Tongzhi (Chinese: 同志; pinyin: tóngzhì; lit. 'same will' or 'same purpose') is a form of style used in China. It has taken on various meanings in various contexts since the 20th century.
The term was introduced into Vernacular Chinese by Sun Yat-sen as a way of describing his followers. Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, "tongzhi" was used to mean "comrade" in the Communist sense: it was used to address almost everyone, male and female, young and old. In recent years, however, this meaning of the term has fallen out of common usage, except within Chinese Communist Party discourse and among people of older generations.[1]
In contemporary Macau and Hong Kong, the term mainly refers to LGBT people instead of the traditional political usage.[2]
It remains in use in a formal context among political parties in both Mainland China and Taiwan. In the Communist Party of China, categorizing a person as a "comrade" is especially significant for a person who has been denounced or demoted, because it indicates that the party has not completely rejected the person as "one of its own". In Taiwan, it also remains in formal usage in party politics. For example, Frank Hsieh said, after losing the 2008 Republic of China presidential election: "很多同志希望我能夠留到五月二十五日" ("Many comrades hoped that I could stay to May 25").[3]
The word comrade is in the regulations of the Chinese Armed Forces as one of three appropriate ways to formally address another member of the military ("comrade" plus rank or position, as in "Comrade Colonel", or simply "comrade(s)" when lacking information about the person's rank, or talking to several service people.)[6]
Usage in contemporary Macau and Hong Kongedit
Since the 1990s, the term is, however, increasingly being used to refer to sexual minorities mainly in Macau and Hong Kong and increasingly in Mainland China and Taiwan, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.[7][8] This way of using the term was first adopted by Michael Lam (林邁克), a columnist writing in Hong Kong magazine City Magazine (號外), and was popularized by the inaugural Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1989, whose aim was to present same-sex relationships as positive and suggesting solidarity between LGBT people, while also providing an indigenous term to describe same-sex love.
It is preferred by LGBT communities over the term tóngxìnglìan (同性戀), the formal word for homosexuality, which is seen as being too clinical and having pathological connotations.[9] The use of tongzhi over tóngxìnglìan roughly parallels the replacement of "homosexual" with "gay" in English discourse.[citation needed]
Although it initially referred to gay (male tongzhi, 男同志) and lesbian (female tongzhi, 女同志) people, in recent years, the term gradually covers a wider range of meaning including "LGBTQIA". For example, Taiwan LGBT Pride parade (台灣同志遊行), Asia's biggest LGBT pride parade, can be literally translated as "Taiwan Tongzhi Parade." According to Chou Wah-Shan, tóngzhì is a very fluid term which can refer to all people who are opposed to or fall outside of heteronormativity. He views tóngzhì as a means of signifying "politics beyond the homo-hetero duality" and "integrating the sexual into the social".[1]
^. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
^"'Comrade' survives China rules blitz". BBC News. 19 November 2014.
^Blasco, Dennis J (2011). "The Four General Departments". The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century (2nd ed.). Routledge. ISBN978-0415783224. According to regulations, members of the PLA address each other: (1) by their duty position, or (2) by their position plus surname, or (3) by their position plus the title "comrade" (tongzhi). When the duty position of the other person is not known, one service member may address the other by military rank plus the word "comrade" or only as comrade.
^Lixian, Holly Hou (30 November 2001). "LGBT Activism in Mainland China". Solidarity. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
^Wong, Andrew D. (November 2005). "The reappropriation of tongzhi". Language in Society. 34 (5): 763–793. doi:10.1017/S0047404505050281. ISSN 1469-8013. S2CID 145325619.
^Luchkina, Tatiana (2015). "Social deixis in motion: The case of 'COMRADE' in Russian and Mandarin Chinese". In Terkourafi, Marina (ed.). Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Im/politeness. AILA Applied Linguistics Series. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 14. ISBN9789027205322. While tóngxìnglìan may be perceived as a clinical term with pathological connotations, tóng zhì presents a more colloquial and euphemistic way of communicating the same meaning.
Further readingedit
Chou Wah-shan, Tongzhi: Politics of Same-Sex Eroticism in Chinese Societies, Haworth Press, 2000, ISBN1-56023-153-X
Yuzhi Chen. 2012. Tongzhi in China: A social marker or not? Working Papers in Educational Linguistics (University of Pennsylvania) 27.2: 97–109. Web access to this article[permanent dead link]
External linksedit
中國國民黨第17屆中央委員會第2次全體會議出、列席同志發言須知 ("Rules for speaking for attending comrades at the 2nd plenary meeting of the 17th central committee of the Chinese Kuomintang"): example of usage in Kuomintang discourse
December 04, 2023
tongzhi, term, tongzhi, chinese, 同志, pinyin, tóngzhì, same, will, same, purpose, form, style, used, china, taken, various, meanings, various, contexts, since, 20th, century, tongzhichinese同志literal, meaning, same, will, same, purpose, transcriptionsstandard, m. Tongzhi Chinese 同志 pinyin tongzhi lit same will or same purpose is a form of style used in China It has taken on various meanings in various contexts since the 20th century TongzhiChinese同志Literal meaning same will or same purpose TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinTongzhiGwoyeu RomatzyhTorng jyhWade GilesT ung chihTongyong PinyinTongjhiThe term was introduced into Vernacular Chinese by Sun Yat sen as a way of describing his followers Following the establishment of the People s Republic of China tongzhi was used to mean comrade in the Communist sense it was used to address almost everyone male and female young and old In recent years however this meaning of the term has fallen out of common usage except within Chinese Communist Party discourse and among people of older generations 1 In contemporary Macau and Hong Kong the term mainly refers to LGBT people instead of the traditional political usage 2 Contents 1 Usage in party politics 1 1 Military usage 2 Usage in contemporary Macau and Hong Kong 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksUsage in party politics editIt remains in use in a formal context among political parties in both Mainland China and Taiwan In the Communist Party of China categorizing a person as a comrade is especially significant for a person who has been denounced or demoted because it indicates that the party has not completely rejected the person as one of its own In Taiwan it also remains in formal usage in party politics For example Frank Hsieh said after losing the 2008 Republic of China presidential election 很多同志希望我能夠留到五月二十五日 Many comrades hoped that I could stay to May 25 3 In October 2016 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a directive urging all 90 million party members to keep calling each other comrades instead of less egalitarian terms 4 5 Military usage edit The word comrade is in the regulations of the Chinese Armed Forces as one of three appropriate ways to formally address another member of the military comrade plus rank or position as in Comrade Colonel or simply comrade s when lacking information about the person s rank or talking to several service people 6 Usage in contemporary Macau and Hong Kong editSince the 1990s the term is however increasingly being used to refer to sexual minorities mainly in Macau and Hong Kong and increasingly in Mainland China and Taiwan including lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people 7 8 This way of using the term was first adopted by Michael Lam 林邁克 a columnist writing in Hong Kong magazine City Magazine 號外 and was popularized by the inaugural Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1989 whose aim was to present same sex relationships as positive and suggesting solidarity between LGBT people while also providing an indigenous term to describe same sex love It is preferred by LGBT communities over the term tongxinglian 同性戀 the formal word for homosexuality which is seen as being too clinical and having pathological connotations 9 The use of tongzhi over tongxinglian roughly parallels the replacement of homosexual with gay in English discourse citation needed Although it initially referred to gay male tongzhi 男同志 and lesbian female tongzhi 女同志 people in recent years the term gradually covers a wider range of meaning including LGBTQIA For example Taiwan LGBT Pride parade 台灣同志遊行 Asia s biggest LGBT pride parade can be literally translated as Taiwan Tongzhi Parade According to Chou Wah Shan tongzhi is a very fluid term which can refer to all people who are opposed to or fall outside of heteronormativity He views tongzhi as a means of signifying politics beyond the homo hetero duality and integrating the sexual into the social 1 See also editHomosexuality in China Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association Tongqi Generation gap LGBT topics and Confucianism Tovarishch disambiguation References edit a b Chou Wah shan p 2 Leap William 2013 Globalization and Gay Language Malden MA Wiley Blackwell pp 560 561 ISBN 978 1 4051 7581 4 凝聚黨內團結 謝長廷 我決定留到五二五 Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine 学习时报 Archived from the original on 24 November 2016 Retrieved 23 November 2016 Comrade survives China rules blitz BBC News 19 November 2014 Blasco Dennis J 2011 The Four General Departments The Chinese Army Today Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century 2nd ed Routledge ISBN 978 0415783224 According to regulations members of the PLA address each other 1 by their duty position or 2 by their position plus surname or 3 by their position plus the title comrade tongzhi When the duty position of the other person is not known one service member may address the other by military rank plus the word comrade or only as comrade Lixian Holly Hou 30 November 2001 LGBT Activism in Mainland China Solidarity Retrieved 22 February 2016 Wong Andrew D November 2005 The reappropriation of tongzhi Language in Society 34 5 763 793 doi 10 1017 S0047404505050281 ISSN 1469 8013 S2CID 145325619 Luchkina Tatiana 2015 Social deixis in motion The case of COMRADE in Russian and Mandarin Chinese In Terkourafi Marina ed Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Im politeness AILA Applied Linguistics Series Amsterdam John Benjamins Publishing Company p 14 ISBN 9789027205322 While tongxinglian may be perceived as a clinical term with pathological connotations tong zhi presents a more colloquial and euphemistic way of communicating the same meaning Further reading editChou Wah shan Tongzhi Politics of Same Sex Eroticism in Chinese Societies Haworth Press 2000 ISBN 1 56023 153 X Yuzhi Chen 2012 Tongzhi in China A social marker or not Working Papers in Educational Linguistics University of Pennsylvania 27 2 97 109 Web access to this article permanent dead link External links editCanadian Tongzhi Association 加國同志會 中國國民黨第17屆中央委員會第2次全體會議出 列席同志發言須知 Rules for speaking for attending comrades at the 2nd plenary meeting of the 17th central committee of the Chinese Kuomintang example of usage in Kuomintang discourse Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tongzhi term amp oldid 1175005952, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
