Mizi Xia () was a semi-legendary figure from the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

Period of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He was first recorded in the work ''

Han Feizi The ''Han Feizi'' or ''Hanfeizi'' (" ritings ofMaster Han Fei") is an ancient Chinese text named for its attribution to the political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition on theories of state power, ...

'', by Legalist philosopher

Han Fei Han Fei (233), also known as Han Feizi or Han Fei Zi, was a Chinese philosopher or statesman of the "Legalist" (Fajia) school during the Warring States period, and a prince of the state of Han. Han Fei is often considered to be the greatest r ...

, as the companion of the historical figure

Duke Ling of Wei Duke Ling of Wey () (ruled 534 — 492 BC) was the 28th ruler of the ancient Chinese state of Wey, the son of Duke Xiang of Wey. He was the subject of Chapter 15 of the ''Analects'' of Confucius. His given name was Yuan (). Family Duke Ling wa ...

. While Mizi Xia may have actually existed, nothing is known about him beyond this story. Mizi Xia was the favored courtier of Duke Ling because of his

beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

. When Mizi Xia got news that his mother was ill, he forged an order from the Duke to use a ducal carriage to travel quickly to see her, and was praised for his filial piety. Another time, Mizi Xia bit into an especially delicious

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

and gave the remainder to the Duke as a gift so he could taste it as well. Both acts ingratiated him further with the ruler. However, once Mizi Xia's looks faded, the Duke turned against him, claiming he stole the carriage and then insulted the Duke by offering him a half-eaten peach. Han Fei's primary goal in telling the story was to caution courtiers against getting too close to fickle rulers, but in later Chinese literature Mizi Xia became more alluded to for his beauty and his

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. The phrase " bitten peach" became a byword for homosexuality and Mizi Xia became a byword for a young man desired as a sexual partner. Similar allusions would be later be applied to the " passion of the cut sleeve" and the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

courtier

Dong Xian Dong Xian ( 董賢) (23 BCE(?) – 1 BCE) was a Han Dynasty politician who quickly rose from obscurity as a minor official to being the most powerful official in the imperial administration of Emperor Ai within a span of a few years, and he ...

Ruan Ji Ruan Ji (; 210–263), courtesy name Sizong (), was a Chinese musician and poet who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. The guqin melody ''Jiukuang ...

was one of the more famous poets to laud Mizi Xia in his writing. The

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

poet

Liu Zun Liu Zun (, died 68 BC), posthumously King Huai of Zhao (), was the ruler of Zhao Kingdom from 73 BC to 68 BC during the Western Han dynasty. His great-grandfather was Liu Qi ( Emperor Jing of Han). He succeeded his father Liu Chang (). After five ...

wrote, "Favors of the cut sleeve are generous,/ Love of the half-eaten peach never dies," confident that any educated person reading the poem would know exactly to whom he alluded. The earliest extant Chinese document to address homosexuality, the "Poetical Essay on the Supreme Joy" by Bo Xingjian, lists Mizi Xia amongst the famous examples of homosexuality: "Mizi Xia shared a peach with his lord". By the 12th century, male companions no longer tended to wield great power at the ducal or imperial courts, and the name Mizi Xia had become associated with common male

prostitutes Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

. The narrowing of

gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

under the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

and the influence of

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

attitudes from

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

would eventually make mention of "the bitten peach" completely taboo, so that today Mizi Xia is mostly unknown inside China. Mizi Xia's story became known to the broader world through the writings of Europeans such as in ''Sexual Life in Ancient China'' by

Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik (, 9 August 1910 – 24 September 1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century ...

. This book quotes from the early-20th century ''Xiangyan congshu'' or "Collected writings on fragrant elegance", which itself drew on earlier precedents such as those mentioned above.Hinsch, Bret. (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve. Published by the University of California Press. p. 181.

References

{{reflist Legendary Chinese people Zhou dynasty people LGBT people from China Ancient LGBT people Wey (state) 6th-century BC Chinese people Male lovers of royalty