Tang Dynasty Crossing Guide: Chang'an and People's Life Manual

Chapter 18
Don't be embarrassed, since I have traveled to the Tang Dynasty and dressed as a noble scholar with a big waist and a wealthy family, how can I not follow the Romans and go to Pingkangfang, the most famous red-light district in Chang'an City, in this beautiful spring?

When it comes to going to brothels, do you see such a scene in front of your eyes: a several-story building with red walls and green tiles, carved beams and painted buildings, a row of red lanterns hung high under the cornices, illuminating the horizontal plaque on the door, the plaque There are big characters such as "Lichun Courtyard" or "Yihong Courtyard" written on it.Upstairs, the sound of silk and bamboo playing and singing and laughter came down the wind. The turtle slave nodded and bowed to introduce the benefactor to the door. The middle-aged but still wearing gold and silver, the madam, twisting the waist of the bucket and waving the handkerchief, came out to greet her. A row of girls came down the stairs one by one, all wearing heavy makeup, showing arms, showing thighs, and flirting with winking eyes, waiting for the benefactor to choose...

The benefactor with taste and pursuit slapped the table, not wanting these cheap goods, and asked the madam to call out the high-class red lady.The red lady naturally wanted to put on airs, lose her temper a little, and show some restraint before she came out.When she appeared on the stage, she also put on a noble appearance of a lady, or played the piano, or sang a song, or danced, and the onlookers were fascinated and praised that she was a fairy in the world with both beauty and art.

I'm sorry, if you visit the brothels of the Tang Dynasty, you will basically not see these scenes.

Let's first talk about what the houses of the brothels in the Tang Dynasty looked like.

You walk into Pingkangfang (Li), where the famous prostitutes live in Chang'an. This residential area is also called "Beili". (So ​​it is very convenient for officials to relax after get off work).In this kind of location, private people are not allowed to build high-rise buildings casually, what should I do if I accidentally see who is conspiring with whom in the imperial city upstairs.

The buildings of the Tang Dynasty are also simpler and more generous in color and style than the buildings of later generations, without so many complicated piles.Most of the houses you can see are black and gray roofs, red pillars, and white or khaki walls.Neither red walls nor green tiles can be used casually by ordinary people.

When you come in from the north gate of Pingkangfang, you should go east. Most of the prostitutes live in the three "qu" (districts) in the east of the square.Among them, the big-name prostitutes live in Zhongqu and Nanqu, while those in Beiqu live in the middle and low class.

Walking along the cross street in Fangli, you look up at the houses and courtyards on the street. If you want to see a plaque on the courtyard door that says "XX Hall", "XX Yard" and "XX Building", then you must disappointed.Brothels in the Tang Dynasty came up with such names from time to time. When others called them, they were usually called "Who's House", such as "Shu Wujia" and "Yang Liujia". Shu Wu and Yang Liu may be the names of the madam, or this The stage name of the leading courtesan.

You have to ask people: "How to get to the five Shu houses?" Passers-by will generally point you this way: "Nanqu, Pingkangfang, the fourth house from the east" or "Five or six houses to the east from Baotang Temple, Pingkangfang ".After you enter the workshop, find someone to ask about the location of Baotang Temple.In fact, it is strongly not recommended that you rush to find a brothel by yourself, because the unspoken rule of Pingkangfang is that "the bridegroom doubles his whoring money", and it is more cost-effective to ask an old hand to take you to a place of luxury.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was more popular to buy sex together. A group of literati rushed into a famous prostitute's house, and the "fake mother", that is, the madam, greeted them and greeted them with a smile.These fake mothers are usually born as prostitutes. When they get older, they save some money, rent a house to start a business, and buy some girls to train and pick up customers.If there is still some beauty, the false mother will often be taken care of by the local evil forces as a concubine, otherwise this bowl of food will not taste good.

Take a look at this brothel, although there are no high-rise buildings and colorful brocades, but it is also a large courtyard house that enters and exits frequently.Walking through the hall and through the courtyard, you can see the spacious and quiet halls all the way. Flowers are planted in the courtyard, or there are strange stone basins and pools.

Famous prostitutes each have their own room. Of course, the more famous they are, the higher the standard of residence.You don't need to expect to see ten or twenty prostitutes living in a row of small rooms. The well-known private brothel in Pingkangfang can pull out four or five prostitutes at the same time, which is already considered a lot. Their business purpose It is expensive and not expensive.

The most exquisite place in a brothel is the "lobby" where banquets are held.When the benefactors come to visit the kiln, they take off without entering the door, and they all enter the table first to drink flower wine.The venue, furniture, food and drink, and the band are all provided by the brothel. Of course, they are very expensive. As long as the gentlemen have a banquet, they have to pay 3 yuan (about 300 Wen). times.

The guests were modest and seated at the table, the band began to play music, the food and drink were served, and it was time to invite the famous prostitutes out.The top prostitutes in the Tang Dynasty were called "Duzhi", which is the highest title among prostitutes. It is said that once a prostitute with the title of "Duzhi" shows up, other prostitutes have to obey and obey the discipline, and make progress The heart is also secretly determined to match others in the future.

So, what kind of prostitute can become a "duzhi"?

The house you and your friends came to today has a famous prostitute named Zheng Juju.The wealthy man who came with him sold a large sum of treasures and silk, and asked someone to invite "Zheng Duzhi". After a while, only to hear the jingle of rings, surrounded by maidservants, the beauty appeared!
I saw this famous star in the capital, with fashionable hairstyle, bright clothes, luxurious makeup, and professionalism, but this appearance... ah... Whether it is in modern times or in Tang Dynasty, if you look horizontally, vertically, sideways, backwards, At most, I would give a comment of "average appearance" - is this a famous prostitute in the capital?Flip the table!These Tang Dynasty people are bullying the traversers again!
Don't get excited, guest, look at the excited looks of these officials and scholars around you, it is obvious that this ordinary-looking Zheng Duzhi is undoubtedly a real famous prostitute.And it's not just her, you can go to various brothels in Pingkangfang to see that there are a lot of first-class urban and famous prostitutes in the world, and there are a lot of these ordinary-looking, not outstanding, this is a common phenomenon.

You ask why people in the Tang Dynasty didn't love beautiful women when they went to prostitutes?Do you value the spiritual beauty of prostitutes?Of course not, but it is true that people in the Tang Dynasty sought after famous prostitutes, and they often did not pay attention to appearance, but to talent.The "talent" here is also very particular, you guess what it is.

sing and dance?Playing the piano and drawing?It is of course good to have these talents, it is the icing on the cake, but the most critical skills used to determine the level of prostitutes in the Tang Dynasty are only two. The first is to do "Xi Jiu", and the second is... Congratulations, you have answered correctly-poetry.

Poetry, of course you know what it is, let's talk about it as "Xi Jiu".

Mrs. Zheng appeared on the stage, and the room was full of spring.After playing music and having a banquet, people in the Tang Dynasty had a habit of drinking with a "drinking order", that is, to set a rule, let the people present follow the rules to do things in turn, everyone praises them if they do well; Laughed at you and fined you with alcohol.

Since rules, rewards and punishments are involved, there must be referees. "Xi Jiao" is the chief referee at the banquet, just like the role of Yuanyang in "Golden Mandarin Duck and Three Announcements of Tooth Cards" in "Dream of Red Mansions".

You have counted the number of people in this group, and there are almost twenty people, which is just a group of people suitable for drinking orders.First, a prestigious person was elected as the prison order to be responsible for supervising the entire drinking order activities. Everyone called him "Ming Fu" by the honorary title of the county magistrate.

The "Ming Mansion" manages two people, "Lü Lu Shi" and "Gong Lu Shi".Among them, "Lülushi" is "Xijiao", also known as "Jiujiao". It is responsible for announcing orders, serving wine, and judging right from wrong, that is, to control the words. This is the full-time job of famous prostitutes. Come to act; "Gong record affairs" is also called "principal punishment record affairs". It is the person who listens to the order of the banquet and is responsible for running errands to punish wine and pour alcohol. After everyone discusses it, you, the groom, have a big waist and a round waist, and are simple and honest. Yes, this It's up to you to record the toast.

Mingfu took out a pair of dice and a wine ladle, and he was in charge of rolling the dice and began to enforce the wine order.The courtesan Xi Jiu is in charge of a small flag, a group of chips, and a small flag—these things are held by you, the Gong recorder, and the courtesan lady is only in charge, taking them when they are used, and throwing them back to you when they are used up here.

Among them, the flag is used to announce orders.What is "announcement"? Simply put, it is the rules for announcing the drinking order.Taking "Dream of Red Mansions" as an example, the following two paragraphs are both describing the scene of "announcement":

Baoyu laughed and said: "Listen to me: drinking so much is easy to get drunk and tasteless. I will drink a sea first, and issue a new order. Anyone who does not obey will be fined ten seas in a row, and pour wine with others outside the meeting." Feng Ziying Jiang Yuhan and others said: "It's reasonable, it's reasonable." Baoyu took the sea and drank it dry, and said, "Now we want to say the four characters of sadness, sorrow, joy and joy, but we have to name our daughter and indicate these four characters. The reason. Finished speaking, drink the door cup. Sing a fresh and seasonal tune on the face of the wine, and something like wind on the bottom of the wine, or ancient poems, old pairs, idioms in "Four Books" and "Five Classics."

The mandarin duck also half-pushed and gave up, thanked him for his seat, sat down, drank a cup of wine, and said with a smile: "The wine order is as big as a military order. No matter how high or low, I am the master. If you violate my words, you will be punished." Mrs. Wang They all laughed and said, "That must be the case. Let's talk about it quickly." Yuanyang said: "Now I'm talking about dominoes, starting from the old lady, and going on down to Grandma Liu. For example, if I say a pair, Disassemble these three cards, talk about the first card first, then the second card, and then the third card. After finishing talking, synthesize the name of this pair. No matter the poems, songs, idioms, or sayings, it is more important than the last one. Ye Yun. If you make a mistake, you will be fined a cup." Everyone laughed and said, "This order is good, just say it."

We all know that when a lady orders the flag, she drinks a glass of wine first, issues orders, and determines the rules.Everyone at the table followed the rules she said and took turns to perform.After one person finishes making an order, Mrs. Zheng uses a 纛 to indicate who is going to make the next order. If someone makes a foul or makes a mistake, there will be a "snap", and a bamboo stick will be thrown over. The unlucky guy poured a drink.

It is not as simple as the above few lines to really play the wine order.Most of the people who come to the brothel are self-confident scribes. Whether they are issuing orders, reprimanding or punishing them, the famous prostitutes must speak quickly, cleverly and wittily. This command works well, what's so good about it?Li Silang made a mistake and made a foul. Where did he go wrong?One is wrong, being ridiculed by the scribes is still a trivial matter, and when the news spreads, the celebrity's value will plummet and the family will be left out in the cold. It is related to the issue of the rice bowl. Can you not concentrate on working hard?

Famous prostitutes did a good job in Xijiao, and the literati wrote poems describing: "Create a new chapter skillfully to point out the new, and the golden scorpion patrols to help the spirit. I still have to look forward to it all the time, and I am afraid that I will point to the wrong person when I return." okay?It's still you guys. A few days later, we gathered a crowd to drink and order. We didn't invite Zheng Juju, but let a talented man named Li Shenzhi do the banquet. After two or three rounds, he became tongue-tied and flustered, so he had to compose a song. The poem mocks himself: "I suddenly saw Li Shenzhi when I was traveling south, dancing with my hands like a rumor. Ren Er is romantic and subtle, and he is not born like Zheng Duzhi."

The more advanced courtesans, no matter whether they are doing Xijiu or talking and joking in daily life, they can write a poem about everything and everything at all times.Especially in front of everyone, when a talented man composes a poem impromptu and dedicated it to a famous courtesan, that is the most difficult test. Most of the truly high-level ladies will be able to sing a rhyme and go back quickly.

For example, when a frivolous gentleman met a famous prostitute for the first time, he thought highly of himself and wrote a poem: "Flowers fly around the house in the evening of spring, Wang Sun seeks victory and attracts dusty clothes. The fairies in the cave are full of emotions, and keep Ruan Lang Don’t release him.” It means that the famous prostitute has taken a fancy to him, and if he is not released, he will stay overnight.Most of the famous prostitutes have a temper, so they got annoyed at this moment, and cursed: "The one who left the husband, don't mess around!" Immediately responded with a song according to the original rhyme: "It's so strange that the dog is frightened and the chicken is flying around, and the boy Thin horse and old sackcloth. The one who lures idlers here indiscriminately, keeps the green clam hot and rushes back." It means that your poor appearance, my old lady can't take a fancy to you, and you bump into it by yourself. Don't piss and take care of yourself... So the unlucky child blushed amidst the laughter, and ran out to go home alone.

If a famous prostitute writes poems for you on her own initiative, you have to quickly rhyme and write a poem to gain face, otherwise you will be ridiculed for your lack of talent.Suppose you had a good time at Zheng Juju’s house for the first time, and you come here often, and the relationship between the two of you is getting better and better. Mrs. Zheng hopes that you will pay her to redeem her life, so she wrote a poem to you: "Every day is sad I'm too lazy to tell ordinary people what's on my mind. It's not the same as being overwhelmed with water. I just ask Xianlang if he has any intentions?"

You touched the money pouch at your waist, that emptiness.Although I was a bit reluctant, I had no choice but to decline, and wrote a poem: "How can Shaomiao have a long-term plan, but I can't believe in her husband. Although the lotus seeds in the mud are not stained, they will not be empty when they move into their homes."

Mrs. Zheng burst into tears holding the poem, and you have no choice but to get up and leave.If you want to comfort yourself, you can say that the law of the Tang Dynasty clearly stipulates that "good and low must not be married". Anyway, you can't marry her as a legal wife. If you enter the house, you will be a maidservant, at most a concubine, and you will definitely be bullied by the legal wife.If you have money, you can also consider buying a house outside your home, then take 200 taels of gold to redeem her, and place her outside as a "housewife".Or more simply, let her live in the brothel without ransom, but give the false mother 1 penny a day to "buy out", and she will stop accepting other customers and serve you exclusively (in theory).But since you don't have that much money, don't say anything.

Whether they are famous prostitutes or low-end prostitutes, most of them have a miserable fate.Their origins include those from lowly backgrounds who have worked in lowly jobs for generations, and some from good families who were kidnapped and fell into prostitution by mistake.When the fake mothers bought them and forced them to learn poetry and art, they beat and scolded them constantly. When they were fourteen or fifteen years old, prostitutes with good quality would be auctioned off for their "prime night rights". Qiyuan".

Even if they become famous prostitutes, the false mother still doesn't allow them to go out casually, just like guarding prisoners.There is a custom in Pingkangfang. On the 28th, 1th, and [-]th of each month, prostitutes go to Baotang Temple in the workshop to listen to nuns preaching scriptures and storytelling. Out of the brothel.And those three "eight days" became the days when literati rushed to Baotang Temple to see famous ladies for free.

There is also a colored board in the rooms of the prostitutes, on which the death dates of the emperors and empresses of the Tang Dynasty are written.What is this for, you ask?The date of death of these emperors and empresses is called "National Death Day". The imperial court stipulates that no fun is allowed on this day, and if they are caught, they will be punished, so prostitutes should be careful not to receive customers on those days, at least not on a large scale, drinking and having fun openly , Otherwise, if you meet any official who is angry, don't you dare to bully others, and dare not hit a prostitute?

Finally, the situation of visiting brothels we are talking about today is basically limited to Pingkangfang, and it is Pingkangfang in the late Tang Dynasty.The prostitutes in Pingkangfang are mainly Han people, and there may be orchids occasionally, but a large number of orchids are still concentrated in Xishi, Yiningfang, Judefang and other workshops in the west of Chang'an City.Moreover, Hu Ji's nominal occupation is mainly restaurant waitresses, and many of them also work as escorts, but they cannot be said to be open "hu prostitutes".

In fact, the Caucasian orchid from Central Asia is a novelty to the people of Tang. It’s good to try it once in a while for a change, but after a long time, it’s still not as attractive as those young women in Pingkangfang.Tang people also wrote poems such as "the eyes are deep but the water of the Xiangjiang River, and the nostrils are higher than Huayue Mountain" ① to ridicule Hu Ji's appearance.So if there is a new brothel with the signboard of "[-]% off for Orchids", it should be a good start, but if it wants to ensure the development potential, it still has to work hard to train the women's poetry and calligraphy talents.

① It is from Lu Yan's dream poem "Presenting Hu Yunu at the Banquet in Guizhou" included in Fan Yu's notebook novel "Yunxi Youyi".

References & in-depth understanding recommendations for this article:
(Tang) Sun Wei. North Satoshi

Wang Xiaojuan. On the Folk Life of Chang'an in the Late Tang Dynasty—From "Beili Zhi". Social Scientist, 2010 (8)

Wang Shunu. History of Prostitutes in China. Shanghai: Shanghai Joint Publishing, 1988
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(End of this chapter)