When the word prostitute is mentioned, many people will tacitly show disdain. But what everyone doesn't know is that prostitutes are actually talking about an industry. And its rise and fall in history has always changed with the attitude of dynastic policy. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong listed this as an important industry for economic development, while during the Qing Dynasty, the government controlled this industry by the official family, and waited for the emperor's will to change and investigate at any time.
Later, with the progress of the times, the abolition of feudal dross became the mainstream measure to promote traditional culture, and a series of measures and measures for prohibiting prostitution were introduced and implemented, and feudal remnants such as fireworks alleys and official prostitutes were clearly abolished, so that the entire industry became a blind "street rat" and once disappeared in the long river of history.
A woman from the old times
The open brothel is temporarily gone, but it does not mean that the secret flower path alleys are not patronized. It was not uncommon at the time to commit crimes against the wind and secretly pass the song.
In the late Qing Dynasty, the occupation and oppression of the great powers and the frequent occurrence of wars and turmoil made the rulers of the Qing Dynasty change their attitudes towards this industry again. The official prostitute system was established in the form of explicit regulations, which once caused the public to be uproared and the prostitution industry flourished, and the resurgence of the prostitution industry was thus operated under the control of the government.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, the era of warlords fighting, party strife, gang fights, and chaos brought the prostitute industry into an explosive period of barbaric growth. Especially in the world-famous Bada Hutong in Beijing, the Shili Yangchang in Shanghai, all kinds of rouge gouache, flowers and delicate women, all kinds of silk satin and modern cheongsam, let people have a sense of confusion that random flowers gradually enter the charming eyes. And this atmosphere and situation has slowly spread from various major cities to the whole country, and the objects of reception have also shifted from Chinese to foreigners.
In ancient texts, we often see literati and inkers talking about the word gouge. It specifically refers to the Qinglou women in the old Beijing city, in the fireworks alley.
The eight hutongs that people often talk about are actually referred to, which represents the intricate alleys of the intricate alleys in the capital. Most of the prostitutes were from tragic backgrounds, some were misguided, some were trafficked and kidnapped, and some were implicated and confiscated. In short, most Qinglou women have the good wish of being redeemed and marrying a good family. However, the Qinglou is easy to enter and difficult to get out, and most women can only live a lifelong life in a cage with gorgeous clothes on the surface and bright clothes, and secretly crying and running.
According to some data, a dusty woman with a family in Sichuan has unveiled the fog of the tragic fate of prostitutes in the Republic of China era for us, let us follow her story, and immerse ourselves in those unknown different lives. Her name is Kang Xiaomei, and she said that she was deceived and sold to the Qinglou, and there are countless people like her who have experienced it.
At that time, the society had just experienced the double exploitation and oppression of feudal dynasties and colonization by the great powers, and suffered from warlord scuffles and natural and man-made disasters. The common people living at the bottom of society are playing out the same tragedy almost every day, the father who fled the famine starved to death as the head of the family, and the remaining children were sold by human traffickers to large families as slaves.
Kang Xiaomei was born in such an environment, his family was already unsustainable, she was a female doll, and her final fate was definitely to be sold. Do you think that being sold to a large family will be able to settle down in this lifetime? No. In that era when the social order was out of control and moral and ethical corruption, the evil of human nature far exceeded your imagination.
The old days of the beards
Kang Xiaomei, who had become a maid, was miserable in gossip and exclusion, and she was unable to resist in the end, she was driven out of the door of a large family. Under the displacement, she was forced to become someone else's child bride, but where could the dark old society give a helpless girl a good look, her in-laws were not only vicious servants, but her husbands could not move their fists and feet. Kang Xiaomei, who was only a teenager, was frightened, and she endured the cold ice and hunger and escaped on a night when she could not see her five fingers.
Fate never favors a person for no reason, and Kang Xiaomei, who escaped, has not escaped the fate of being sold into the Qinglou.
Kang Xiaomei, who had just been sold to the Qinglou, was beaten up again before she could even see the whole picture of the inside of the house. This is the unspoken rule of the industry, and every newcomer who has just arrived will be beaten and tweaked by the old bustard, in order to make these girls fearful and accept the order.
After being beaten, Kang Xiaomei could not stand up for several days in a row, and she sobbed darkly in the dark and cold firewood room alone. This time, she was scared, confessed her fate, and no longer dared to have the idea of running away.
The woman who is eating
The young Kang Xiaomei was injured quickly, leaving almost no trace. She began to do some chores in the Qinglou, familiar with the layout and rules in the Qinglou. The chores are not heavy, and the chores for several months have made Kang Xiaomei relax her vigilance, and she still thinks that this is a gift from heaven that has allowed her to find such a comfortable life, but what she does not know is that this is not the old bustard's kindness, or the lack of a miscellaneous servant in the Green Building. It was only because she was still young and had no other talents that she was temporarily allowed to do some ordinary chores.
Although brothels are the inferior industries of the three religions and nine streams, they are also strict classes and open and secret struggles. The first-class prostitutes in the Qinglou are basically proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and most of them are from the bookish mendi, and they talk and have extraordinary knowledge, so they do not need to stay overnight at night, and at most they only accompany the guests to drink tea and chat. Therefore, most of the women in the Qinglou are envious of such a life, which is both decent and clean, and they do not have to be ridiculed and laughed at by others, and they almost hollow out their minds to become among the first class.
And the second class needless to say, although they are also subdivided into three, six and nine, but they need to stay with guests, please guests and reward money. It can be said that it is both a sin and a smile, and the reward in the end can not get much.
Although the sparrow is small and complete, the Qinglou seems simple, in fact, the division of labor in it is clear and each performs its duties. There are heavy and dirty miscellaneous servants, there are guys who pour tea and water, there are matchmakers, there are turtles who run up and down, there are prostitutes who take care of business owners, there are prostitutes who stay overnight, there are thugs who care for homes, and there are small flags that attract customers. The cost of these people's wages is deducted from the reward of the woman who picks up the guest.
A woman resting
Kang Xiaomei, who lived in the Qinglou, had watched a woman secretly contact people, trying to escape from the cage with her belongings. But Qinglou ate this bowl of rice, where it would be so easy to let a woman escape.
In the dead of night, women's cries of despair and cries of pain echoed through the night. The beatings and abuse continued until the second half of the night, until the woman was silent, and at dawn her body was carried away.
The qinglou woman has been miserable and poor all her life, and almost none of them can earn enough ransom to let themselves go. Even so, the insatiable old bustard often runs to the bedrooms of these women and rummages through the boxes and cabinets to prevent them from secretly keeping private money. Even the floor, the wall, the door cracks and other places are not spared.
Kang Xiaomei was very sympathetic to the woman, but she was not sympathizing with herself, but the tragic life had no end, how could she spend it. Slowly, Kang Xiaomei also gradually learned to play and sing, and completely became one of the thousands of tragic encounters.
According to the data, on the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, the number of Qinglou and the number of Women in Qinglou reached the highest peak in history. Just within the public concession, the number of women in the Qinglou is as high as more than 10,000 people, and it is conceivable that its scale is huge. There are still so many bright and righteous, and there are probably not a few who operate secretly.
Old-time retreat
Later, the Japanese army invaded, and the smoke and prostitutes were completely liberalized. For a time, Shanghai became a smoky miasma and waves. Unscrupulous industries dressed in modern fashion such as bars, smoke houses, massages, and casual are all the rage.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, under the government's governance and rectification, these smoky miasma things were swept away, and the normal order of social production and life was restored. In the chaotic world, people are like duckweed. Everyone cannot get rid of the limitations of the times and cannot control their own destiny.
With the support of national policies and the attention of the government, Shanghai slowly got rid of the dregs of the old feudal period and gradually prospered, becoming the focus of the country's economy, culture, science and education. The gloomy past of the past has disappeared under the tide of history, and the warm sunshine has given the city new vitality and vitality, shining on the world stage.
I am Maple Fall
Follow me the old driver to take you to uncover the dusty fog of history
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