Japan has long been the beloved home of yaoi and Boys’ Love (BL) manga and anime, and not without reason. Over the last decade or so, in particular, as public attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community have softened, BL has increased in popularity (though this is not to discount the gung-ho gays and fierce fujoshi who kept the flame burning for decades). But what about across the sea? What about Chinese BL, known as “Danmei” (耽美)? What does it offer that differs from what we have in Japan? And where can we find it?
Danmei: A Potted History
Originally an import from Japanese manga and prose, BL became popular in China, and it wasn’t long before writers and artists in the Middle Kingdom created their own works in the same vein. The term “danmei” itself is derived from a translation of the Japanese “tanbi,” a Japanese term for prose BL.
However, beyond the initial similarities, there are differences in culture between Japan and China. One of the most significant is that, in the People’s Republic of China, depictions of same-sex relationships are often censored, to one degree or another. As such, while Japanese BL will regularly depict men kissing and having sex, this is highly taboo in China. This level of censorship has meant that danmei has evolved along different lines — but not bad ones.
An Expert’s Opinion
The world of danmei was, sadly, beyond the expertise of your humble writer. So, I turned to our local enthusiast and friend of JGG, Abe Lee, to educate myself (and you, our beloved audience) on the appeal of danmei, how it offers what most Japanese BL does not, and what fans hungry for BL from another culture can expect.
“Danmei pulls a lot from Chinese history, when it comes to male-male relationships,” Lee says. “For example, there’s a kind of care that’s taken between the characters. The term, ‘sleeve-cutter’ has become a bit of a slur in China, but the origins are very romantic.”
The deep history of same-gender love between men in China is perhaps an influence on why so many are enamoured with danmei. While there are is a significant amount of danmei that are set in the modern day, many of the most popular are period pieces, including the hit series Heaven’s Official Blessing, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (known more commonly by her abbreviation, MXTX) and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, by the same author.
“I do generally gravitate to that genre,” Lee says. “But actually what I like most is the way that danmei has a separate ‘type’ to that of the typical ‘ikemen’ of Japanese BL: that of the entirely androgynous protagonist. Someone who is so beautiful that you forget — or no longer care — whether or not they’re a man or woman. Their beauty is impossible, but, crucially, it makes their gender meaningless.”
But when it comes to the essential difference when it comes to danmei as opposed to Japanese BL, and that is:
The Yearning
“Because of the censorship, often relationships in danmei cannot be consummated in the same way that they are in Japanese BL. Chinese censorship doesn’t allow for characters to be overtly gay, but they can say that they are one another’s soul-mates. And — while I would like to see them consummate their relationship — I love the slow burn.”
Yearning is something that many danmei lovers are attracted to. While Japanese BL can sometimes get directly to the character getting down to it, if not in chapter one, then often in volume one, danmei is more concerned with the characters’ emotional needs, rather than their physical desires.
“The slow burn also works so well with courtly intrigue,” Lee tells us. “But also, the censorship creates a limitation, which requires the authors to be creative. Don’t get me wrong — I’d love to see them do it! But sex and romance are different.”
Lee notes that part of the joy of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is that our point-of-view protagonist, Wei Wuxian is the chaotic bottom, while his partner Lan Wangji is pure of heart, sweet, kind, and incorruptible… and he’s also the top in the relationship. While Japanese BL can often — not always, but often — fall into the stale stereotype that “older, bigger, manlier, more cynical = top,” danmei can sometimes be more open to exploring and subverting those roles.
The Influence of Danmei
While we would love to explore the impact that danmei has had on the world as a whole, and in its native China, we cannot possibly do more than has been more than adequately explained by this video by YouTube’s own JGAO. Though, to sum it up briefly, a live action adaptation of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation led to an online war that led to the Chinese government banning Archive of Our Own.
That’s right. Danmei is so powerful that it led to a troll war so severe that the government of the world’s largest (nominally) communist nation permanently restricted access to the world’s foremost source of free fanfic, slashfic, and erotica that there has ever been. Now that’s a cultivated demon.
Where Can You Get Your Danmei?
Appetite whetted? Ready to get in on some yearning? Maybe even yearn yourself? Well, luckily, Lee has some suggestions for you!
“The first place I would suggest is Animate, in Ikebukuro,” they say, which is natural, as it is the highest-profile place for otaku-material in what is sometimes affectionately known as the “women’s Akihabara.” But Lee isn’t done yet:
“There’s also K-Books Otome-Kan,” they explain. “They have an entire section for MXTX!” It has even developed a reputation as a must-visit place for locals and visitors alike.
“On sovial media, the store has gone viral as the ‘yaoi dungeon’,” they explain. “The meme is that people take a pic or video of themselves descending the steps into the underground store, and caption it, ‘I am the first of my bloodline to enter the yaoi dungeon…’.”
Danmei is not just celebrated in China, but across the world. Its differences in terms of pacing, subject matter, and even aesthetics have meant that it has become popular among BL fans of all stripes. Creating major stars in China and leading (albeit indirectly) to the dropping of a major website from one of the Earth’s most populous country, danmei is something you can’t miss. Don’t forget to pick up some gay wuxia wonders the next time you’re in Ikebukuro!
