Courtesans

[Guest mirela_violeta]

The reality is that concubines played a very important role in the chinese society and that their sexual role was only secondary when we think of all their other tallents. And I mean most of all literary talents and other tallents such as general culture, resistence to drinking, chess talents, music, dance...courtesans wrote many poems and one even invented a new kind of paper. Courtesans were first of all a pleasant companion for feasts and they were always surrounded by influent people, having good contacts. Their talents were most appreciated when commercial and political negociations were involved. Their social position was not shameful at all being very cultivated. They had their place in society and were not only considered prostitutes. They were quite appreciated during the Tang dinasty. What do you know about courtesans? Which is the most famous one? What did she do?

[confucius]

My favorite is Yang Guifei, who was legendary for her appetite for lychees.

To satisfy his courtesan, the Tang emperor created a "Pony Express" nonstop relay of horses from Genzi in western Guangdong to Chang'An which is modern day Xi'an. If you were to send a postcard from Genzi to Xian today it would arrive in pretty much the same amount of time!

If you visit Genzi today you can still see the site of the original imperial lychee orchards and several trees which are said to be over 500 years old. These huge lychee trees still produce abundant fruit and are among the first to be harvested, usually occuring in the month of May.

[wix]

The reality is that concubines played a very important role in the chinese society and that their sexual role was only secondary when we think of all their other talents.

It sounds a lot like geisha in Japan. Many people think of them as prostitutes, but actually they are artists (the word geisha means a person trained in the arts). They play an important role in the society in preserving the traditional arts.

[Guest Roger]

Guangdong,

an interesting topic! COnsidering the malaise of relationships across the gender divide in many countries, notably the West, we should perhaps bear a thought about the role of prostitutes in society.

I have just had a tussle with some posters on a different website (dedicated to teaching), and found that the term "prostitute" produces red flags and yellow cards but few commonsensical responses.

I read one of the versions of Marco Paolo's travelogue, and it mentioned a custom that we these days would call horrible: every once in a while, the wife of someone, or one of his concubines, would be offered out of hospitality to our famous Venetian traveller-businessman-diplomat. He was shocked as all CHristians must be because in the West such practices have been eradicated close to two thousand years before!

In Hong Kong, many Chinese men practised polygamy until the end of the 1970's, tolerated by the British administration. Women allowed this to happen because they were assured of material wealth appropriate to their status. Of course, romance is a different thing, one that is not widely understood outside of Europe, but the Chinese seem to be more sober on this account.

Anyway, if there was not a religiously-inspired stigma attached to prostitution it would be done in the open, and being done in the open, competition would soon make this 'profession' less profitable. Less profitablility would mean less crime too.

Is prostitution a "bad" thing? I do not think so. Is it necessary? I do not know, but it is an option just as working as a coolie is an option for poor men. NOt a glamorous profession unless a woman is culturally inclined and becomes a geisha/courtesan, or a man learns how to drive a limousine and becomes a chauffeur!

[holyman]

courtesans and concubines are not exactly the same. for those who... well, slept with men to earn a living, a prostitute trained in the arts can be caled a courtesan. there are also those who dun have sexual relations with men, just exchange of poems, performing music etc. concubines are not always courtesans. some are just married to rich men for their looks. they may be an illiterate. some of them are simply prostitutes, not trained in anything. for the commoners or not so wealthy people, a concubine is just a second wife, for sexual desires or the need to have more offsprings.