Signaling Seduction: The Courtship Strategies of Ming Era Courtesans

Abstract

This study applies an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Ming period courtesans (ji 妓) and their activities, combining the close reading of literature and Ming era visual presentations, with insights drawn from the fields of modern courtship and nonverbal behavioral studies to investigate their strategies of signaling seduction. In the Ming era, courtesans used a series of seduction strategies to achieve their goals in the process of interacting with male clients, dividing the entire courtship process into four phases: attention catching, interacting, and developing intimacy, lovemaking, and post-passion transition back to mundane interaction. This study pays close attention to the first two phases. The strategies of the first stage include posture readiness, prop handling, gestural movements, and vocal manipulation. The strategies of the second stage include conversations and touching. Developing high-level skills in signaling seduction was crucial to success in the career of a Ming courtesan. The specific strategies and the order in which they occurred did not appear to be fixed, but courtesans had to be sensitive and adaptable depending to the personalities and needs of their guests.

Keywords:

• Ming dynasty
• courtesans
• signaling seduction
• courtship
• nonverbal behavior

Disclosure Statement

The author reports there are no competing interests to declare.

Notes

1 Rosenthal, The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer in Sixteenth-Century Venice, 7; Berg, “Amazon, Artist, and Adventurer: A Courtesan in Late Imperial China,” 15.

2 McMahon, “The Pornographic Doctrine of a Loyalist Ming Novel: Social Decline and Sexual Disorder in Preposterous Words (Guwangyan),” 58–65. Also see: Li, “The Late Ming Courtesan: Invention of a Cultural Ideal,” 46–73; Wetzel, “Hidden Connections: Courtesans in the Art World of the Ming Dynasty,” 659. Li delves into how and why courtesans became a projection of the cultural ideals of the late Ming literati, while Wetzel argues that the high status enjoyed by courtesans in Ming urban society was partly due to their positive depiction in popular literature and the visual arts, where sometimes they were ironically presented as models of virtue.

3 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Gua zhi’er shan’ge jia zhutao min’ge sanzhong 掛枝兒山歌夾竹桃: 民歌三種 [Gua zhi’er, shan’ge, jia zhutao: Three Types of Folk Songs], 50. Unless otherwise noted, the English translations in this article were done by the current author. If translations by others are used, they are specifically noted in the endnotes.

4 Another songbook compiled by Feng Menglong is Shan’ge 山歌 (Mountain Songs), a collection of folk songs from the Suzhou region. The theme of the songs is mostly about love, a large part of which depicts illicit but passionate love (siqing 私情 “secret love”). Ōki, “Wanton, but Not Bad: Women in Feng Menglong’s Mountain Songs,” 129; Ōki, “Women in Feng Menglong’s Mountain Songs” 131–37.

5 Ko, “The Written Word and the Bound Foot: A History of the Courtesan’s Aura,” 88.

6 For study relating to Ming era imperial concubines, see: Hua, Concubinage and Servitude in Late Imperial China; McMahon, Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing.

7 Brook, The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, 112–13.

8 Ko, “Transitory Communities: Courtesan, Wife, and Professional Artist,” 293. Also see: Zurndorfer, “Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Confucian Moral Universe of Late Ming China (1550–1644),” 199–200.

9 Wang and Zhang, “Feng Menglong Shan’ge zhong yunhan de zhuqing sixiang zhi guankui 馮夢龍《山歌》中蘊含的‘主情’思想之管窺 [A Peek into Feng Menglong’s Thought of ‘Qing’ Contained in ‘Mountain Songs’],” 88; Zurndorfer, “Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Confucian Moral Universe of Late Ming China (1550–1644),” 208–13.

10 Feng, “Feng Menglong qingjiao sixiang yu sanyan bianzhuan 馮夢龍‘情教’思想與‘三言’編撰 [Feng Menglong’s Thought of ‘Love’ and the Compilation of ‘Sanyan’],” 32; Chu, “Cong xiaoshuo yu xiqu de bijiao shijiao kan Feng Menglong de qingjiao sixiang 從小說與戲曲的比較視角看馮夢龍的“情教”思想 [On Feng Menglong’s ‘Cult of Emotion’ Thought from the Comparative Perspective of Novels and Dramas],” 152.

11 Ōki, “Women in Feng Menglong’s Mountain Songs,” 138–39.

12 Peng, “The Music Teacher: The Professionalization of Singing and the Development of Erotic Vocal Style During Late Ming China,” 287.

13 Zhu Yuanliang 朱元亮 and Zhang Mengzheng張夢徵, Qinglou yunyu 青樓韻語 [Amorous Words in the Green House] [1616], 37.

14 Gulik, Sexual Life in Ancient China: A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D., 308–11; Hsu, “Courtesans and Scholars in the Writings of Feng Menglong: Transcending Status and Gender,” 76–77. Van Gulik incisively points out that brothel culture had a huge influence on the cultural and artistic fields of the Ming era Jiangnan area. This is because Ming gentry-literati, writers, and artists frequented the pleasure quarters in the Qinhuai River region of Jiangnan, where courtesans and prostitutes lived in lavish boats called hua fang 畫舫 (painted boats). Hsu Pi-Ching discusses the Ming era popular romantic narrative of the unrecognized scholars and the faithful courtesans.

15 Mann, “Entertainment,” 121–42.

16 Ropp, “Ambiguous Images of Courtesan Culture in Late Imperial China,” 18.

17 Ko, “Transitory Communities: Courtesan, Wife, and Professional Artist,” 251–93; also see Wetzel, “Hidden Connections: Courtesans in the Art World of the Ming Dynasty,” 664.

18 Bossler, “Shifting Identities: Courtesans and Literati in Song China,” 5–37; Bossler, “Floating Sleeves, Willow Waists, and Dreams of Spring: Entertainment and Its Enemies in Song History and Historiography,” 5.

19 Ko, “Transitory Communities: Courtesan, Wife, and Professional Artist,” 256; Tseng, “Women Painters of the Ming Dynasty,” 250.

20 Li Yu 李漁, Xian qing ou ji 閑情偶寄 [Sketches of Idle Pleasures] [1671], 273–74.

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 Wu ji bai mei 吳姬百媚 is a Ming era collection of poems, songs and illustrations themed on the courtesans in Suzhou area. Wanyuzi 宛瑜子, Wu ji bai mei 吳姬百媚 [Seductive Courtesans in Suzhou area].

24 To list a few studies: Davis, Inside Intuition: What We Know About Nonverbal Communication; Eibl-Eibesfeldt and Strachan, Love and Hate: The Natural History of Behavior Patterns; Mehrabian, Nonverbal Communication; Guerrero and Floyd, Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships.

25 Barendregt, “The Changing Art of Seduction: Ritual Courtship, Performing Prostitutes, Erotic Entertainment,” 4.

26 Hanna, “Empowerment: The Art of Seduction in Adult Entertainment Exotic Dance,” 203–15.

27 Music, Dance and the Art of Seduction, i.

28 Moore, “Human Nonverbal Courtship Behavior—A Brief Historical Review,” 171.

29 Stevenson, Oxford Dictionary of English, 29942.

30 Xin hua zi dian 新華字典 [Xinhua Dictionary], 595.

31 Excerpted from the Chinese rime dictionary, Guangyun 廣韻, compiled from 1007 to 1008 under the patronage of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, edited by Chen Pengnian 陳彭年 (961–1017) and Qiu Yong 邱雍. See: Baxter, A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology, 38–39.

32 Confucius 孔子, The Analects of Confucius (Chinese–English Bilingual Edition) 論語今譯 漢英對照, 92–93.

33 Han Yu 韓愈, Zhu Xi 朱熹, Wang Boda 王伯大, and Zhu Wubi 朱吾弼, Zhu Wen Gong Jiao Changli Xian Sheng Wen Ji 朱文公校昌黎先生文集.

34 Hanna, “Empowerment: The Art of Seduction in Adult Entertainment Exotic Dance,” 200.

35 Stevenson, Oxford Dictionary of English, 7381.

36 Givens, Love Signals: A Practical Field Guide to the Body Language of Courtship, 34–35.

37 Sima Qian 司馬遷, Shiji 史記 [Historical Records], 1389–90.

38 Givens, Love Signals: A Practical Field Guide to the Body Language of Courtship.

39 Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship In Twentieth Century America, 6.

40 Scheflen, “Quasi-courtship Behavior in Psychotherapy,” 247–8.

41 Birdwhistell, Kinesics and Context: Essays on Body-Motion Communication, 158–79.

42 Morris, Intimate Behavior, 74–79.

43 Lockard and Adams, “Courtship Behaviors in Public: Different Age/Sex Roles,” 245–53.

44 Jesser, “Male Responses to Direct Verbal Sexual Initiatives of Females,” 122–23.

45 Perper and Weis, “Proceptive and Rejective Strategies of US and Canadian College Women,” 462–78; Clark et al., “Strategic Behaviors in Romantic Relationship Initiation,” 709.

46 Buss, The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating, 1–5.

47 Eibl-Eibesfeldt and Strachan, Love and Hate: The Natural History of Behavior Patterns, 50.

48 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Gua zhi’er shan’ge jia zhutao min’ge sanzhong 掛枝兒山歌夾竹桃: 民歌三種 [Gua zhi’er, shan’ge, jia zhutao: Three Types of Folk Songs].

49 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei 金瓶梅.

50 Wanyuzi 宛瑜子, Wu ji bai mei 吳姬百媚 [Seductive Courtesans in Suzhou Area].

51 Scheflen, “Quasi-courtship Behavior in Psychotherapy,” 247–48.

52 Ibid.

53 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Two: The Rivals, 254–55.

54 Scheflen, “Quasi-courtship Behavior in Psychotherapy,” 247–48.

55 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei, Volume Three: The Aphrodisiac, 496.

56 Zhongguo quxue da cidian 中國曲學大辭典 [Dictionary of Chinese Qu Study], 5.

57 Peng, “Courtesan vs. Literatus: Gendered Soundscapes and Aesthetics in Late-Ming Singing Culture,” 405–11.

58 Che and Liu, “‘Xiaochang’ kao ‘小唱’考 [On Discussion of Xiaochang],” 186.

59 Wang et al., Qulü zhushi 曲律註釋 [Notes on Rules of Qu]. See also: Zeitlin, “‘Notes of Flesh’ and the Courtesan’s Song in Seventeenth-Century China”; Peng, “Courtesan vs. Literatus: Gendered Soundscapes and Aesthetics in Late-Ming Singing Culture,” 412–13; Peng, Lost Sound: Singing, Theatre, and Aesthetics in Late Ming China, 1547–1644.

60 Yu Huai 余懷, “Miscellaneous Records of the Plank Bridge 板橋雜記 [1693],” translated by Li Wai-yee, 93–94.

61 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Gua zhi’er shan’ge jia zhutao min’ge sanzhong 掛枝兒山歌夾竹桃: 民歌三種 [Gua zhi’er, shan’ge, jia Zhutao: Three Types of Folk Songs], 103.

62 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Awaken the World 醒世恆言 [1627], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 69–70.

63 Scheflen, “Quasi-courtship Behavior in Psychotherapy,” 247.

64 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Caution the World 警世通言 [1624], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 143.

65 Gersick and Kurzban, “Covert Sexual Signaling: Human Flirtation and Implications for Other Social Species,” 549.

66 Gersick and Kurzban, “Covert Sexual Signaling: Human Flirtation and Implications for Other Social Species,” 549. For research on flirting among primates, see: Botero, “Primates are Touched by Your Concern: Touch, Emotion, and Social Cognition In Chimpanzees,” 372–80; Walker-Bolton and Parga, “‘Stink Flirting’ in Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta): Male Olfactory Displays to Females as Honest, Costly Signals,” 1, 9.

67 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories Old and New 古今小說 [1620], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 510.

68 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Gua zhi’er shan’ge jia zhutao min’ge sanzhong 掛枝兒山歌夾竹桃: 民歌三種 [Gua zhi’er, shan’ge, jia zhutao: Three Types of Folk Songs ], 103.

69 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories Old and New 古今小說 [1620], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 291.

70 Ibid.

71 Ko, “From Ancient Texts to Current Customs: In Search of Footbinding’s Origins,” 110. Related research on foot binding also includes: Ko, “The Body as Attire: The Shifting Meanings of Footbinding in Seventeenth-Century China”; Wang, Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China.

72 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume One: The Gathering, 51.

73 Cao Qujing 曹去晶, Gu wang yan xia 姑妄言 下 [Preposterous Words, Volume 3] [1730], 907.

74 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Caution the World 警世通言 [1624], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 143.

75 Du Xinlin 杜欣林, “Tuanshan wenhua de qiyuan yu fazhan 團扇文化的起源與發展 [The Origin and Development of the Rounded Fan Culture],” 65.

76 Wang Qi王起 et al., Yuan ming qing sanqu xuan元明清散曲選 [A Selection of Sanqu in Yuan, Ming, Qing Dynasties], 288.

77 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Two: The Rivals, 254–55; Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Three: The Aphrodisiac, 459.

78 Grammer, “Human Courtship Behaviour: Biological Basis and Cognitive Processing,” 153; Brase and Walker, “Male Sexual Strategies Modify Ratings of Female Models with Specific Waist-to-Hip Ratios,” 209; Dixson et al., “Studies of Human Physique and Sexual Attractiveness: Sexual Preferences of Men and Women in China,” 88.

79 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Four: The Climax, 7.

80 Ibid., 600.

81 Ibid., 621.

82 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Two: The Rivals, 137; Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Three: The Aphrodisiac, 91; 435.

83 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Three: The Aphrodisiac, 235.

84 Zhao Lingshi 趙令畤 and Peng Cheng 彭乘, Hou jing lu moke huixi xu moke huixi 侯鯖錄: 墨客揮犀 續墨客揮犀 [Record of Exquisite Meat Diet: Idle Talk of the Literati; Idle Talk of the Literati Continued], 474. English translation by the author.

85 Peng, Lost Sound: Singing, Theatre, and Aesthetics in Late Ming China, 1547–1644, 104.

86 Zhang Fengyi 張鳳翼, Chushitang ji 處實堂集, 8. Translation by the current author. Related descriptions date back to the Tang dynasty. For example, Bai Juyi’s 白居易 poem “Huxuan nü” 胡旋女: “弦鼓一聲雙袖舉 She raises her long sleeves high to the sound of strings and drums.” See: Bai Juyi 白居易, Bai Juyi shiji jiaozhu 白居易詩集校注 [The Collected Poems of Bai Juyi, annotated], 305.

87 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Four: The Climax, 61.

88 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Three: The Aphrodisiac, 427–28.

89 Givens, “The Nonverbal Basis of Attraction: Flirtation, Courtship, and Seduction,” 346.

90 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Caution the World 警世通言 [1624], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 524–25.

91 Zeitlin also examines the courtesans’ strategies for handling the singing voice. Zeitlin, “The Pleasures of Print: Illustrated Songbooks from the Late Ming Courtesan World,” 41–65.

92 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Three: The Aphrodisiac, 91, 496.

93 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume Two: The Rivals, 254–55.

94 Givens, “The Nonverbal Basis of Attraction: Flirtation, Courtship, and Seduction,” 351.

95 McFarland et al., “Making the Connection: Social Bonding in Courtship Situations,” 1596.

96 Givens, “The Nonverbal Basis of Attraction: Flirtation, Courtship, and Seduction ,” 351–52.

97 McFarland et al., “Making the Connection: Social Bonding in Courtship Situations ,” 1596.

98 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Caution the World 警世通言 [1624], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 143.

99 Phatic communion refers to “small talk,” or “a type of speech in which ties of union are created by a mere exchange of words,” defined by Ogden and Richards, The Meaning of Meaning: A Study of the Influence of Thought and of the Science of Symbolism, 315.

100 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Awaken the World 醒世恆言 [1627], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 70–71.

101 Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei, Volume One: The Gathering. The male protagonist Ximen Qing’s 西門慶 second concubine Li Jiao’er 李嬌兒 was once a courtesan.

102 Mao Xiang 冒襄, “Reminiscences of the Plum Shadows Convent 影梅庵憶語 [1651].” In his memoirs Yingmei An Yiyu影梅庵憶語, Mao Xiang recalled the mournful and romantic times he spent with Dong Bai 董白, his concubine, who was once a courtesan.

103 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Caution the World 警世通言 [1624], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 557.

104 Andersen, “Tactile Traditions: Cultural Differences and Similarities in Haptic Communication,” 352. Also see: Andersen and Guerrero, “The Bright Side of Relational Communication: Interpersonal Warmth as a Social Emotion”; Floyd, Communicating Affection: Interpersonal Behavior and Social Context.

105 Montagu, “Touching, the Human Significance of the Skin,” 103.

106 Hanna, “Empowerment: The Art of Seduction in Adult Entertainment Exotic Dance,” 203.

107 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Caution the World 警世通言 [1624], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 381–82.

108 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Caution the World 警世通言 [1624], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 382.

109 Cao Qujing 曹去晶, Gu wang yan 姑妄言 [Preposterous Words].

110 Pink, Doing Sensory Ethnography, xi.

111 Feng Menglong 馮夢龍, Stories to Caution the World 警世通言 [1624], translated by Yang Shuhui and Yang Yunqing, 143.

112 Ibid.

113 See Buss’s work (2016). Buss, The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating.

114 Wang Shizhen 王世貞, Yan yi bian 艷異編.

115 Yu Huai 余懷, “Miscellaneous Records of the Plank Bridge 板橋雜記 [1693].”

116 Wanyuzi 宛瑜子, Wu ji bai mei 吴姬百媚 [Seductive Courtesans in Suzhou Area].

117 This is Feng Wu-ai’s ranking among courtesans in the Ming era Suzhou area, as rated by contemporary literati.

118 Ximen Foolishly Presents His New Wife, Mistress Ping, to His Worthless and Bibulous Guests 傻幫閑趨奉鬧華筵. Although this painting was created in the eighteenth century, it emulates Ming period aesthetics, serving as a fitting illustration for Jin Ping Mei.

119 Wanyuzi 宛瑜子, Wu ji bai mei 吳姬百媚 [Seductive Courtesans in Suzhou Area].

120 Wanyuzi 宛瑜子, Wu ji bai mei 吳姬百媚 [Seductive Courtesans in Suzhou Area ].

121 Master Ximen Accepts the Service of Courtesan Cinnamon Bud 西門慶疏籠李桂姐.

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Shiyun Wang

Shiyun Wang is a PhD candidate at Durham University, major in music. Her research interests lie in historical ethnomusicology, with a particular focus on the music-making of Chinese Ming period courtesans.