The Cut Sleeve: Romance in Ancient China #Shorts

Today’s story is actually quite wholesome. It’s 4 BCE in China, and the young emperor has become absolutely smitten with a minor official named Dong Xian. Everyone pretty much assumes they were an item because of a very famous story called “the Passion of the Cut Sleeve”. One day they were taking a nap together when the emperor awoke and had to continue about his day, but found the sleeve to his robe was caught under Dong Xian. Rather than wake his sleeping partner the emperor cut off the sleeve of his priceless garment just so he could rest a moment longer. Emperor Ai declared that when he died, he would leave everything, including the kingdom itself, to his soulmate. And then when he died young his grandmother forced Dong Xian to kill himself.

[bulbus]

You have to admire the directness of the Ancient Chinese Grandmother’s solution to most of life’s little annoyances.

[typicallyusual]

Here’s why all the empress dowagers were so often vicious: If they weren’t, they’d already be dead. The back palace (where the women stayed) was so cutthroat that often you had to get your hands dirty just to survive. If you managed to also put your son on the throne, then you had to be extremely clever, resourceful, coldhearted, and cruel.

[mattisvov]

Me:
Aww, this story is kinda cute.
"And then he was forced to kill himself."
Me: welp.

[swisschese]

Historians: "so like, best friends?"

[jamesflynn]

Lol in every Chinese Mythology story I heard so far, the grandmother is always like an evil witch.

[disky]

I swear 10 years ago people said that being gay was a new thing, but like tons of people are gay in history.

[satorukuroshiro]

And if this were Greece you'd have the relationship be explicitly sexual and insecure historians would still be going "They were CLOSE FRIENDS."

[YossarianVanDriver]

And then didn't the cut sleeve metaphor become like a shorthand for affection between guys thereafter? Or did I hear wrong

[GoldenBoar]

Emperors Grandma:
Followed by stab stab

[clearviewmoai]

"Today's story is actually quite wholesome."
"His grandmother forced him to commit suicide."

[bespokepenguin]

Emperor's Grandma: We could do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way you D1£ ...
Him: Yes ma'am 😢

[stevejohnson]

Thank you Jack, that was so uplifting. And today we live such fractured and atomistic lives many of us don't even know what an evil grandmother is.

[Baileaf]

I’m pretty sure they were just really really really good friends

[nickzardiashvili]

It's interesting that there's an identical myth about Muhammad finding that his favorite cat is sleeping on his sleeve and opting to cut it off instead of waking the cat.

[voidlotus]

So that’s where the term cut sleeve comes from. I knew vaguely but never actually heard the story.

[nuuttisandgren]

You forgot to say that having a cut sleeve became a part of fashion in the royal court.

[linkedsky]

"Oh wow gay"
"Oh wow *Cut sleeve"
"*Oh wow so Generous "
"*Oh no Suicide"

[leevc]

Historians: "ThEy WeRe RoOm MaTeS!"

[brook_angel]

Historians would call them close friends.
I call them friends of Dorothy.

[farronmickle]

and that’s when short sleeve shirt were made