Sing-song girls
Encyclopedia
Sing-song girls is an English
term for the courtesans in China
during the early 19th century.
in 1911, concubinage
was legal. In Chinese custom, males carry the family name
and the family's heritage
after marriage. To ensure male heirs were produced, it was a common practice for an upper class married male to have one or more concubines, provided he could support them.
The custom could be invoked without the wife's consent: the husband's actions were protected by law. Both wives would co-exist in the same family. A man might choose a courtesan to be his concubine. Many of these courtesans would sing songs to attract potential husbands, hoping to become secondary wives.
There is another version of the source of the term. According to the 1892 fictional masterpiece by Han Bangqing called Sing-song girls of Shanghai, also known as Flowers of Shanghai
, people in Shanghai called the girls who performed in sing-song houses as "xi sang" in Wu language. It was pronounced like "sing-song" and the girls always sang to entertain the customers, thus the Westerners called them Sing-Song girls. The word xi sang in this case is a polite term used to refer to an entertainer.
Isabel Allende also mentions sing-song girls in her book Portrait in Sepia (Retrato en Sepia)
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
term for the courtesans in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the early 19th century.
Origin
Prior to the founding of modern ChinaRepublic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
in 1911, concubinage
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
was legal. In Chinese custom, males carry the family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
and the family's heritage
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
after marriage. To ensure male heirs were produced, it was a common practice for an upper class married male to have one or more concubines, provided he could support them.
The custom could be invoked without the wife's consent: the husband's actions were protected by law. Both wives would co-exist in the same family. A man might choose a courtesan to be his concubine. Many of these courtesans would sing songs to attract potential husbands, hoping to become secondary wives.
Terminology
Many of the Westerners in China at the time saw these girls sing, but had no idea of what to call them since they were not classified as prostitutes. Thus the term "Sing-Song Girls" came about.There is another version of the source of the term. According to the 1892 fictional masterpiece by Han Bangqing called Sing-song girls of Shanghai, also known as Flowers of Shanghai
Flowers of Shanghai
Flowers of Shanghai is a 1998 film, made in Taiwan, directed by Guangdong-born Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien starring Hada Michiko, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Shuan Fang, Jack Kao, Carina Lau, Tony Leung, Rebecca Pan, Michelle Reis and Vicky Wei...
, people in Shanghai called the girls who performed in sing-song houses as "xi sang" in Wu language. It was pronounced like "sing-song" and the girls always sang to entertain the customers, thus the Westerners called them Sing-Song girls. The word xi sang in this case is a polite term used to refer to an entertainer.
The life of Sing-song girls
Sing-song girls were trained from childhood to entertain wealthy male clients through companionship, singing and dancing in special sing-song houses. They might or might not provide sexual services, but many did. They generally saw themselves as lovers and not prostitutes. Sing-song girls did not have distinctive costumes or make-up. Often they wore Shanghai cheongsam as upper-class Chinese women did. Sing-song girls often did amateur Chinese opera performance for clients and often wore the traditional Chinese opera costume for small group performance. Sing-song girls had one or several male sponsors who might or might not be married, and relied on these sponsors to pay off family or personal debts or to sustain their high standard of living. Many sing-song girls married their sponsors to start a free life.Historical use of the term
- The concept has been around for 2000 years as recorded by emperors of the Han DynastyHan DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
who needed to provide female entertainment for troop amusement. In ancient China, many different terms given to these female entertainers, such as "gē jì" (Chinese: 歌妓, literally "singing female entertainer" or "singing courtesan"), "gē jī" (Chinese: 歌姬, literally "singing beauty"), "ōu zhě" (Chinese: 謳者, literally "singing person"), etc.
- The English term came from 1911 (see Origin).
- During the 1930s, Li JinhuiLi JinhuiLi Jinhui was a composer and songwriter born in Xiangtan, Hunan, China. He is the "Father of Chinese popular music". He created a new musical form with shidaiqu after the fall of the Qing Dynasty-- moving away from established musical forms. Li was a very controversial figure in China...
started the Chinese popular music industry with a number of musical troupes. The groups were mostly girls performing and singing. The term Sing-Song-Girls stuck with the singers, since the Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
associated pop music as Yellow MusicYellow MusicYellow Music or was a label used to describe early generations of Chinese popular music in Shanghai, China during the 1920s to 1940s as a reference to pornography....
or pornographyPornographyPornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
in the 1940s.
Fiction
- Sing-song girls are popularized in the 1892 fictional masterpiece by Han Bangqing called Sing-song girls of Shanghai (also known as Flowers of Shanghai).
- Sing-song girls play a minor role in Isabel Allende's Daughter of FortuneDaughter of FortuneDaughter of Fortune is a novel by Isabel Allende, and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in February 2000...
(Hija de la fortuna). Tao Chi'en dedicates his work to attempting to heal sick girls (although most of them end up dying), because it is when they are sick that he can sneak them out of the house under the pretext of doing "experiments". Of the ones that end up surviving, he tries to help them to improve their lives, needing no longer to prostitute themselves.
Isabel Allende also mentions sing-song girls in her book Portrait in Sepia (Retrato en Sepia)