During the Ming and Qing dynasties, homosexuality among men ("nán fēng" 男风) was widespread in Fujian, and also popular in the
Wenzhou-
Taizhou (温台) region, where it was called "mengxiongdi" (盟兄弟, pledged brothers).
Shen Defu (沈德符) wrote in his late Ming work
(Supplement, Vol. 3) (《万历野获编·补遗卷三》): ''"The people of Fujian place extreme importance on male beauty. Regardless of status or appearance, they form bonds according to their kind: the elder is the 'qixiong' (契兄, sworn elder brother), the younger is the 'qidi' (契弟, sworn younger brother)."
The parents of the "Qidi" regarded the "Qixiong" much like a son-in-law. When the "Qidi" married a woman, the "Qixiong" bore the expenses. "There were even cases of reporting infidelity in such relationships, termed 'jijian' (㚻奸, homosexual adultery)."'' Some "Qixiongdi" maintained their relationship even after one or both had married wives, sometimes remaining close beyond the age of thirty. Since men who became "Qixiongdi" could still marry women and continue their family line, this practice did not disrupt the lineage-centric patriarchal system. Chinese scholars generally offer three explanations for the prevalence of male homosexuality in Ming-Qing Fujian: • Severe Gender Imbalance and Marriage Squeeze: A significant surplus of males made it difficult for many men to find wives. In the Ming
Hongzhi era (弘治十五年, 1502), men constituted 74.63% of Fujian's population. Modern researchers cite 18th-century data showing over 25% of men aged 25 and above in Fujian and
Zhejiang provinces remained unmarried, far exceeding the national average of 15.37%. • Geographical Factors: Fujian's environment—characterized by limited arable land, mountainous terrain, and proximity to the sea—led to prolonged periods of men living away from home for work or overseas trade. •
Buddhist Influence: The flourishing of Buddhism was seen as encouraging homosexual practices. However, a
Korean scholar argues that these three explanations address the conditions of a "single-sex environment" fostering homosexuality, not the direct cause. The direct cause was ''"the prevailing culture of 'nanfeng' (male homosexuality) that swept through society at the time."'' Furthermore, the notion that "Fujian was a place where 'nanfeng' was especially rampant" was itself a concept proposed by literati of that period. == The extended meaning of the term ==