Bernard Boursicot news
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
French diplomat Bernard Boursicot, born 1944, was seduced by Chinese spy Shi Pei Pu, a male.
The 1986 espionage trial inspired the play and film M. Butterfly, keeping this bizarre.
Background
Bernard Boursicot was a French diplomat stationed in Beijing in the 1960s. He met Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer who performed female roles, and began a relationship believing Shi was a woman. Shi was actually a male spy who used the affair to extract secrets from Boursicot. The case became a cause célèbre in France in 1986 when they were tried for espionage.
How it unfolded
- 1964Boursicot, aged 20, met Shi Pei Pu in Beijing; Shi confessed a secret to him, beginning their relationship.
- 1986Boursicot and Shi were brought to trial in France for espionage, becoming a cause célèbre.
- 1988The play M. Butterfly, loosely based on the affair, premiered.
- 1993The film adaptation of M. Butterfly, directed by David Cronenberg, was released.
Who’s saying what
- Public
- The case fascinated the public due to the bizarre sexual subterfuge and the length of the deception.
Still unverified
Some details of the relationship, such as how Boursicot could have been deceived for so long, remain disputed and are based on Boursicot's own account.