The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  “Here in Shanghai the ransom price for a courtesan can be three thousand or a thousand; there’re no set rules. I suggest you lower your expectations while I lend a hand, and we all do our bit to make it work. It counts as a good deed, after all,” said Prosperity.

  “You’re right, Mr. Luo. I’m not insisting on three thousand, either. It was Green Phoenix who went into a lot of nonsense to begin with, so I wasn’t in a position to say anything.”

  Having worked out the figures in his head, Prosperity hoped to take this opportunity to settle on a sum and get the matter settled. But just then Green Phoenix and Gold Phoenix returned from the same dinner party, so he held back. Looking slightly embarrassed, Second Sister took her leave and went to bed.

  The minute Green Phoenix stepped into the room, she asked Pearl Phoenix, “You were dozing, weren’t you?”

  “No, I wasn’t.”

  Green Phoenix pulled her over to make her face the table lamp for an examination.

  “Look at your eyes, and you said you weren’t dozing?”

  “I was listening to Mother talking all this time; how could I be asleep?” Pearl Phoenix responded.

  Green Phoenix did not believe her and turned to ask Prosperity. He said, “Your mother has given her a few knocks already, so just let her be. Why bother with her?”

  Angry that Pearl Phoenix had lied to her, Green Phoenix thought she deserved a beating. But since Prosperity had interceded, she restrained herself. He shouted at Pearl Phoenix to leave them. Green Phoenix changed out of her party clothes into a sleeveless jacket worn at home. Gold Phoenix, who had also changed, came over to greet Prosperity and sat down. He repeated in detail what Second Sister had said about the ransom price.

  “Humph!” Green Phoenix responded, “Just wait and see. Anyone who becomes a madam has no heart left in her. Mother was only a maid to begin with. She used the money she invested in her mistress to buy us girls; what capital could she speak of? In the last five years, I brought in more than twenty thousand all on my own; every cent went to her. The clothes, jewelry, and furniture come to another ten thousand or so. Can I take them with me? And on top of all that she wants another three thousand from me! Humph! Three thousand is no big deal. I’d like to see if she’s capable of getting it.”

  Prosperity also recounted in detail his answer to Second Sister. The minute Green Phoenix heard it, she said in annoyance, “Who wants you to help out? I have my own plans for buying back my freedom. There’s no need for any of your nonsense!”

  This unexpected telling-off left Prosperity smiling awkwardly. Gold Phoenix, seeing that this was a serious matter, dared not cut in. Green Phoenix told Prosperity again and again, “Now don’t go and prattle with Mother. Given what she’s like, if you go along with her, you’ll only come to grief.”

  He gave his promise, and then he thought of Wenjun Yao. “You know, that girl Wenjun Yao is a bit like you,” he said to her, smiling.

  “Not in the least bit. Since Lai the Turtle is such a terror, it’s just as well that Wenjun didn’t go along, but it seems to me she shouldn’t have given him false hopes. She may be able to stay at the Old Banner tonight, but what will she do tomorrow?”

  Prosperity thought this made sense, and he became worried for Wenjun. “You’re right. Now Wenjun is going to be in trouble.”

  Gold Phoenix smiled and said, “Come now, Brother-in-law, Elder Sister told you not to talk nonsense, didn’t she? Whether Wenjun Yao is in trouble or not, what’s it to you?” On hearing this, he smiled and brushed the matter aside. He stayed the night, but we need not go into the details.

  The next day was the eleventh. Toward noon, Green Phoenix and Gold Phoenix were both doing their hair at the window in the center room. Alone in the bedroom, Prosperity felt a little enervated and thought he’d smoke some opium. He roasted a pellet for himself and fixed it onto the pipe, only to see it fall off, so he never got to smoke it. Second Sister happened to come in and saw this. She came up, took the pick, and toasted another pellet for him. And so they ended up lying facing each other on the opium divan, consulting in whispers. She asked about the idea of his helping out with the ransom price, and Prosperity told her Green Phoenix was adamantly against increasing the ransom or accepting his help.

  “Green Phoenix does like silly talk!” Second Sister said in a low voice. “The way she acts now makes me quite angry, so much so that I’m tempted not to let her go even if she pays three thousand. But the two of us have talked, and if you’re willing to help out a bit, Mr. Luo, it’ll all be for the best. I’d just ask you to name a sum. I’ll agree to whatever you say, Mr. Luo.”

  He hesitated. “That should be all right, except she’s said she doesn’t want my help, so it’s awkward for me. I don’t know what she wants.”

  “Well, that’s Green Phoenix up to her little tricks. She wants to buy back her freedom, so does it make sense for her to reject help when it’s offered to her? She says she doesn’t want help, but in her heart she does. After you have helped out with the ransom price she’ll also need your help with her expenses when she leaves here. Don’t you think that’s what she wants?”

  Prosperity thought there was truth in what she said, so he rashly reached an agreement with Second Sister on a ransom price of two thousand, to which he would contribute half. Overjoyed at getting an unexpected bonus, Second Sister filled the opium pipe for him three times. Only when he had smoked enough did she leave the room.

  ::

  1. [A Cantonese restaurant-cum-brothel dating back to the times when Cantonese merchants, highly experienced in foreign trade, played a leading role in the commercial life of Shanghai. E.H.]

  2. [An age-old way of settling dispute in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area was for the parties involved to meet for tea at a teahouse, where one or more authority figure from the clan or the profession would pass judgment on the case. The practice was called “having arbitration tea.” E.H.]

  CHAPTER 45 :: The vile crone changes color when a settlement is overturned, and the child courtesan gets jealous when left on the sidelines

  Second Sister left Prosperity Luo in the room and walked over to the center room, where Green Phoenix and Gold Phoenix had just finished their toilet and put on their hair ornaments. Second Sister told Green Phoenix delightedly about Prosperity’s contributing a thousand dollars toward her ransom. Green Phoenix said not a word in reply. She washed her hands hastily and rushed into the room to tell Prosperity in a loud voice, “So, it seems you’re flush with money. Well, I had no idea and was actually worried for you! Now, after I’m free, I’ll need clothes, jewelry, and furniture in order to set up on my own, and the cost will come to three thousand. Taking into account the two-thousand ransom price, you should go and get me five thousand.”

  “But how would I have so much money?” he said, alarmed.

  She sneered. “Surely there’s no need for you to be so modest! The minute Mother talked to you, you came up with a thousand, so how can you say you don’t have the money? If you really don’t, am I to starve to death after getting my freedom?”

  Only then did he grasp the full import of her words. “What you’re saying is you don’t want me to help out, is that it?” he responded in a loud voice as well.

  “Well, of course everyone likes to be helped out! After you’ve seen to my clothes, jewelry, and furniture, you can help out as much as you like,” Green Phoenix replied.

  Prosperity turned to Second Sister. “Forget our agreement; it never took place. Whether she buys back her freedom or not is none of my business.” Having said that, he lay down on the opium divan.

  Second Sister had not expected such a showdown. Her face turned iron blue with anger, and she pointed at Green Phoenix, upbraiding her malevolently, “Don’t you have any conscience? Think about it! You lost your parents at seven and were sold into a brothel. I felt sorry for you and treated you like my own daughter. I was the one who combed your hair and bound your feet, who’s taken care of you all this time. Did
I do anything to offend you that you’ve become my mortal enemy? Where’s you conscience? Now, you’re going to do well in the world when you get your freedom. I had hoped you’d look after me a bit in my old age if you did well. Is this the way you’ll look after me? For one so young, you’re really hard. You’ll come to no good end, you know.” She said all this between clenched teeth, crying and sniffling.

  Green Phoenix immediately put on a smiling face and consoled her, “Don’t be like that, Mother! It’s nothing important, is it? I’m a girl you bought; it’s up to you whether you allow me to buy back my freedom. Let’s forget the whole idea. Otherwise, when the people next door hear our row, we’ll be a real laughingstock.”

  Before Green Phoenix had finished speaking, Second Sister walked out of the room and wiped her face with a hot towel. Mama Zhao, who was still putting the toilet articles away, offered her a few words of comfort. Second Sister said to her, “It’s common enough for clients to help out when courtesans redeem themselves. Now, if Mr. Luo were unwilling, she should have talked him into it as a favor to me. After all, she counts as a daughter of mine, doesn’t she? But now Mr. Luo is willing to help, and she actually forbids him to! Does she want to lay her hands on all his money?”

  Green Phoenix was smoking her water pipe in her room, and when she heard this, she smiled and said, “Oh, do stop, Mother. All right, I’m not going to buy my freedom. I’ll work another ten years for you. With a thousand or so a season of party bills, how much will it be in ten years?” She counted it out on her fingers and pretended to be startled. “Aiyo! The party bills will come to thirty thousand!1 Mother will be so happy then, she won’t even want any money for my freedom, she’d just say, ‘Off with you! Off with you!’”

  Even Prosperity burst out laughing at this. Second Sister answered from the next room, “Don’t you make me the butt of your silly jokes. If you want to be my enemy, it’s up to you. It won’t do you any good.” Having said that, she went downstairs. Mama Zhao, having finished her chores, followed her.

  Pearl Phoenix and Gold Phoenix came into the room together, both of them scared stiff by what had happened. Green Phoenix finally turned to Prosperity to tell him off, “Where’s you common sense? Why would you want to make her a gift of a thousand dollars? There have been occasions when money needed to be spent, and I spoke to you about it, but you showed a lot more reluctance than this. Now that the need’s not there, you actually agreed to a thousand!”

  Feeling ashamed, he did not argue. The matter of redeeming Green Phoenix was dropped.

  The next day Prosperity happened to read the newspapers and saw an item in the back pages: “The night before last, a Cantonese man called Mr. A was consorting with prostitutes at a party in the Old Banner. One of his guests, Mr. B, called Wenjun Yao of East Co-prosperity Alley to the party. The said Wenjun Yao offended B in a quarrel, whereupon B flew into a rage and swung his fists at her. Only after A’s efforts at peacemaking did they go their separate ways. Rumors have it that B is still in a rage and has gathered a group of hooligans to seek revenge at Wenjun Yao’s home. Wenjun Yao is now in hiding, and reportedly no one knows her whereabouts.”

  Prosperity was greatly startled by this news and immediately told Green Phoenix about it. Green Phoenix, however, was skeptical. He told his steward, Promotion, to go to Big Feet Yao’s house to find out what had happened to Wenjun and whether it had anything to do with Lai the Turtle.

  Promotion left to carry out his instructions. Walking down Fourth Avenue, he saw a leather-topped carriage parked at the entrance to East Co-prosperity Alley. The courtesan sitting in it had the same build as Wenjun Yao. He quickly stepped up for a closer look. It turned out to be Belle. Promotion was rather surprised that she was going for a drive so early in the day. He glanced at her before turning into the alley and heading into Big Feet Yao’s parlor to ask the menservants for news. The men just said it had nothing to do with Lai the Turtle but were vague about the rest of the story.

  Promotion was about to leave when he saw Cloud Tao come into the parlor, accompanied by the madam, Big Feet Yao. Promotion stood to one side and greeted him, “Mr. Tao.” Cloud asked why he was there.

  “To find out about Wenjun,” he replied.

  Cloud bowed his head and thought for a moment and then whispered to Promotion, “Nothing happened really; it was just done to mislead Lai the Turtle. They put it in the papers in case he didn’t believe it. Wenjun is in Conical Hat Garden now; she’s quite well. Go back and tell your master, and don’t let outsiders hear you.”

  Promotion gave his promise. After that, Cloud took his leave from Big Feet Yao, exited the alley, and got into the carriage waiting there. It took them all the way to beyond the gates of Conical Hat Garden. There, Cloud Tao and Belle alighted, and a servant came to lead the way. They headed east and then north along a curved path that led to a place that faced the lake and backed on to the hill. The building, called the Moon-worshiper’s Chamber, had five rooms opening on to a hall. Here, the shadows of flowers played on bamboo curtains, and the smoke from making tea drifted under the eaves. But it was quiet inside; not a murmur of talk or laughter was heard. Cloud Tao went in with Belle. They saw Amity Zhu lying on the divan smoking opium, and Jade Tao and River Blossom sitting beside him. There was no one else around. Cloud was just going to ask where everybody was when the servant said: “All the masters are watching archery. They’ll be here soon.”

  Before he had finished speaking, a gaggle of finely dressed men and women could be seen making their way round the hill at the back. At the head of the group was none other than Wenjun Yao. Dressed in close-fitting garments that complemented her nimble movement, she looked very different from the others. Twin Jade, Flora Zhang, White Fragrance, and Aroma walked behind her, followed by Modesty Zhu, Second Bai Gao, Devotion Yin, Harmony Qi, and a large number of maids and menservants. They all drifted into the Moon-worshiper’s Chamber, where they sat down casually.

  Cloud Tao said to Wenjun Yao, “I’ve just been to your house myself. Your mother said Lai the Turtle was there again yesterday and was inclined to believe what she told him. But his hangers-on are still speculating about it. I think it should be all right.”

  Harmony Qi said to Cloud, “There’s something else I need to tell you. Your brother said he wanted to go home today, so I asked him: ‘Has anything come up? We’re going to have some fun during the festival; why leave in such a hurry?’ In reply, he said he’d go and then come right back. Then it occurred to me that tomorrow is the seventh day after Water Blossom’s death, and that’s probably the reason he has to go there. Now, Water Blossom’s strong love and tragic fate deserve not just our pity but our respect, too. Tomorrow, the seven of us should go and honor her. This will be remembered as a romantic event.”

  “In that case, we’d better inform them beforehand,” Cloud replied.

  “There’s no need. We’ll leave directly after we’ve paid our respects and go for dinner at your lady love’s place. That way, I’ll get a chance to see your lady love’s room and Flora Zhang’s as well. We’ll make a nuisance of ourselves at their place for a whole day,” said Harmony Qi.

  “Your Excellency is really too kind,” said Belle. “Our place is small and untidy. If Your Excellency doesn’t mind that, we’d be honored if you were to drop in.”

  A moment later, orders were give for lunch to be served. The menservants set up two round tables in the center of the Moon-worshiper’s Chamber. The formality of giving each other precedence was dispensed with, and everyone just took his seat, with eight at the table on the left and six at the one on the right.

  Harmony Qi counted the number of those present. “Where’s Green Fragrance gone off to? I haven’t seen her all day today,” he asked in surprise.

  “She went back to bed again after getting up,” White Fragrance said.

  Devotion Yin hastened to ask, “Is she not feeling well?”

  “Who knows. She looked all right to me,” White Fragrance replied.


  Harmony Qi told the maid to ask her over, but after a long time the maid still had not reported back. Harmony suddenly remembered something. “The other day, I heard Green Fragrance and Hairpin singing a duet in Pear Blossom Court. It was the entire aria ‘Receiving the Portrait.’ It wasn’t bad at all.”

  “It couldn’t have been Green Fragrance. She does know a couple of arias, but she hasn’t learned ‘Receiving the Portrait,’” said White Fragrance.

  “I’m sure it was Green Fragrance. She listened in at the singing lessons there and has learned several arias just like that,” said Aroma.

  “It’s pretty hard work to have to sing ‘Receiving the Portrait’ and ‘Weeping in Front of the Portrait’ one after the other,” said Cloud Tao.

  Second Bai responded, “The Palace of Eternal Youth has evenly balanced roles for all other characters. 2 It’s only the male lead who has a hard time with the two scenes ‘Receiving the Portrait’ and ‘Weeping in Front of the Portrait.’”

  These comments increased Harmony Qi’s enthusiasm, and he sent another maid to summon Hairpin, who immediately came back with the maid. The others saw that her pretty round face was without the least touch of rouge or powder. A thick braid hung down her back, reminding them of black clouds surrounding a full moon. Harmony told her to sit at his side. A seat beside Devotion Yin was kept vacant for Green Fragrance.

  By then, four small bowls of food had been served, each followed by dim sum. The menservants brought them cups of tea as well as ready-prepared water pipes, regular pipes, and cigars. Amity Zhu, the only one who preferred opium, left the table for the divan for a smoke.

  Cloud Tao thought of drinking games and suggested, “Shall we have another go at Mr. Dragon Ma’s four-tones drinking game?”

  Devotion Yin waved his hand to signal his disagreement. “It can’t be done. I’ve gone through the Four Classics in my head. You’ll never get another twenty-four lines in the right tonal patterns.”