Just another dimension?

Monday, October 29, 2007
斷袖之癖 -vww

With all the debate going on about 377A, it seems appropriate for me to share something I learnt recently about the Chinese phrase "斷袖之癖" (literally quirk of sleeve cutting). 斷袖之癖 is a term used to describe homosexuals and has its origins in the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Ai (漢哀帝) of the Han Dynasty had a gay lover Dong Xian. As the story goes, Emperor Ai and Dong Xian were napping in the same bed. When Emperor Ai awakened, he found Dong Xian asleep on his sleeve. Emperor Ai then cut off his sleeve to avoid disturbing the sleeping Dong Xian. Hence the term.

Throughout history, tales such as this often gets imported, exported and modified. It is not uncommon to find similar stories set in different contexts. There is another famous story that shares the structure of this one.

It is about a person who found his cat asleep on his sleeve. In order to leave for prayer without disturbing the cat, he cut his sleeve off. The name of the cat was Muezza. The person was none other than the Prophet Muhammad.

p.s. For someone who is anti-homosexuals (quote "Allah curses the one who does the actions (homosexual practices) of the people of Lut"), the association is rather ironic.

-- permalink --
Yiheng made 12:05 PM

0 Comments:




Categories MyLife Opinions OnTheNet Shows Miscellaneous RandomKnowledge Links My Sister S & M Jiangzheng Yiheng's Photos Shuquan's Photos Pei Yee's Photos Yun Qin's Photos #!/usr/bin/girl Archive February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 November 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009	Monday, October 29, 2007 斷袖之癖 -vww With all the debate going on about 377A, it seems appropriate for me to share something I learnt recently about the Chinese phrase "斷袖之癖" (literally quirk of sleeve cutting). 斷袖之癖 is a term used to describe homosexuals and has its origins in the Han Dynasty. Emperor Ai (漢哀帝) of the Han Dynasty had a gay lover Dong Xian. As the story goes, Emperor Ai and Dong Xian were napping in the same bed. When Emperor Ai awakened, he found Dong Xian asleep on his sleeve. Emperor Ai then cut off his sleeve to avoid disturbing the sleeping Dong Xian. Hence the term. Throughout history, tales such as this often gets imported, exported and modified. It is not uncommon to find similar stories set in different contexts. There is another famous story that shares the structure of this one. It is about a person who found his cat asleep on his sleeve. In order to leave for prayer without disturbing the cat, he cut his sleeve off. The name of the cat was Muezza. The person was none other than the Prophet Muhammad. p.s. For someone who is anti-homosexuals (quote "Allah curses the one who does the actions (homosexual practices) of the people of Lut"), the association is rather ironic. -- permalink -- Yiheng made 12:05 PM 0 Comments: Post a Comment	Previous Posts Tough PSLE -vvw Taxi Incentives -vvw Depreciating Asset -vvx So difficult to catch a show in China -vvv vvz Days in Isolation -vvv Incorporating Hadouken in Salsa! -vvx Cool Clouds! -vvv IPPT -vvv Co-Rumination -vww Perfumes -vww Current Read 七侠五义 Last Three Books 道德經 The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology Arthur Cotterell, Rachel Storm Momo Michael Ende Those Before 孫子兵法 Paycheck: And Other Classic Stories By Philip K. Dick Mirror Mirror: A Novel Gregory Maguire American Gods Neil Gaiman Maya 5 Fundamentals Garry Lewis, Jim Lammers Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling