However, the punishment designated, which included a month in prison and 100 heavy blows, was actually the lightest punishment which existed in the Qing legal system. The Qing dynasty instituted the first law against consensual, non-monetized homosexuality in China. In later Ming Dynasty, homosexuality began to be referred to s the "southern custom" due to the fact that Fujian was the site of a unique system of male marriages, attested to by the scholar-bureaucrat Shen Defu and the writer Li Yu, and mythologized by in the folk tale, The Leveret Spirit. ĭuring the Ming Dynasty, it is said that the Zhengde Emperor had a homosexual relationship with a Muslim leader named Sayyid Husain. During these dynasties, the general attitude attitude toward homosexuality was still tolerant, but male lovers started to get seen as less legitimate compared to wives and men are usually expected to get married and continue the family line. The following Song dynasty was the last dynasty to include a chapter on male companions of the emperors in official documents. With the rise of the Tang dynasty, China became increasingly influenced by the sexual morels of foreigners from Western and Central Asia, and female companions began to replace male companions in terms of power and familial standings. However, except in unusual cases, such as Emperor Ai, the men named for their homosexual relationships in the official histories appear to have had active heterosexual lives as well. : 46 Scholar Pan Guangdan (潘光旦) came to the conclusion that many emperors in the Han dynasty had one or more male sex partners. : 32 The story of the cut sleeve(断袖) recorded the Emperor Ai of Han sharing a bed his lover, Dongxian (董賢) when Emperor Ai woke up later, he carefully cut off his sleeve, so as not to awake Dongxian, who had fallen asleep on top of it. In the story of the leftover peach(余桃), set during the Spring and Autumn Era the, the historian Han Fei recorded a anecdote in the relationship of Mi Zixia (彌子瑕) and Duke Ling of Wei (衛靈公) in which Mizi Xia shared an especially delicious peach with his lover. Ĭhinese literature recorded multiple anecdotes of man engaging in homosexual relationships. : 174 It is believed homosexuality was popular in the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. Still, there are also descriptions of lesbians in some history books. In contrast, the role of women is given little positive emphasis in Chinese history, with records of lesbianism being especially rare. Confucianism, being primarily a social and political philosophy, focused little on sexuality, whether homosexual or heterosexual. Male homosexuality has been acknowledged in China since ancient times and was mentioned in many famous works of Chinese literature. 10.1 19th century and early 20th centuryĮast Asia and Pacific China Ī woman spying on a pair of male lovers.7.11 Decriminalization of homosexuality in the US (1961–2011).6.4.4.1 The emancipation movement in Germany, 1890s–1934.6.4.3 Decriminalization of homosexuality in France.6.4.2 Homosexuality in Modern Great Britain.6.4.1 Psychology and terminology shifts.6.3.2 Association of homosexuality with foreignness.A celebrated achievement in LGBT history occured when Queen Beatrix signed a law making Netherlands the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. In the United Kingdom it has been observed during February since 2005 to coincide with the abolition of Section 28 in 2003, which had prohibited local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11. This observance involves highlighting the history of the people, LGBT rights and related civil rights movements. In 1994, the annual observance of LGBT History Month began in the United States, and it has since been picked up in other countries. What survives after many centuries of persecution-resulting in shame, suppression, and secrecy-has only in more recent decades been pursued and interwoven into more mainstream historical narratives. LGBT history dates back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love and sexuality of ancient civilizations, involving the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) peoples and cultures around the world.