Hutongs play an important role in the history and culture of Beijing. A hutong is an alley or a lane formed by rows of siheyuan, a historical Chinese quadrangle where Old Beijingers live. Beijing has rolled into an international metropolis, but you can still catch a glimpse of the past charms of them when you go across the city along these hutongs. Among them, Bada Hutong (八大胡同, literally means eight great hutongs) is a little bit different. More than a traditional residence group, this area with such a plain name used to be the red-light district of Beijing during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.
Generally speaking, Bada Hutong includes Baishun Hutong (百顺胡同), Yanzhi Hutong (胭脂胡同), Hanjiatan (韩家潭), Shaanxi Xiang (陕西巷), Shitou Hutong (石头胡同), Wang Guangfu Street (王广福斜街), Zhujia Hutong (朱家胡同), and Li Shamao Hutong (李纱帽胡同). But when people talk about Bada Hutong, they are usually not referring to these eight specific hutongs but the whole area around Dashilan (大栅栏) near Qianmen, where hundreds of brothels used to operate. Since most high-grade brothels centered around Bada Hutong, it became a high-profile pronoun for whorehouses.
During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, many Peking Opera practitioners entered Beijing and Bada Hutong was where they settled. Those young beautiful male opera actors became the targets of whore masters and promoted further development of Bada Hutong.
Before a performance, actors with their make-up (mostly those who played Dan roles, meaning a male actor playing female roles in particular) would stand on the stage so that the audience could have a close look at them. After a series of eye-contacting, both the predators and the preys obtained necessary signals from each other. Once the performance is done, they left together. In certain circumstances, many so called “actors” were actually just male prostitutes.
As time passed, the punishment for visiting prostitutes became lighter. In the reign of Emperor Guangxu, it was just detention for several days and a small fine. Then female prostitutes out-competed male prostitutes. After the Opium War until early in the Period of Republic of China, Bada Hutong kept developing and reached a boom phase. When Yuan Shikai (袁世凯), politician and general, advocated for a revival of the monarchy, he tried to win the support of congressmen by treating them in Bada Hutong. At that time, Bada Hutong became their social spot. People called Bada Hutong “Congressman Club”.
Brothels were graded into four classes. The highest class was called “大地方 (big place)”; the second class was “中地方 (middle place)” or “茶室 (tea room)”; the third was “下处 (down place)”; and the lowest class was “小地方 (small place)”. Brothels at different classes had different decorations and provided different services. Prostitutes in 大地方 were more beautiful and usually good at singing, talking, and playing musical instruments.
Though serving as entertainment establishments, Bada Hutong was the site of many legendary stories. As in many Chinese folktales, beautiful storied prostitutes became the protagonists. Among them, Sai Jinhua (赛金花) and Xiao Fengxian (小凤仙) are the most famous and influential.
Sai Jinhua was a prostitute in Suzhou at first. When she was 15 years old, she met Hong Jun (洪钧). Hong was an official and a Zhuangyuan, who ranked first in the ancient imperial examination. He fell in love with Sai at first sight and then married her as his concubine. Before long, Hong was appointed as envoy to Europe. Sai then went to Russia, Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Holland in company with her husband. Such experience was really extraordinary for a woman then. Their story was later adapted into the famous novel “孽海花 (The flower in the sea of sin)”.
But the good times didn’t last long. Soon after they came back, Hong died from disease and Sai was expelled from home. In order to make a living, Sai restarted her career as a prostitute. After spending some time in Shanghai and Tianjin, she came to Beijing, and became one of the most popular prostitutes in Bada Hutong.
In 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing. It was said Sai knew the Allied Supreme Commander Alfred Graf Von Waldersee. Some people believed they had a romantic relationship. But in Sai’s bibliography, she insisted that it was just friendship between them. There were many anecdotes about Sai and Waldersee. Some people even thought that was Sai protected many Chinese citizens because she had an influence on Waldersee with her personal charm and said Sai was a woman as influential as Empress Dowager Cixi. But these anecdotes couldn’t be proved. The story between Sai and Waldersee has driven speculation for nearly a hundred years and is still the most mysterious part of Sai’s life.
In her later life, she married another two times. Both of her husbands were government officials. But just like Hong, those two men also died before her. When she got old, she lived a miserable life and died in 1936. Dramatically and pathetically, Sai spent all her life struggling between her two identities: a decent madam and a prostitute.
The story of Xiao Fengxian was more romantic and heroic. Born in 1900, Xiao was sold into brothel at a very young age. In Bada Hutong, she was famous for her talents and cleverness. During this time, she ran into Cai E (蔡锷), a famous revolutionary leader and warlord.
Since Cai was not a supporter of Yuan Shikai, he was held under house arrest in Beijing and closely watched. With no other business to deal with, Cai visited Bada Hutong occasionally. There, he met Xiao Fengxian. Both of them found each other special, and developed a deep and sincere relationship.
Xiao decided to assist Cai to escape. They pretended to be indulged in a riotous life. Cai even fought against his family because of Xiao Fengxian. Gradually, Yuan reasoned that Cai was not ambitious and relaxed his vigilance. One day, Cai claimed to take a tour with Xiao Fengxian together, but actually fled to Yunnan. Then he established the local National Protection Army to resist Yuan and defend the Republic.
Due to Xiao Fengxian’s help to Cai, she was regarded as a chivalrous prostitute. Her story has been turned into many movies and TV shows.
As time passed, all these stories faded away into history. Today, you can still find these narrow hutongs in Beijing. Looking at those short and old houses there, it was not easy for people to believe its past prosperity. But the good news is that although demolition and reconstruction happened everywhere in Beijing, these hutongs still keep their shapes, which leave some space for us to meditate on the past.
Source: theworldofchinese.com
