Dong Xian (董賢) (23 BC(?) – 1 BC) was a Han Dynasty politician who quickly rose from obscurity as a minor official to being the most powerful official in the imperial administration of Emperor Ai within a span of a few years.
Most scholars agree that Dong's quick career advancement came mostly because of his personal relationship with Emperor Ai, likely a homosexual one, rather than a demonstration of abilities. Both men were married, but Emperor Ai, at least, was childless.
A largely derogatory idiomatic term for homosexuality in Chinese is duanxiu zhi pi (斷袖之癖, literally, "fetish of the cut sleeve"), derived from an episode involving Dong and Emperor Ai. They often slept together on the same bed, which in ancient China was not necessarily an indication of a sexual relationship. One afternoon, after Emperor Ai woke up from a nap, Dong was still sleeping, and Emperor Ai's sleeve was stuck under Dong's head. Rather than waking Dong up, Emperor Ai cut off his sleeve to allow Dong to continue to sleep without disturbance.
Read more about Dong Xian: Early Career, Relationship With Emperor Ai and Quick Ascension To Great Power, Death
Famous quotes containing the word dong:
“With hym ther was a plowman, was his brother,
That hadde ylad of dong ful many a fother.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)