International Center for Cultural Studies

Report｜The Epistemology of Eros: The Politics, Affects, and Ethics of Male Homoerotic Literature

2023-09-13

"Reflections on the Book Discussion of 'The Epistemology of Love'"
Date: June 3, 2023
Time: 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Moderator: 宋玉雯 (Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese Literature, National Central University)
Discussants:
- 許維賢 (Associate Professor, Department of Chinese Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
- 楊佳嫻 (Associate Professor, Department of Chinese Literature, National Tsing Hua University)
- 陳佩甄 (Assistant Professor, Institute of Taiwan Literature, National Chengchi University)
Respondent: 蔡孟哲 (Author of the book, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, International Cultural Studies Center, National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University)
Recorder: 蕭雯瑄 (Master's Student, Department of English, National Central University)

許維賢(Xu Weixian): The Time Gap and Discrepancy between Homosexuality Theory and Local Homosexual Realities
Professor Xu Weixian from the Department of Chinese Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, began by highly praising the thorough and in-depth analysis in the first chapter of the book regarding how early republican anarchists Qian Di and Jian Bo viewed homosexuality and friendship. He emphasized that this chapter was a remarkable piece of work, and such a comprehensive exploration of these topics had not been seen in the available literature. Additionally, the book's major tension lies in its attempt to trace and examine the discourse on homosexuality and friendship by the young Marxist Hu Qiuyuan in the Republican era, encapsulating his thoughts under the concept of "Universal Friendship." This connection helps construct how the lineage of Republican anarchists' ideas on the destruction of the family and marriage aligns with and develops within the contemporary Taiwanese LGBTQ+ movement, particularly the proponents of family and marriage destruction, or the "destructionists," as they are sometimes referred to. However, Professor Xu pointed out that, despite Hu Qiuyuan's critique of monogamy and his desire to reform marriage away from its selfish and lustful tendencies, he did not advocate the abandonment of the institution of marriage. Hu Qiuyuan's emphasis on friendship and same-sex love was more about strengthening spiritual love between individuals of the same sex while downplaying sexual desire. All of this led to an overly idealized portrayal of friendship among men. Xu Weixian then introduced his observations on contemporary dating app culture as a discussion starter, hoping to temporarily set aside the frameworks of LGBTQ+ or queer theory to reflect on the time gap and discrepancy between these theories and the lived experiences of gay men in the global South.

Xu Weixian noted that various types of gay male communities can be found on dating apps, with two major groups: those focused on sexual desire, labeled the "no-strings-attached group," and those seeking emotional connections, labeled the "committed group." These two categories may seem distinct but are actually fluid and permeable. Moreover, the constructed divisions and animosity hide the experiences of those who move between these two groups at different stages of their lives. Many gay men may exist in the gray area between the "no-strings-attached" and "committed" groups, and they are often overlooked and not given attention by the media and LGBTQ+ researchers. On the other hand, these two major categories of gay men's seemingly opposing intimate practices reflect the division and opposition in Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement over the past decade, with two major factions: the "destructionists" advocating the combination of destroying the family and marriage with sexual liberation, and the "establishment" supporting same-sex marriage and partnership alliances. These two factions have been growing apart and even in sharp opposition. Xu Weixian questioned whether there was still room for dialogue between these two sides and whether there were unnoticed time gaps and discrepancies between these divergent movement directions and the emerging generation of gay men on the internet.

Xu Weixian believed that the book, through its nuanced examination of the negative representation of gay men's emotions, highlights aspects that both factions find difficult to address, creating a space for dialogue between them. He also raised questions about the position of "friends with benefits" relationships in the book's construction of the utopia of Universal Friendship. Finally, he returned to the book's argument and questioned the relationship between the discourse of "same-sex friendship" highlighted by the book's "Universal Friendship" and the "rhetoric of friendship," which Xu Weixian had criticized in his own work for concealing and whitewashing the mainstream discourse's "homophobia" and subsequently forming a social effect that denies homosexual desire.

陳佩甄(Chen Peizhen): The Translation of "Love" into Reality
Professor Chen Peizhen from the Institute of Taiwan Literature at National Chengchi University praised the book for its rich contributions to the field, even in areas where research has been extensive. She noted that the author was careful to define the research as not broadly focused on LGBTQ+ literature or homosexuality studies but rather on homosexuality as epistemology rather than subjectivity. Chen Peizhen brought in the discussion of homosexuality in colonial Korea, using the works of Korean writer Lee Kwangsoo, to engage with the early 20th-century Chinese discourse on homosexuality outlined in the book. In contrast to early 20th-century China, the context of homosexuality discussions in colonial Korea revolved around nation-building and the needs of colonial empire governance, rather than left-wing proletarian discourse (such as Lee Kwangsoo's 1909 short story "Love?"). Chen Peizhen believed that intellectuals like Lee Kwangsoo and Hu Qiuyuan, who are discussed in the book, engaged with the translation and appropriation of concepts of "emotions" and "love" in response to the significant changes in their respective eras. They sought ways to reconcile personal desires with societal norms, and this reminded readers that contemporary same-sex relationships are not independent of the heterosexual monogamous reproductive formula. Chen Peizhen delved further into the exploration of early 20th-century Chinese epistemology of homosexuality and asked questions about how Hu Qiuyuan's discourse on homosexuality served specific ideological purposes, especially if right-wing nationalists and socialists both appropriated homosexuality to construct their coherent narratives.

Chen Peizhen also reminded the audience that the later chapters of the book appeared to be disconnected from the socialist perspective on same-sex love, which was constructed in the earlier chapters. She questioned how the book, which ultimately relied on Western queer theory frameworks imported to Taiwan in the 1990s, particularly by scholars like Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, could resist or challenge the development of LGBTQ+ identity politics in post-war Taiwan through the socialist perspective on same-sex love established in the first two chapters.

楊佳嫻(Yang Jiaxian): Diverse Family Forms and Beyond
Professor Yang Jiaxian from the Department of Chinese Literature at National Tsing Hua University continued the discussion of the divisions between the "destructionists" and the "establishment" factions within the LGBTQ+ movement. She shared her experiences, as a member of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, of dealing with the almost explosive tensions between these two factions on certain occasions. She explained the reasons behind the relative trust in legal reform and institutional recognition held by the Civil Partnership Alliance and the challenges they faced in promoting three sets of bills related to diverse family forms. Yang Jiaxian believed that the book challenged the mainstream discourse of "love conquers all" and questioned whether marginalized

The panel discussion began with the author, 蔡孟哲( Meng-Che TSAI ), giving a brief overview of the book, followed by discussions from three scholars, 許維賢, 楊佳嫻, and 陳佩甄, who shared their respective viewpoints with the author.

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