The political ideologies, philosophies, and religions of ancient China regarded homosexual relationships as a normal facet of life, and in some cases, promoted homosexual relationships as exemplary.
Opposition to homosexuality in China originates in the medieval Tang Dynasty, attributed to the rising influence of Christian and Islamic values. On Oct 2, 11:41 am, Bear Bear <[email protected]> wrote: > *I love that they chose that word to mock the system. The great Mel Brookes > once said that he made the producers because you can't argue with political > fanatics with logic. So he decided to mock them with humour. > > Bear > > * > By *Molly Gray*, for CNN > updated 9:17 PM EDT, Tue July 24, 2012 > [image: In a picture taken on March 8, 2011, a gay couple kiss during > their ceremonial 'wedding' in Wuhan, China.] > In a picture taken on March 8, 2011, a gay couple kiss during their > ceremonial 'wedding' in Wuhan, China. > *STORY HIGHLIGHTS* > > - A popular Chinese dictionary has left out the "gay" definition of a > word used to describe homosexuals > - The term "tongzhi" traditionally means comrade but has evolved to > refer to gay men and lesbians > - Compilers of the dictionary said they didn't want to encourage that > use of the word > - Activists and linguists are angered at the omission saying it's not > right to leave out a widely-used word > > *Hong Kong (CNN)* -- A newly published edition of an authoritative Chinese > dictionary has come under fire for leaving out the homosexual definition of > a word commonly used to refer to gay men and lesbians. > > The word "tongzhi" traditionally means "comrade" and has been widely used > by the Communist Party. But in recent decades the word has evolved to refer > to homosexuals. > > The committee charged with revising and updating the dictionary said they > chose to leave out the definition because they didn't want to encourage its > use, the director of the committee Jiang Langsheng told Chengdu Business > Daily <http://www.chinanews.com/cul/2012/07-16/4034552.shtml>. > > Coming out of the closet in > China<http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/14/coming-out-of-the-...> > > The dictionary, which had its sixth edition published July 15, is one of > the most renowned sources of information in China. According to > CNTV<http://english.cntv.cn/program/cultureexpress/20120716/105153.shtml>this > latest edition contains 69,000 entries -- an increase of 4,000 from > the fifth edition published in 2005. > > "It's unacceptable that the 'gay' meaning of 'tongzhi' was excluded from > the dictionary, a reference book written for all, simply because of the > compilers' own preferences and values," Nan Feng, a gay rights activist > told the state-run news agency > Xinhua<http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2012-07/18/content_25939498.htm> > . > > "Tongzhi" serves as a substitute for "tongxinglian," which is the formal > Chinese term for homosexuality. The 2005 edition of the Contemporary > Chinese Dictionary defines "tongxinglian" both as same-sex love and as a > psychosexual disorder, according to Xinhua. > > Homosexuality's classification as a mental disorder was removed in China in > 2001, despite the dictionary's definition. > > Video: Mom in China advocates for gay > son<http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/11/16/grant.china.gay...> > > Like activists, linguists are also unhappy with the decision to leave out a > term that is widely used in daily Chinese dialogue. > > "There have always been good words and bad ones," Cui Yan, a planning > editor for Science and Technology Document Press, told Beijing Business > Daily <http://www.chinanews.com/cul/2012/07-20/4047858.shtml>. "But they > are all linguistic phenomena. Just because the dictionary doesn't include > them doesn't mean they don't exist." > > Across the web, people have spoken out about the lack of the colloquial > definition of "tongzhi." > > One user on China's microblogging site Sina Weibo <http://weibo.com/>, who > calls himself "Yves Hugo" said "Tongzhi are there. They are a group of > people. Whether you 'encourage or not.' Tongzhi means gay people. The > definition will be in dictionary at some point." > > CNN's Corinna Liu in Hong Kong contributed to this report -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
