Shi Pei Pu

Life & Legacy

Shi Pei Pu (Chinese: 时佩璞; pinyin: Shí Pèipú; 21 December 1938 – 30 June 2009) was a Chinese opera singer and spy. He obtained classified information from Bernard Boursicot, an employee at the French embassy, during a 20-year sexual relationship in which he convinced Boursicot that he was a woman. Shi also claimed to have a child, a Uyghur boy whom he insisted was the result of their relationship. The case drew significant media attention in France when the true circumstances were revealed.
The affair inspired American playwright David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly (1988), which was produced on Broadway and was adapted into the 1993 film of the same title.