Zhang He in Dynasty Warriors

Zhang He is a general in the Dynasty Warriors series. He is based on the historical figure from the Three Kingdoms period in China. The historical figure was not, reportedly, as effeminate as he is portrayed in the game. In the series, he is represented as graceful and obsessed with beauty and elegance. That said, although he is read as homosexual by Western audiences, there is no confirmation of his sexuality in the series. One site points out that he does not have a love interest, unlike the other male generals in the game. You can see him in action in this video, in which he does seem to be implicitly coded as a gay character.

LGBTQ references in this game series:

Dynasty Warriors (1997): Zhang He

Dynasty Warriors 7 (2011): Same-sex relationship

Dynasty Warriors 8 (2013): Li Dian, same-sex marriage mod

Citations:

  1. Flanagan, J. (2014, May 16). The compelte history of LGBT video game characters. The Daily Dot. http://www.dailydot.com/geek/gay-characters-video-games-history/
  2. List of Dynasty Warrior characters. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dynasty_Warriors_characters#Zhang_He_.2F_Chou_Kou_.2F_.E5.BC.B5.E9.83.83
  3. Zhang He. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_He
  4. Zhang He. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://koei.wikia.com/wiki/Zhang_He