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political discourse strengthened when Sun Yat-Sen, leader of the 1911 Chinese Democratic
Revolution to overthrow the Qing Dynasty monarchy, deployed the phrase in his works (Chou
2000). In a famous quote from his will, Sun used “tongzhi” to urge his followers to continue the
revolution: “The revolution hasn't succeeded yet. Tongzhi, keep up the good work! [ 革 命 尚 未 成
功 , 同 志 仍 须 努 力 。Geming shangwei chenggong, tongzhi rengxu nuli]” (1925, qtd. in Wong
and Zhang 2000, 262). To date, Sun is respected by Chinese of different political convictions
across Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Mainland as the founder of modern China.
During the Communist Revolution (1920s – 1949), “tongzhi” acquired enhanced political
and revolutionist connotations when the term signaled equality, respect, solidarity, and
camaraderie amongst all revolutionaries (Wong 2005). The PRC’s founding in 1949 also
witnessed the Communist Party’s default use of “tongzhi” to address everyone regardless of age,
gender, class, or occupation (Tsai 1988). The expression emphasized equality for all Chinese and
a shared goal in building a socialist China (Wong and Zhang 2001). In 1989, however, “tongzhi”
was first used in the Chinese title of the inaugural Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival ( 香
港 第 一 界 同 志 电 影 节 xianggang diyi jie tongzhi dianying jie) as a term for same-sex desire.
After the festival, tongzhi was widely adopted by gay and lesbian organizations in Hong Kong
and was then exported to Taiwan, mainland China, and diasporic Chinese communities (Zhou
1997). Hence, although “tongzhi” still resonates with the socialist ideal for an equal society, the
term has been transformed into the most popular word referring to Chinese homosexuals,
especially male homosexuals (Wong 2008). 5 In contrast, the medical term “homosexual” ( 同 性
5 It is also important to note that, unlike “homosexual” or “heterosexual,” tongzhi counteracts the negative stigma of
homosexuality in mainstream Chinese society and pluralizes sexuality. The word itself is not restricted in definition
by the gender of one’s erotic subject (tongzhi can denote either male or female) and describes a range of nonheteronormative
sexual practices (including transgender and bisexual behaviors). In this way, tongzhi does not
privilege the self or the individual, both in reference to gender and sexuality and a broader social context (Bao 2011).
Introduction | 6