弁而钗 (17 世纪)

《弁而钗》是一部中文短篇小说集，以男同性恋关系为题材，出版于明朝末年，署名“醉西湖心月主人”，作者真实姓名和身份不详。

内容

《弁而钗》由四个围绕男同性恋关系展开的短篇故事组成，每个故事分五个章回。

情贞纪

二十岁的翰林院学士风翔在杨州与十五岁的书生赵王孙相爱，却被学堂师生和赵父拆散，最终于北京重逢；

情侠纪

文官钟图南与武将张机相互扶持，共建功业；

情烈纪

二十岁的才子云汉与十四岁的乾旦优伶文韵相爱，文韵牺牲自己成就云汉事业与家庭；

情奇纪

三十岁的匡时解救了十五岁的男妓李又仙，娶异性装扮的李又仙为妾。匡时被诬陷入狱，将婴儿匡鼎托孤李又仙，李又仙出家为尼，抚养教导匡鼎至状元及第，与匡时团聚，李又仙得道成仙。

出版历史

《弁而钗》作者署名为“醉西湖心月主人”，其真实姓名和身份不详，同一署名还著有《宜春香质》和《醋葫芦》两本书。《弁而钗》最初由“笔耕山房”出版于崇祯年间。

现存两版：一版藏于北京市中国国家图书馆和日本天理大学附属天理図书馆，另一版藏于台北市国立故宫博物院。

主题

《弁而钗》的故事情节和主题带有较强的情色性，情色描绘多涉及心理操纵和情绪勒索，有较明显的强暴幻想，比如《情侠纪》中的药物促成的性侵犯。人物关系中的性别角色固定为主动方和被动方，多为少年爱之刻板印象，具有年龄歧视，比如《情烈纪》和《情奇纪》均写道被动方至二十岁即“色败颜衰”。价值观带有较深的异性恋本位和父权观念，男同性恋故事全部以娶妻生子、传宗接代作结。故事坚守传统儒家主流伦理道德，主人公均通过科举入仕，建功立业，履行忠孝义务，是具备社会成功和认可的理想文人形象。

Bian er chai (Chinese: 弁而釵; pinyin: Biàn ér chāi) is an anthology of homoerotic short stories by an unknown author published in the late Ming dynasty.

Contents

Bian er chai comprises four short stories that revolve around homosexual relationships; each story is five chapters long. "Qingzhen ji" (情贞纪) or "A Story of Chaste Love" follows a member of the Hanlin Academy who poses as a student to seduce a boy; in "Qingxia ji" (情侠纪) or "A Story of Chivalric Love", a decorated soldier is seduced by a man; "Qinglie ji" (情烈纪) or "A Story of Sacrificing Love" explores the love life of a young male opera singer; and in "Qingqi ji" (情奇纪) or "A Story of Extraordinary Love", a young catamite is rescued from the brothel by an older lover, only to encounter further tribulations.

Publication history

Bian er chai was written in classical Chinese by an anonymous writer using the pseudonym "The Moon-Heart Master of the Drunken West Lake" (醉西湖心月主人), who is also believed to have written another homoerotic short story collection titled Yichun xiangzhi (宜春香質) or Fragrance of the Pleasant Spring, as well as a preface for Cu hulu (醋葫蘆), a novella about a shrewish wife. Surviving editions of Bian er chai also contain interlinear commentary by "The Daoist Master Haha What Can You Do About Fate" (奈何天呵呵道人). The novel was first published during the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor (1628–1644) by the obscure "Plowing the Mountain with a Brush Studio" (筆耕山房), and was later banned by the Qing government. Two extant editions of Bian er chai are known to exist: one is housed at the Beijing Municipal Library and the Tenri Central Library in Japan, while the other is held in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.