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24th Jun, 2025 Queer Literature in the Sinosphere: A Review

Queer Literature in the Sinosphere is the most up-to-date English-language study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) themed literature and culture in the Chinese-speaking world. From classical homoerotic texts to contemporary boys’ love fan fiction, this book showcases the richness and diversity of queer Chinese literature across the full spectrum of genres, styles, topics and cultural politics. The book features authors and literary works from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the global Chinese diaspora. Featuring chapters by leading scholars from around the world, this book rewrites literature, history and culture from a queer lens in China and globally.  Queer developments and literature must be understood within the intersectional context of their cultures of origin, especially when of non-Western provenance. My experiences of writing Chinese cultures in the Anglosphere and studies in Sinology have kept me acutely aware of the U.S. and Euro-centrism of past East Asian studies. So I was delighted to receive a review copy of this essay collection from Professor Bao. The editors’ assertion in the Introduction of their aim to “open up transnational and transcultural dialogues vis-à-vis queer literature”, confirmed the promising potential suggested by the title of the collection, to recentre the focus on the interflow of ideas and sociocultural interactions between regions within the Sinosphere. Staying faithful to the broader significance of queer worlding, Hongwei Bao and Yahia Zhengtang Ma also set out the parameters of their curation across the wide range of genders, sexualities, interrelations and vantage points that “queer” Continue Reading →