New Books in East Asian Studies Matthew H. Sommer, "The Fox Spirit, the Stone Maiden, and Other Transgender Histories from Late Imperial China" (Columbia UP, 2024)
Jul 30, 2024
Matthew H. Sommer, a historian specializing in late imperial China, discusses his intriguing book on transgender histories. He delves into six court cases that illuminate complex gender identities and societal perceptions in Qing China. Sommer highlights how individuals navigated gender roles against legal frameworks, showcasing the interplay of culture and identity. He also touches on themes of sorcery, fox spirit mediums, and the narrative of gender nonconformity, ultimately revealing rich insights into the historical context of LGBTQ+ experiences in East Asia.
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Serendipity Shaped The Project
- Matthew H. Sommer found transgender cases serendipitously while researching Qing legal archives and then built a focused book from a small set of striking cases.
- Close reading of a few anomalous cases revealed social, legal, and cultural patterns hidden by large-sample studies.
The Midwife Who Built A New Family
- A midwife assigned male at birth lived for decades as a respected woman, bought land, adopted children, and ran a household before being outed.
- The governor labeled the case heterodoxy and reported it to the emperor, showing elite alarm at gender nonconformity.
Cross-Dressing Was Criminalized As Heterodoxy
- Qing authorities treated male-to-female cross-dressing as heterodoxy and fraud tied to threats against female chastity and cosmic order.
- Legal rhetoric framed gender nonconformity as a political and moral danger, not as identity or desire.