In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the country was in a difficult situation of floating and wandering, and in this case, foreign invaders were clamoring in Chinese territory, and people lived in a fiery environment, lamenting that the world was uncertain and did not know when they would be able to move towards a new life. Poor people are in feudal thought, and the women still maintain the feudal behavior of three inches of golden lotus. From the perspective of other countries, this may not be a feudal idea, but a novelty!
In this case, a girl in the late Qing Dynasty was sold to the United States, thinking that this was the beginning of a new life, but did not think that the girl had become a tool for black-hearted merchants to make money, and was used as an animal for people to watch. What is even more ironic is that the local circus ticket is around 50 cents, and the ticket to see the late Qing girl is also 50 cents, which is the attitude of making money as a commodity! So next, let's get closer to the whole process and see what happens in the middle.
Mei Afang was tricked into going to the United States
After the Qing Dynasty was breached by the city gates, the Western powers began a vigorous campaign of looting, and as many treaty ports were opened, more and more merchants entered the Chinese market. China has been a superpower since ancient times, and Marco Polo's travels have made many people have a magnificent view of China. China is full of gold, tea, silk, blue and white porcelain, etc., all attract Western countries, which leads to foreign businessmen who come to China began to look at the calculation.
Among them, the American businessman Kahn brothers are one of the typical representatives. They came here and watched the Qing Dynasty girls wrap their feet and their clothes tightly covered, which is very different from the United States! The Kahn brothers were curious, and it was at this time that they came up with the idea of selling Chinese girls. The Kahn brothers believe that their country has never seen a Chinese girl, and their dress, combined with their unique Asian faces, will surely attract many Americans!
In this way, the Kahn brothers looked for suitable girls in China. After some investigation, they took a fancy to the rural girl Mei Afang, a 19-year-old girl who lives in the countryside all year round and has a very traditional Chinese girl style. The family's patriarchal mentality is serious, coupled with poor family conditions, Mei Afang's parents have no intention of leaving her. Just when the Kahn brothers arrived and gave her considerable money to lure her to sign a contract, the Mei parents agreed.
In this way, Mei Afang followed the Kahn brothers on the road to the United States, and listened to the brothers say that this time to go to the United States is to live a good life, but also to spread Chinese culture, there are many benefits. Poor Mei Afang had seen such a thing, and left with a few people in a daze. However, Mei Afang also knows that her life will inevitably be controlled by others, and she does not know what she will face in the future, so she can only take one step at a time.
Mei Afang was exhibited as a commodity
In 1834, Mei Afang came to the Territory of the United States, and she saw the outside world for the first time, and her eyes were full of surprise and curiosity. Unlike the Qing Dynasty, which had a traditional small-scale peasant economy, the United States was already in a high-tech environment, and in an instant, she felt a different life.
However, it was not long before the kahn brothers' true thoughts were revealed, and they deceived Mei Afang's acting career into empty words, but instead packaged her as a gege identity, put on traditional Qing Dynasty costumes, and let her stay in the exhibition hall every day waiting for tourists to see. Not to mention, under the super booing, Mei Afang's fame really came up. Everyone was very curious about the Qing Dynasty Gege, and when they heard that it was only 50 cents, they were quickly moved.
Like a commodity, Mei Afang lived the same life every day, and her machine-like state made her doubt her state for a while. Only then did she realize that she had been deceived. But in a foreign country, it is not easy to survive without dependence. She really couldn't, and she could only cling to the Kahn brothers, after all, she could ensure that she had food and clothing every day, but it was better than at home.
The mysterious oriental culture is already very famous in the United States, and when you hear the arrival of a Chinese girl, everyone's interest is beyond doubt. In this case, the Kahn brothers made a lot of money. What is even more ironic is that like Mei Afang, there are oriental porcelain, embroidery and other things on display, which is enough to show their idea that Mei Afang is a usable commodity.
Mei Afang was abandoned, and the ending was bleak
For a long time, Mei Afang was not hot in the United States, this oriental face is really too attractive, coupled with the first Chinese woman to immigrate, many identities added together, naturally attracted attention. In order to make better money, the Kahn brothers also allow guests to ask questions to Mei Afang, because of the problem of language communication, Mei Afang uses Chinese to answer and then translate after the Kahn brothers translate, which can also be regarded as invisibly spreading Chinese culture.
In order to satisfy the curiosity of consumers, the Kahn brothers let Mei Afang expose her three-inch golden lotus, and even let her walk in front of everyone, as if she had lost her dignity as a woman. At that time, Chinese thought was very feudal, a woman's feet were seen by others as equivalent to losing her virginity, and Mei Afang was looked at as a body and feet, and she had no dignity to speak of.
After a while, Mei Afang's affairs became like a gust of wind in the past, and it was obvious that she had lost her use value. The Kahn brothers, on the other hand, earn more and more because of this money, and they can live a good life. Not long after this, Mei Afang was abandoned by the two brothers, a Chinese woman without an American green card and background in a foreign country, how can the next few days be better?
Later, I also heard stories about Mei Afang, and it was rumored that she had found a handyman job in the circus because she could show her face and was a bit booy. Still on the basis of squeezing out their own use of value, after which he worked for a while, barely maintaining his own survival. Unfortunately, the identity problem finally brought her a desperate impact, until 1847, there was no news of Mei Afang.
epilogue
We don't want to speculate about the situation of this Chinese girl, since she crossed the United States, her life has been out of her hands. This is the tragedy of the times, if the Qing government was not so weak and incompetent, would Mei Afang still end up with this ending? I only sigh at that era, and hope that our future life can be built on the basis of that era and witness the prosperity of the country!
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