The Valley of Amazement

by Amy Tan

  You’ll have to share the carriage at times with another courtesan, and I’ll do my best to avoid pairing you with a beauty who might draw more attention. You are not the loveliest of the flowers, not yet, and who knows if you ever will be. And with carriage rides, loveliness and fashionable clothes are what the public will see, rather than intimate skills of enchantment. So other means are needed to attract attention when you are in public.

  I have several ideas we will use over the coming months. And we’ll have to keep them a secret lest the other beauties steal them. First, I am having the tailor make a costume in the colors of the imperial family. We’ve used golden yellow in the past, but only with underwear, and for many men, this alone sent them into paroxysms of clouds and rain. Now that the emperor is gone, what laws forbid us to wear any color, and anywhere that pleases us? Imagine what an imperial-yellow jacket and kingfisher-blue pantalets will do to a suitor and to every loyalist who sees you in public. We’ll have costumes made in imperial violet, the exact shade. I am hoping we are the first to flaunt these colors. What a story that will make for the mosquito press: the courtesan Violet wearing violet clothes!

  I’ve also been mulling over getting you a European hat. I saw one that was quite outlandish. It was the size of a seat cushion and had a fan of baby ostrich feathers on top, dyed violet. You’d be visible from blocks away, and with the color being the same as your name, you would be the talk of the tabloids every time you wore it. It’s an expensive hat, so I may see if I can have it copied. Then again, if we wait, we run the risk that another courtesan will buy the hat and wear it first, and you can’t be seen imitating another courtesan. That would be reported in the tabloids, too.

  The clothes at dinner parties will depend on the host and the other courtesans there. As I said, you cannot outdazzle Vermillion. But for a party in your honor, you must wear your best evening costumes. The weave of the cloth has become the fashion. It is always a pattern that only the most skilled of craftsmen can make. We’ll have to wait a bit before we can afford the one I have in mind. It looks like layers of petals. Clothes made out of fabrics like that will cost you a month’s worth of earnings at least. Never eat anything at the party. A grease stain will ruin an outfit, and that would be a costly bit of greed. Some beauties have embroidered a flowery pattern to cover a stain, but everyone knows why a branch of plum blossoms suddenly sprouts over the breasts.

  In winter, the silk must be thick and as lustrous as a pearl. The collar looks best when lined with Russian shaved white fox or chinchilla. But rabbit will do the first year. In the summer, the top layer of silk weave will be delicate, tissue thin, and of a perfectly even weft, light but also crisp. You don’t want to look wilted. Every detail must be perfect, from the clasp at the throat to the frills at the hem.

  Women on the streets will envy and admire your clothes for their clever details. You’ll enjoy seeing that. For many young girls, a glimpse of you will provide the greatest excitement of their lives. They’ll be talking about you until they go to their graves. Rich young girls will take note as we pass by in carriages and run to the tailors we use and ask for a costume just like that worn by the famous courtesan Violet. It is annoying that rich girls imitate us, but it is also flattery. If many girls from rich families copy your fashions, this will raise your status. Men are not the only ones who make us popular. Look at those who are the top Ten Beauties each year. Are they the most beautiful? No. They are the ones who understand human nature, that of men and women both. They know how to attract attention and envy and bend it to their advantage.

  Don’t be surprised if a few wives pay you handsomely to visit your boudoir—to see your wardrobe, your makeup, and even to learn the unusual positions their husbands enjoy. Show them. They think it is only about coupling, rather than prolonged courtship and the engorged pleasure of two lovers in conspiracy. They can no longer be courted. Their husbands make demands, and they comply. So you need not worry that you are giving away your secrets and your patrons will become so satisfied with their wives that they never pay you a visit. But be sure you charge those wives a lot, at least five dollars.

  Remember that envy is one of mankind’s greatest flaws. It leads to recklessness in the one who envies and possessiveness in the one who has you by his side. You can use one suitor to increase the ardor of another. Beware not to do this between brothers or with friends who are like brothers, though. If they have a falling-out, people will say that you were so strong a plow cow you pulled two brothers apart.

  After you’ve been to a few parties here and at other houses, you will understand more about envy among courtesans. You may have seen it at your mother’s house. You will feel it bite you. Envy is a poisonous snake around your ankle. You may hate your competitor or your suitor. You may want to destroy her, him, and yourself. Take note of these feelings. Another courtesan may feel this way about you and will do everything to cause your downfall. But if you inspire envy in everyone, a strange thing happens. That envy eventually turns into respect, an acknowledgment of your superiority. Do not flaunt your victories, however. Your rivals may envy you one day and cheer your demise the next.

  That reminds me: We must have a souvenir photograph made and decide on a nickname to set you apart from others.

  If we don’t choose one ourselves, people will give you one without asking. I already heard one of the other courtesans call you “the White Daylily.” A lot of virgins are called by that sweet name. But you don’t want to be stuck with it forever or you’ll be the butt of jokes—”no longer so white,” that sort of thing. The nickname must be unique. I know of beauties who compared themselves to birds. “The Voice of a Sparrow.” One girl chose that, even though she had a harsh voice. Besides, sparrows are so common and noisy with their chitter-chitter-chirp-chirp in the morning. Another girl I knew chose the description “As Classic As a Weeping Willow.” I think she chose it because the painted backdrop in the photo studio showed a willow and a lake. What’s so special about that? “Weeping Willow”—someone who is wooden and weeps until her eyes are red and as big as eggs? These are not traits that men cherish. I’m thinking yours might be “A Waterfall Dream.” It sounds good. A man can picture it: falling in love, swept away, torrential love. Something like that. We can come up with the exact meaning later when I decide who you really are.

  You are young and inexperienced, Violet. No one will envy anything about you today. The beauties are much lovelier and trickier than you. So don’t try to compete. Just observe. Few girls receive the kind of advice I am giving you. They learn it later, as I did, through agonizing mistakes. They thought beauty, poetry, and a sweet voice would last forever. They depended on it. They did not realize that what matters the most is a mix of strategy, cunning, honesty, patience, and the readiness to grab every opportunity. Above all, a girl must always be willing to do what is necessary.

  ACCIDENTS

  Clothes are like a theater curtain. Some courtesans always keep the curtain closed until they open the curtains of the bed. They go by the old rules. No touching of hands. Everything very proper, as if they are a proper bride. How boring. The man may as well be with his wife. That kind of modesty may have been the custom years ago, but these are modern times. If you provide a glimpse of the future, it won’t cheapen you. You’re still holding back. In fact, the more you let them peek, the more they will want what you are holding back. Just remember there is a difference between giving a man a glimpse and letting him examine the goods in detail.

  Some of the best glimpses occur during garden strolling accidents. These must seem perfectly innocent. It might go like this: You are wearing a tight jacket and trousers whose seam fits into the crease of your pudenda. You walk by the rockeries and pond, engaged in lively conversation. Suddenly you cry out and pretend you have stepped on the sharp stone I secretly placed there earlier. Quickly sit on a garden stool and cross your legs so you can examine your imaginary wound. The pain has caused you to forget the lewdness of this position.
When you catch the man staring at your pudenda, act embarrassed at first, then coy. He will play the role of the gallant gentleman who insists on examining the wound to ensure you are not crippled for life. This ploy was once successful only with girls whose bound feet were three-inch stubs. But nowadays, even the daughters of scholar families no longer have their feet bound. So there is no shame that your feet are unbound. Of course, some men will be disappointed, especially the older ones. If you notice ahead of time that the man is aroused by tiny ”golden lilies,” it’s best not to bother with the injured-foot ploy.

  Another trick is to ask your suitor to pluck a flower for your hair. Turn away from him as you attempt to slip it along the side, by your ear. Then let it fall. In your hurry to retrieve the flower, you bend over, and the jacket that had barely covered your hips now lifts like fog from the moon. Be sure he has a view of your rump for at least three seconds. When you stand and see his face, cover your mouth with the flower and laugh. Give the sly happy look of mutual conspiracy. When he is standing beside you, push your finger into the center of the flower and note for him the darker, more flushed color, the deeper fragrance. He will nearly be insane at this point, unless the flower that fell has lost its petals and is a weedy little thing.

  There are some simple garden positions you can use. Stand next to a tree, and as you admire its age and strength, straddle it ever so slightly. Columns are also good for this purpose.

  After your defloration, I will lend you some of my special skirts. Here is one in your color, a rich imperial violet. The whiteness of the skin is best against a darker-colored skirt. The middle panel conceals a split, like the part between two curtains. You can close the split with frog clasps. Or you can unfasten them to show the knees, or the thighs, or the pudenda. This skirt is only for very special suitors or patrons who enjoy showing you off in public. Never cheapen yourself by revealing what is beneath the skirt if your suitor requests a look. Everything with this skirt must be an accident you control. The more generous the suitor, the more accidents you should have. You might catch your skirt on the arm of a horseshoe chair. The flap opens, the whiteness of your skin flashes, and with your coy look of surprise you’ve given your patron two seconds of titillation. A variation is to loosely sew the clasps on so that they easily rip away.

  You can have accidents of the skirt at the theater. Patrons are especially fond of this if you are seated in a curtained box. Once he discovers the opening, you can allow him to stroke you throughout the performance, but only if he’s given you a gift that night. Climbing into, and descending from, the carriage are also good opportunities for suitors who need only a nudge to become a patron. Blustery days are also advantageous. Let your fingers help the gusts raise your skirt. If the man is already your patron, you can allow him other privileges. When you are at a banquet in your honor, let his hand under the table slip between your legs to explore the forbidden in front of his guests. Converse brightly but hesitate every so often, and provide the half-lidded look you learned for your songs. The others will know exactly what is happening. Nothing is openly said, but all will know. Always maintain the appearance of propriety. In this way, you can enhance the agony of desire in your patron and in his envious guests. I guarantee the party will end earlier than usual.

  PREPARING THE BOUDOIR

  I have furnished your room with every comfort to set the stage for lovemaking. You saw that I already had your bed placed closer to the middle of the room so I could move the screen that hides the toilet and bathing tub. It was so cramped and uncomfortable before. And how can you feel clean if the bathing tub resembles an old threshing box? The chamber pot was so low that old men on rusted legs had a hard time seating themselves and standing back up. I don’t know why I did not think of that when this was my boudoir. Now your suitor and you can refresh yourselves in more spacious surroundings. The new chamber pot is set under a carved seat with armrests. And the pot is porcelain, a nice oxblood red, easy to clean. I’ve ordered a new bathing tub, one of the Western ones, copper, with lions’ feet. Very fashionable. It has already arrived, but I cannot have it put in your room until next week. Vermillion saw the same one, and she must be the first to have it. There will be a Western coatrack for your dressing robes, a tufted bench, and a table with ointments, perfumes, and snuff bottles containing invigorating powder. To call the servants to tidy up, you simply strike the four bars of the new chimes I bought. It is the same instrument used on the finest railways to announce that dinner will be served.

  I have thought of even more decorations and luxuries. They are all the things I should have thought to use with my own suitors. I decorated my room one way and then never changed it. As I grew older, my room appeared increasingly old-fashioned. I recognize that now. The furniture is still high quality, though, and I’m sure I can sell it for a good price. But to buy the new furniture we need, we will require money gifts. So you see how important it is that you do well at the parties right from the start. We cannot borrow money endlessly from the madam, or we’ll be slaves to her for the rest of our lives. At the very least I will reupholster the chairs and sofa, and I am having new curtains made for the bed. Silk batiste in golden emperor yellow with blue embroidered characters that mean longevity. I bought yellow and blue ribbons and dozens of little bells. They’ll be tied to the corners of the bed and above and will sound merrily with the slightest jiggle of your hips, letting the man know he’s headed toward heavenly ecstasy. It’s a clever touch. I might even take a customer every now and then just so I can hear the sound of those bells.

  FOUR WAYS TO DAMAGE YOUR CAREER

  There are four ways you might find you are out of business for a short time, a long time, or forever.

  The first is your monthly flow. You do not want to rise from a fancy chair at a party, only to discover you have left a red map of Chongming Island on the brocade of the chair and a matching one on the back of your skirt. I will give you a set of special sea sponges, which you can put inside you. If your flow is heavy, you can also add a little silk sac of moss at the front of the gates of your pudenda. Never allow intimate relations with a suitor during this time. Be flirtatious but coy at parties. Meet with new suitors for afternoon tea. A patron, however, is another matter. A few of them may enjoy a make-believe defloration with the spillage of blood. In those cases, we will ask for a small defloration gift to make the fantasy more realistic. You will have to act reluctant as your patron strips away your clothes, and then just do what you did during your real defloration, only not as loud.

  If the patron is not interested in a fake defloration, he may ask you to pleasure him with your mouth, or watch you do something to yourself, or many other things we don’t need to talk about now. It will only scare you. If a patron wants something unusual, I can advise you then what to do, what not to do, and what requires more negotiation.

  The second way to lose business is to have a baby. You can avoid this if you are diligent in following my instructions every time you have intimate relations. I will bring you a warm soup of musk and dong quai to drink before you bring a man to your boudoir. I will remind you to place a small silk pouch containing my secret ingredients of herbs. There is nothing that will cause your pudenda to pucker or the man’s stem to shrivel or burn. I’ve heard that the concoctions at other houses have had this effect, immediately or over time. And never listen to another courtesan who tells you to use slices of persimmon. That is an old joke some courtesans play on one another. It will dry out the pudenda and make it impossible for a man to come in. When your suitor has satisfied himself, quickly go behind the screen and wash your pudenda with saffron water. If you forget to use the pouch with my secret ingredients, I will give you a strong dong quai broth that will give you cramps and end anything that got started. If you have gone for two months without your monthly flow, I will call in a woman who will take care of the problem. She is quite good, although a few girls over the years got pus fever, and not all of them were as lucky as I was in avoiding
death.

  The third way to lose business is to get pus fever and die. So do not get pregnant. There are many other sicknesses. Don’t assume that a man who is deathly ill would stay at home. Some men who know they are not long for this world want one last squeeze of pleasure. That’s how strong the instinct is. If a customer is coughing and spitting and unable to catch his breath, do not drink from the same bowl of wine, no matter how much he insists. He may have tuberculosis. If a customer has red eyes and is vomiting, it may not be drunkenness but typhoid fever. You must be especially careful about sex diseases, like syphilis. You should inspect every man in your bed quickly to make sure he has no sores. Admire his stem, praise it, while giving it a thorough inspection. Even a little sore is dangerous. If you see one, pretend you are overcome suddenly with dizziness or the need to vomit, and then summon me. This is an ugly disease. Over time, sores as big as red peonies will bloom. Then the poison flowers will eat away your flesh and rot your brain. You’ve seen beggars in the street who have what I’m talking about. If you get the pox, don’t listen to anyone who says to take mercury or rat poison. Many girls have taken the wrong amount and that’s the end of them after screaming for hours in agony. I know of a better remedy that sometimes works. I’m not telling you what it is because I don’t want you to think you can be careless and that old Magic Gourd can easily get rid of your sores. One last thing: Never touch a foreigner. They brought the pox to China, and I’m sure many of them have it.

  The fourth way to lose business is to lose your mind. Do not become addicted to opium. You will not be able to take care of your customer if you are asleep all the time. Do not get drunk. This might cause you to laugh at a man’s shortcomings. Do not cry all the time in front of others. We all have reasons we are sad. If you weep constantly, it’s like you are saying your sadness is sadder than the sadness of others. How do you know? If you weep in front of suitors, they will see that trouble lies in the future if they successfully win your affections. A few tears in front of your patron is another matter. He can be moved to be kinder and more generous. But you must cry sparingly to be effective. Crying can come from genuine feelings as well, and the one your patron will love best is happiness.