Lin Daiyu, a famous prostitute in Shanghai during the Republic of China, was another woman who was bullied and insulted in history, a pitiful and pathetic woman (because she herself was forced by the experience, she had to hide it and cheat). I once wanted to write a novel about her, but I thought there was no need to spend too much time and energy on her, so I would just write an article for now.
Lin Daiyu, a famous prostitute in Shanghai at the turn of the 19th century and 20th century, specific name (some say her original name was Lu Jinbao), birth and death dates (approximately born in the mid-to-late 1860s, died in 1919 After that), his place of origin (probably Songjiang, the original Jiangsu [now Shanghai], or the countryside at the junction of Jiangsu and Shanghai) is unknown. At the end of the 19th century, her "career" reached its peak, and she became extremely popular in Shanghai, comparable to today's top ladies in "Heaven and Earth" in Beijing. She has a group of regular customers, including literati, famous actors and princes, high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen, etc. "There are scholars who talk and laugh, and there are endless ghosts." Wang Hengfang, the magistrate of Nanhui County, was so fascinated by her beauty that he spent a huge sum of money to build a building specifically for her. Beautiful house, sensational. In 1897, Shanghai's "Game News" named her one of the four most beautiful brothel girls in Shanghai. In addition, Lin Daiyu went from being a prostitute to being a prostitute, from being a prostitute to being a prostitute, and was a good person and a prostitute again and again. According to statistics, she was no less than 20 times in her life. Among them, she was officially married 17 times! She is probably the most married woman in Chinese history. But looking at her ending, it was very miserable and desolate.
The overall situation of brothel women in Shanghai in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China
During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, in the old Shanghai where people were living in debauchery, reveling in wealth, sensuality, and filth, the women in brothels were the first to be fashionable and popular. Tabloids often comment on it, making it a fashion icon. But this also illustrates the extent to which they openly participate in urban life without shame. Moreover, Shanghai frequently held some large-scale beauty pageants at that time. Naturally, they were only targeted at prostitutes, and women from good families were not included in the scope.
An important aspect of the self-presentation of high-end brothel women is to choose flower names. Some brothel girls, after using a flower name and becoming popular, will keep the flower name. There are many important moments in the career of a brothel girl: entering a brothel for the first time, changing places, opening her own business, or returning to be a brothel girl after being a concubine for a while; at this time, like the men of the upper class, they will give themselves new names. For example, in the 1920s, a Shanghai brothel girl named "Xiao Ling Long Lao Qi" moved to Tianjin and changed her name to "Ai Wen"; when she returned to Shanghai, she chose "Nian Nian Hong" as her name. Lin Daiyu is named after the weak, sickly, and temperamental heroine in the novel "A Dream of Red Mansions" by Cao Xueqin of the Qing Dynasty. In addition, there was a famous prostitute named Hu Baoyu at that time, whose name also came from "A Dream of Red Mansions". In Lin Daiyu's later years, a young brothel woman named Lin Daiyu appeared in Shanghai. She was Xiao Lin Daiyu (there is also a saying that Xiao Lin Daiyu was Lin Daiyu's adopted daughter). At that time, "Yan Ruisheng", China's first feature film, was based on the social news that caused a sensation in Shanghai in 1920 (the foreign comprador Yan Ruisheng strangled the brothel girl Wang Lianying to death), and Xiao Lin Daiyu was included in it.
Shanghai’s Fireworks Alley is concentrated on the famous Fuzhou Road, that is, the area around Sima Road. Wang Tao said in "Songbin Trivial Stories": "Shanghai is a prosperous abyss, and in the center, there are groups of beautiful flowers and colorful clouds. They are all extremely beautiful and show off their coquettishness. They all think that they are peerless in appearance and laughable. "Allure..." The first-class brothels on Sima Road are called "Chang San Tang Zi", where famous prostitutes gather; the middle class are called "Mo Er Tang Zi"; the bottom class are called "Bacon House". The famous prostitutes in Changsantangzi include Lin Daiyu, Bei Jinyu, Hua Xiaobao, Hao Di, Xu Di, etc., and they have been successively elected as the "President of the Flower Country" by boring literati. (It is said that even the famous modern woman Sai Jinhua came to Shanghai to open a business with them.)
Judging from their existing photos, they are not actually first-class beauties. . But these people are all remarkable in terms of cooking skills. In a certain literary work, Lin Daiyu was highly praised for her beauty: "She was seventeen or eighteen years old, with permed hair, earrings, pink eyebrows, big eyes with flowing water, an oval face, sexy red lips, and a Wearing a pink satin cheongsam, she has a three-curved figure, a high-open blouse, and a pair of long and muscular legs. She is fair and attractive. "In the summer of the Wuzi year of Guangxu (1888), there were 16 prostitutes in Shanghai. The eighth place is Lin Daiyu, the "Master of the Jiangta Fairy Pavilion". Her comment is: "Deliberate lingering, affectionate, charming smile, the spirit is in the silk, and the charm wins."
The gold of brothel women's activities On the ground, it is Wei Shu Garden during the day and Sima Road at night. People at the time wrote: "There are two places where idle people in Shanghai gather. The place where they gather during the day is called Wei Shuyuan, and the place where they gather at night is called Sima Road. That's why the tea at Wei Shuyuan and the wine at Sima Road are far away from each other." ” This is the place where Shanghai brothel girls compete for success and steal the spotlight. Every time when the sun sets in the west, tourists arrive, and everyone in the brothel calls for their aunts and sisters. In the 1890s, famous prostitutes Lin Daiyu, Jin Xiaobao, Lu Lanfen, Zhang Shuyu and others were always there. Lin Daiyu and these three people are listed as the "Four King Kongs" in the flower world. This is the nickname given to them by the famous writer Li Boyuan (also known as Li Baojia, the author of "The Current Records of Officialdom"). The reason why it got its name is because "after the four people arrived, they would have a cup of tea at the round table at the entrance, each of them occupying a seat. If the Buddhist family had four diamonds guarding the mountain gate, the view would be particularly magnificent."
In the years after 1897, every Sunday, the "Game Newspaper" sponsored by Li Boyuan, the "Flower Country Tidiao", with the main content of introducing and commenting on brothel girls, printed more than four to five hundred copies. They would get gifts from Zhang Yuan; sometimes they would also include photos of women from brothels. This further adds to the interest of tourists. At that time, the fashion trend in Shanghai was characterized by men looking at women and women looking at brothel girls. Brothel girls play the role of fashion models. At that time, when people looked at brothel women, they were not only looking at the person, but also judging the clothes.
"Dianshizhai Illustrated" deliberately designed relevant scenes, closely linking carriages with brothel women, rides, streets, urban areas, parks and many other factors, weaving a picture of Shanghai brothel women A vivid picture of traveling around the city in a Western open-top carriage: "The number of carriages is no greater than that of this town, and the number of brothels is second to none. Therefore, at five or six o'clock every day, some friends are invited, or some girls from brothels are taken to go out. When you have enough cakes, you can walk towards Jing'an Temple. The winding road in the shade of willows is one of the famous places in Hujiang. " is juxtaposed with "there are many brothels", implying that those who like riding carriages the most are Shanghai brothel girls. Among them are Lin Daiyu, Jin Xiaobao, Lu Lanfen, and Zhang Shuyu. They are jokingly compared to Daotai, Nian Si, The "three great vassals" of the vassal are collectively called the "four great kings".
The affair between prostitutes and prostitutes was a common feature of Shanghai in the late Qing Dynasty, and it was also gossip news that everyone liked. When Lin Daiyu and Zhao Xiaolian, a martial artist from the Tianxian Tea Garden, were having a tryst in Yuyuan and Zhangyuan, they were hit by the horse-riding seals there and were taken to the police station. "Dianshizhai Pictorial" described the "sexual affairs" of Lin and Zhao's friendship: "Whenever it was late at night and everyone was quiet, he would go to Zhao Ling's house to find advice and rekindle their love. The night before yesterday, he took a horseman's ride. Fuyuan's express carriage, boarded by Zhao Ling's family, galloped between Yu and Zhang Eryuan." ("Dianshizhai Pictorial·Scattered Mandarin Ducks") The carriage has become an important prop for affair, which is easily reminiscent of "Biography of Flowers on the Sea". A description of Shen Xiaohong riding a carriage.
As for the Shanghai "Zhuzhi Ci", it says, "If you dress up like a groom, the best one is the Four Diamonds." It is talking about Zhang Shuyu, one of the "Four Diamonds", who is famous for his love of dressing up like a groom. She went to prostitution in Shanghai in the late Qing Dynasty; the reason why she showed herself in such a strange dress was because she liked riding carriages. In the biography written by Wu Jianren, Hu Baoyu, a later famous prostitute in Shanghai, he also specifically stated: "The wire carriage was started by Zhang Shuyu and was ordered overseas. The wheels were all nickel-plated. Before the carriage arrived, Zhang had already suffered Death." It can be seen that the author is deliberately emphasizing the deep connection between the carriage and the brothel women.
Some celebrities want to build a cemetery for famous prostitutes who have no relatives or friends to claim them, so that they can get a decent resting place; it can also be used by their former guests, confidants, lovers, etc. to pay their respects. They came to find the "Four King Kongs" and entrusted Lin Daiyu to raise funds on their behalf to purchase a cemetery. They also asked the other three "King Kongs" to help organize the cemetery. The four female sisters printed 1,600 copies of the donation list for the construction of the flower tomb. Each of them was responsible for going to the brothels to distribute 400 copies and collect them at the end of the month. Lin Daiyu raised 300 yuan on the first night, and the brothel women and clients all donated. (But another report said that the total *** only raised 428 yuan. It did not mention how much Lin Daiyu had raised, but instead blamed her for not managing the fundraising activities. This is a bit like the "fraud" often used by celebrities in today's entertainment industry. Jin Xiaobao, the most educated and talented among the four, selected a piece of land near Longhua Temple, negotiated the price, and completed all the procedures. In the spring of 1899, the "Four King Kongs" erected boundary stones and tree tombstones in the cemetery, engraved the inscription "Qunfang Cemetery", and listed the names of all the women who donated money to the brothel, such as Jin Xiaobao and Lin Daiyu. Later, the cemetery disappeared due to poor management, and by 1928 no one knew its exact location.
Lin Daiyu: From a moment of glory to a miserable death
Someone wrote at that time:
"Shanghai brothel girl Lin Daiyu was born in Songjiang. The song of the square in the middle of Guangxu period Among them, he was recommended as a sacrificial wine. Many of the people he interacted with were wealthy scholars and first-class people. However, his character was unrestrained and talented, and he had the style of a famous prostitute in history.
"A certain age. Zheng Shuwen, Shen Yanzhuan, Zhang Zibi, and Yi Shifu all gathered in Shanghai at the same time. They were all talented and famous at that time, and suddenly one day, they were all recruited by Lin, and all the buildings were demolished, so they were offered to Zhang. The wine, food, quilts and pillows are all of the highest quality. When Lin has time, he often chats with everyone, laughing and yelling at everything, and the music, pens, and inkstones in the room are all in good condition, and all the fine things are in the room. Everyone was just trying to amuse themselves, but they were not allowed to go out for fear of escaping, so they collected their shoes and picked up the bags. Someone stole a pair of shoes from the maid, and fled downstairs. It was known to Lin that he was chasing after him, and then he came out. Uncle Wen said to Zhu Guwei that the joy of poetry and wine was nothing more than this, but he didn't know what Lin was doing. It may be said that Lin looks at all contemporary figures as if they are like earth. He will be affectionate when he is happy, and will be dismissed when he is angry. In his life, there are countless dignitaries, wealthy businessmen, and husbands who have a close relationship with each other. He has never tasted the flavor of celebrities, so he is cunning and likes Westerners who like to open up new colonies.
"Lin has married many people and married countless people. He claims to be a good person." Suiting people means bathing. If you behave boldly, you can easily incur huge debts, and when there is no way to cover them, you will find ways to avoid them and make them pay for them. If you don't get enough, you will go back to the previous plan. This is why it is called bathing, because it means that when you get water, all the dirt will go away.
”
Lin Daiyu once married an extremely wealthy Qiu from Nanxun as a concubine with a net worth of 8,000 gold, and then moved to the Qiu family (some say she was the son of the merchant Qiu Xiancha, named Qiu Laowu, and This story is described in "Qiu Qichang's Silk Travels"). Soon, Lin Daiyu privately shipped all her belongings back to Shanghai and prepared for divorce. During this period, Lin also had an affair with Qiu's tailor and relatives. Qiu tempted Lin to smoke opium, but unexpectedly, "even though her addiction to smoking has increased, her lust has not been killed, and she still remains true to her true self." Qiu imprisoned her, but she later bribed the guards and escaped back to Shanghai. All her jewelry savings had already been transported to Shanghai from the Qiu family, and now she was "sitting back and enjoying everything."
Someone commented like this: "Some brothel girls aim at the money in the pockets of their clients, pretending to fall in love at first sight, and are charming and flattering. They serve the men so excited that they spend money like water; once After they drained the money, they kicked them out of prostitution with harsh words. Some brothel girls used the method of marrying rich people to squeeze money, which is commonly known as "bathing", which is essentially a fake job to defraud people of money." In "Sixty Years History of the Flower World in Shanghai", it is described that Lin Daiyu, a famous prostitute in Shanghai in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, used "bathing" to defraud money: "In the winter of Jihai (1899), I returned to Nanxun and took a certain Qiu as my concubine, worth eight thousand gold. Qiu's family assets, It's impossible to get married. After Lin Zhi got married, he smuggled everything to Shanghai and prepared a plan for the next year. He was in cahoots with Qiu Feng. He was lured to eat aphrodisiac (opium). Although his addiction to cigarettes continued, his lustful thoughts remained undiminished. Qiu was angry and imprisoned him. He fled to the sea and smuggled all his jewelry. In Shanghai, you can just sit back and enjoy everything." In 1905, Lin Daiyu was nearly 40 years old. Duan Fang, an important member of the Qing court and one of the five ministers who went abroad, invited Lin to his residence when he was traveling abroad and passed through Shanghai. When he saw her, he fell in love with her and wanted to take her as his concubine. Lin almost took him to his home to entertain her; However, Duan Fang was "remonstrated by the left and right" and tried his best to dissuade him, but regretfully gave up. Lin was quite disappointed. It is said that she once said at that time that she hoped to "seduce her and seize her to fulfill her desires."
In a series of relationships with men, Lin Daiyu either prevented the men from fulfilling their filial piety, or was unfaithful to her friends, with deliberate and scheming intentions. Only the fact that she protected the leader of the Boxer Rebellion was praised by biographers as the only good thing she did in her evil life.
In the early years of the Republic of China, Lin Daiyu, who was already quite young, fell in love with the actor Long Xiaoyun, and fully supported him, provided him with food and clothing, hired teachers to teach him Chinese and English, and also campaigned for the governor of Jiangsu. Handsome, he found a sinecure for Long. However, the army staff attacked him, saying that he was an opera singer, and his "sister" (Lin Daiyu, whom Long was called sister and brother) had been a prostitute, causing Long to lose his job again. Long Xiaoyun turned to another brothel girl and actually sold Lin Daiyu. "This was a major regret in Lin's life."
In 1914, a group of young brothel women (among them Lin Daiyu and Weng Meiqian) borrowed Darwin's language and established the "Butterfield Evolution Group". The two main activists of the organization are Zhang Manjun and Zhu Ruchun. It is said that Zhang Manjun read revolutionary newspapers enthusiastically and was the spokesperson for the patriotism of early brothel women. She is famous for having given a public speech. At that time, it was fashionable among brothel girls to wear trousers with national flag patterns on them. Zhang's speech condemned this fashion, pointing out that so many soldiers and heroes have sacrificed their lives for this flag, but now they wear the national flag pattern on their trousers. Go ahead, isn't it just asking foreigners to laugh at Chinese people?
In the seventh year of the Republic of China (1918), when Lin Daiyu finally revealed herself as a prostitute, former "News" Prime Minister Wang Hanxi praised her very much and sent a cover advertisement with a special book: "Old Lin, the owner of Xiaoxiang Pavilion" The 16-character poem "Daiyu came out of the mountains again to sing and sing for the recruitment" attracted the attention of newspaper readers. Because Shanghai brothels have never been advertised in major newspapers, Mr. Wang’s support really helped Lao Lin to make a lot of money out of his prostitution business.
On the eve of the May 4th Movement in Beijing in 1919, 19 brothel girls in Shanghai organized a propaganda group and asked Lin Daiyu to be their "big brother" or "big uncle". ("Jingbao" commented: "This move makes people shudder as they think of uprisings and boxing movements." However, it did not explain why this organization did not receive the usual approval, but instead received such bad reviews and was compared to crooked rebels. ) "May 4th" *** *** After the incident, May 9th became the National Day of Humiliation. Brothels closed their doors and stopped business for one day to commemorate it. The women in the brothels stated that they would only use domestic products. In early June, the brothels were closed again, and the brothel women, along with all citizens and students, participated in the *** *** strike, which did not end until mid-June.
From the Revolution of 1911 to the May 4th Movement, caring about the fate of the country almost became a must for women in brothels. According to a 1919 "Jingbao" report, a famous prostitute was left in the cold because she could not read and was not familiar with new terms such as "patriotism" and "compatriots." After the May Fourth Movement, the famous prostitute Bing no longer entertained Japanese clients. When one of her regular customers invited a Japanese to have wine and wine with her at her prostitute's house, she went out to listen to the opera, and the servant had to order some food from a nearby restaurant. Lin Daiyu then sent a sister to help entertain them.
Another theory is that Lin Daiyu once suffered from syphilis, so her eyebrows fell off. So she invented a kind of "Daguan knife eyebrow" and made it fashionable in the brothel women's shop and even among ordinary women.
One day after a few days and months, in a shabby little pavilion above the Shengsheng Art Company in Daguangli, Nanjing Road, Shanghai, an old woman curled up on her bed and died miserably. After her death, no one came to collect her body. But who would know that this skinny old woman was Lin Daiyu, a famous prostitute in Shanghai at that time.
The death of Lin Daiyu shows how tragic the fate of prostitutes in old Shanghai was! They naturally have their sad and hateful side, but more importantly, they are pitiful and pitiful!