The influence of prostitutes on the changes of women's social status in China

Prostitutes make it possible for women at the bottom to change their status. According to Mrs. Wang's History of Prostitutes in China, most prostitutes in traditional society come from the same class of female slaves, that is, the servant class. In traditional society, the social status of servants is not higher than that of prostitutes. Chu Sheng said in the Servant History of China that it is difficult for servants, especially female slaves, to rule out the relationship between master and servant. There is a saying in Hanshu that "100,000 yuan must be redeemed". This huge expenditure is unimaginable for female slaves. The redemption of female slaves is arduous, and their status in the master's house is also very low. It is naturally a very tragic experience for ordinary women to become prostitutes, but if we consider the living conditions of servants at that time, it seems not so unacceptable. According to the records in Xianju County Records, female slaves have no right to marry. "Thirty or forty years old, I still don't know the spouse relationship." Even if you can get married, the object of marriage is "decided by the owner." And the reality is often more cruel than this. Even in the Qing dynasty, the phenomenon of eliminating female slaves was very common. This phenomenon is recorded in detail in Qing Chao. Comparatively speaking, prostitutes live better than servants at the bottom of society, although there are many tragic experiences among prostitutes. At least, women in the teaching workshop can change their identity. In Pipa, Bai Juyi recorded the story of a woman who ranked first in the teaching workshop, and her boss married the wife of a businessman. Bai Juyi wrote this story in a sympathetic tone, but at the same time Bai Juyi raised a slave for his family and asked his close friend's prostitute to commit suicide for her. Obviously, in Bai Juyi's view, these domestic prostitutes and famous prostitutes described in Pipa Xing are more likely to change their lives, so that choosing their husbands, the most famous eight beautiful women in Jianghuai in history, can be regarded as their identity orientation. According to the Social History of Tang Dynasty, prostitutes have the opportunity to improve their status in teaching institutions, thus improving their status. Since the Tang Dynasty, there has been a custom of selecting excellent prostitutes as courtiers on a small scale. Getting the flower base means that you can communicate with doctors, which is very difficult for ordinary women at that time. Although the number of young women is extremely limited, it provides the possibility for women who are still in chains to change their status. It must be pointed out that in traditional society, not only servants, but also most women have no chance to change their luck. They are "sold like commodities". From this perspective, prostitutes at least get a chance to change their luck, although this opportunity is pitiful. In most cases, they have to rely on the strength of men. This may also remind people of a group of famous prostitutes in the history of China: Li, Du Shiniang and Fu. They have also become models for the first generation of women who tried to liberate themselves. Prostitutes make it possible for women in China to own wealth. In the traditional society of China, women are regarded as the accessories of men, and the lack of wealth rights is an important factor leading to this phenomenon. In the book Women and Wealth in China, Ms. Baikai pointed out: "Most women in China have no inheritance rights." In 792, mary wollstonecraft, an early feminist, explained that women's wealth rights should be equal to men's. Later feminists further pointed out that if there is no wealth right, women will be in an absolutely weak position and become dependent on men. Women have to rely on men, which is more serious in China. Women in China have almost no inheritance rights, and women are regarded as "the ornament of society and the wealth of marriage". In most cases, women in China are just commodities, not people. Xiao Hong's reunited wife described in Hulan River Biography suffered this kind of luck. Women in Europe have the right to inherit wealth, so their status is much higher than that in other places. Sulamis Saha, the author of A History of European Women in the Middle Ages, believes that the status of European women is higher than that of oriental women, which is an important reason why the feminist movement took place in Europe rather than the East. In China, only a few women have the right to own wealth, including prostitutes.

Prostitutes in China have very limited wealth rights, but for women in traditional society, this wealth right has become extremely precious. The right to own part of wealth can liberate women from having to rely on men. Locke clearly pointed out in "On Authority" that "only wealth is independent, can individuals be independent." Bian Yujing is equal to one of the representatives. The reason why she was able to leave Jiao Fang and become an independent Taoist priest was closely related to the property she accumulated in her career. Similarly, Du Shiniang's anger at the treasure chest also benefited from the accumulation of so much property in her career. Being a prostitute is a miserable life, but there is a chance to change your luck. In The History of Prostitutes in China, Ms. Wang describes that many prostitutes accumulate property for retirement and future life through their own careers. The wealth rights obtained by prostitutes also promote the wealth rights of other women. Baikai said in Women and Wealth in China, "Widows gradually gain the right to inherit wealth." From the historical precedent, we can find that the granting of wealth right is based on the recognition of women's ability to control wealth, and this recognition must come from these women who live alone in society. Prostitutes opened the curtain of the socialization of traditional women in China. In the traditional society, women in China have been trapped in the family, becoming more and more internalized and subordinate to the family. This internalization process is constantly realized. Take marriage as an example. Before the Tang Dynasty, women in China could get in touch with their fiancé, but later such opportunities became less and less. In a society where there are neither Greek and Roman dinners nor dances often held in late Europe, women are gradually alienated, and they are increasingly used as accessories and home decorations. When Beauvoir described the traditional marriage and family system, she decided: "The only goal of this system is to keep women out of society." This restriction promotes the absolute superiority of men in society. Women fall into a vicious circle in society. The more difficult it is to socialize, the more women are forced to go to the family and seek to become a part of the family. More women enter the family, which further stimulates women to leave the socialization process. This makes it more and more difficult for society to accept women's socialization, which eventually leads to difficulties in women's socialization. In this process, some women have maintained a high degree of socialization in order to better participate in society and even influence social customs, and have made continuous progress according to social requirements. Historically, during the Spring and Autumn Period, there were women in Qi who liked Lu, which made Confucius leave Lu. Liang Hongyu joined the army in the Tang and Song Dynasties, which made people feel how women's social status influenced other categories across borders. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were always stories of prostitutes saving the country. Prostitutes in the late Qing dynasty had the opportunity to get in touch with foreigners and foreign cultures first, so that their contact with foreign countries was much higher than that of ordinary people, so the story of evil flowers was born. This socialization of women mobilized by prostitutes had a great influence on women in the early Republic of China. How a woman lives in society should be based on the behavior of the previous generation of women. In the early years of the Republic of China, socialites needed to accept western etiquette when they were in contact with men, and more importantly, they needed to learn the behavior habits of women shown in traditional society. The presupposition of beauty in the novels of talented people and beautiful women in Ming and Qing dynasties, especially the setting of beauty talents and feelings, does not meet the requirements of traditional society for women, and is closer to the characteristics embodied by these prostitutes. This is the so-called "double influence of female socialization". On the one hand, society influences men's learning from women in love; On the other hand, men will demand other women on the basis of socialized women, thus promoting the socialization of women as a whole. In the traditional society, there are more and more restrictions on women, and the socialization of prostitutes is undoubtedly a substitute, which avoids the embarrassment that women can't socialize at all and forms many unique China traditions. Prostitutes promoted the reconstruction of traditional social morality in China. Traditional society is familiar with women's morality. Based on the "Three Obediences and Four Virtues" in The Book of Rites, the whole China society is based on "Virtue". This moral construction has constructed a complex code of conduct for us.

The prostitute system flourished under the rule of Confucianism, and literati have always been the customers of prostitutes. Successive authorities have repeatedly reiterated that officials are not allowed to go whoring, but the effect is not good. In the Ming Dynasty, officials were forbidden to marry prostitutes many times, but officials such as Qian and Mao Bijiang were frequent visitors to Qinhuai River and even married famous prostitutes. The existence of this alien force does not reduce social morality, but is a response to moral control and an instinct, because "extremely high moral requirements themselves will be ignored." This moral requirement will inevitably evolve into a struggle for authority. "The average level of morality will drop to a very low level, because no one can reach it." This is clear, whether there are prostitutes or not, the social layout of China society itself determines that this moral disintegration is inevitable. Among all the phenomena of moral disintegration, prostitute culture is obviously the most civilized one. China's prostitute culture emphasizes skill and talent, and maintains a relatively low level of sexual morality to a great extent, but it is by no means bottomless. Large-scale rape crimes at the bottom of society have also been alleviated by prostitute culture. As Russell said in Marriage and Morality, "the prostitute system has the function of protecting good women."