Racist Humor in My Husband and I Sleep in a Coffin
Danmei Dreams Editor’s Note
After seeing a post from Yanxi on Bluesky about this topic, I invited her to write this post. We both thought it was important to spread awareness about the concerning content in this novel.
Please note that this blog post contains direct quotes from the novel, which are racist and may be upsetting to some readers. Please proceed with caution and take care of yourself.
My Husband and I Sleep in a Coffin, written by Wu Shui Bu Du, was originally published in 2019 on the Chinese web novel site hanwujinian.com. It has been officially licensed for English translation by Seven Seas Entertainment. The first volume was released on August 19, 2025 with the second volume scheduled for a December 30, 2025 debut. As we approach the date of the second volume’s release it is important to raise awareness about its problematic racist content so potential readers can make informed decisions about what they read and which authors they support.
I read the unofficial fan-translated version of My Husband and I Sleep in a Coffin (by Translating Boredom and Chipoholic) in April this year. I was looking for a funny, supernatural danmei for a change and I was happy to find a novel that, by the synopsis, seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
The first half of the story was engaging, interesting, and the characters were absolutely hilarious. I was convinced it was going to be one of my favourites this year. When I got to the second half, however, all my good feelings towards the novel disappeared when a dark-skinned side-character was introduced and subject to colorist comments disguised as ‘jokes’ used to contribute to the ‘comedic effect’ the author seemed to be going for.
In the story the main characters Wang Xiaomie and Wen Fengjin rescue a side-character, Bai Yu (白玉 or white jade), who is dark-skinned. He is being pursued and attacked by a mysterious entity and ends up being saved by them. Bai Yu and Wang Xiaomie become friends and the main couple suggests Bai Yu starts living with them so they can protect him from that mysterious entity. This ‘friendship’ quickly turns into a way for the author to pass off racist comments as ‘humour’.
Examples
Chapter 44
While eating, Wang Xiao Mie secretly observed the man’s appearance. The times that they had met before, the man was fully cloaked or had his head in the trash. After Wen Feng Jin rescued him, he was covered in dirt and so Wang Xiao Mie had always thought that that was why he could not see the man’s face. But now he realized, that was not the case at all. It was because the man was too dark…
In order words, his skin was black, truly black. And it was not the black color of our international friends but more like a naturally born dark skin with added tanning of ten to fifteen days.
Wang Xiao Mie raised his line of sight and stared down the man’s neck. Ai ya, my god, from his neck down it was still the same color.”
[…]
The dark-skinned man blinked and showed the sharp contrast between black and white with his eyes. He spoke softly, “Thank you for your help. I, I’m… my name is Baiyu.”
“Pffft!”
Wang Xiao Mie covered his mouth and tried to suppress his laughter so hard that his whole body was shaking, “S, sorry, please continue…”
Bai Yu: ‘I know my skin and name are like antonyms but please give me some respect!’
The black ball Bai Yu widened his eyes but shrunk back after he caught a glimpse of Wen Feng Jin staring at him.
Chapter 45
Bai Yu was taken aback by his words. He looked at Wen Feng Jin with grievances in his eyes. If it wasn’t for the face that was too black for any expressions to be seen, he could’ve sold some meng.”
Chapter 60
As he walked past the sofa towards the kitchen, he suddenly heard a faint sound.
“… Are you going to cook?”
“Oh my god! Ghost!” Wang Xiaomie jumped three feet in the air.
“Are you going to cook…” the weak voice repeated.
Then came the sound of fabric rubbing against the sofa in their house. White clothes appeared in the air, as if in a horror movie. At that moment, Wang Xiaomie realized that his sluggish heart could actually beat so fast one day!
The light suddenly brightened. Hearing Wang Xiaomie’s scream, Wen Fengjin, who had come down quickly, frowned and turned on the light.
Only then did Wang Xiaomie finally see that the clothes were not floating in the air; it was clearly Bai Yu, wearing white clothes, standing in front of him!
Wang Xiaomie covered his chest: “…Brother, not to criticize, but you really need to whiten your skin. No matter the cost, I’ll pay for it. Please buy some facial masks.”
Chapter 70
“That’s true.” Bai Yu grinned, showing a row of dazzling white teeth.
Wang Xiaomie squinted, “Da Bai, don’t laugh at me. Every time you laugh, I think of Darkie toothpaste.”
“…” Aggrieved, Bai Yu stopped smiling and started the car. He said, “I bought a lot of goodies from the supermarket. You and Boss Wen can eat them on the way.”
Wang Xiaomie’s eyes lit up. He flipped out a hefty bag of snacks from the gap beside his seat, with the name of a certain supermarket printed in large font on the plastic bag. He started taking things out one by one, “Chocolate bars, pineapple cakes, spicy beef jerky, smoked sausage… wow, there are also pickled chicken feet! Damn, good bro!”
Wang Xiaomie looked at Bai Yu solemnly.
“Don’t worry, Da Bai, I got your whitening face masks for the next half year!”
“…” Bai Yu struggled hard, “No, I’m not dark.”
Seeing him unwilling to admit the truth, Wang Xiaomie sighed with a heartache and shook his head, “Okay, you’re not dark, you’ve just reached the level of absorbing light from the sun. Don’t blame me if I don’t feel the warmth sitting next to you.”
“…” Biu~ With a knife piercing his heart, Bai Yu choked silently. Bai Yu, you have to hold back, you can’t cry!
Note: “Darkie Toothpaste” (which has now rebranded) is a problematic brand that not only used a slur as the brand name, but also featured blatant racist imagery both in their previous logo and marketing campaigns.
Chapter 73
Wen Fengjin watched the embarrassed young man flounder for words, then turned to continue carrying the person towards the bathroom. However, as he reached the doorway, he suddenly turned back to Bai Yu and said: “The face masks Xiaomie got you—”
“Eh?” Bai Yu looked up, confused.
Wen Fengjin’s expression was somewhat inexplicable as he said, “Remember to use it often.” With that, he turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, leaving a puzzled Bai Yu behind. He didn’t understand what the big shot was talking about.
As the bathroom door closed, uncontrollable laughter suddenly came from the quiet space.
Wang Xiaomie laughed so hard that his whole body shook, winking at the man with a pale face.
“You were scared just now, weren’t you? Hahaha! Bai Yu, hahaha! He’s invisible in the dark, pfft! Hahaha!”
Wen Fengjin’s face turned frosty as he gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, saying, “I wasn’t!”
“Hahaha—” Wang Xiaomie laughed so hard that his stomach hurt. “You thought there was no one downstairs, then suddenly a ghost popped out! Pfft! Hahaha! You say you weren’t scared but you were all bristled up! I didn’t expect you to be scared one day! Hahaha! cough cough!”
Boss Wen remained silent for a while, attempting to salvage his dignity. “He’s too dark,” he said.
Wang Xiaomie: “Pfft—!”
It is possible that Seven Seas Entertainment might have edited the English translation of the book in order to exclude these parts. Nevertheless, I still decided not to support the author in any way. Regardless of possible revisions, the author found it acceptable to write this in the first place. There are a lot of wonderful danmei novels that do not feature colorist or racist jokes. If you are able to, please consider supporting them instead.
Danmei Dreams Editor’s Note
Colorism has a long and problematic history in Chinese culture as it does in many cultures around the world. We see some slivers of this show up in beauty standards upheld (often without criticism) in a lot of danmei. However, the degree of blatant racism and colorism in My Husband and I Sleep in a Coffin pushes it far over the line for me and for many readers.
I personally attempt to spend my money supporting writers (and artists of all sorts) who create a better world through their art. I’m happy to skip this one in favor of other fun danmei, such as The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish, or upcoming new release from Seven Seas The White Cat’s Divine Scratching Post.
Please also consider supporting and following Yanxi. Her art is an incredible example of how danmei can be inclusive and beautiful.
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