Work Text:
Gentle Reader,
The Author of this series would like to explain the background and purpose of the following stories. The first work posted, Peak Lord Shěn Qīngqiū: Minor Chinese God of Male Lovers and Queer Icon, was written as a reaction piece to Gently Bruising Hold by ValloryRussups. That work was for the Author’s pleasure, with the intention uploading the document to Google’s cloud. There Peak Lord Shěn was to remain in perpetuity, until the Author forgot it’s existence. This decision was made in light of the unfortunate event approximately 18 months ago, Gentle Reader, when the Author’s computer was stolen from their car. The Author of Peak Lord Shěn had no intention of uploading it to AO3. They had briefly considered The Pit of Voles, otherwise known as Fanfiction.net.
Gentle Reader, that decision was revisited after a conversation with the sublime Embercookie. The Author’s facility with the genre of speculative fiction, of which the pastiche fiction published here usually is a part, is at the very least, poor. Gently Bruising Hold brought up the question: how did our dear protagonist, Shěn Qīngqiu arrive at the point of meeting the Janus-like Martial God Jūn Wú and his other half, Bái Wū Xiāng? How did the two interact after that first meeting? The Author remembered the story of the ascendency of 魁星 (Kuí Xīng) the Chinese God of Examinations, who was especially venerated by candidates sitting for the Imperial Exams. The story of Kuí Xīng is very dear to the Author, and the Author felt that the story of Shěn Qīngqiu before and after meeting Jūn Wú needed to be told..
As the Author has previously mentioned, Gentle Reader, their facility with fiction is quite poor. (Others have argued otherwise, to the Author’s blushes.) However, a folktale is a different thing. Mythology is a medium by which a culture explains a particular phenomenon, such as the Rabbit in the Moon. Generally this genre does not require detail and conversation, to the relief of the Author. A folktale would be a small, mildly interesting work. Then the thought occurred: what might have been the impact of Shěn Qīngqiu, not as a person or a story, but as a cultural phenomenon?
Gentle Reader, the answer came in the person of Michael Johnson, Ph.D., emeritus professor of history, with a speciality Chinese language and culture. Would Professor Johnson (his preferred title if such a thing is absolutely required), as an older Queer academic, might have sufficient perspective and insight to discuss the phenomenon of Shěn Qīngqiu? Then came the final idea of translations of stories with an extensive introduction and detailed notes. Thus the complete idea appeared in whole, and the Author put paper to pen and nose to grindstone. The Author uses a Pilot fountain pen, with
What the Author did not account for was how much Professor Johnson took over the story. He was very concerned that younger Queer persons might not have sufficient understanding of the current situation, as experienced by older Queer persons. He was aware of the recent recognition of the rights of some Queer persons as fully cognizant adults, and not as insane persons or vectors of disease. As a scholar of history, Professor Johnson knew the ephemerality of those rights, and how quickly they might disappear. Consider Russia, Gentle Reader. To that end, Professor Johnson decided to educate younger Queer persons of the lives of Queer persons in a more restrictive age, and the survival strategies maintained by those Queer persons.
Gentle Reader, this brings the extremely important point of Professor Johnson’s, and thereby the Author’s, use of the word Queer. The Author uses the word Queer to collectively identify identities and desires not usually ascribed to or supported by the dominant culture. The definition of the term Queer is a person who behaves differently and therefore is perceived as strange. Queer is an umbrella term, which includes and shelters all current and future persons who identify themselves counter to the dominant culture. A person may not be ready to ascribe to a particular label, but they may always be Queer. To whit: when the Author was a young person, they were only aware of the terms Lesbian and Gay. Bisexuality was barely a thing.
With that understanding in mind, the Author created a whole different world, with Queer cultures that do not exist in reality. As the Gentle reader knows, Queer cultures vary depending upon their dominant culture. Much legal and social treatment of Queer persons in 20th century China has been highly informed by the colonialist ideals of Westernization and modernization. With that in mind, the Author has attempted to create a hoped-for realistic history of Queer persons in China, based upon knowledge of the legal and public treatment of Chinese Queer, usually male, persons. The Author’s invention of Queer culture in 20th century China has taken much from Queer history of the same period in the United States, and the Author’s own experiences as a Queer person.
Due to the Author’s academic interest in and their very small thesis on research in sex work, the Author has a slight familiarity with some Chinese Queer life, usually in the context of HIV. The author has read probably hundreds of articles on sex work, almost all of them related to HIV. The whorephobic focus on HIV is disgusting, as if HIV was the non plus ultra concern of sex workers. A very small proportion of papers on sex workers addressed the topic of male sex work. Sex work and Queer identity are inextricably intertwined.
Which brings us, Gentle Reader, to this particular point. Unlike the author, Professor Johnson would be able to provide context for and awareness of the environment for Queer persons in China. They have published in many journals, written many books, mentored many students, and traveled to many places. They have had many relationships, both intimate and not, but feel that their private business is their own. Professor Johnson has always been enamored of the person Shěn Qīngqiu, ever since they first heard of him. Our dear Professor has tried to share his adoration with others, but with little success. Unfortunately, Shěn Qīngqiu does not exist in a vacuum. To Professor Johnson’s irritation, one also must also consider Luò Bīnghé, the Martial God Jūn Wú, and Bái Wū Xiāng.
On a parting note, Gentle Reader, The Author must explain the world presented here. All persons are completely invented, unless they are actual historical persons. All journals, books, and newspapers are only in the Author’s mind. Every university, publication house, museum, and other institution is the Author’s own creation. Governments are still open to change. Current cities and countries will remain as they are. Businesses and services too, maybe, because the Author can invent only so much.
Post-script. Invented Chinese-language names and institutions go through a particular process. The Author, who is not a Polyglot like our dear Professor Johnson, uses Google Translate. Awful, true, but the Author has an idea of a name in English, including synonyms, then uses Google Translate to obtain it in Chinese. Wait a second, this is only the beginning. The Author then combines the characters, and uses the Chinese web to determine their existence. If the combination doesn’t show in Chinese, then the Author recombines the terms and tries again. The Author also uses actual Chinese-language titles and names and manipulates them. Family names are obtained from lists of the most common names. Personal names are usually also commonly used given names: virtues, attributes, plants, etc. The Author takes the invented name and again runs them through the Chinese web. If there are a sufficient number of hits, especially with photos, that name is used.
Any resemblance to persons and institutions living or dead is completely unintended. Please correct this Author if any Chinese-language names, places, or institutions sound bizarre, unless they sound realistically bizarre.
As with Professor Johnson, all constructive criticism will be cheerfully discussed. The Author will attempt to either incorporate or at least attribute ideas not their own. Keep in mind synchronicity is a thing that happens, and the Author has read so many fics over the last 25 years or so they may not remember where they encountered a particular idea or concept.
Regards,
The Author