"The thin horse is full of hair and knocks on the door to shelter from the rain", In the poem by the famous Jin Dynasty famous writer Zhao Bingwen , "skinny horse" is its literal meaning - a skinny horse. So, does the "slim horse" in " raising thin horses " that was popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties mean the same?
is actually not at all. Moreover, the truth is shocking. The "skinny horse" mentioned here actually refers to women who were sold to rich people as concubines or went to brothels to be prostitutes in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Because most of these women are thin, they are named "Slim Horse".
Speaking of this, readers can probably imagine what kind of industry "raising a thin horse" is.
Ming Dynasty The gap between the rich and the poor was severe in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The rich were willing to spend a lot of money on beauty
"skinny horse" first emerged in the Ming Dynasty Yangzhou . After years of wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, by the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the social economy gradually stabilized, and some rich people lived a comfortable and prosperous life.
So, their life needs gradually changed - they no longer need to consider daily trivial matters such as three meals a day and food, such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, but instead think day and night how to enjoy the world and live the most luxurious and happy days.
, especially for wealthy families, what they are most interested in is often to collect beauty in the world.
Since ancient times, "the angrily became a beauty". In the past, King Zhou was charmed by Daji , led to the demise of Shang Dynasty , King You of Zhou for the Bo Bao Si smiled " beacon fire to play the princes ", Emperor Xuanzong of Tang greedy Yang Guifei made Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline, Northern Song Dynasty king Song Huizong favorite private meeting with Li Shishi , Wu Sangui for Chen Yuanyuan led the Qing army into Shanhaiguan.
Love the country and love beauty even more. This has long been common. So, does "skinny horse" refer to prostitutes who fell into brothels in the Ming and Qing dynasties?
is not actually. "Skinny Horse" actually refers to women who were professionally trained at that time. The main purpose of training was to let them be chosen by the rich as concubines when they grew up, and while others who were not favored by the rich would probably become prostitutes.
"raising thin horses" was a very common phenomenon in Jiangnan at that time. To a certain extent, it had become a "profession" with great market demand. When girls were very young, human traffickers responsible for discovering and cultivating "slim horses" would start to train girls, teach them skills in dealing with people, and various skills such as piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. In the final analysis, is how to please men.
Why did the industry of "raising thin horses" emerge in Yangzhou? In fact, this is related to the local economic level of Yangzhou. Because Yangzhou's water transportation is very developed, there are many wealthy salt merchants in . , which gives them enough financial ability to exchange money for beauty.
In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the gap between the rich and the poor was quite obvious. While the rich are extremely extravagant, the working people who make up the majority of the population still have difficulty living in making money to support their families. At that time, the idea of " favoring boys over girls" was very serious, which also has a deep-seated reason for the social reality at that time - men are strong and strong, and can go out to work and make money when they grow up.
And if you give birth to a girl, you often have to get married after raising her, and the cost of raising a girl is also a considerable burden for the family. Therefore, both the supply and demand sides in the "raising thin horses" market have all at once.
Poor families sell their daughters to human traffickers in exchange for a certain income to fill their family, and also exempt them from the expense of raising their daughters and growing up; wealthy families do not lack money at the least, but what they lack is beauty, so they buy their favorite "slim horse" from human traffickers at a high price and serve as their concubines to meet their needs to live a luxurious life.
"Taiter" took great pains to cultivate "slim horses", and behind it is the huge temptation of interests
These human traffickers are commonly known as "Taiter", which is a key factor supporting the survival and development of the "slim horse breeding" industry. " Raising a thin horse" made these "dresses" rich because they usually only need up to ten taels of silver to buy these little girls, and the income they earned after raising them can indeed reach more than one thousand taels of silver.
As the "intermediary" of this transaction, they make huge profits from the "buy low and sell high" of the transaction. For top "slim horses", they will ask for sky-high prices without any mercy.
But these beauties have never lacked buyers - the rich are willing to spend a lot of money on the "slim horse" they like, and there are often several rich people who bid fiercely for a beauty, and the profits won by human traffickers can be imagined. Gradually, "raising thin horses" suddenly became a huge profit-making industry in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
It's really pitiful to think of these little girls who have been trained to be "slim horses". They were all at the age of flowers and a lot of beautiful youth waiting for them, but because of their family's financial difficulties, they actually became abandoned by their families, and embarked on another path of life.
What's more sad is that although this is not a good way out, for these women from poor families, this seems to be a way for them to change their destiny - if they grow up in their own family, they may survive hard in hunger and cold, and it would be quite good to survive. Even if they barely grow up, they would have to marry an equally poor man.
"Dental Woman" also has a lot of knowledge about cultivating "slim horses".
The "slim horse" industry is a process of cruel competition and survival of the fittest. These girls trained by "dresses" cannot all enter wealthy families when they grow up. Only girls who are favored by the rich, regardless of appearance, appearance, temperament and talent can be favored. The rest, often falls into brothels and becomes prostitutes, and lives a life of wandering and no fixed place to live.
They are divided into various levels like "products". Even when they first entered the hands of the dentist, the dentist would secretly divide them into different levels: they were born with good looks and were taught various "advanced" skills.
For example, you must be proficient in various skills in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and to achieve the level of learning to discuss with the upper class of society. You must even learn to recite poems, write essays, play music, and sing. You must be proficient in all kinds of martial arts. These women who are labeled as "top thin horses" have even the same specifications and treatment as those of a daughter, and has become the top level of the "slim horse" industry.
As for the medium-grade "slim horses", their treatment is far inferior to those girls with beautiful appearance - the top-level "slim horses" look like daughters, their appearance is basic, and piano, chess, calligraphy and painting are standard.
These medium-sized "slim horses" must learn a skill to survive in the rich in the future - such as makeup, accounting, etc. Although they may not be able to please the rich when they grow up, , with the help of a strong craft, they can also become useful people to the rich.What about the remaining inferior "slim horses"? They are limited by their natural beauty and it is difficult for them to enter the eyes of the rich. However, the "slim horse raising" industry also provides them with the possibility of life - they will be taught the skills of cooking, needlework, etc., but at best, this can only give them a certain ability to make a living. Their way out is often to become servants ordered by the rich.
"Skinny Horse" is waiting for the rich to choose - a life-and-death moment
Of course, this is just the "cultivation plan" in the dentist's plan. For "slim horses" of various levels, the most decisive moment is probably the moment when they grow up a little, is waiting for the rich to choose.
Usually when the "skinny horse" is fourteen or five years old, the dentist will take the initiative to contact the rich and let the "skinny horse" accept interviews from the rich and see the girl's appearance in her hands. At this time, these carefully cultivated "slim horses" will show off all the skills they have learned over the years, for the rich to choose.
Rich people have a very strict standard for choosing thin horses, including face, eyes, hair, feet, sound, etc. In addition, the rich people at that time generally liked thinner girls, so it was generally popular for thin horses at that time to lose weight.
Rich people will pin their hair on the hair of the girl they like, thereby sending the signal of the deal to the tooth woman. At this time, the happiest person must be the dentist. Seeing that the girl she had cultivated for many years was about to bring benefits to her, they suddenly felt happy.
However, experienced dentists will not accept the offer from the rich immediately. They will continue to bargain with the rich, and strive to sell the "slim horse" at the highest price.
To a certain extent, the cultivation process of "slim horses" is like joining a training base. After the cultivation of the dentist, these girls gradually changed from little girls who are inexperienced to mature women who cater to the tastes of the rich. For those beautiful girls, this is undoubtedly like God's food to eat, and their popularity is unimaginable.
The tragic fate of "skinny horse" - I have lived for others all my life
In fact, many famous singing girls in history have embarked on this path due to family changes and were forced to live under the pressure of life. The most famous example is Li Shishi, a famous prostitute who was famous in the capital and the country in the late Northern Song Dynasty. She was also a "slim horse".
Li Shishi was originally from a businessman family with good family conditions, but when she was born, her mother died of dysfunction. When she was four, her father was arrested and imprisoned, which made Li Shishi orphan suddenly.
The restaurant owner Li in the capital saw that Li Shishi was very qualified, so he taught Li Shishi various skills in playing and singing. When Li Shishi grew up a little, she became a beautiful woman with all kinds of sex and art, a famous person who is well-known in the capital. Even Song Huizong came to date her in person, which shows the great charm of "top thin horse".
By the Ming Dynasty, the rich people rekindled their hobbies for "slim horses", and at this time, the economic minds of merchants were becoming more and more developed. They realized that cultivating "slim horses" was a shortcut to make money, so "raising thin horses" became a very common industry.
At the end of the Ming and early Qing dynasties, there were eight famous singing girls on the banks of the Qinhuai River in Jiangnan, collectively known as " Qinhuai Eight Beauty ". Most of them were born as "slim horses" - Liu Rushi was sold many times since childhood and was later sold to Xu Fo;
Chen Yuanyuan's parents both died , was adopted by his uncle and sold to a pear garden; Li Xiangjun was adopted by the singer genius Li Zhenli because of his family's decline; Bian Yujing was born into a family of officials in Nanjing, but became a singing girl because of his parents' death; Dong Xiaowan fell into chaos because of the bankruptcy of the Dong family's embroidery shop; Ma Shouzhen was sold to a brothel by his uncle.
The only exception among the "Eight Styles of Qinhuai" is perhaps the Koubaimen , who was born in a family of prostitution. "Mountains and rivers are broken and winds are floating, and life experiences are floating and rain are hitting duckweed", The tragic fate of a group reflects the deformities and inequality of an era.
However, what is even more tragic is that the "slim horse raising" industry did develop in full swing during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it became one of the most popular and profitable industries in society at that time.
While feeling sorry and sympathy for the fate of these girls, we have to think deeply about the reasons why this industry continues to grow: due to the serious class differentiation in society at that time, the rich people had absolute resource and wealth advantages in their hands.
For civilian families, letting their daughter join the ranks of "slim horses" has even become a better way out for both families and girls - at least it is no problem to support themselves, and there is even hope to live a better life.
When the rich, girls, girls’ families and dentists can get benefits through this "industrial chain", this industry has the capital to continue to maintain, and has become a common social phenomenon.
. For girls in this "industrial chain", they may also regard the favor of the rich as their greatest hope in their lives, and launch a fierce " involume " for their future. They have lived for others all their lives, but who has really cared about their destiny? This sounds weird, but it really existed in that era.
"Skirt drags six pictures of Xiangjiang River water, and a cloud on Wushan Mountain is shining", From being ignorant of the world when he was young, to facing the ups and downs of life when he grew up.
In that era, behind these girls' growth, there was a story full of sorrow, struggle and unwillingness. I want to say it but stop, telling my heart, and the shadows are alone in the quiet night, no one can understand...
It turns out that those things that look the most beautiful often have the most bitterness and pain...
References:
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1. The smell of fireworks in the Ming Dynasty—Chongqing Publishing House
2. Li Shishi Biography—China Literature and History Publishing House
3. They also make a living and love—misunderstood the eight beauties of Qinhuai—Anhui Education Publishing House
