UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Queerness and Chinese Modernity: The Politics of Reading Between East and East A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Literature by Alvin Ka Hin Wong Committee in Charge: Professor Yingjin Zhang, Co-Chair Professor Lisa Lowe, Co-Chair Professor Patrick Anderson Professor Rosemary Marangoly George Professor Larissa N. Heinrich 2012 Copyright Alvin Ka Hin Wong, 2012 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Alvin Ka Hin Wong is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2012 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page …………………………………………………….……………….….…iii Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………..…….…iv List of Illustrations ……………………………………………………………….…........v Acknowledgments …………………………………………………………………….....vi Vita …………………………………………………….…………………………….…...x Abstract of the Dissertation ………………………………………………….……….….xi INTRODUCTION.……………………………………………………………….……....1 CHAPTER ONE. Queering Chineseness and Kinship: Strategies of Rewriting by Chen Ran, Chen Xue and Huang Biyun………………………….………...33 CHAPTER TWO. Transgenderism as a Heuristic Device: On the Cross-historical and Transnational Adaptations of the Legend of the White Snake……….71 CHAPTER THREE. Nation’s Time and Its Others: On Inter-Temporality and Queer Times in Contemporary Chinese Cinemas.………...……………112 CHAPTER FOUR. Claustrophobic Sexuality: Mapping Gay Male Urban Subjects in the Films of Yonfan, Cui Zi’en, and Tsai Ming-liang…………….188 CHAPTER FIVE. Transmedia Assemblage and Cybernetic Sexuality: Sex Scandals, New Media, and the Formation of Counter-Publics……..….….….252 CONCLUSION...……………………………………………………………………....318 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………...…339 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Production still from New Legend of Madame White Snake ………….….102 Figure 2. A film still from Woman Demon Human …………………………......….131 Figure 3. A film still from Formula 17 …………………………..…………...…….179 Figure 4. A film still from Bishonen ……………………………………..………….205 Figure 5. A film still from The Old Testament ....…………………………....……...220 Figure 6. A film still from The River ………………………………………………..248 Figure 7. Josephine Ho, with the microphone, held up 50-feet long reprints of online petition signatures outside of the court ……….…….…….………276 Figure 8. A film still from Gay Lovers ……………………………………….……..289 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It gives me great pleasure to thank all the teachers, friends, and institutional supports that have made the completion of this project possible and enjoyable, and to treasure all the people who have been important in my life. First and foremost, love and thankfulness go to my parents, Wong Chau-Ngan and Wong Lai-Ling, and my brothers, Wong Ka Ming and Wong Ka Lok, who always believe in whatever I do. To their love, nothing can be acknowledged in words. For institutional and financial support, I thank the Department of Literature at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The one-year long dissertation fellowship that I received in my fifth year gave me much time to complete a major portion of the writing and provided me time to prepare for the job market. The two grants in the Summers of 2010 and 2011 funded my research in Beijing and provided much need financial assistance. Literature at UCSD is the most cutting-edge and intellectually stimulating place to do interesting work in Cultural studies, Chinese studies, and transnational cultural studies. The things that I have learned during my graduate training here will enable me to do anything I find meaningful and necessary in life. I am glad to know many wonderful friends in graduate school, and their intellectual engagements in and out of seminars are much appreciated. Here thanks go to wonderful people in my cohort: Ana Grinberg, Ryan Heryford, and Yeesheen Yang. I thank Angie Chau for mutual support and commiseration. Exchanging work-in-progress with James Wicks is always a pleasure, and I learn much from his projects on Taiwan cinema. Lisa Vernoy’s fun and outgoing personality, together with her partner Pepe, vi makes every Friday night a happy hour event. In my third year, I got to know Kelli Moore and Pawan Singh. Besides being good friends who are always ready to “pig out” with me and try out all wonderful cuisines, they are some of the most politically ethical people that I come to know. I look forward to engaging with their work even after I leave San Diego. Chien-ting Lin is a great supporter of me, and I truly enjoy his intellectual company. Stevie Ruiz from Ethnic Studies is the best “homegirl” of them all, always forcing me to take time off from work and indulge in some of the silliest movies ever made in the history of Hollywood. On the serious side, his project on race and land ownership in the American Southwest has taught me much. Amber Carini is my best breakfast buddy, and she makes San Diego a wonderful place to live. Above all, Inhye Han is the best friend of them all, always being the best cheerleader when I make some small successes and always ready to console me when I run into a few bumps. I am lucky to find a great confidant in her. The recent friendship of Amy Nikhomvanh and her odd sense of humor provide many getaways when I am not at school. To my friends in Hong Kong, you are the kind of friends that will stay true to me even when I don’t have time to keep in touch. Alex Yeung, Linwood Lin, Ruby Mok, and Raymond Ho, thank you. I have been extremely fortunate and lucky in my intellectual pursuit. It was simply an amazing experience to be an undergraduate student of Gayatri Gopinath when I majored in Women’s Studies at UC Davis. Her contagious energy in the classroom and intellectual rigor in queer pedagogy convince me that I want to be a teacher in higher education and make a difference in a student’s life. At UCSD, professors who offer their kind encouragements include Winnie Woodhull, Todd Henry, and Nayan Shah. Other vii people outside UCSD who have offered encouragements along the way include Howard Chiang, Lisa Rofel, and Shu-mei Shih. The people who have the most immediate impact on my work here are my dissertation committee members: Co-Chairs Yingjin Zhang and Lisa Lowe, and Patrick Anderson, Rosemary Marangoly George, and Larissa Heinrich. Each of them makes unique contribution to my trainings and well-being in graduate school. Taking the postcolonial theory and literature course with Rosemary was a pleasurable experience, and most of the readings we did in that course become so helpful when I embark on my job search. Her wonderful smile during all the qualifying and exam meetings is very reassuring to me. Patrick models the kind of affective and caring pedagogy that I hope to emulate in the future. His always inquisitive questions and his unique way of creating interdisciplinary intellectual communities at UCSD are very inspirational. Larissa already treated me like a colleague the first time I met her even when I was still a clueless graduate student. I thank her for being a wonderful interlocutor and cheerleader for my work. Her influence on me can be felt in many parts of the dissertation. Nothing that I say can describe the intellectual and personal debts that I incur from Yingjin Zhang and Lisa Lowe, as well as my sincere gratitude to them. To study with Yingjin Zhang in the field of modern Chinese literary and cultural studies is a great honor. Besides being an intellectual powerhouse in the field, Yingjin is also the most accountable, kind, and ideal teacher and advisor that one can only encounter once in a lifetime. He always insists that there is room for improvement and refinement in intellectual work, and he always pushes me to take on new challenges and advance to the viii next level when I am ready. To things said and unsaid, I am forever grateful and indebted to Yingjin. Lisa Lowe’s impassionate pedagogy, intellectual elegance, and utterly caring mentorship has made the most transformative impact in my life for the last six years, and I am sure for the rest of my life. Studying with Lisa is a most humbling experience. Her knowledge that traverses vast intellectual terrains shows me that there is always more to learn. Her unfailing belief in me reaffirms that I am doing something meaningful, even when I have doubts in myself. She has done too many for me, and I only hope that my work in the future as a scholar and teacher can in some small ways honor her example. For her intellectual, personal, and political influence on me, I am beyond grateful. Chapter Two, “Transgenderism as a Heuristic Device: On the Cross-historical and Transnational Adaptations of the Legend of the White Snake,” in full, is forthcoming in Transgender China, Edited by Howard Chiang (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). ix VITA EDUCATION Ph.D. Literature, University of California, San Diego, June 2012 M.A. Literature in English, University of California, San Diego, June 2009 B.A. English; Women and Gender Studies, highest honors in both majors, University of California, Davis, June 2006 RESEARCH & TEACHING INTERESTS Modern Chinese literature Chinese-language