

 

Rice queen

A gay guy who prefers Asian men (this would simply be said in English, as there is no translation in Chinese).

 

 

Potato queen

A gay guy who prefers white men (this would simply be said in English, as there is no translation in Chinese).

 

 

MB

For “money boy” (and said in English). A (usually young) man who takes money for sex with other men.

 

 

T 少
T shào
(
T shaow
)

A woman who takes money for sex with other women.

 

哥哥
gēge
(
guh guh
)

A manly gay man. Literally “older brother.” Can also imply sugar daddy.

 

 

弟弟
dìdi
(
dee dee
)

A girly, or effeminate, gay man. Literally “younger brother.” Can also imply a person being supported by a sugar daddy.

 

 

熊
xióng
(
shyohng
)

Literally “bear.” Taken directly from the English slang for a gay man with a bigger, slightly chubby build.

 

 

人妖
rényāo
(
ren yow
)

Lady-boy.

 

 

反串
fǎnchuàn
(
fahn chwun
)

Drag queen (applies both to men who dress up as women and to women who dress up as men in performances).

 

 

CC or just C

Queen (and said in English). Used because CC sounds like “sissy” to Chinese ears. Many Chinese gays also just say

“sissy” in English for a queen or a feminine guy.

 

 

鞋号
xié hào
(
shyih how
)

Literally “shoe size.” Used online to imply penis size.

 

炮友
pàoyǒu
(
pow yo
)

Fuck buddy. 炮
Pào
(
pow
) means “cannon” and is a euphemism for ejaculation, while 友
yǒu
(
yo
) means friends.

 

Gay 吧
“Gay” ba
(
gay bah
)

Gay café.

 

 

公司
gōngsī
(
gohng sih
)

Taiwan slang for a park where gay men gather and meet. Literally “company” but shares the same initial syllable with “park,” which is 公园
gōngyuán
(
gohng yren
). One particularly well-known “company” is the 2/28 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei.

 

 

双性恋
shuāngxìngliàn
(
shwahng sheeng lyinn
)

Bisexuality. Literally “love for both sexes.”

 

 

阴阳人
yīnyáng rén
(
een yahng ren
)

Transsexual or hermaphrodite. Literally “yin-yang person.” May also be used insultingly to refer to an extremely manly woman or to an extremely effeminate man.

 

 

同仁女
tóngrén nǚ
(
tohng ren nee
)

Fag hag. 同仁
Tóng rén
(
tohng ren
) means “colleagues,” but 同
tóng
(
tohng
) also alludes to gay men, while 女
nǚ
(
nee
) means “woman,” so the overall suggestion is a woman who has close associations with gay men.

 

同志牛皮糖
tóngzhì niúpí tang
(
tohng jih nyoo pee tahng
)

Fag hag. Literally “gay leather-candy.” 同志
Tóngzhì
(
tohng jih
) means “gay,” and 牛皮糖
niúpí tang
(
nyoo pee tahng
) is a type of sticky candy, thus suggesting sticking to gay guys.

 

出柜
chū guì
(
choo gway
)

Come out of the closet.

 

异性恋
yìxìngliàn
(
ee sheeng lyinn
)

Heterosexuality. Literally “love for the opposite sex.”

 

直人
zhírén
(
jih ren
)

Straight. Literally “straight person.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

I
n the last few decades leading up to the 1949 Communist revolution, the city of Shanghai was unquestionably the most sinful place on earth. “If God lets Shanghai endure, he owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah,” said one missionary living there in the early twenties.

The Whore of Asia, as the city was known, was born in 1842 at the conclusion of the Opium War, when the British forced imperial China to open the port city to foreign trade, and the British—soon followed by the Americans, the French, and numerous other nationalities—quickly established settlements there, each governed by its own rule of law. The mishmash of completely different governments, laws, and courts meant that evading arrest was as simple as walking a block in one direction or another (or buying a fake passport for some random nationality). That, the extreme contrasts of fabulous wealth and decrepit poverty, the opium business driving all the city’s moneymaking, the political turmoil brought about by the overthrow of imperial rule, and an ensuing period during which various parts of China were ruled by a rotating cast of brutally violent warlords—not to mention numerous other causes—all combined to make Shanghai the final destination for hedonists, capitalists, adventurers, journalists, businessmen, prostitutes, gangsters, political refugees, gun runners, intel lectuals, arms dealers, movie stars, and dilettantes from every corner of the globe.