''Mui tsai'' (), which means "little sister"Yung, ''Unbound Feet'', 37. in Cantonese, describes young Chinesewomen who worked as domestic servants in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, or in brothels or affluent Chinese households in traditional Chinese society. The young women were typically from
poor
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
families, and sold at a young age, under the condition that they be freed through marriage when older.Yung, ''Unbound Voices'', 129. These arrangements were generally looked upon as charitable and a form of adoption, as the young women would be provided for better as ''mui tsai'' than they would if they remained with their family. However, the absence of contracts in these arrangements meant that many ''mui tsai'' were resold into
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
.Yung, ''Unbound Feet'', 38. According to some scholars, many of these girls ended up as either concubines or prostitutes, while others write that their status was higher than a concubine's.
In traditional Chinese culture, a family needs a male offspring. Poor parents, who were unable to support many children, sometimes killed newborn infants if they were female. In consideration of the grinding poverty it was an accepted alternative to sell unwanted girls.
The practice was also prevalent before World War II in Hong Kong, Singapore and parts of Southeast Asia.
Macau
In the 16th century it was a common practice in Macau for poor families to sell daughters as domestic servants for 40 years. As the Portuguese settled in Macau they began to establish brothels with ''mui tsais'', but the Mandarins intervened.
Hong Kong
During the middle of the 19th century the British Slavery Abolition Act and the Slave Trade Act were enacted. The Hong Kong government did not impose any restriction on the transfer of girls as ''mui tsais'' before 1923, because this was treated as a family matter or traditional custom. Kathleen Simon, Viscountess Simon, fought for several decades to free the remaining ''mui tsai''.
In 1922 after press campaigns in Britain and support from MPs including John Ward in the House of Commons,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, the
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies.
Histor ...
, pledged that the ''mui tsai'' system in Hong Kong would be abolished within one year. Under pressure from the British Parliament, the Hong Kong Legislative Council enacted the Female Domestic Service Bill the next year. Further importations and transfers of ''mui tsais'' were prohibited. The demand for registration of all ''mui tsais'', however, was postponed. The new law was never seriously observed.
In 1926, Britain became one of the signatories to the International Slavery Convention under the League of Nations. The ''mui tsai'' issue soon came under international scrutiny. Facing strong political pressure, the Hong Kong government enacted the Female Domestic Service Ordinance in 1923. All ''mui tsais'' had to be registered prior to 31 May 1930. Afterwards no registration and thus no sale was allowed. Inspectors were appointed to pay visits to the ''mui tsais'' to ensure that they were not ill-treated and had had their wages paid.Hong Kong Med J Vol. 12., pp. 464-465
The latest case was reported in 2005. Chinese parents received a financial relief for their daughter who was transferred to Hong Kong. She worked incessantly from dawn to dusk. After physical tortures she was admitted to the hospital.Hong Kong Med J Vol. 12., pp. 463-464
United States
In the 19th century a large number of Chinese workers immigrated to the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prevented Chinese men of the working class from sending for wives from China nor did the law permit them to marry non-Chinese wives in some states. Now many Chinese girls and young women immigrated with false papers showing them to be the wives or daughters of the privileged class. Most of them arrived at Angel Island in the
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
. The girls were sold for household servants. As they got older, they were frequently sold into prostitution. ''Mui tsais'' became a target for Protestantreformers in San Francisco. The Presbyterian Mission House in San Francisco's Chinatown rescued Chinese girls and women from abusive circumstances.
Despite the work of reformers in the United States, the ''mui tsai'' system continued into the early 20th century.
See also
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Anti-Mui Tsai Activism Anti-Mui Tsai Activism is efforts to abolish the Mui Tsai system. Mui Tsai () describes Chinese women, entering the system from a young age, who worked as domestic servants in China, or in brothels or affluent Chinese households in traditional Chin ...
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Anti-Mui Tsai Society
The Anti-''Mui Tsai'' Society was an organisation founded in 26 March 1922 dedicated to abolishing the '' Mui-tsai'' system (akin to child slavery) in colonial Hong Kong.
Background
Influence
The Anti-Mui Tsai Society marked the increas ...
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* {{cite journal , last1= Yuen, first1= Karen, date= December 2004, title= Theorizing the Chinese: The Mui Tsai Controversy and Constructions of Transnational Chineseness in Hong Kong and British Malaysia, journal=
New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies
The ''New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that was founded in June 1999. It is the official journal of the New Zealand Asian Studies Society. The journal covers a broad range of Asia-related topics. It is pu ...