How Eunuchs Become Ideal Lovers: The Reconfiguration of Masculinities in Chinese Digital Media

In recent years, Chinese digital media has witnessed a fascinating reimagining of historical tropes and figures, with eunuchs emerging as particularly intriguing subjects. Traditionally, eunuchs have long been depicted as gender-liminal figures—often cast as sinister characters wielding pathological influence over palace politics—in Chinese literature and film. However, a new trend has seen both the figure of the eunuch and the trope of castration experience a resurgence in the public imagination, most notably through the emergence of a subgenre of online fiction known as “eunuch fiction”. This subgenre centers on unconventional romantic relationships between eunuchs and imperial consorts, palace women, or princesses. The growing appeal of these positively portrayed castrated male figures reflects evolving perspectives on sex and gender, as well as the rising influence of queer and soft masculinity. As part of a broader investigation into the revival of historical tropes and the ahistorical, flattened representations of history in contemporary China, this study examines how the representation of eunuchs in digital media challenges traditional conceptions of masculinity and signals broader social transformations.

Geng Song is Professor in the School of Chinese, University of Hong Kong. He has published extensively on gender and media in contemporary China.

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