CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

GLOBAL MASCULINE
IDENTITIES

Kam Lowie

East Asian, s as mumor, .ties

TIT the first sentence or the arithropological collection DAIoco!trig Muscwhnity

Co"41ni'allue E!/triogi'a/h!'eJ, the editors Cornwall and Lindisfarne state tllat "to1ver
the last few years there has heell a surge of interest in the study of men and
masculinity. We are told that on both sides of the Atlantic meIT are starting to
respond 10 11}e cllallenges of roninism" (Cornwall and Lindisfarne 1994, I).
Indeed the book does cover topics suclT as Greek sexuality, prostitutes clients
and gay male identities as well as masculine practices in countries In Europe
America and Africa. However, it has no chapters that focus on Asian masculini
lies. By disregarding half of mankind, It ends up offering analyses that distort
comparative understandings of different masculinities in 11}e global context.
Such distortions have been a common feature of men studies in the West, and in
the 1990s a number of researchers became "aware how far we sthlare from real
ismg the type of inclusive scholarship we would find ideal" (BTOd and 1<aufrnan
1994, by
This concern for a more inclusive "international masculinity research is
echoed by R. W. Connell in the inaugural issue of tlTe journal Men and
IVaJculinitieJ in 1998 where he calls for "ail understanding of the world gender
order" as "a necessary basis for thinking about men and masculinities globaUy
Connell argues that the "ethnographic moment In masculinity research, in
whicl} communities of men are studied, and compared, has been valuable, but
that we should in the twenty-first century go beyond the ethnographic moment
and adopt a more global approach that considers the Internationalsetting as an
arena for study. Sucll aiT aim is praisewort}Ty; but unfortunately remains an unre
allsed ideal. This call was made in 1998, and since LITat time there have been
some attempts to expand the scope of gender and masculinity research into a
alohal arena, as demonstrated by Connell himself (Conne11 2000). However,
such research tends to be empirical and descriptive, and is almost always from a
instances wheit IWen rind
\, Vestern perspective. Furthermore, in the rare
IWdJcu!mintJ itself publishes articles o1} Asian men, those articles tend to concen
ITate o1T Chinese orJajianese men in westerit contexts (for example Chan 2000)

KA\. I LOUIE
Thestuy, min'"'ty ,, 1.1. ,,'(D. 1,1989,280)-
Grou s such as Hispanics and blacks in I)articular feature Iirominenty ecause
I h \, e heell the more visible and oppressecl"minorities in white America or
Euro e. In tllis tradition, the Asian Americait male was stereotype as
"' rubl, " and "more .. us, rv^live" (D. yle 1989, 290-I). Or ,onrs, , tit
I d of masculinities of ethnic minorities in predominantly winte comintinities
' n onant and calllead to valuable and fascinating Insights. n recent years,
of tl\e best work o1t Asian men has centred on the masculinities o SIan
Ikiri " , \, itIISome of the most interesting being on gay Asians (Eng and Horn
1998). For the most part, this researclT shows that, for Chinese and Japanese
t
n, the ex erience of living as a man in the \\'est can be so negative ITatii can
be characterised as "racial castration" (Eng 2001). As Heriry Yu observes:
Iallthouuh oneiT IJortrayed as sexual threats to \vllIte women, I SIai
meI\ were also emasculated by stereotypes of passivity and weakness.
The 11na e of tlle Chinese laundryinari and CIOmestic worker or
Ia anese flower gardener, wining to do wornei}s work that ITo se -
res)ectin white maiT would perform, served to ferninize 11}e portraya
of Oriental men
eru 2001,131)
\, Wine the Asian diasporas ha\, e Ilad to come to terms with their bitter Tools in
Irel n lands, the recent upsurge of research Into their heritage as ceary
ered them. However, eveilthough there have been more studies o SIan
melt(usually bytemeit re ' ' 11, jj, , sunderstoodb
A ians in Asia. The trouble willt studying ethnic minorities as examp us o men
I IOUr is that understandings of masculiiTity, fernininity, sexuality and gender
flabl assume \\jestern understandings as benchmarks simply Jecause tTe
" rimorities" need 10 measure themselves againstihe nTainstream and }egemonic
It re in which they seek to succeed. To understand how Chinese orJapanese
asculinities ITave evolved in the nTodern world, we must examine I e arcTae-
-' 11aa{rectsones
asculinit , it is vital 11Tat 111e superficial layers of identity formaljolt be ug up
d >ut aside, and 11Te deeper layers exposed. 11\ other words, in Igenous
illons of masculinity need to be exposed an<1 analysed. Untilvery recent y,
h h, there Iruve been almost ITo book-length studies of general Chinese or
Japanesemasculinities. xceptionS, So n, ,d'\\!asserstTO'
2002; Robersoii and Suzuki 2002).
A, I re commonly, Asian n}en are depicted in boilT the \\est and China as ess
" al" and Inore "intelligent"than boilT black and white men. These popu at
9
GLO B, \L itI. \SC ULINE ID EN'1'1'LIES
erce tions are often giveiT academic respectability by social scientists like J.
Phitippe Rushton, who as recently as in the 1990s gathered data on measures
suclT as brain size, reproductive behaviour and sex normones to prove that
" eo re or east Asian ancestry. .. and people of African ancestry. .. define OPPo-
site ends of the spectrum, with people or European ancestry. .. falling
intermediateIy" (Rushton 1997, XIIi). SuclT "scientific" studies have 111e effect of
confirming Edward Said's observation that discourses pertaining to 11}e Orient
emasculate it to such ail extent that it "is penetrated, silenced, and possessed
(Sald 1978, 207). Ev, n 11.0ugh Sald'* 0"lent ", re"s to th, Middl, Earl, th,
portrayal of Chinese and Japanese men seems to confirm his assertioi} that
under the \, Vesteril gaze Asian men are reininised. 111 the Chinese case, in
kee in with a tradition that would make Orientalism proud, boil\ Chinese and
\\!esterIT descriptions of Chinese male sexuality focus mainly on Daoist
bedroom Iecllniques aiTd exotic practices such as the meIls alleged obsession
witlt bound reel
Untit the 1990s, there were very few academic studies devoted exclusively to
the non-sensational aspects of Chinese andJapanese masculinity. while a body
of literature o1t men's studies has emerged focusing on Japan (It0 1996;
Nakamura 1996; Toyoda 1997; Trioue at d1. 1998), the situation in China is still
far from satisfactory. As Susan ManiT opines, tlTe poverty of studies on Chinese
men is particularly vexino because "bonds among men were key to success and
survival for. rich and poor, elite and commoner, in Chinese history" (A, IaniT 2000,
1,601). \, Vhile it could be argued tllat these bonds were studied simply as human
relationships tliat encompass all aspects of society such as politics, economics
and law the trouble with such an interpretatioil is that maiT as a masculine
cateuory again escapes attention. "A, Ian" becomes a universalsignifier LITat is not
looked at specifically as a gendered object. In terms of research into male-male
bonds for hotll Chinese and Japanese, some of the best available tends to
concentrate on the nori-mainstream, particularly ITomoeroticisin (Vitie110 2000
VoIPp 2001; Leupp 1995; PnugFelder 1999; MCLelland 2000). There ISIittle that
examines 111e activities of Chinese andJapanese men as men, or Asian masculin-
itIes as social constructs
Spotlight on Chinese masculinity
Or course, one cal} aruue that the apparent poverty of research devoted to Asian
masculinities in English is relicitous and appropriate. Having always Ilad enor-
mous social power and pri\, nege, ITolto mention ha\, Ing perpetrated wartime
airocities in the name of masculine prowess (discussed by A{orris Low in this
volume),\\, hy should AsiaiT meIl take centre stage yet againJust\vlTen the women
are ettiiL a bit of attention? I myself faced this conuildrum wheil I embarked
on the project to study Chinese masculinity. I wanted to put Chinese masculinity
under the s orligllt without in any way lionising It. whether I have succeeded or
not remains to be seen. In aiTy case, LOUISe Edwards and I worked o11 issues of
3

K. \A1 LOUIE
Chinese gender in the inId-1980s and wrote an article o11 the roen-jou dyad (Louie
and Edwards 1994). Ihave since written a book about Chinese masculinity based
on this concept(Louie 2002). In this work, I argue that Chinese masculinity must
be examined in its own terms before its trajectory in the global scene can be
analysed. While this may sound trite, the reality was that until Theor"zng GIIzneJe
Masculinity was published there was no book-length study of weit-rot, as a
masculinity ideal. Since many of the essays in the current collection refer to the
roen-Lull concept, it is worthwhile revisiting some of my findings on this Chinese
masculinity ideal here.
It is difficult to find English terms that capture the full meaning of wen-roll
Literally it means literary-martial, and it encompasses the dichotomy between
II. cultural and martial accomplishments, mental and physical attainments, and so
,; on. h is an ideal that all men are supposed to work towards. Because it captures
both tl}e mental and physical composition of the Ideal inari, roen-rel" Is
constructed both biologicaUy and culturalIy. h Ilas been a masculinity ideal
throughout Chinese history, so there are many traditional idioms to describe
perfect men as having both roen and roll. Yet despite Its importance there was
almost no scholarly analysis in any language of roen-wit as a key to understanding
Chinese masculinity, even though there have been some analyses of it as a way of
understanding phenomena such as ancient military strategy Cyang and Li1991).
Like many universally accepted practices, it was assumed that weit-Lull was so weU
understood and its interpretation so weit accepted that there was no need to
analyse It.
inn-row is a useful construct for describing Chinese masculinity ideals because
iris only used for Chinese men. The unique maleness of the roen-wit dichotomy
becomes apparent when it isjuxtaposed with71n:yang, the nTost obvious and most
commonly in\, oked paradi. in in discussions of Chinese sexuality. Discarding}In
andyttn, is crucial for discussions of Chinese masculinity because incisive theo-
rising of masculinity is inhibited by the amorphous nature ofJ, mying. Bothyin
and yang are characterised as elements evident in fernininity as well as
masculinity, thougll in different proportions at different times. Theymyang dyad
is attractive because itsGems to dislodge the exclusivity of elementsthat are male
or female. By contrast, the well-roll dichotomy Is applied to men only. By SITUc
luring gender in suclT an inflexible manner, I may seem to be taking a regressive
step. Indeed, I do argue that reeli-re" Is a regulative ldeal that call perform an
oppressive function. To expose this function, Its Ideological construction must be
examined before its actual workings in society are explored
Thus, I am not suggesting that women did ITot excel in literary or military
ursuits. Chinese history is replete with images of talented worneiT such as Zhu
Yin tai and Hua Mulan. However, worneiTsuch as Zhu Yingtaiwho tried to get
recoonition for reeli accomplishments by sitting for tile civil service examinations
had to do so dressed as men. And the woman warriori\Iulan also I\ad to conceal
her fernininity wllite she took I)art in mintary exploits. Once these women put on
rouge and satin clothing again antheir wen-IOU attributes disappear. In allsuch
4
GLOBAl. I\I, \SCULINE IDENTITIES
cases the women's teen or cow achievements are acknowledged only if they
publicly demonstrate tliat they are men, however superficially or transiently
Official recogilit101T of wen-I'M acllIevements was most commonly attained by
passing the civilservice examinations or the military service examinations. Both
were only a\, allable to men. I\loreover, these examinations were traditionany not
available to foreigners. Thus wen-"u was also unattainable for foreign men, who
were considered to be barbarians who were incapable of achieving such an ideal
The influence of 11Tese traditional beliefs Is evident everywhere in modern
East Asia. For example, in contemporary Taiwan the continuing strength of toen
values is evidenced by the listing of political candidates' highest educational
attainment in briefings for televised electoral coverage. The ITigh number of
political aspirants with doctoral qualifications contrasts sharply witlT that in
Ano10phone countries such as the United States and Australia. Even in the Tare
instance that they hold a doctorate, politicians in these latter countries would
prefer to emphasise their "sporting" mass appeal rather than their elite educa
tion. Education in its roen sense is a feature that has popular appeal to a Chinese
electorate because it symbolises the "noht to power". The cultured elite s sense
of superiority is manifest not only, in the political arena: tite educated in China
have always felt that tlTey deserved a leadership role in the moral and social
dimensions as weU. Thus, many writers in China have a strong sense that their
visions for social harmony should be adopted to secure an ethical and wealthy
future for China. Many older intellectuals still believe that Confucianism Is a
powerful system that is bestsuited to such a philosophy of life, and Confucius as
the god of rugn has been a potent symbol for sustaining Chinese notions of the
ideal gentleman for millennia. During the Asian financial boom of the 1980s
some scholars nominated Confucianism as the mainstay of the 'Asian values
responsilJle for economic prosperity. Some also argued that it had ITelped
Chinese culture 10 survive among the Cllmese diaspora eveil wheil that culture
had declined in China (Tu \\!ei-ming 1991)
The above examples clearly show the vital connection between we" power and
ideal masculinity NaturaUy, Chinese masculinity also has many features t}lat
have elements in common will} contemporary \\!estern conceptions of the real
inari Wit power is manifest as it has been throughout Chinese history through
battles and larde-scale wars, but it can also IJe 111voked in ITon-military ways as
evidence of peace-time, restrained 1011. Displays of martial arts and q!gong feature
prominently in acrobatic shows or general public gatherings. New Years celebra-
tions alwaysinclude dragon dances or lion dances, which are usually performed
by martial arts teams. These serve a similar function to the displays of military
hardware and aircraft "fly-pasts" that feature in National Day celebrations or
visits from other "heads of state" but reflect the more restrained type of row
essence indicative or controlled force, persuasion and Indirectness in the matrix
of power relations rather than simple brute strength. Mere brawn has Its uses
butthose who rely on it entirely win always remain powerless, 'macho eunuchs
who can never ruin the ideals of Confucian masculinity (Louie 1991)
5

KANI LOUll
',' I 1,211above roninconstructionsofidealChinese
I' 'I, a To nate male sexuality in the Chinese tradition differs mar e y
h Occidental tradition. Unlike much of the recent sexual iceo ogies I
I'ni in China. Indeed, IlDinosexualrelations were common an accep
h I'te over the broad stretcli of Chinese history, and in the ast two
d ties of jin erial China in particular hornoerotic sensitivities were q
deliberately
dellerateycuVcultivated to show one s,,.
awarene
\\! ItheHanhadat
" ' t ITtiall masculine" Emperor\\!u or the Han had at
Id Wu', red, cuss, " Erupero" won (Himch 1990, 35). More. ver, it stern, I, at
I;
hat Lintit recentl has been singularly dominated by the
" " al 'ntheChineseculturalcontextoftenappearingakintot e discourses of masculinity in CITina. This perllaps accounts for the acceptance of
"desirable" males in the Chinese cultural context o ten appearing
'weakling" of the western vision.
and effeminate maiT was an object of desire among the literatI of tlle AJIng-Qing
"anti-masculine" or "soft" masculinity is Ive an c eris e .
11 t vomen, and not to men. The attractiveness of the scholar-poet to
h I course heelt a standard theme or the I)opular internm'eit romance,
and this theme is skitfully urnised by modern writers to prom
desirable beings. For botlT the sc o ar in orO
desirablebeings. tra lion I ICiothed
her cha ter in this book, that attractiveness is also clothed
' t' terms, and the scholar's mascuhnity is closely integrated wi nation-
I' Tcerns in modern and contemporary China. Chinese men lave
h I, es for the lasttwo centuries as guardians ITotjust of tra Itiona mora ,
b I also of their women against the onslaught of \\estern va ues.
Containment an, dAsian sexuality
Tar' Alt 10-American and East Asian
of sexualit calt also be seen in the Issue of containment . d
\{, A,
dscribesConlticiansexualitymhis
11ToiT describes Confucian sexualityarticle ACasefor
in his artice onucian
I case or onu
sexually a g hCljnesejnale'ssexual
self, incontrastto C q h t-djtjonsof
, th forms of the masters, extensive rotelearning of texts, an event e
h I onlainment of examination candidates in examinatioi\ in s a 1.01n
to the training in control and restraint of in Ivi ua s. Tiniar\,
6
G 1.0 B. \I, itIASCUi. INU ID EN'LITiES
one 11Tat was idealIy represented by the containment of war ratller tllan the
encouragement of rampant militarism. it'Iany aspects of training in martial arts
incorporate extensive concentration on restraint, I)atIence and the abitity to
know when to withhold. Sexual congress was often couched in terms of a battle,
willt the tnnmate goal being the ability to withholcl orgasm while Inaking the
other I)artner orgasm. Careful, restrained emission of a man s vital essence was
preached. In the case of tlle row inari, most vividly exemplified in the god of roll
Guan Yu, this self-containment was pushed to such limits 11Lat any female atITac
tiveness was considered a dangerous temptation. To deal witlT this danger, the
temptation Ileeded to be eliminated, by the physical liquidation of the woman if
necessary
Thus, masculine sexuality 11T the Chinese tradition valued the ability to
suppress one's sexual urges. Containment of excessive and extended use of force,
and containment of excessive sexual drives, form a dominant part of the
homosexuality throughout Chinese tradition until very recent times. Morality
focused on the control of excessive promiscuity in sexual matters and was ITot as
concerned alJoutthe object of an individual man's sexual energies. The object of
sexual desire became problematised by Issues of class and social power rather
IhaiT physical sexual properties. Social morality was concerned primarily with
the correct outplay of the hierarchies of power and the containment of excessive
sexuality so that it did not interfere \vith other aspects of life. TITese social and
moralstrictures presuppose aiT al, inIy to "contain one s desires
Desire aiTd emotions are difficult to supj, ress effectiveIy, and eveiT more dim
cult to describe and explain saltsfactorily. Nonetheless, the theorising of reeli~trill
has to lake into account desire whether sexual or otherwise, If it is to coinpre
hensively explaiiT human behaviour. SImoii Pation's chapter looks at the case of
the poet GU Cheng, who must ITave been placed under greatstraiiT in the last rev
years of ITis life when he and ITis wife settled in New Zealand, where I\is toen
accomjilishmenis as a poet would not ITave IJeen recognised IJy those around
him. Yet he seemed oblivious to the decline of his masculine superiority and
consequent desirability despite the increasing evidence pointing to that demise
The tragic situation \\, I}ere ITe ended up murdering his wire and then committing
suicide provides a most intriguing case for 11Te study of desire. The crisis expen
enced Iiy GU Chenu \\, as I, artly engendered by the fact that he was in a foreigiT
laitd where ITis nTasculinity, was out of place. This ITas been a common concern
for Chinese men abroad, especially in the latter part of tlie twentieth and begin
rimg of the twenty-first centuries, since this was a time when the educated went
abroad. In earlier times, it was the powerless I>easants who soyourned in foreign
lands as coolies
Tseeii KIToo's chanter examines the identity frustrations and TCPreseiTtational
conflicts for diasporic Chinese andJapanese meIT in literature and other texts. Or
course, the Inere fact 11Tat they are writing, and mostly in English, Implies that
1<. 1Too's meIl are IT0 10noer peasants willI ITo well or rett. TIT fact, they In\, e often
7

KANI LOUIE
d Western discourses and are intent on worlung to change them. ey
h as "Chineseness" or 'Japaneseness with critical eyes,
' h I I 'aandre rel. This is certainlytlTe casewithtlieprofessiona mes
propensitytoCingOa y A I', tlteare
I'k I to want to ierpetuate a I)atriarchalsysteiT\ that Ilas herie Ite I em o
I Ties back in China. This is especially the case in terms of 111eir sexua Icy,
I' I riftom those who are gay tends to be relatively conservative. gain,
that seems to reflect the male attitudes even back in China.
The situation for female sexuality in Chinese andJajiailese society was quite
t
d'IT rent. A Jarently IlaviiTg no well-roll and therefore deemed to a\, e no se -
conr, Ideed, fernininitywaslinked
topassivityansu ddtinof
al desires. In terms of sexuality, therefore, the opposite of mascu Inity oes
n fernininity. It means in effect the lack or sexual dominance an
I, ITether it be througl} impotence or castration. Thus, traditiona y,
h ere not men, and no matter Ilow accomplished they were in re
It ral or military realms, they would have less clTance of having well an re
I d on them than women. Indeed, when Europeans in coloni times
d the Oriental eunuch the most immediate picture that was CONure up
th t of the liarem and its Turkish baths, and worneiT of greatsexua a ure
witjleirsexeSS thO'tal'tmind-
Asianwomensee dd'dansed
h' en ass rubols of modernity and desirabitity, and belittled I SIan men as
hackward and underitabl, (K, Isky 2001). In th, won its, If, hast Amn women
aveeeiTS byIP I .Thus, wehaveinthe
\\I t 'ina us suclT as A, ladam Butterfly and Singapore Girl, women wlo Inay
h e esca ed the traditional ryender roles in their own cultures, ut w o a -
nevereesSg'I Ichi\. Curiousl,
tese U'IdStates. TheI\leii
Restoration had launched JapaiT on a Westernisation/modernisation programme
tl t I d it to 'oilt the ranks of the colonial1stslimperialists in the early to^Grillet
century. Japani'Ping' '" , ,, Id_,,, tiethcentur, the stereo-
I ICalimaue of the Japanese inari wasthat of the fearless kamikaze pilot, 10ya y
serving the Emperor whatever the cost.
8
GLOBAL \IASCULINE IDENT1'1'1ES
Masculinity amdthe nation
By contrast, the tnnutary system in China ITad alll}ut collapsed by the late
nineteenth century and Cllmese mel} were seeiT as menectual and 11Tcapable of
defending their country National boundaries in Asia were IJcmg reconfigured
by 111e colonial1st powers. Most importantly, the configurations of Itegemonic
intrusions into China were clTanged fundamentally by lite emergence o11apan
as an imperialist power wing for supremacy. \\'hile they Ilave never lost 111eir
cultural fundamentals as a basis o1t which 10 build a modern nation, tlie
Japanese were quick 10 borro\\, and master foreigiT ideas and behaviour
patterns. TITis is not surprising given that they, have successfully Integrated
some fundamental Chinese cultural forms ancl made them their own for
centuries
Very quickly, the Japanese modernised and left their Asian neighbours far
behind technologically and mintarily. By the first half of the IwentietlT century
they distinguished themselves from other 'Asians", and became an imperialist
ower willt their own colonies. 11T East Asia alone, Korea and Taiwan were
tlleir colonies. By contrast, the Chinese were defeated in almost every military
encounter with a foreign country. Their ITation was being carved into spheres
of influence by foreign powers even thou. 'Il formally It was not a coloily. The
inability of the Chinese to withstand western encroachments was encapsulated
111 their self-identification as the "sick meIl of East Asia" IDoi!g Ifr bing/"l. The
physical aspect of masculinity was thus valorised. Blaming race as the source or
PITYsical and military weakness was of course coiT\, enient, hut this clTarge could
not be sustained. Thus the Chinese took the "sick meIT of East Asia to refer
specifically to themselves, in contrast to the newly nTodernisedJapanese. Even
though NIOrris Low's chapter shows that the Jananese during the Second
World War were vehemently promoting themselves as white to show 111at
they were sunerior to other Asians, the Japanese soldiers 111emselves were
surprised by the physical difference or Americans \\ITen they came face to face
with them. Ultimately, both Chinese andJapanese men \\, ere Asian
Only the Chinese were the "sick men". TllIs terminology was for decades
considered the nTostlTumiliating insult directed against Chinese men. The frail
but attractive scholar or old was considered unsuited to the modern world, and
roan masculinity lost a lot or its former lustre in 11Te eyes of the populace. In
moments or crisis, the traditional patriarchal authority of Chinese men was
)laced under intense stress and scrutiny. Thus, during 11\e INl^, Fourth period
in the 1920s and tile aftermath or the Cultural Revolution, Chinese men felt
"beSIGoed" and their concepts of masculinity were threatened (Zhong 2000).
EveiT amonu overseas Chinese in the 1970s, one of 11Te nTost memorahle
moments ill Chinese cinema \\, as in 11\e Bruce Lee film FIJI of Filly ringlet!menl,
in whicll someJapanese karate experts ITUmiliate the Chinese 1<ung lit masters
by holding LIP a sign saying Sick A1ail of East Asia". The Bruce Lee character
thell smashes the sign as well as his Japanese opponents
9

KA\-I LOUIE
S cl} fantasies only illustrate the depth of feeling among Chinese au Iences
I considered that their masculine pride had been destroyed. Being beaten y
thephysicayiggerw P 'db
"' it erior. But hem I)eaten by the Japanese was a difficult truth to
t. In reality, the Japanese impact o1T the East AsiaiT region has been an
10 be immense. In 11te moderiT period, Japanese influence o1T CllIna
I been inucll more widespread and fundamentalthaitis generally accepte \
Ih Chinese. Many do not mind talking alJout \'VesteriT 11Tnuence in tTe same
b^ adj as ntodernisation, but few would do the same for Japanisation. et, I we
I k at some of the most significant reformers and revolutionaries in t e eary
twentietl} century - thinkers such as Liang Qjchao, LU Xuit and QjuJin - it is
s to see that Japai} has been Instrumental in the formatioiT o ino ern
Chinese erceptions of Uleir identity and place in the contemporary wor
Chanoes effected by Asians OIL Asians, Including conceptions of mascu inity, are
thusimportant and Ileed to IJe examined more closely
When the cross disciplinary or geographical boundaries, researc ers o so
b sin materials antltoolstl}alltaveproveil useful in tl\eirown domains. e
trouble witl} this baggage is that it may ITot be applicable to speciic parts o
Asia. The dias onc, ethnic and postcolonial experiences in much o SIa are
d'Ilerent from that ill America, Europe and Africa. I\onetheless, w Ie
I 10nial and multiculturalstudies have become fashionable and common-
I ce, tl}e reinises and conclusions in these fields are of telT I\o1 app ICa e to
China or Ia an. Thus, eveit in classical Orientalism, the most jinme iaie
picture that is conjure ytTe uropeaitmin w
th ICture that comes to mind is or black SIa\, es or eunuchs in harems: men
f f riner Euro ean colonies in South or Central Asia. Neither China nor
Japanbelongstothiscategpry, aiT P Alluchof
h discussion surrounding these topics therefore does not fit easily in I e asi
AsiaiT region.
China had for centuries heelT an empire with its own tributary states an
JapanwasalsoamajorimPeljlalS I, ,in heri 10""
owers in Asia in 11Te researclt into constructions of masculinity. However, SIU Ies
I OSIcolonialinasculinities LISually assume that only the Europeans an
kiri 'cans are colonial1sts and everyone else Is a victim. The border or boun ary
all that se arating whites and others' while the \\esterIl IJostco onIaist
', robal)I more relevant to most readers, a Inorc Asia-centre
Toacll does Tovide more depth and explanatory power. Ishould einj, Iasise
that the mind-body, mental-PIlysical, cultural knowledge-mania arts
dinotomies jin 11cit in 111e 1,811-jou dyad are tlle sole preserve of the Inese
10
GLOBAL \. IASCULINE IDENTITIES
conceptualisation of masculinity. Variations o11 the reeli-law paradigm calT be
easily applied to other cultures, particularly those in East Asia. For example,
the Ja anese atIthor Yukio Misltima aimed to achieve ail idealised balance
between the literary and tlle martial in his regimen of building bodily strength
before committing ,e/)/)"ki!
Westernisation, Asian, isation amd hybridity
In realit , the connections and borders withlit Asia are much more significant
and coin Iex than those found in generalstudies of "world or Asiai} masculini-
ties. while it is relatively easy to find examples of modernJapanese Influences on
CllIna, the Chinese impact o1} Japanese notions of manhood can also be
discerned, as shown in the chapter on cooking by Tornoko Aoyama. By exam-
innT the writin. s of the Taiwanese-born writer/businessman Kyti Eikan (Qin
Yon. 'han) who haslived in Japan since 1954, Aoyama argues that Kyti's frequent
anusions to classical Chinese literature and GolTfucian maxims set the stage for
later ourmeltextsthatshowcased the cooking inari assomeone winl knowledge
i. e. roen. The sensitive new-ageJapanese gus, who is a good cook thus has his well
row onoms. Of course, Kyti Eikan may Inve beeiT highly fluent in Chinese
culture, but his eloquence in the Japanese language and his Immersion in a
Ja anese en\, ironment meant that ITe was Japanised even as he was writing
Coining from Taiwan at a time WITen It was aJapanese colony his hybrid status
as SinoJa anese was multi-layered, and confirms his masculinity as East Asian
rather than simply Chinese orJapanese.
The military aspects of masculinity could also I)e culturalIy mixed and
roduce peculiar results. The hybrid masculinity of a warrior Is revealed ITot
just in computer darnes and other popular culture forms. It can also work in
unex ected ways. As NIOrris Low shows in his Intriguing chapter on the
Japanese soldiers during the Second \\!orld \, Var, ever since the lv, leii period the
Ia anese I\ad embarked o1T a program or \\'esternisation. This Inevitably had
ai} effect on notions of masculinity. The changes could I>e seeiT in army
uniforms Discarding the traditional samurai attire, Japanese soldiers adopted
\\jestern military dress. The Emperor helped in this process by donning
,,\!estern clothing and insignia. The effect, as Low argues, was the
Caucasianisation and thus hybridisation or 11Te soldier, and its purpose was to
instil in tlleJapanese that they were in fact white, and ITot weak and backward
like other Asians. \, Vith Japan's economic might second only to tl}at of the
United States in the second half of the twentietll century, the samuraiimage
was replaced by that of the salaryinari. RonTit Dasgupta s cliapter analyses the
heriomenoil of this transformation in Japan. It shows clearly that these Ideals
were sometimes deliberately encouraged in Japan, but that in the end they
remained stereotypes, often lacking substance in contemporary Japanese
society itself. In terms of masculinity, Japan has I)een \, ery quick to adopt
western ways. Some of the seemingly "western" modes are ITo doubt really
11

KAi\I LOUIE
'usI manifestations of moderiT technology practised on a mass scale. or
exam Ie, Mark MCLeMand's chapter on the effects of media such as re evlSIon
and the Internet on gay men in Japan shows that while stereotypes are ITo
doubt er etuated, the Itew technologies also make resistance to hegemonic
modes of masculinity more possible.
A radualshifttowards more varied and "democratic roles for men is being
evidenced in both China andJapan. As EUtoshi Taga shows in his chapter on
the self-identities of modern you11T, Jaj, anese men are redefining their co -
jina e to fit the rapid changes in Japanese society. Some are embracing more
"democratic"lifestyles in their relationships with women. However, remnants o
,
tradition are slow to dissolve. It remains true that many consider their career as
most 11n ortant. This findino is not surprising given that success Is measure to
aar, eex y P F1'Ich',
such transformations will no doubt also quickly emerge there too.
C oralisation has reached e\, eit the sports arena. 111 tl\e Soccer World Cup of
2002 the Japanese and Koreans have challenged European supremacy, and
their Dung players displayed not Just football prowess but also head u s o
blonde hair. Such displays serve to remind audiences that physical racial charac-
tenstics can be chemically altered and become socially Influential. Sports
excellence as a marker for masculinity will no doubt become Increasingly preva-
lent in China nethe 2008 Olympics approach. Cultural changes may in fact be
slower to emerge, as Richard Light shows in his chapter based o1T his experi-
ences coaching rugby in Iai)an.
The h bridisation process in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries Is t us
re Idl changing notions of masculine Identities. In todays Internationalise
world it is coinmoil for several languages and consciousnesses to form a inu 11-
layered and multi-faceted hybrid. In terms of roen-roll, Jim Jarmusch's recent
min GhoJtDo" provides ail excellentillustration of this postmodern hybridisation
. Livin 11T the slums or New York, Ghost Dog Is an African American
t I assassin who tries to adhere to the code of conduct described in the
eighteenth-century Japanese text Hngnkt!re. In my book T/Ieoitiing Chine$e
A'lit, cullni!, I characterise this film as a perfect example of the POSumodern
h brid because here we have the confluence of a number of languages an
cultural consciousnesses. Living and dying by a nTasculine code that comes Torn
another lace and anotller time, Ghost Dog's nostalgia for that imagined pastis
heroic but misplaced. He believes that he Is maintaining the ancient ways ,
b I, as R oko Otomo shows, the Hagakm'e Is less than 300 years old. In its
artem t to us, the Confucian phil. ,. I^hy of \,\!ang Yangning (1472-1529) "I,
IC itjinaie the position of the samurai class at the top of a social 111erarc y
(Otom0 2001, 33), it was already anachronistic when it was written. As Ryoko
010mo observes, the movie does ITot "privilege a particular meaning among
others, h instead offers a J!718 tliat is elected out of many, a method of eclecti-
CISm" (010m0 2001, 30. while wen-"u in warig Yangming's time might have
12
;
..
GLOB. .\L A, IASCULINE IDENTITIES
had a very culturalby, specific import, it is now a J!y/e that can be "inherited by
anybody in aily place and at ai\y time
In my book, I also I}Qint to the music of GIIOJ/ Dog, which shows the promis
CUDus manner in which roeJi-IOU hasl)een incorporated into popular culture. The
music is by RZA. RZA is the pseudoiTym of Robert Diggs, founder of the
phenomenalIy successful rap group Wu-Tang Clan. Ghost Dog playstheir CDS
every time ITe does out on aiT assignment. Robert Diggs Is said 10 have gone to
tlle \Vudang I\\!u-Tangl Mountain in China (it and the Shaolin Temples are 11\e
two sacred sites of martial arts) where ITe was received by some kung fu masters
(Eskenazi 2000). His urban-gangster-warrior image is thus like that of Ghost
Dog: that of a postmodern inari imbued witll traditional Asian martial arts
ethics. His music is "an ominous IJlend of creepy piano Tiffs, WITiny horns
wailing fiddles and kung-fu movie samples" (CToa1 1997, 58). As Gina
A, Iarclletti observes in another context "Ibllack music and Cllmese kung Iti
share a common cultural currency that circulates Internationally" (\, larchetti
2001). As well as music, the Wu-Tang Clan has a large crop of Wu-branded
products sucli as the Wu-\,\'ear clothing line and the \\!u comic book line. It
even I}as a line of kung lit video games, the first of whicl\ is called IV, ,-Tang
SnOo/in Style, which was released in 1999. In this game, the contestants light each
other in kung fu style under a pa\, 11/01} witlt tlle Chinese characters lyen-row
Temple" [", it reu mino] inscribed on its main beam. AJapanised, Westernised
form of roen-"u has thus become part of a merchandising exercise directed at
tlTe young worldwide
Having argued that local masculinities need to be analysecl in their own
right, Iseem to ITave come nack to Connell's view that international approaches
to the study of masculinity are not o1}Iy possible but necessary. This is because
the mixin. ' of different cultures has already produced global masculinities
Nonetheless I still maintaiiT tliat an international1st visioi\ in which tlle world is
examined as a whole, while praiseworthy, Is a I>reinature one. Before we can
accurately evaluate the whole, we InusI have a sound knowledge of tlle parts
For example, while his latest book Gend, / does attempt to look at gender in
worlcl society" (Conne11 2002, 109), there is little in tlTe book to mitigate one s
unease titat a utopiail vision of researclT into Interconnected global masculiilI
ties has been advocated while "local" Asian masculinities ha\, e yet to be
seriously studied and understood. This liteans that one of the most exciting
areas for researclt - the comparisons of masculinities between cultures within
\SIa itself - win be subsumed by more global concerns. we still need to dislo
cate researclTers' comfort zones. while I applaud atT International1st vision, I
believe that the groundwork for understailding local masculinities must still be
doITe. It is Iny ITope that by adding nlore researclT results o1T East Asian
masculinities 10 the growing field of men studies, the studies in this book will
hell, contribute to 11Te goal of moving towards a more inclusive and global
understanding of the \\, ond
13
 GLOB, \L it. IASC ULINE IDEN'TITIES
KAi\I 1.0 U IE

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