Until mid -2024, if you lived in China and wanted to read some literature rise in tone, your reference website was Haiter Literature City. Millions of women wrote and read erotic stories with an incentive: they were starring men. However, at the end of last year, mass arrests of those responsible again condemned the genre to ostracism in the country. Although erotic literature has always had space in China, it seems that it is no longer a country for dirty pages.
A libidinous history. Chinese erotic literature It is a genus of long historical tradition: already during the period Han (around 200 BC) circulated didactic manuals on sex, but with literary format of dialogue between the emperor and its tutors. This is the oldest erogetic literature, together with specific works in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, And it has always been marked by metaphors and poetic codes of great lyricism. China would not stop producing key works of the genre, such as The persecutive ‘Jin Ping Mei’, of the 16th century.
The genre has always shone in China when it has used erotic scenes as an excuse to raise critical and satirical issues. Some of that remains in the current and digital incarnations of the genre, which transcend the mere accumulation of sexual acrobatics.
Hurricane Danmei. The stories that present romantic relationships between male characters are known under that name. They are works of women and women: the majority of authors and readers of the genre are, which is born with the seventy sleeves (The famous Yaoiwith which so many features share), which arrived in China illegally translated into Taiwan. This generated a scene of young writers who created their own stories, thus modeling a Chinese adapted identity but very influenced by Japan. With the arrival of the Internet the Danmei became mass and came to see even adaptations to the cinema of some works, although with the high erotic voltage completely domesticated.
The digital arrives. The Danmei, more prominent genre At the present time of Chinese eroticism, it experienced an unusual impulse with digital platforms, which allowed not only many authors to professionalize, but also a community of readers. After the almost clandestine circulation in forums, Danmei Digital was consecrated on websites as Jinjiang Literature Cityeven standing with all kinds of genres, although very trimmed in its erotic part Since the end of the last decade. Others relevant websites They are lianchenng readmei chinese web, although the most noticeable, without a doubt, is Haiter Literature City.
The case of Haitang Literature City. Also known as Flower Market, she was specialized in erotic literature, and more specifically in Danmei, and had the servers located in Taiwan for run from censorship. It didn’t help him. In June 2024, Chinese authorities deployed an operation that affected dozens of websitesbut Especially afower market: They arrested several authors and distributors of material out of the web for continental China, accused of publishing and profiting with obscene and pornographic content. Flower Market kept financial records of Chinese authors, which facilitated things to the authorities.
No one went well. On the one hand, it was clear to what extent censorship and Chinese repression did not stop within its borders: There was no space for the authors of erotic literature and queer. But also, it was clear that the first thing for Haitang Literature City was the business: The platform received criticisms for prioritizing their economic interests, delaying the elimination of accounts and promoting content even after arrests, which put the authors at risk. The lack of protection that they suffered was evident.
Censorship in China. Although homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, the explicit representation of its relationships remains under strict surveillance, since pornography is prohibited and the definition of “obscenity” is very vague, which allows the authorities to intervene in very diverse cases, almost unpredictable. Periodically, the Erotic Materus Danmei It has been persecuted and forums and stores with material on the topic on the Internet have been closed. Not a few authors have been arrested in this context, although The best known case is Tianyi’sauthor that in 2018 was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Debates and future of gender. This prohibition environment, with cases as recent as the closure of Flower Market and the imprisonment of Tianyi, have generated a climate of suspicion and fear. In this way, the Danmei has become a symbol of political resistance, although its content is not explicitly. Outside China, international platforms such as Archive of Our Own have allowed the genre to be increasingly known and Relevant Danmei works editions in countries like Spain. A fever that hides a very complicated political and social situation.
Header | Nguyen Dang Hoang Nu in Unspash
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