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Friday 20 August 2010

Queer Gods: The Chinese Rabbit God

This tale concerns a young official of the Fujian province, who was very handsome and intelligent. His beauty captured the heart of a man called Wu Tien Bao, who followed the official wherever he went. Every time the official appeared for a court case, Wu attended. The official became aware of Wu's constant presence, but he did not know why he was following him.



One day, Wu was caught peeping at the official's ass through a toilet wall. After several rounds of beating with bamboo stakes, he confessed that he was attracted to the official. When the official knew the reason, he was so angry that he ordered more punishment and Wu died under heavy torture.
After Wu's death, he told his friend in a dream that "even though it was improper to peep at a man, it was done only because of love and should not have been punished with death. Now the court officials in the nether world have assigned me as Rabbit God to safeguard loving affairs between men, and you should build a temple for me."


The friend built the temple. When there were quarrels between gay couples or when someone suffered for gay love, they went to this temple to worship the Rabbit God, Wu Tien Bao, and they were usually aided by the Rabbit God in their quests.
This story may have inspired the construction of temples to the Rabbit God, though none have been precisely identified. There was, however, a temple in Southern China called "Double Flowers Temple," where a deceased gay couple was worshipped by the general public. The temple was destroyed by the Japanese army during the World War II and no longer exists.

(From glbtq encyclopedia of glbtq culture) 

The Wikipedia post on the Rabbit god states that a modern temple, designed to resuscitate worship of the deity by gay men, has been built in Taiwan.

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