FromChina With Love
by chris carpenter
China has given many wonderful things to the world: The Great Wall, dim sum, terra-cotta warriors, Pekinese dogs and my 4-year-old adopted nephew, to name a few. Having toured the country extensively in 2005, I can testify to its natural beauty and the kindness of the citizens I met.
Sadly, though, China isn’t the most
gay-friendly republic, despite the documented fact that some of its most revered emperors had male as well as female concubines. Between a long-time emphasis on continuing family lineages and the more recent Communist Party’s emphasis on moral purity, homosexuality has typically been considered taboo. Chinese artist Xiyadie (who was born Xiangsheng Lei) was initially oblivious to the impact of such condemnation. The 48-year-old man, whose expertise in traditional paper cutting has been internationally acclaimed, married a woman at a young age and subse- quently fathered two now-grown children. When his son was born with cerebral palsy, Xiyadie (which is pro- nounced Zhee-ya-dee) began to put more of an emphasis on his family and in the process, ironically, came to terms with his long-latent attraction to men. The American premiere of Xiyadie’s award-winning work is now taking
place at San Pedro’s Flazh!Alley Art Studio through Saturday, July 14. It is entitled “Metamorphosis of a But- terfly: A Kaleidoscopic Vision of Life by a Gay Chinese Artist.” Jan Mon- toya, a board member at The Center Long Beach, came across an exhibition of Xiyadie’s art at the Beijing LGBT Cen- ter last year and negotiated its transfer to the U.S. The show includes more than 50 pieces illustrating same-sex love, some in graphic detail, with many available for purchase. “I’ve been exposed to an artistic
environment since childhood,” Xiyadie shared through a translator. “My mother is a clever paper cutter… The paper cutting that the old, bound- footed women in my village do was so fascinating that I eventually fell in love with it.” The artist’s pseudonym, Xiyadie,
is translated “Siberian Butterfly” and helps protect him and his family from persecution in China. As he recently ex- plained in the Los Angeles Times: “Tradi-
Xiyadie photography by Joe Flazh!
tion (in my village) is no less frigid than the Siberian air… It is depressing to be gay in China—and even more horrify- ing in a village. It froze my wings, and I was unable to fly.” Xiyadie first became aware of the
gay community’s existence through the Internet, and he soon made same- sex love the dominant theme of his art. This has naturally led to concerns on the part of China’s powers that be, but the popularity of Xiyadie’s work has also inspired more gay Chinese men to embrace their sexuality. The very existence of an LGBT center today in the Chinese capitol of Beijing may be a credit to social reforms his art has encouraged, at least in part. Indeed, postal stamps featuring select Xiyadie works were officially printed in 2008. “I never thought about becoming an artist; some people saw my work and
then called me one,” Xiyadie said. “I’m only a farmer, belonging to my yellow soiled land.” He uses a variety of ma- terials in his art, including traditional Chinese rice paper, banners, newspa- per, cloth and silk. “The simplest folk art paper cutting is to make people understand at first sight,” according to Xiyadie. “I use fixed folk symbols such as flowers to help me speak out.” He was very much looking forward to
not only his first trip to the U.S., but his first time on an airplane. As described in the Los Angeles Times, “Xiyadie sees his art as a voice in a world where he has none.” Hopefully, he will learn dur- ing his time in Southern California that he is far from alone.
For more information about the Xiyadie exhi- bition in San Pedro, call 310.833.3633 or visit
flazhalleystudio.com.
JUNE 2012 | RAGE monthly 13
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