Eveline Chao - Niubi! The Real Chinese You Were Never Taught in School

T 吧 T ba ( T bah)

A lesbian bar just for tomboys. Since most Chinese lesbians believe that a T and a P should date each other, the exact reason for the existence of a tomboy-only bar is somewhat mystifying.

自梳女 zì shū nǚ ( dz shoe nee)

Comb sisters (literally “a woman who combs her hair by herself”). Referring to a group of women in Guangdong and other parts of southern China during the late 1800s and early 1900s who vowed to resist the oppressions of the Confucian conception of marriage. While zì shū nǚwere not necessarily all lesbians, they are perceived in popular culture as some sort of lesbian cult and have also been embraced as such by the Chinese lesbian community.

主动 zhǔdòng ( joo dohng)

Top, giver, pitcher, husband. Literally “active.”

被动 bèidòng ( bay dohng)

Bottom, taker, catcher, wife. Literally “passive.”

1 号 yī hào ( ee how ) or just 1 yī ( ee )

Literally “number one” or just “one.” Means “top,” “pitcher,” or “husband” because the number one looks like a penis.

0 号 líng hào ( ling how ) or just 0 líng ( ling )

Literally “number zero” or just “zero.” Means “bottom,” “catcher,” or “wife” because a “one” can be inserted into a

“zero.” You might hear two guys flirting at a bar ask, “你是 1 还是 0?” “ Nǐ shì yī hái shì ling?”: “Are you a one or a zero?”

0.5 líng diǎn wǔ ( ling dyinn oo)

Either, versatile. That is, you can be either the 1 or the 0. You can also indicate that you’re a 0.5 by saying 全能 quán néng ( chren nung ), which means “all can”; that is, “can do all.”

Rice queen

A gay guy who prefers Asian men (this would simply be said in English, as there is no translation in Chinese).

Potato queen

A gay guy who prefers white men (this would simply be said in English, as there is no translation in Chinese).

MB

For “money boy” (and said in English). A (usually young) man who takes money for sex with other men.

T 少 T shào ( T shaow)

A woman who takes money for sex with other women.

哥哥 gēge ( guh guh)

A manly gay man. Literally “older brother.” Can also imply sugar daddy.

弟弟 dìdi ( dee dee)

A girly, or effeminate, gay man. Literally “younger brother.” Can also imply a person being supported by a sugar daddy.

熊 xióng ( shyohng)

Literally “bear.” Taken directly from the English slang for a gay man with a bigger, slightly chubby build.

人妖 rényāo ( ren yow)

Lady-boy.

反串 fǎnchuàn ( fahn chwun)

Drag queen (applies both to men who dress up as women and to women who dress up as men in performances).

CC or just C

Queen (and said in English). Used because CC sounds like “sissy” to Chinese ears. Many Chinese gays also just say

“sissy” in English for a queen or a feminine guy.

鞋号 xié hào ( shyih how)

Literally “shoe size.” Used online to imply penis size.

炮友 pàoyǒu ( pow yo)

Fuck buddy. 炮 Pào ( pow ) means “cannon” and is a euphemism for ejaculation, while 友 yǒu ( yo ) means friends.

Gay 吧 “Gay” ba ( gay bah)

Gay café.

公司 gōngsī ( gohng sih)

Taiwan slang for a park where gay men gather and meet. Literally “company” but shares the same initial syllable with “park,” which is 公园 gōngyuán ( gohng yren ). One particularly well-known “company” is the 2/28 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei.

双性恋 shuāngxìngliàn ( shwahng sheeng lyinn)

Bisexuality. Literally “love for both sexes.”

阴阳人 yīnyáng rén ( een yahng ren)

Transsexual or hermaphrodite. Literally “yin-yang person.” May also be used insultingly to refer to an extremely manly woman or to an extremely effeminate man.

同仁女 tóngrén nǚ ( tohng ren nee)

Fag hag. 同仁 Tóng rén ( tohng ren ) means “colleagues,” but 同 tóng ( tohng ) also alludes to gay men, while 女 nǚ ( nee ) means “woman,” so the overall suggestion is a woman who has close associations with gay men.

同志牛皮糖 tóngzhì niúpí tang (tohng jih nyoo pee tahng)

Fag hag. Literally “gay leather-candy.” 同志 Tóngzhì ( tohng jih ) means “gay,” and 牛皮糖 niúpí tang ( nyoo pee tahng ) is a type of sticky candy, thus suggesting sticking to gay guys.

出柜 chū guì ( choo gway)

Come out of the closet.

异性恋 yìxìngliàn ( ee sheeng lyinn)

Heterosexuality. Literally “love for the opposite sex.”

直人 zhírén ( jih ren)

Straight. Literally “straight person.”

In the last few decades leading up to the 1949 Communist revolution, the city of Shanghai was unquestionably the most sinful place on earth. “If God lets Shanghai endure, he owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah,” said one missionary living there in the early twenties.

The Whore of Asia, as the city was known, was born in 1842 at the conclusion of the Opium War, when the British forced imperial China to open the port city to foreign trade, and the British-soon followed by the Americans, the French, and numerous other nationalities-quickly established settlements there, each governed by its own rule of law. The mishmash of completely different governments, laws, and courts meant that evading arrest was as simple as walking a block in one direction or another (or buying a fake passport for some random nationality). That, the extreme contrasts of fabulous wealth and decrepit poverty, the opium business driving all the city’s moneymaking, the political turmoil brought about by the overthrow of imperial rule, and an ensuing period during which various parts of China were ruled by a rotating cast of brutally violent warlords-not to mention numerous other causes-all combined to make Shanghai the final destination for hedonists, capitalists, adventurers, journalists, businessmen, prostitutes, gangsters, political refugees, gun runners, intel lectuals, arms dealers, movie stars, and dilettantes from every corner of the globe.

Decadence reached its apex in the 1930s, when the opium trade had grown into a full-fledged international drug cartel trafficking in morphine, heroin, and cocaine. The cargo made its way into Europe, South America, and the United States-all controlled by a Chinese mob boss who was simultaneously head of the Nationalist government’s Opium Suppression Bureau. The city had three hundred jazz cabarets and a hundred thousand prostitutes, organized gambling thrived on the largest scale of any city in the world, in addition to opium parlors and gambling halls there were nightclubs that featured erotic shows with real live onstage sex, and at some hotels you could order heroin via room service.

Today Shanghai is still known for its nightlife but compared to its heyday is a relatively staid financial city. The influx of foreigners coming to misbehave, however, continues, alive and well, throughout the country. For most, this seems to involve drinking oneself into oblivion every night, doing a lot of drugs, and sleeping around with the locals while teaching English and “finding yourself.”

Whether your vice of choice is methamphetamines or auto theft, hookers galore or simply partying till dawn, here is the necessary vocabulary for every naughty deed under the Eastern sun.