Yiji

A yiji ( Chinese 藝妓 / 艺妓 ) was a noble courtesan in ancient China .

Yiji were not initially involved in direct sex trafficking , but rather female entertainers who performed poetry , music, or singing to please dignitaries and intellectuals . They were respected and recognized in earlier times for their artistic skills and upbringing. They were hired to perform their arts for both male and female clients and were also employed by the authorities. Even if the Yiji were able to do a customer sexual favors in individual cases according to their own wishes, this was not part of their activity as Yiji, but a concurrent favor outside of their trade and was also viewed as separate from it.

However, after the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644, the Yiji were banned from working for government agencies. This made them dependent on the patronage of private clients, which led to the creation of the prostitution industry, as their male clients began to seek sexual favors in return for their protection.

A yiji could well have different backgrounds, but she was usually a slave in a brothel: the girl was taken from the brothel and trained in the arts of a courtesan. She was able to amass a considerable fortune, but was often heavily indebted to previous business partners and - because of her lack of family ties - very often entangled in ruinous lawsuits. When a yiji retired, she would often train her own daughter to be her successor or choose a student for that purpose.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Susan Mann: Precious Records: Women in China's Long Eighteenth Century . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1997, ISBN 0-8047-2743-0 , pp. 141 ( books.google.de ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jean Elizabeth Ward: Li Qingzhao: an homage to . Lulu Com, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4357-1513-4 , pp. 108 .
↑ ^a ^b The Willow and the Flower. Temple Illuminatus. February 4, 2013, accessed January 31, 2018.
^ Rachel A. Harris, Rowan Pease, Shzr Ee Tan: Gender in Chinese music . Univ. of Rochester Press, Rochester, NY, ISBN 978-1-58046-443-7 , pp. 67 .

[:1-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Susan Mann: Precious Records: Women in China's Long Eighteenth Century . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1997, ISBN 0-8047-2743-0 , pp. 141 ( books.google.de ).

[:2-2] Jean Elizabeth Ward: Li Qingzhao: an homage to . Lulu Com, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4357-1513-4 , pp. 108 .

[:3-3] The Willow and the Flower. Temple Illuminatus. February 4, 2013, accessed January 31, 2018.

[:4-4] Rachel A. Harris, Rowan Pease, Shzr Ee Tan: Gender in Chinese music . Univ. of Rochester Press, Rochester, NY, ISBN 978-1-58046-443-7 , pp. 67 .

Yiji

See also

Individual evidence