Fujyoshi Literature

Inspired by a recent Master thesis at Peking University written by a "Fujyoshi" (腐女子 in Japanese, also known as BL fandom), I really want to write something about the development of Fujyoshi literature in China since the beginning of this century. Fujyoshi literature, always misunderstood as the homosexual literature, is slightly different from the latter in the sense that Fujyoshi originates from comics. As a subculture which seems to exist only on internet and cartoon stores, Fujyoshi literature was hardly accepted by the public ten years ago. But now it's no longer a taboo. Fujyoshi fictions and comics are published, and Fujyoshi micro-novels are very popular in micro-blogging (Weibo).


My initiation into Fujyoshi literature had its origin: I'm a big fan of Japanese comics ("mango" in Japanese"). By late 1990s, Japanese comics had already become so popular at home that many emerging cartoonists started to draw fan comics (同人志"doujinshi" in Japanese). They used major characters from popular comics, like Saint Seiya and Slamdunk, but drew new ones, most of which were love stories. As an aside, it is interesting to note that most popular comics at that time, many of which published by Shueishya (集英社) and Shogakukan (小学馆), were mainly blood comics. Thus there could be ten heroes but only one heroine in one comic book, thus putting a great limitation on matching new couples in love stories. Aestheticism soon swept Japanese fan comic world. Audience started to find out that heroes fall in love with each other, and heroines do not seem relevant to the story anymore in fan comics. Surprisingly, controversial as it was, this new literature became very popular. Their authors soon got long-term contracts with major comic publishers, and new words, like Fujyoshi, Tanbi (which means aestheticism) and BL (Boy's Love) were included in dictionaries.


Thus I came across homoerotic comics when I was reading a Saint Seiya's fan comic book one day. Shocked for a while, I soon was obsessed by the story, and found it quite amusing as it was different from any comic book I read before. In those days when people did not talk about homosexuality publicly, I kept this secret to myself, not daring to tell even the closest friends that I was reading something so weird. But obviously I was not alone. Other comic fans, inspired by similar comics, started to write and post their fan fictions on internet, which of course were mostly homosexual fictions. Later on, some authors started to create new characters instead of using those from cartoons after gaining popularity so that they could publish their works and make money from it. That was in 2004. 


The first generation of Fujyoshi literature was premature, and very uneven in quality. There was no regulations, ratings or reviews, and you could find anything from a romantic story to a erotica online. Very unfortunately the Fujyoshi literature was discredited by its spotty quality. It became very controversial, and in 2006, many Fujyoshi websites were shut down for spreading obscene contents. This was a turning point where inferior fictions were sifted out and splendid ones remained. In 2008, some Fujyoshi websites were open to registration again after the Olympics with better selections and more capable writers. I didn't keep track of their recent development, but did follow some authors occasionally when I was on vacation. The change in Fujyoshi is quite observable compared to ten years ago. As mentioned above, Fujyoshi fictions stemmed from comics. Thus early works had strong traces of Japanese comic culture, sometimes the characters were just too far from the real world. Now authors have better understanding of gay people in general, and have successfully described their anxieties for normal lives and struggles against discrimination in the society. When a book can arouse people's reflection on real life, it demonstrates its virtue.


Fujyoshi literature is still in its early stage, but people already started to study it. Some argue it roots in women's economic independence and dissatisfaction with this patriarchal society. Some argue it indicates the end to the once-blooming Japanese comics who is now seeking to survive through subcultures. I'm probably not happy with this men-privileged society, and I do value women's economic independence. What really makes me buy the ideas of the Fujyoshi literature is, that it introduces me to the hidden part of the world where men do not marry women, and helps me understand the unspeakable love which may not be understood by many people even today, but does exist, and should be respected.