Ma Liuming is a contemporary Chinese artist known for his confrontational performances that involve crossdressing, nudity, and the social restrictions surrounding gender identity. His alter ego, Fen-Ma Liuming, which he assumed in 1993, is an androgynous figure who emphasizes the contrast between feminine beauty and a man’s body. Born in 1969 in Huangshi, China, Ma studied oil painting at the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts before moving to the East Village artist colony on the outskirts of Beijing. The artist’s nude performances during the early 1990s eventually led to his arrest. His Fen-Ma Liuming Walks the Great Wall of 1998, furthered his stance through the act of walking naked along the revered national relic, raising issues of...