Various titles of singers and their origins

The ancient Chinese word "prostitute" refers to a female artistic performer, and "ji" is the original word for "prostitute". Therefore, women who sing as a profession are called geisha (geisha) or vocal prostitutes (singing prostitutes). trick). Later, "prostitute" became a synonym for "female sex worker" in Chinese. To avoid misunderstandings, "geki" or "shengji" were often used.

The "贴" in "贴者" means singing, and "贴者" is "the one who sings".

The term "showgirl" appeared between the late 1920s and 1930s. And singer is a laudatory name. "Ji" is a laudatory name for women in ancient Chinese, and also means beauty. "Ji" in Japanese also retains the meaning of a laudatory name, and is often used to address aristocratic women. Japanese still refers to female singers as Called "Diva". However, calling female singers singers or singers in Chinese has a derogatory connotation, especially referring to female singers who make a living singing in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, amusement parks and other places. The late Hong Kong female singer Anita Mui once said that when she was a child She performed and sang on stage and was called a "singing girl", and was discriminated against by her classmates.

"Shang Nu", "Qiu Nu", and "Qiu Niang" appeared in the Tang Dynasty. The "Shang Nu" in Du Mu's seven-character quatrain "Po Qinhuai" refers to the singing girl "Shang Nu" does not know the hatred of the country's subjugation. ". The title of Shang girl comes from Qiunv and Qiuniang, which are the names given to singing girls in the Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi's "Pipa Xing" calls singing girls "Qiuniang". Jiao, Zheng, Yu) matches the four seasons. Because the sound of Shang is sad and shrill, it corresponds to the chilling atmosphere of autumn, so Shang is used with autumn. So "Business Girl" became another name for Geisha.

During the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan, there was a kind of singing girl called "Yi Dan", also known as "Yi Da". They often entertained guests with opera in restaurants. This name was first seen in the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. They generally did not provide Sexual services.

In English, it is called Sing-song girl. Literally, many people think it is a literal translation of the word "singing girl", but it is not. According to Zhang Ailing, "Sing-song girl" is derived from the word "Mr." in Wu dialect. In Wu dialect, high-end prostitutes are called "Sir" ("Mr." can be a polite term for anyone, regardless of gender), and They must be able to sing at the banquet, and the British and Americans mistakenly regarded "Sir" as "Sing-song" (singing).

The end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China to the modern Ming Dynasty to the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms, the Sui, Tang, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Han Dynasty, Pre-Qin Period, History, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the custom of accumulating vocal prostitutes and singing girls was prevalent. There were often hundreds of geishas. During this period, geishas played the most obvious role as nobles in displaying their wealth. There were also frequent robberies of geishas. "Shishuoxinyu" records many stories about geishas. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao had a geisha who sang well but had a bad temper. Although Cao Cao was angry, he was afraid that if he killed her, he would not be able to hear such sweet singing. Later, Cao Cao trained a hundred geishas until one of them sang as well as the bad-tempered geisha, then he killed her. Shi Chong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty had a singing prostitute named Lvzhu. Because Shi Chong had a flamboyant nature, he offended many powerful people at the time. Later, Sun Xiu saw Lvzhu's beauty and wanted to snatch Lvzhu. Lvzhu refused to obey and jumped off the building to commit suicide.

There were also many singing girls and dancing girls in the palace. The popular palace poetry in the Southern Dynasties was for the singing girls in the palace to sing to entertain the monarchs and nobles. Some geishas also became concubines. For example, Zhang Lihua, the concubine of Empress Chen, was born a geisha. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the custom of singing and dancing with singing girls was also very popular. It was also common for nobles and literati to sing and interact with singing girls. Some literati even introduced singing girls as their close friends. There were many descriptions of singing girls in the literary works at that time. Many heroines in Tang Dynasty legends are geishas. For example, the Hongfu girl in "The Biography of the Qiu Bearded Guest" was originally a geisha in Yang Su's mansion, the Liu family in "The Biography of the Liu Family" was a geisha, and the heroine in "The Biography of Huo Xiaoyu" was a geisha. Huo Xiaoyu was expelled from Prince Huo's Mansion and became a singing prostitute. There are also many works about geishas in poetry. For example, Bai Juyi's "Pipa Xing" is about a geisha who married a merchant woman. He also raised geishas himself. Among them, Fan Su was the best in singing. Bai Juyi has a poem: "Cherry Fan" "Sukou" praises Fan Su's singing skills. Li Shangyin wrote "Two Poems for a Singing Girl". The female poet Du Qiuniang was a singing girl herself ("Du Qiuniang" means "Singing Girl with the surname Du"). The Huajian School of poetry in the late Tang Dynasty, represented by Wen Tingyun, is inseparable from geisha. In terms of content and form, the Huajian School of poetry focuses on eroticism, softness and elegance, which is closely related to "reliance on the sound" and Xie Le's lyrics. The nature is inseparable, and it mainly describes the brief deliberation in the boudoir embroidery room and the singing house and brothel.

These words were usually sung by geishas at banquets, and geishas played a major role in their spread.

There were also many geishas in the court. Tang Xuanzong loved music. In the second year of Kaiyuan (AD 724), he set up a left-right teaching workshop to take charge of the court's acrobatics. Among them, Yichun Yuan was composed of female actors, known as "inside people"; because they often performed in front of the emperor, they were also called "front-end people". At that time, there were some outstanding court singers, such as Niannu, Xu Hezi (Xu Yongxin), etc. Their deeds can be found in "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" written by Wang Renyu of the Fifth Dynasty. According to records, Niannu's singing voice was like the morning glow emerging from the sky, and even the noise of bells, drums, and shengs could not stop it, so Xuanzong loved her very much. , Yuan Zhen also described the situation at that time in his poem "Lianchang Palace Ci". Xu Hezi is from Yongxin, Jizhou (now Yongxin County), so she is also called "Xu Yongxin". Her father is a musician. According to Duan Anjie's "Yuefu Miscellaneous Records", she has loved singing since she was a child, and she is beautiful and intelligent. Her singing Natural and fresh, good at turning old tunes into new sounds. . Once, Tang Xuanzong held a grand banquet in Qinzheng Building, but the noise of the audience interfered with the music, and Xuanzong was very unhappy. Gao Lishi suggested that Xu Yongxin should sing on stage to stop the noise. As Xu Yongxin sang, the venue fell silent, and the audience was attracted by her singing voice. Xuanzong often said that her songs were worth a thousand pieces of gold. During the Song Dynasty, many scholars kept geishas, ​​or socialized with geishas and sang for them, which also affected literary creation and dissemination.

Among them, the Wanyue Ci School has a close relationship with geishas. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the poems of the Wanyue Ci School were written for geishas to sing, and their contents were mostly about love between men and women, boudoir love, etc. Zhang Xian, Yan Shu, Liu Yong and other poets have many poems about singing girls. Among them, Liu Yong has been in brothels for a long time, often in contact with geishas, ​​often writing lyrics for geishas and musicians, and often writing new songs by himself, and then writing lyrics for geishas to sing. His official career was not smooth, and it may be because of this that he had special feelings for the geishas who were also in the lower class of society, and maintained a harmonious relationship with them. At that time, the geishas all liked to sing to Liu Yonghui: "I don't want the king to call me. I would like to have Liu Qiming; I don’t want a thousand gold coins, I would like to have Liu Qiming’s heart; I don’t want to see the gods, I would like to know Liu Qimian.” After Liu Yong’s death, Xie Yuying, a famous prostitute in Hangzhou, came forward and paid for his burial with other singing girls. Every year during the Qingming Festival, singing and dancing girls would go to Liu Yong's tomb to pay homage, which was called "Diao Liu Qi" or "Diao Liu Hui". He has many poems about geishas, ​​such as "Xichunlang", "Phoenix Cup", etc. The contents include describing the life of geishas, ​​depicting the erotic skills of geishas, ​​expressing the lovesickness and nostalgia for geishas, ​​etc. In "Collection of Movements" The singing girls mentioned in the book include Chongniang, Yingying, Xinniang, Suniang, etc.

In addition to the poets of the graceful school, Su Shi, who founded the bold school, also had contacts with singing girls. He left Hangzhou for Mizhou (now Zhucheng, Shandong). When passing through Suzhou, there were singing girls guarding Changmen. When he left the city, a farewell banquet was held for him, and Su Shi wrote "Drunk and Desolate: Farewell at Changmen, Suzhou" as a gift to her. Su Shi's concubine Wang Chaoyun was also a geisha, and the geisha Qin Cao also had a friendship with Su Shi. Qin Guan, a scholar from the Su family, also had close contacts with singing girls. Su Shi's good friend Chen Zhen often talked about being a prostitute, which made his wife Liu dissatisfied. Liu even yelled at the wall in front of the guests. Chen Zhen was afraid of his wife because of this. This incident is also the origin of the idiom "Hedong Lion's Roar".

Li Shishi, a singing girl in the late Northern Song Dynasty, was good at composing, singing, and was very famous. Even Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was attracted to her and left the palace to meet her many times. "The Legacy of Xuanhe of the Song Dynasty" says that Li Shishi was canonized as Concubine Li Ming, Lady of Yingguo, etc. However, Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies, said that Li Shishi had never entered the court. Zhou Bangyan also had contact with her, and wrote several poems expressing his love for Li Shishi. There was also a poem "Youth Travel" describing the friendship between emperor and ministers and Li Shishi. This poem offended Song Huizong, and Zhou Bangyan was demoted from the capital. "Li Shishi's Biography" records that the Jin soldiers defeated Bian, and the commander of the Jin soldiers wanted to sacrifice her to Jin Taizong. Li Shishi pulled out the gold hairpin and stabbed her own throat and failed to commit suicide. She then swallowed the hairpin and died.

In addition to Li Shishi, Zhou Bangyan also dated another singing girl Yue Chuyun.

After the Southern Song Dynasty, lyrics gradually became "elegant", with fewer words describing geishas, ​​and many lyrics were no longer suitable for singing by geishas. However, the poets at that time still wrote some poems for geishas. word. In the early Hongwu years of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, established Jinling as his capital and set up a "state-owned brothel" on the bank of the Qinhuai River, called the compound, and later called the old courtyard. Therefore, most singing girls are concentrated in the Qinhuai River area. In the 19th year of Yongle (AD 1421), Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, moved his capital to Beijing, and established Jiaofang in Nanjing and Beijing. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the trend of seeking geishas from scholar-bureaucrats became more popular [18] There were also geishas in Lingnan, such as Zhang Qiao, who She was born in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and died on July 25, the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633). Her courtesy name was Qiao Jing, and her second name was Qiao. She was also known as Zhang Liren.

She became a singing prostitute with her mother and became close friends with the Nanyuan Poetry Society. She died at the age of nineteen. Her friends Peng Mengyang and others buried her in Meihua Ao at the foot of Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou. At that time, the celebrities each wrote a poem and planted flowers. It is planted next to the tomb and is named "Baihua Tomb".

The eight beauties of Qinhuai in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, their romantic affairs with literati and officials are still talked about today.

During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng ordered the abolition of Jiaofangsi, but Lehu continued to operate brothels, so Geisha did not disappear. During the Qianlong period, Yangzhou became a place of fireworks, and there were many singing girls. Zheng Banqiao's poem contains the line "A daughter of a thousand families teaches music first", which shows that there are many singing girls. The poem "Luo Tuo" also mentions the "house of sewing singers". Zheng Banqiao's "Ten Poems of Taoism" was sung by Zhaoge, a Beijing singer. When he found out about it, he asked someone to bring money to Zhaoge: "The eunuch is in a hurry. The book is thin, so send it to Brother Zhao to buy some pink money." When Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River, he met a geisha and wanted to make her his concubine. His second queen, Uranala, cut her own hair to persuade him. As a result, Qianlong gave up the idea of ​​​​making the geisha his concubine.

During the Qianlong and Jiaqing years, economic development stimulated the prostitution industry, including the development of singing girls. At that time, the prostitution industry in the Pearl River Delta was very prosperous, especially in the Guangzhou area. According to Zhao Yi's "Eaves Exposure" : "There are no less than seven or eight thousand households in Guangzhou, and they all make a living by making powder.". At that time, the geishas on the Pearl River were divided into three gangs: the Guangzhou Gang, the Chaozhou Gang, and the Yangzhou Gang. They all learned the folk arts of their respective places and communicated with each other. With the help of literati, a new type of music called Nanyin emerged in the geisha venues. During the Jiaqing period, with the help of Lingnan literati Feng Xun, Zhao Ziyong, etc., they created a new type of song called Yue Gu by "changing its tune" on the basis of Muyu Song, Dragon Boat Song, and Nanyin (all types of Lingnan songs). It was sung by geishas and spread widely. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were many singing girls in brothels in Shanghai. Han Bangqing's novel "Biography of Shanghai Flowers" describes the lives of these singing girls. They were usually called "Sir". At that time, there were many foreigners from Europe or the United States in Shanghai, and the singing girls would definitely sing when entertaining guests. "Sir" in Wu dialect has a close pronunciation to the English "sing song", so in English Call them "Sing-song girls". The Chinese name "singing girl" only appeared in the late 1920s, that is, fourteen years after the Republic of China. During the Republic of China, showgirls not only performed in traditional brothels and restaurants, but also performed in nightclubs, dance halls and other entertainment venues introduced from the West. Because they mostly socialized and drank with guests, they were also called social butterflies (courtesans also included dancing girls). .

On the Qinhuai River, there is a kind of singing girl who sings on the "Seven Banzi". She originally sang on the tea boat. Later, after being banned by the government, she changed to singing on the Seven Banzi. Zhu Ziqing and Yu Pingbo They were described in two separate articles with the same title: "The Qinhuai River in the Sound of Oars and Shadows of Lights". Although this kind of singing prostitutes were not prostitutes, some people at the time, including some intellectuals, believed that their occupation was unfair. Zhu Ziqing said in "The Qinhuai River in the Sound of Oars and Lights" (October 11, 1923) that although listening to songs is different from prostitutes, he feels that they and prostitutes (sex workers) are both "prostitutes" and thinks that they They are engaged in an unhealthy profession, and approaching prostitutes is illegal, so he refuses to listen to singing prostitutes and mentions that they are "forced to make singing their profession." Yu Pingbo, on the other hand, refused to listen to the songs out of respect and sympathy for the singing girls, believing that listening to the songs was an insult to them.

A kind of singing girl called Yida began to appear in Taiwan during the Tongzhi period, and became popular during the Japanese colonial period. They receive training and performances in Yi Dajian, and will also perform in restaurants, temple fairs, private banquets, etc. They mainly sing operas. When multiple Yi Das sing and perform roles, it is called Yi Da opera.

In Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau and other regions, during the Tongzhi period, "tangkou" appeared in Guangzhou that specially adopted blind girls to teach Cantonese opera playing and singing skills. These blind female singers who could play and sing were called "Gu Ji" is called "Master's Wife", commonly known as "Blind Girl". There are also some singing girls who go to teahouses and restaurants to sing. In the early years of the Republic of China, there was a kind of "Quyi Teahouse" in Guangzhou. The first Quyi Teahouse was on the first floor of the 15th Fuzheng Street in Xiguan, Guangzhou. "Master Niang" would often sing on the stage. Soon there were able-bodied female singers, and some singing girls left their prostitution status. Later, she also joined the ranks of female actresses. In 1918, school secretary (singing girl) Lin Yanyu made a cameo appearance on the first floor of the junior high school to sing, which was the first time for blind artists and female actresses to sing together. Later, Zhuo Keqing and others replaced the "Master's wife". Underage singers in brothels are called "Pipa Zai", and Pipa Zai often become prostitutes (locally called "Agu").

After the word "singing girl" appeared, because the "prostitute" in "geisha" reminds people of sex workers, and the "ji" in "singing girl" also means "favorite concubine" and "ji". "Concubine" means "concubine", and the terms "geisha (geisha)" and "singing girl" were replaced by "singing girl". Around the 1920s, with the development of the recording and film industries, as well as the introduction of Western drama theory around the May Fourth Movement, many intellectuals joined the performing arts ranks, and the social status of artists also improved. Some well-known female singers are no longer called "singing girls", and the name "singer" has begun to appear. "Songstress" also began to have a derogatory connotation, and was often used to refer to some female singers who were less well-known or who made a living singing everywhere. Until the mid-to-late twentieth century, some people still used the term "singing girl" to perform in lounges, restaurants, restaurants, dance halls, and streets. A derogatory term for a female singer who sings in places such as Hong Kong Temple Street, Tai Da Tei, etc., and amusement parks (such as Hong Kong Lai Yuen), but is not well-known and "lower-grade".