Synopses & Reviews
When Handong, a ruthless and wealthy businessman, is introduced to Lan Yu, a naïve, working-class architectural student—the attraction is all consuming.
Arrogant and privileged, Handong is unsettled by this desire, while Lan Yu quietly submits. Despite divergent lives, the two men spend their nights together, establishing a deep connection. When loyalties are tested, Handong is left questioning his secrets, his choices, and his very identity.
Beijing Comrades is the story of a torrid love affair set against the sociopolitical unrest of late-eighties China. Due to its depiction of gay sexuality and its critique of the totalitarian government, it was originally published anonymously on an underground gay website within mainland China. This riveting and heartbreaking novel, circulated throughout China in 1998, quickly developed a cult following, and remains a central work of queer literature from the People's Republic of China. This is the first English-language translation of Beijing Comrades.
Bei Tong is the anonymous author of Beijing Comrades. The author's real-world identity has been a subject of ongoing debate since the novel was first published.
Scott E. Myers is a doctoral student in the Department of East Asian languages and civilizations at the University of Chicago, where he studies contemporary queer Chinese literature and visual arts.
Petrus Liu is an associate professor of humanities at Yale-NUS College, Singapore.
Synopsis
Beijing Comrades--the first gay novel published in mainland China--is a tale of capitalism, love, power, and secrecy.
Synopsis
The sensational underground novel of homosexuality in late-1980s China that's been declared "one of the most significant Chinese novels of our time" (The New York Times).
When Handong, the ruthless, wealthy son of Communist party officials, is introduced to Lan Yu, a na ve, working-class architecture student, the attraction between the two young men is instant and all-consuming. Despite their very different lives, they spend their nights together, establishing a deep connection. But when their loyalties are tested, Handong is left questioning his secrets, his choices, and his very identity . . .
Beijing Comrades is the story of a tumultuous love affair set against the sociopolitical unrest of late-eighties China. Due to its depiction of gay sexuality and its critique of the totalitarian government, it was originally published anonymously on an illegal gay-themed website within mainland China.
This riveting and heartbreaking novel quickly developed a cult following, and remains "a meaningful excavation of homophobia and daily life in a rapidly changing China," and "a traditional story of forbidden love in all the most classic, wonderful, and devastating ways" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
About the Author
Bei-Tong is the anonymous author of
Beijing Comrades. The pseudonymous author, whose real-world identity has been a subject of debate since the story was first published on a gay Chinese website over a decade ago, is known variously as Beijing Comrade, Beijing Tongzhi, Xiao He, and Miss Wang.
Scott E. Myers is a doctoral student in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, where he studies contemporary queer Chinese literature and visual arts.