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Peak Lord Shěn Qīngqiū: Minor Chinese God of Male Lovers and Queer Icon
Introduction
Shěn Qīngqiū is the Chinese patron god of male lovers, and a minor god in the Daoist pantheon. Depending upon the region, Shěn Qīngqiū depicted with either Luò Bīnghé (1) or the martial god Jūn Wú, (2) or alone. Due to Western colonialist influences in the early 20th century, the few small temples devoted to him were torn down. (3) Modernization and homophobia drove veneration of Shěn Qīngqiū underground. The spring festivals in his honor were no longer held. Devotional objects and images of him were deemed “degenerate and perverse”. The few statues and paintings remaining were rescued and hidden in private collections. While other Daoist temples have been rebuilt, presumably homophobia has prevented the same for worshippers of Shěn Qīngqiū. (4)
Instead of solely being a god of male lovers, Shěn Qīngqiū's remit expanded to become a symbol of Chinese queer identity. Shěn Qīngqiū’s mastery of the four arts became a eupehmism to identify queer persons. Individuals would ask, “Do you play the qín?” or another of the four arts, and the proper counter-response would be another reference to the four arts. Another approach was to wear a green item. Devotees of Shěn Qīngqiū might keep an older edition of The Journey of Luò Bīnghé, which chronicles his quest to find and court Shěn Qīngqiū. (3) Journey will be discussed in detail further. With the growing acceptance of queer identities and culture, signs of Shěn Qīngqiū worship have started to appear. Small altars, devotional objects, and websites have popped up in Chinese spaces.(4)
Veneration of Shěn Qīngqiū have traveled to the West, usually from East Asian communities.(4) In the words of one devotee at San Francisco Pride: “Yeah, Luò Bīnghé was a king, but that dude had to work his ass off. And before Jūn Wú gets some, Shěn fixed his ass, and he had to wait before he got any play.” This is somewhat inaccurate, as the conversant reader of Chinese novels would know that the references to rain and dew and spring were poetic metaphors for sexual activity. In addition, a sore waist is frequently a reference to enthusiastic sexual activity. Furthermore, activity between two men mentioning chrysthanthemums is a allusion to anal sex. Prior to courtship, the text is very clear that Shěn Qīngqiū and his partner were not chaste, and that JW might have been a little too enthusiastic.
Another devotee I spoke to at Pride in Vancouver, BC said, “Shěn Qīngqiū is one of the very few gods of any active religion in a long-term, co-equal relationship. None of the Greek gods rich white gay men get excited about are really partners, and many of those pairings were non-consensual. While Shěn Qīngqiū isn’t a major god or an emperor, the stories make it really clear that he can hold his own.” Lastly, in Seattle: “Jesus might have been accepting of queerness, but Shěn Qīngqiū lived it. Shěn Qīngqiū is a queer person in a relationship with another queer person. He’s still here, protecting queer people, and giving us hope.”
Like some other Chinese gods, it is difficult to determine if Shěn Qīngqiū was a historical person or an archetype. Most of us familiar with Chinese classical literature know of Shěn Qīngqiū in The Journey of Luò Bīnghé, which chronicles Luò Bīnghé as an orphan, then a student of Shěn Qīngqiū. There is a long section describing Luò Bīnghé’s admiration of Shěn Qīngqiū’s accomplishments. After being separated from Shěn Qīngqiū, Luò Bīnghé undergoes several trials to become the Emperor of the Demon Realm. Journey must have been redacted in the early 20th century, because the story ends there, but with the addition of a harem of 600 women. The prose of the ending does not match the tone or refinement of the rest. In earlier versions, Luò Bīnghé undergoes additional trials to reunite with his beloved teacher. The story ends with the two being married and Luò Bīnghé ruling the Demon Realm with Shěn Qīngqiū as Empress. (3)
However, this does not answer the question of Shěn Qīngqiū being a historical person. Unlike Lǔ Bān, the God of Carpenters, there are no authoritative sources that confirm his existence. If Shěn Qīngqiū had published, those works are lost to us; most material attributed to him are lectures transcribed or reconstructed by his students, and copies of essays and letters. (5) Several contemporaries attest to the delicacy and refinement of his calligraphy, painting, and poetry, his martial ability, his mastery of both qín and wéiqí, and rampant public demand for his work. Peak Lord Níng Dōngfēng, née Níng Yīngyīng, tells the story of Shěn Qīngqiū eating with Luò Bīnghé and other companions at a teahouse. After asking for ink and brush, he scribbled a poem, and set it aside. When their party left, Níng Dōngfēng noted a brawl in the teahouse. Luò Bīnghé joked that Shěn Qīngqiū was no longer allowed to leave anything behind, lest it cause a riot.
Shěn Qīngqiū’s letters frequently exhort the reader to consider sustainability, environmentalism, and responsible use of resources. (5) According to some of his students, Shěn Qīngqiū maintained the controversial position of not killing creatures capable of damage. Shěn Qīngqiū was known to state that indiscriminate slaughter of predators was unnecessary and even harmful. He also advocated peaceful existence between humans and demons and demonic beasts .(6) The Shěn Qīngqiū in the letters is a person of both whimsy and precise critique.
Aside from his appearance in Journey , there are two varieties of work that center Shěn Qīngqiū. One is the folktales and mythology of Shěn Qīngqiū that explain how he became the god of men who love other men.(7) Shěn Qīngqiū is usually paired with Luò Bīnghé, but he has also been paired with the martial god Jūn Wú. The other type of work involves Shěn Qīngqiū as the protagonist in erotic adventures with either Luò Bīnghé or Jūn Wú. (8) They are very explicit, describing acts between Shěn Qīngqiū and his lovers in detail, with engravings. Unlike heterosexual sex manuals from Ancient China, they do not specifically state that their intention is to teach, or to be used as a tool to manage a partner’s behavior. (9)
The following is a translation of one of the oldest known versions of the Shěn Qīngqiū ascension tale, the Jūn Wú variant. A recent find, it was stored in a lovely ceramic urn in Tomb XR-558, most likely during the Suí dynasty . In this version Luò Bīnghé is a minor character, but still present. Scholars and readers of the genre will be familiar with the xianxia elements in the text. Parts where the stories differ will be described in the footnotes.
How Shěn Qīngqiū Became the God of Male Lovers
Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a cultivator named Shěn Qīngqiū. He was the Peak Lord of Qing Jing Peak, the peak of scholars and spiritual cultivation. Unlike other scholars and spiritual cultivators, Peak Lord Shěn had paired with the renown spirit sword Xiu Ya. While a skillful partner of Xiu Ya, he was especially noted for his use of the fan. He was vicious in defense of Qing Jing Peak, known for slaughtering beasts, demons, and other enemies.
Shěn Qīngqiū was famous for his razor-sharp commentary and the delicacy of his calligraphy. He was also a master of the other four arts: his brilliance on the qín, the efficiency of his wéiqí style, and the formality of his paintings. Most of all, he was famous for his beauty and his elegance. Shěn Qīngqiū was unapproachable, like a star. His students were in awe of him, especially the future Emperor of Demons, Luò Bīnghé.
One day, Shěn Qīngqiū had a fever. It must have been a qi deviation with violent heart demons, because he had become a different man. A gentler man. Instead of beating his disciples, most notably Luò Bīnghé, he urged them to greater heights.(10) As recompense for his previous abuse, Shěn Qīngqiū made Luò Bīnghé his personal disciple.
After his qi deviation, Shěn Qīngqiū’s commentaries were simple, but insightful. His brilliance on the qín was playful. His paintings were meditative, but the detail of his bestiaries was beyond compare. His demeanor was more approachable, like a snowpeak in the distance. It is said that Luò Bīnghé was so inspired by him, that he later commissioned statues in his honor.
Unlike before, Shěn Qīngqiū assisted villages in need of help. Instead of slaughtering beasts, he investigated them. He drew detailed studies and encouraged them to move to a different territory. He negotiated with demons, and resolved conflicts. When required to fight, he used his fan to subdue his enemies quickly. His fighting style was more of a dance than a martial art. When the young Luò Bīnghé had been attacked by demons, the Peak Lord flew to his defense. His protection of his young student caused him to be poisoned by Without a Cure. Without a Cure damaged his meridians, and nearly destroyed his qi.
The years passed in harmony and peace, and the disciples improved their scholarship and prepared for the Intersect Alliance Conference. All the sects participated, from near to far and from large to small. This is where cultivation students could show off their skills to others, and represent their sect. Many spirit stones and cultivation tools exchanged hands, as everyone bet on their favorites. Shěn Qīngqiū bet all of his spirit stones on his favorite, Luò Bīnghé.
Suddenly, there were demons in the arena. Peak Lord Shěn Qīngqiū flew to his students to ensure their safety. With Luò Bīnghé at his side, the Peak Lord fought demons as they tried to eat the students. The weaker students from other sects were fodder. Peak Lord Shěn and Luò Bīnghé grew tired, but continued to fight valiantly. Many owed their lives to the pair.
As they were fighting, a large tear had opened between the human and demonic worlds. It was the Abyss, a crevasse filling the area with hot, noisome fumes. The powerful ice demon Mo Bei Jun appeared, and attacked the two. With filial piety, Luo Binghe stood in front of the Peak Lord, breaking Mo Bei Jun’s javelins of ice. When Mo Bei Jun blasted Luò Bīnghé with qi, Luò Bīnghé’s sword broke, and Luò Bīnghé was revealed to be a demon. On the edge of the Abyss, Luò Bīnghé slipped and fell in. (11)
Shěn Qīngqiū mourned, praying in front of a mound made with Luò Bīnghé’s sword. A veil hung over Qing Jing Peak. Shěn Qīngqiū’s sorrow was so profound, he fell into a stupor and his students had to feed him. His spirit slowly healed, and he was able to take up his duties once more. In response to cry for help, Shěn Qīngqiū took his students and the other Peak Lords to the benighted village. A group of sowers had infected the village, causing many to die.
After the village had been cleansed of the sowers and their disease, Peak Lord Shen had been accused by Huan Hua Palace of evil acts. They said he brought the Sowers to the village. His fellow Peak Lords proved that to be a lie. Huan Hua Palace then accused Shěn Qīngqiū of a more vicious crime. The Palace Master said he slaughtered the entire family on the Qiu estate.
No one knew that bloody act was necessary, and even at that age, Shěn Qīngqiū was a righteous cultivator. A slave of the Qiu family, he saw that the family had been possessed by demons, except for Qiu Haitang, the di daughter. The demons beat him with rods so severely, that he thought he was going to die. Instead of running away, he stayed to protect Qiu Haitang, who had been bespelled. When he saw the demons try to possess her, he picked up a sword, and slew all of them. He set the house on fire to purify the land, and dragged Qiu Haitang to safety(12).
Shěn Qīngqiū could not prove that his actions against the Qiu estate were righteous, and his fellow Peak Lords were helpless. Qiu Haitang, now a Hall Master elsewhere, came forward and reinforced the accusation against Shěn Qīngqiū. To his shock, Luò Bīnghé appeared, and accused him of other acts. Huan Hua Palace demanded custody. The other Peak Lords refused. Shěn Qīngqiū, afraid of the carnage of a battle between two major Sects, cried for peace. Believing that Huan Hua Palace were righteous cultivators, he put himself into their hands.
Evil resided in Huan Hua Palace, and the Palace Master was no longer righteous. Instead of being treated honorably as a Peak Lord, Shěn Qīngqiū was treated worse than a slave. Bound with Immortal Binding Cables (13), Shěn Qīngqiū was thrown into the Water Prison. Whipped, tortured, and unable to reach his qi, he was afraid he would die.
With the help of others, he escaped. Although free, Shěn Qīngqiū’s spirit was broken. Heartsick, he cried to the Heavens, praying for relief.
Unbeknownst to Shěn Qīngqiū, the Heavens heard him. The martial god Jūn Wú, walking in the material world, had seen Shěn Qīngqiū play the qín at a tea house. So taken by the beauty of Shěn Qīngqiū’s music and charmed by his demeanor, Jūn Wú commanded his servants to watch over him. When Shěn Qīngqiū cried to the Heavens, Jūn Wú himself descended to Shěn Qīngqiū’s side. Faster than an eagle, Jūn Wú flew back to his Golden Palace with the dying Shěn Qīngqiū in his arms.
Day and night, Jūn Wú tenderly cared for Shěn Qīngqiū. But Jūn Wú was also Bái Wū Xiāng, and they both plotted to keep Shěn Qīngqiū by their side. Using divine medicine, Jūn Wú healed Shěn Qīngqiū’s wounds, removed the without a cure poison, and restored his qi. Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng planned to make the honorable cultivator Shěn Qīngqiū feel obliged to stay. As a cherished guest of Jūn Wú, Shěn Qīngqiū wore robes of heavenly silk and crowns of heavenly jade. He slept in a bed of fragrant sandalwood from the dragon realm, and ate dishes so exquisite they would make the Emperor cry. Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng’s planned for Shěn Qīngqiū to become so accustomed to such rare delights, that he would never want to leave.
In turn, Shěn Qīngqiū was a most charming and entertaining guest. He played the qín, painted, recited poetry, and played wéiqí with Jūn Wú. His melodies on the qín were so entrancing, Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng could not help but listen. Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng would not visit tribulations upon others, but stayed in the Golden Palace with Shěn Qīngqiū’s music. Shěn Qīngqiū’s paintings were so harmonious, Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng covered the walls of the Golden Palace, and meditated for weeks of earthly time. This made Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng disinterested in committing evil acts. Shěn Qīngqiū’s simple poetry was so soothing, that Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng would ask him to recite it many times. This distracted Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng from committing harm to others. Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng played wéiqí with Shěn Qīngqiū for days, which shielded them from evil thoughts.
During lunch, after court, after dinner, and after dark, Jūn Wú and Shěn Qīngqiū celebrated spring. (14) Springtime never ended in the Heavens, so they celebrated every day. Being a Martial god, the mighty Jūn Wú overwhelmed Shěn Qīngqiū. Due to his might, Jūn Wú was required to feed special pills to his gentle guest, to heal Shěn Qīngqiū’s sore waist. (15) Shěn Qīngqiū’s yin qi cooled Bái Wū Xiāng’s extremely yang qi, and brought him peace. (16)
Shěn Qīngqiū made the Golden Palace feel so peaceful and so elegant, Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng did not know what to do. Instead of trapping Shěn Qīngqiū at his side, Jūn Wú never wanted to leave Shěn Qīngqiū’s side. In Shěn Qīngqiū’s presence, Jūn Wú was calm, and Bái Wū Xiāng was no longer angry and filled with the need to hurt others. Ever so slowly, Jūn Wú and Bái Wū Xiāng started healing, and their heart demons began to fade.
After thinking carefully, Jūn Wú asked Shěn Qīngqiū to stay at his Golden Palace, and for permission to court him. Shěn Qīngqiū asked to contemplate upon the matter, and meditated in closed seclusion for ten years of earthly time. Upon coming out, he agreed to be courted, and stayed in the Golden Palace. A part of his courtship, Jūn Wú brought beasts for Shěn Qīngqiū to draw and paint. Jūn Wú traded rare jewels with Hán Xiāng Zǐ (17) for qín melodies. Jūn Wú commissioned a wéiqí table out mutton-fat jade, with yúnzǐ stones carved of pearls. Jūn Wú perfected his calligraphy, and composed poems for his beloved Shěn Qīngqiū.
These acts of true generosity completely healed Jūn Wú. The heart demons keeping Jūn Wú divided finally left, and troubled him no more. Jūn Wú, even more in love with Shěn Qīngqiū, asked him to stay again. Shěn Qīngqiū agreed, and remained in the Golden Palace with Jūn Wú. The Jade Emperor granted Jūn Wú permission to give Shěn Qīngqiū a peach of immortality, and elevated his status to that of a minor god. As a reward for his fidelity and healing of Jūn Wú, the Jade Emperor declared Shěn Qīngqiū the God of Male Lovers.
Now in the Heavenly Court at Jūn Wú’s side, Shěn Qīngqiū watches over male lovers. This simple and gentle god who healed the martial god Jūn Wú, especially watches over men as they court other men. Some say that they have heard Shěn Qīngqiū whisper simple, heart-felt poetry in their ear. Others say they feel Shěn Qīngqiū nearby when they play the qín for their beloved. Lastly, others feel Shěn Qīngqiū help them paint or write, inspiring them to create small pieces for their partner.
Shěn Qīngqiū, beloved of the mighty Jūn Wú, may still be looking over men as they court their beloveds, too.
Notes
(1) The Journey of Luò Bīnghé , is a must read. For those who are unable to read it in Chinese, Rocher and Wu is the most accessible and poetic translation. They retain the romance, tragedy, and whimsy of this classic work.
(2) Luò Bīnghé is another controversial character who may have been historical but it’s difficult to tell. Outside of Journey , he is frequently referred to as Emperor Luò Bīnghé or the Demonic Emperor.
(3) See Gay Culture in 20th Century China , by Arthur Chang. Chang was a brilliant scholar of Chinese history, and a dear friend of mine. Until his untimely death, he was the Gāo - Guō Professor of East Asian Culture at Magister University. His works are exhaustively researched, and he had entrée to sources very few would have known, let alone see. Sadly, he died in a car collision in 2005. A great loss to humanity.
(4) See Queer Presence and Expression in Recent Chinese Culture, by Wáng Lǐ. A concise summary of queer imagery in Chinese culture, including expatriate communities. It also includes a guide to services such as WeeChat, Weibo, QQ, platforms such as LOFTER, Tumblr, and Pixiv. Discussion of print works include doujin, mànhuà, and webnovels. Wáng Lǐ stays current via a bilingual Chinese-English blog with updated links to sources.
(5) Many sources refer to missing works by Shěn Qīngqiū. The largest existing collection of his corpus while a Peak Lord was transcribed by Peak Lord Níng Dōngfēng, née Níng Yīngyīng, as a student. Níng Dōngfēng’s transcriptions have been carefully compiled by Wu Ying in Shěn Qīngqiū via Níng Dōngfēng . A herculean labor of love, it took more than 10 years to complete, as the originals are in the hands of collectors across the globe. Professor Ying had to photograph them personally . This does not include the time spent to locate and contact the owners, usually through mutual acquaintances. Another scholar, name unknown, claimed to have transcribed some other essays and speeches. According to the paper published by Ho and Smith in Annals of Sinology , these appear to be in the same style as the Níng Dōngfēng transcriptions. Still another collection claims to be essays and decisions handed down by Empress Shěn Qīngqiū. Thanks to an introduction by the late Arthur Chang, I was extremely fortunate to view some of the insightful and elegant works in that collection. The documents are on silk, written over delicate landscapes, and are very fragile. Because of this, the possibility of transcription and publication will be low. At the very least, the project would require an expert archivist with a specialty in handling such documents. It is my dearest hope that someday this work would be available to the public, even if in the original Classical Chinese.
(6) Scholars are unable to determine which animals and what peoples the story refers to.
(7) As of yet, no one has gathered all the available folktales and their variants about Shěn Qīngqiū. Chinese Folk and Fairytales for Adults by Bob Shumacher has both the Luò Bīnghé and Jūn Wú variants. I cannot recommend it because the translation is sub-par, possibly a machine translation. It is extremely literal, the pronouns are mis-assigned, and the translations of cultivation-specific terms are bizarre.
(8) Unlike the famous Kama Sutra and other works of its type, these works with Shěn Qīngqiū are only in the hands of collectors, and copies are almost never in the West. I have a blurred photostatic copy of a book titled The Japanese Strokebook. A misnomer, because it is written in Classical Chinese, as opposed to kanbun, the Japanese version of Classical Chinese. The actual translation is Shěn Qīngqiū’s Springtime With Friends, a considerably more tasteful title. If someone has a serious interest in funding the publication of this work, please contact me.
(9) Sexual Practices in Ancient China by Jacob Smith is a good resource. He points out that the goal of heterosexual sex manuals were not for men to become better lovers with women. Sex manuals trained men to be more efficient at balancing their qi through better sex. Also, sexual satisfaction was key to managing backcourt dynamics. Since the work only covers the Qing Dynasty, I wouldn’t really call it ancient China, but that’s just a quibble on my part.
(10) Corporal punishment such as beatings and whippings were a fact of life in Ancient China.
(11) This is where stories differ. Various sources refer to an event that must have happened between the future Emperor Luò Bīnghé and Peak Lord Shěn Qīngqiū. Some say that Shěn Qīngqiū attempted to kill Luò Bīnghé, and pushed his body into the Abyss to hide the evidence. Other documents say that Shěn Qīngqiū pretended to kill Luò Bīnghé, and shoved him into the Abyss for his safety, as others would have killed Luò Bīnghé for his demonic ancestry. Others say after the fight, Luò Bīnghé was captured by a demon and carried away to the Abyss. We are unable to determine if the Abyss is an allegorical or a physical place, such as a canyon or a crevasse.
(12) We don’t know what happened before Shěn Qīngqiū became a Peak Lord. There are no documents referring to this period.
(13) There is some disagreement about the nature of these Cables. Some scholars believe they may refer to steel cables, which would beyond the technical abilities at that time period. Other scholars think the term is a reference to chains, but chains have been clearly referred to in other documents of that period.
(14) As noted earlier, spring is a poetic allusion for sex, not limited to any gender.
(15) Also as noted earlier, a sore waist is a gender-free metaphor for the aftermath of overly enthusiastic sex .
(16) Daoist sexual theory posits that men need a balance between masculine yang and feminine yin energies, generally by exchange of fluids. Yang energy is expressed by ejaculation, and yin energy was transferred by via yin body fluids. The insightful reader will understand the implications.
(17) Chinese god of music.