In a folk tale from 17th century Fujian, a soldier is in love with a provincial official, and spies on him to see him naked. The official has the soldier tortured and killed, but he returns from the dead in the form of a leveret (a hare in its first year) in the dream of a village elder. The leveret demands that local men build a temple to him where they can burn incense in the interest of "affairs of men". The story ends:
According to the customs of Fujian province, it is acceptable for a man and boy to form a bond [qi] and to speak to each other as if to brothers. Hearing the villager relate the dream, the other villagers strove to contribute money to erect the temple. They kept silent about this secret vow, which they quickly and eagerly fulfilled. Others begged to know their reason for building the temple, but they did not find out. They all went there to pray.[2]
According to What the Master Would Not Discuss, written by Yuan Mei during the Qing dynasty, Tu'er Shen was a man named Hu Tianbao (胡天保) who fell in love with a very handsome imperial inspector of Fujian Province. One day he was caught peeping on the inspector through a bathroom wall, at which point he confessed his reluctant affections for the other man. The imperial inspector had Hu Tianbao sentenced to death by beating. One month after Hu Tianbao's death, he appeared to a man from his hometown in a dream, claiming that since his crime was one of love, the underworld officials decided to right the injustice by appointing him the god and safeguarder of homosexual affections.[3]
After his dream the man erected a shrine to Hu Tianbao, which became very popular in Fujian, so much so that in late Qing times, the cult of Hu Tianbao was targeted for extermination by the Qing government.[citation needed]
The deity can be seen as an alternative to Yue Lao, the matchmaker god, for heterosexual relations.
CultsEdit
A slang term for homosexuals in late imperial China was "rabbits"[4] which is why Hu Tianbao is referred to as the rabbit deity, though in fact he has nothing to do with rabbits and should not be confused with Tu'er Ye, the rabbit on the moon.[citation needed]
Government suppressionEdit
Images of Hu Tianbao show him in an embrace with another man. The sense that the villagers must keep the reason for the temple secret in the story may relate to pressure from the central Chinese authorities to abandon the practice. Qing dynasty official Zhu Gui (1731–1807), a grain tax circuit intendant of Fujian in 1765, strove to standardize the morality of the people with a "Prohibition of Licentious Cults". One cult which he found particularly troublesome was the cult of Hu Tianbao. As he reports,
The image is of two men embracing one another; the face of one is somewhat hoary with age, the other tender and pale. [Their temple] is commonly called the small official temple. All those debauched and shameless rascals who on seeing youths or young men desire to have illicit intercourse with them pray for assistance from the plaster idol. Then they make plans to entice and obtain the objects of their desire. This is known as the secret assistance of Hu Tianbao. Afterwards they smear the idol's mouth with pork intestine and sugar in thanks.[3]
Modern interpretationsEdit
Although Tu'er Shen is popularly revered by some temples, some Taoist schools may have considered homosexuality as sexual misconduct throughout history, probably deeming it to be outside of marriage.[5] However, many Taoism scriptures do not mention anything against same-gender relations, mostly maintaining neutrality.[6]
The story may be an attempt to mythologize a system of male marriages in Fujian attested to by the scholar-bureaucrat Shen Defu and the 17th century writer Li Yu. The older man in the union would play the masculine role as a qixiong or "adoptive older brother", paying a "bride price" to the family of the younger man—it was said virgins fetched higher prices—who became the qidi, or "adoptive younger brother". Li Yu described the ceremony, "They do not skip the three cups of tea or the six wedding rituals- it is just like a proper marriage with a formal wedding."[7] The qidi then moved into the household of the qixiong, where he would be completely dependent on him, be treated as a son-in-law by the qixiongs parents, and possibly even help raise children adopted by the qixiong. These marriages could last as long as 20 years before both men were expected to marry women in order to procreate.[8]
Keith Stevens reports seeing images like these in Hokkien-speaking communities in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.[9] Stevens refers to these images as 'brothers' or 'princes' and calls them Taibao (太保), which is probably a perversion of Tianbao. Stevens was usually told that the two figures in an embrace were brothers, and only in one temple in Fujian was he told that they were homosexuals.
The history of Hu Tianbao has been largely forgotten even by the temple keepers. However, there is a temple in Yonghe District, Taiwan that venerates Hu Tianbao in his traditional guise. The temple is known as the Hall of Martial Brilliance (威明堂).[10]
RevivalEdit
External video
Report by BBC News Chinese on the Tu'er Shen Temple in Taiwan, Youtube video
In 2006, a Taoist priest by the name of Lu Wei-ming founded a temple for Tu'er Shen in Yonghe District in the New Taipei City in Taiwan.[11] Roughly 9,000 gay pilgrims visit the temple each year praying to find a suitable partner.[12] The temple also performs a love ceremony for gay couples[13] at the world's only religious shrine for homosexuals.[14] As of 2020, the temple remains the only extant shrine to the deity.
Depiction in media worksEdit
He is the main character in the 2010 Taiwanese drama The Rabbit God's Matchmaking.
In Andrew Thomas Huang's short film Kiss of the Rabbit God, Tu'er Shen seduces a restaurant worker.[15]
Tu'er Shen appears in the American Gods episode "The Rapture of Burning". He is portrayed by Daniel Jun.
Although Tu'er Shen isn't mentioned by name in the danmei series Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX) and its subsequent adaptations, rabbits are a recurring motif interpreted as a symbol of the lead characters' developing homosexual relationship.[16]
^Kang, Wenqing (2009). Obsession: Male Same-Sex Relations in China, 1900–1950. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. pp. 19, 37–38. ISBN9789622099814.
^Steven, Keith (2002). "The wrestling princes". Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 42: 431–434.
^. weimingtang.url.tw. Archived from the original on 28 January 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
^Gold, Michael (25 January 2015). "Praying for a soul mate at Rabbit Temple". The Star Online. from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
^Gold, Michael (2 February 2016). "Taiwan's Wei-Ming 'Rabbit' Temple Draws Gay Community". HuffPost. from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
^Stevenson, Alexander (22 January 2015). "Thousands Of Gay Pilgrims Trek To Taiwan To Pray For Love At "Rabbit" Temple". LOGO News. from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
^Gold, Michael (19 January 2015). "Taiwan's gays pray for soul mates at 'Rabbit' temple". Reuters. from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
^Kiss of the Rabbit God – NOWNESS 21 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Vimeo
^Hudson, Nikki (20 January 2020). "All the symbolism behind the WangXian 'ship in 'The Untamed'". Film Daily. from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
BibliographyEdit
Hinsch, Bret (1990). Passions of the cut sleeve: the male homosexual tradition in China. University of California Press. ISBN9780520078697.
Szonyi, Michael (June 1998). "The Cult of Hu Tianbao and the Eighteenth-Century Discourse of Homosexuality". Late Imperial China. 19 (1): 1–25. doi:10.1353/late.1998.0004. S2CID 144047410.
Tu Er Shen (Rabbit God) by Yuan Mei, Translated by Nathaniel Hu A translation of Tu Er Shen story from Zibuyu.
Wei Ming Temple
October 25, 2023
shen, confused, with, traditional, chinese, 兔兒神, simplified, chinese, 兔儿神, pinyin, tùrshén, leveret, spirit, shen, chinese, 兔神, pinyin, tùshén, rabbit, chinese, deity, manages, love, between, name, literally, means, rabbit, deity, adherents, refer, traditional. Not to be confused with Tu er Ye Tu er Shen traditional Chinese 兔兒神 simplified Chinese 兔儿神 pinyin Turshen The Leveret Spirit or Tu Shen Chinese 兔神 pinyin Tushen The Rabbit God is a Chinese deity who manages love and sex between men His name literally means rabbit deity His adherents refer to him as Ta Yeh traditional Chinese 大爺 simplified Chinese 大爷 pinyin daye The Master 1 Tu er Shen statueIn a folk tale from 17th century Fujian a soldier is in love with a provincial official and spies on him to see him naked The official has the soldier tortured and killed but he returns from the dead in the form of a leveret a hare in its first year in the dream of a village elder The leveret demands that local men build a temple to him where they can burn incense in the interest of affairs of men The story ends According to the customs of Fujian province it is acceptable for a man and boy to form a bond qi and to speak to each other as if to brothers Hearing the villager relate the dream the other villagers strove to contribute money to erect the temple They kept silent about this secret vow which they quickly and eagerly fulfilled Others begged to know their reason for building the temple but they did not find out They all went there to pray 2 Contents 1 Legends 2 Cults 2 1 Government suppression 2 2 Modern interpretations 3 Revival 4 Depiction in media works 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Citations 6 2 Bibliography 7 External linksLegends EditAccording to What the Master Would Not Discuss written by Yuan Mei during the Qing dynasty Tu er Shen was a man named Hu Tianbao 胡天保 who fell in love with a very handsome imperial inspector of Fujian Province One day he was caught peeping on the inspector through a bathroom wall at which point he confessed his reluctant affections for the other man The imperial inspector had Hu Tianbao sentenced to death by beating One month after Hu Tianbao s death he appeared to a man from his hometown in a dream claiming that since his crime was one of love the underworld officials decided to right the injustice by appointing him the god and safeguarder of homosexual affections 3 After his dream the man erected a shrine to Hu Tianbao which became very popular in Fujian so much so that in late Qing times the cult of Hu Tianbao was targeted for extermination by the Qing government citation needed The deity can be seen as an alternative to Yue Lao the matchmaker god for heterosexual relations Cults EditA slang term for homosexuals in late imperial China was rabbits 4 which is why Hu Tianbao is referred to as the rabbit deity though in fact he has nothing to do with rabbits and should not be confused with Tu er Ye the rabbit on the moon citation needed Government suppression Edit Images of Hu Tianbao show him in an embrace with another man The sense that the villagers must keep the reason for the temple secret in the story may relate to pressure from the central Chinese authorities to abandon the practice Qing dynasty official Zhu Gui 1731 1807 a grain tax circuit intendant of Fujian in 1765 strove to standardize the morality of the people with a Prohibition of Licentious Cults One cult which he found particularly troublesome was the cult of Hu Tianbao As he reports The image is of two men embracing one another the face of one is somewhat hoary with age the other tender and pale Their temple is commonly called the small official temple All those debauched and shameless rascals who on seeing youths or young men desire to have illicit intercourse with them pray for assistance from the plaster idol Then they make plans to entice and obtain the objects of their desire This is known as the secret assistance of Hu Tianbao Afterwards they smear the idol s mouth with pork intestine and sugar in thanks 3 Modern interpretations Edit Although Tu er Shen is popularly revered by some temples some Taoist schools may have considered homosexuality as sexual misconduct throughout history probably deeming it to be outside of marriage 5 However many Taoism scriptures do not mention anything against same gender relations mostly maintaining neutrality 6 The story may be an attempt to mythologize a system of male marriages in Fujian attested to by the scholar bureaucrat Shen Defu and the 17th century writer Li Yu The older man in the union would play the masculine role as a qixiong or adoptive older brother paying a bride price to the family of the younger man it was said virgins fetched higher prices who became the qidi or adoptive younger brother Li Yu described the ceremony They do not skip the three cups of tea or the six wedding rituals it is just like a proper marriage with a formal wedding 7 The qidi then moved into the household of the qixiong where he would be completely dependent on him be treated as a son in law by the qixiongs parents and possibly even help raise children adopted by the qixiong These marriages could last as long as 20 years before both men were expected to marry women in order to procreate 8 Keith Stevens reports seeing images like these in Hokkien speaking communities in Taiwan Malaysia Thailand and Singapore 9 Stevens refers to these images as brothers or princes and calls them Taibao 太保 which is probably a perversion of Tianbao Stevens was usually told that the two figures in an embrace were brothers and only in one temple in Fujian was he told that they were homosexuals The history of Hu Tianbao has been largely forgotten even by the temple keepers However there is a temple in Yonghe District Taiwan that venerates Hu Tianbao in his traditional guise The temple is known as the Hall of Martial Brilliance 威明堂 10 Revival EditExternal video nbsp Report by BBC News Chinese on the Tu er Shen Temple in Taiwan Youtube videoIn 2006 a Taoist priest by the name of Lu Wei ming founded a temple for Tu er Shen in Yonghe District in the New Taipei City in Taiwan 11 Roughly 9 000 gay pilgrims visit the temple each year praying to find a suitable partner 12 The temple also performs a love ceremony for gay couples 13 at the world s only religious shrine for homosexuals 14 As of 2020 the temple remains the only extant shrine to the deity Depiction in media works EditHe is the main character in the 2010 Taiwanese drama The Rabbit God s Matchmaking In Andrew Thomas Huang s short film Kiss of the Rabbit God Tu er Shen seduces a restaurant worker 15 Tu er Shen appears in the American Gods episode The Rapture of Burning He is portrayed by Daniel Jun Although Tu er Shen isn t mentioned by name in the danmei series Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu MXTX and its subsequent adaptations rabbits are a recurring motif interpreted as a symbol of the lead characters developing homosexual relationship 16 See also EditLGBT rights in Taiwan Homosexuality in ChinaReferences EditCitations Edit Taoist homosexuals turn to the Rabbit God Taipei Times 21 October 2007 Archived from the original on 22 October 2007 Retrieved 29 August 2020 Hinsch 1990 p 133 a b Szonyi 1998 pp 1 25 Kang Wenqing 2009 Obsession Male Same Sex Relations in China 1900 1950 Hong Kong Hong Kong University Press pp 19 37 38 ISBN 9789622099814 太上老君戒經 Supreme Laozi s Scripture Zhengtong daozang 正統道藏 Zhengtong Daoist Canon 雲笈七籤 說戒部 Yunji Qiqian Precepts Zhengtong daozang 正統道藏 Zhengtong Daoist Canon Vol 38 40 Hinsch 1990 p 127 Hinsch 1990 pp 131 132 Steven Keith 2002 The wrestling princes Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 42 431 434 威明堂兔兒神殿 weimingtang url tw Archived from the original on 28 January 2008 Retrieved 31 December 2015 Gold Michael 25 January 2015 Praying for a soul mate at Rabbit Temple The Star Online Archived from the original on 28 January 2015 Retrieved 6 February 2019 Gold Michael 2 February 2016 Taiwan s Wei Ming Rabbit Temple Draws Gay Community HuffPost Archived from the original on 19 January 2015 Retrieved 6 February 2019 Stevenson Alexander 22 January 2015 Thousands Of Gay Pilgrims Trek To Taiwan To Pray For Love At Rabbit Temple LOGO News Archived from the original on 23 January 2015 Retrieved 6 February 2019 Gold Michael 19 January 2015 Taiwan s gays pray for soul mates at Rabbit temple Reuters Archived from the original on 24 November 2018 Retrieved 6 February 2019 Kiss of the Rabbit God NOWNESS Archived 21 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine Vimeo Hudson Nikki 20 January 2020 All the symbolism behind the WangXian ship in The Untamed Film Daily Archived from the original on 14 April 2023 Retrieved 22 September 2023 Bibliography Edit Hinsch Bret 1990 Passions of the cut sleeve the male homosexual tradition in China University of California Press ISBN 9780520078697 Szonyi Michael June 1998 The Cult of Hu Tianbao and the Eighteenth Century Discourse of Homosexuality Late Imperial China 19 1 1 25 doi 10 1353 late 1998 0004 S2CID 144047410 Zhang Junfang ed c 1029 Zhengtong daozang 正統道藏 Zhengtong Daoist Canon External links EditTu Er Shen Rabbit God by Yuan Mei Translated by Nathaniel Hu A translation of Tu Er Shen story from Zibuyu Wei Ming Temple Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tu 27er Shen amp oldid 1178936593, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
