Sai Jinhua (; "Prettier Than Golden Flower"; Chang, Jung. ''Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China'' (eBook).

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...

, New York, 2013. eBook . p. 118. "Her minister to Berlin, Hung Jun, was quite the opposite of Guo .. - Hardcover circa 1872-1936Hu, Ying, p
53
) was a Chinese courtesan who became the acquaintance of

Alfred von Waldersee Alfred Ludwig Heinrich Karl Graf von Waldersee (8 April 1832 in Potsdam5 March 1904 in Hanover) was a German field marshal (''Generalfeldmarschall'') who became Chief of the Imperial German General Staff. Born into a prominent military family, ...

.Zhang, Wenxian, p
423
Her real family name was Cao. Sometimes she said her family name was Zhao. During her career as a courtesan she used the names Fu Caiyun (), Sai Jinhua, and Cao Menglan (). Her

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

(''hao'') was Weizhao Lingfei (). Some people referred to her as Sai Erye (, "Second Master Sai").Wan, p
182
Wenxian Zhang, author of an encyclopedia article on Sai Jinhua, wrote that she "was regarded by some as a cross-cultural courtesan." Wan Xianchu, an author of an encyclopedia article on Sai Jinhua, wrote that "regardless of whether Sai Jinhua's role in China's foreign relations may have been exaggerated and despite the controversies surrounding her conduct and affairs, she lived a tough and spectacular life that has assured her a place in the modern history of China."Wan, p
184

Biography

Early life

Sai Jinhua was allegedly born with the name Zhao Lingfei () on October 9, 1872.Cheng, Joyce.
Who is Sai Jinhua?

Archive
'' gbtimes''. Wednesday September 11, 2013. Retrieved on November 26, 2013. Sai Jinhua was from

Yancheng Yancheng () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. As the city with the largest jurisdictional area in Jiangsu, Yancheng borders Lianyungang to the north, Huai'an to the west, Yangzhou and Taiz ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

and she lived in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

as a child. Her

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

was

Xiuning Xiuning County () is a county in the south of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Repub ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

. At age 13 she became a prostitute after her father died and financial difficulties for her family occurred. She first became a prostitute while on a flower boat. At that time she used the professional name "Fu Caiyun". In 1887 Hong Jun, a major Chinese official, met Sai Jinhua while he visited Suzhou. At the time Hong Jun was in mourning due to his mother's death. Hong Jun made Sai Jinhua his concubine one year after meeting her. When she became his concubine she began using the name Hong Mengluan (). In April of that year, Sai Jinhua went to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...

with Hong Jun.

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlle ...

appointed Hong Jun as the Chinese envoy to Europe, and so Hong Jun traveled to Russia, Austria, the Netherlands, and Germany as part of his diplomatic duties. Sai Jinhua accompanied him for the five year term because Hong Jun's wife was unwilling to travel with him. Sai Jinhua lived in Europe for three years. In Berlin, Hong Jun did not allow Sai Jinhua to attend most of his parties, including those that he held at his residence. She was unable to dance at the parties she did attend due to her

bound feet Foot binding, or footbinding, was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls in order to change their shape and size. Feet altered by footbinding were known as lotus feet, and the shoes made for these feet were kno ...

and because Hong Jun asked her not to. Wenxian Zhang, author of the ''Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work, Volume 2'', wrote that when Sai Jinhua was in Berlin, she reportedly became the acquaintance of

David Der-wei Wang David Der-wei Wang (; born November 6, 1954) is a literary historian, critic, and the Edward C. Henderson Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University. He has written extensively on post-late Qing Chinese fiction, comparative literary the ...

, author of '' Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911'', wrote that the affair between Sai Jinhua and Waldersee began at that point as legends have it. Wang, David Der-wei, p
103
In addition to Waldersee, she met

Emperor William II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

, Chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

, and German Empress

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...

in Berlin. She had also visited

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. After the end of the diplomatic tour, the couple moved to Beijing. Sai Jinhua gave birth to her daughter Deguan () in 1890. Hong Jun died in 1893, shortly after his return to China. In 1894 Sai Jinhua became a prostitute again because Hong Jun's relatives did not support her financially. Sai Jinhua and her daughter Deguan had accompanied the coffin of Hong Jun as it was returned to Suzhou. When she resumed her prostitution career she used the stage name "Cao Menglan". She became a celebrity since she had been in a relationship with a Chinese envoy to Europe. In 1898, she had to move her business out of Shanghai. After re-establishing it in Tianjin she took the name "Sai Jinhua". Several years after restarting her prostitution career she started the Golden Flower Troupe (), a courtesan theater company. This troupe became known in Beijing and Tianjin. Her prostitution business moved to Beijing in 1899.

Boxer Rebellion

In 1900 Waldersee became the chief commander of the occupation army after the end of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. Sai Jinhua renewed her connection with Waldersee. Ying Hu, author of ''Tales of Translation: Composing the New Woman in China, 1899-1918'', stated that Waldersee much favored Sai Jinhua allegedly due to her proficiency in several European languages. Ying Hu wrote that she allegedly tried and sometimes succeeded in curbing the brutality of the troops through her bedside conversations with Waldersee. Wenxian Zhang wrote that Sai Jinhua "was credited with influencing Waldsee to moderate the harsh treatment of Beijing residents." After the end of the Boxer-related hostilities, Sai Jinhua continued to be a prostitute. Wenxian Zhang wrote that the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

government was not grateful for her efforts. Fan Zengxiang wrote some poems about Sai Jinhua and Waldersee.

wrote that the poems consolidated the legend. The poem repeated a rumor stating that the two were in the palace of the Empress Dowager and that they ran out of it naked when a fire occurred. Sai Jinhua, in her biography, admitted that she was on good terms with Waldersee but, as stated by Hu Ying, she vigorously disputed that she had a sexual relationship with him. Dewei Wang wrote that because of several reasons, including differences in political concerns, social status, and age, a romance between the two had not likely happened. David Wang wrote that "It is believed, however, that Sai Jinhua might have had contacts with some lower-ranking German officers at the time, thanks to her ability to speak a little German."Wang, David Der-wei, p
104

Later life

In 1903, along Shaanxi Lane, Sai Jinhua created a Nanban, or a southern prostitute troupe.Wan, p
183
She capitalized on the rumors of her romance with Waldersee and became very popular. In 1905 Fengling, a courtesan working under Sai Jinhua's direction, committed suicide, Authorities charged Sai Jinhua of torturing Fengling, causing her to commit suicide. Sai Jinhua was placed in prison due to the charge. Sai Jinhua spent most of her funds having the charges reduced to manslaughter. Sai Jinhua was expelled from Beijing, and therefore banished to her hometown. In 1908 Sai Jinhua's daughter Deguan died. She married a railroad official, Huang, in 1908. He died in the beginning of the

Republican Era Republican Era can refer to: * Minguo calendar, the official era of the Republic of China It may also refer to any era in a country's history when it was governed as a republic or by a Republican Party. In particular, it may refer to: * Roman R ...

. Afterwards she had lived with a Mr. Cao. Subsequently she married a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

Wei Sijiong Wei Sijiong (, 1873-1922Minden, p128 "In den Anfangsjahren der Republik, die sie in offenbar recht kärglichen Verhältnissen in Shanghai verbrachte, lernte sie einen Beamten in gehobener Position namens Wei Sijiong 魏斯炅 (1873-1922) kennen. We ...

, who was a former head of the

Jiangxi Province Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into h ...

Bureau of Civil Affairs. On 20 June 1918 they married in Shanghai. Sai Jinhua adopted the

(''hao'') ''Weizhao Lingfei'', which used a combination of her family name with that of her husband, to show her devotion to him. The couple moved to Beijing. Sai Jinhua's mother died in 1922. Wei Sijiong, Sai Jinhua's husband, died shortly afterwards and his family refused to allow Sai Jinhua to share his property. The widow began smoking opium and she lived in solitude in her remaining years. Sai Jinhua, who was in poverty at the time of her death, subsisted off of the money curious historians and journalists gave her. Sai Jinhua died in 1936, succumbing to an illness at 62 '' sui''. At the time of her death, Beijing was experiencing a strong winter. A servant found her body the morning after her death. Sai Jinhua was buried in Beijing.

Qi Baishi Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his works. Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi taught himself to paint, sparked by the Manual of the Must ...

, a well-known calligrapher, crafted her headstone.

Legacy

The life of Sai Jinhua had been adapted into several films, plays, and television series. In works she is portrayed as a heroine of the Chinese nation who saved the country single-handedly during a time of crisis or as a ''yaonie'' (), a woman with abnormal powers or a female demon. Ying Hu, author of ''Tales of Translation: Composing the New Woman in China, 1899-1918'', wrote that Sai Jinhua "is often portrayed in extreme colors" in fiction. Ying Hu wrote that "portraits of Sai Jinhua in the first decade of the twentieth century tended to be ambivalent, if not outright censorious." ''Hu Baoyu'' () by Wu Jianren and ''Fantianlu conglu'' (; "Anecdotes Collected from the Fantianlu Studio") refer to her negatively. The character Fu Caiyun in '' Niehai Hua'' is based on Sai Jinhua. Ying Hu wrote that Sai Jinhua's portrayal in that work was "resolutely ambiguous." In the '' Nine-tailed Turtle'' the main character Zhang Qiugu has sexual intercourse with Sai Jinhua. Unlike other portrayals of Sai Jinhua in fiction, in ''The Nine-tailed Turtle'' she is portrayed as past her prime. Beginning in the 1930s several works portrayed Sai Jinhua in a positive manner. In 1933

Liu Bannong Liu Bannong (; May 29, 1891 – July 14, 1934) or Liu Fu () was a Chinese poet and linguist. He was a leader in the May Fourth Movement. He made great contributions to modern Chinese literature, phonology and photography. Life A son of the edu ...

, a professor of Chinese literature at

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

, conducted an interview with Sai Jinhua. He wrote ''The Wife of Zhuangyuan: Sai Jinhua'', which he called her true story. Wan Xianchu wrote that the Xia Yan drama ''

Sai Jinhua Sai Jinhua (; "Prettier Than Golden Flower"; Chang, Jung. ''Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China'' (eBook). Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2013. eBook . p. 118. "Her minister to Berlin, Hung Jun, was quite the opposite of Guo ...

'' "was a particularly influential work." The writing on the play's title page, "The country is everyone's country; to save the country is everyone's duty", is in Sai Jinhua's own handwriting.

Jung Chang Jung Chang (, , born 25 March 1952) is a Chinese-British writer now living in London, best known for her family autobiography '' Wild Swans'', selling over 10 million copies worldwide but banned in the People's Republic of China. Her 832-page ...

wrote that Sai Jinhua was "regarded by many as something of a tragic heroine." Chang, Jung. '' Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China'' (eBook).

, New York, 2013. eBook . p. 295. - Hardcover The play ''The Beauty'' () is also about Sai Jinhua. In 2012

Liu Xiaoqing Liu Xiaoqing (born 30 October 1955) is a Chinese actress and businesswoman. She was one of the leading actresses in China in the 1980s. Biography In her early days Liu worked as a farm labourer, then as a propagandist for the People's Liberatio ...

, who was a prominent actress in the 1980s, played Sai Jinhua in a performance of ''The Beauty''.Chinese actress Liu Xiaoqing performs in drama 'Fenghua Juedai'
"

'' China Daily''. July 10, 2012. Retrieved on November 7, 2013.

Chang Dai-chien Chang Dai-chien or Zhang Daqian (; 10 May 1899 – 2 April 1983) was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a '' guohua'' (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned ...

, a painter, made a stone engraving portrait of Sai Jinhua.

References

* Hu, Ying. ''Tales of Translation: Composing the New Woman in China, 1899-1918''.

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

, 2000. , 9780804737746. * Lévy, André.
Fleur sur l'océan des péchés
. (book review of '' Niehai Hua''
Archive
. '' Études chinoises'', No. 1, 1982. * McMahon, Keith. ''Polygamy and Sublime Passion: Sexuality in China on the Verge of Modernity''.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, 2010. , 9780824833763. * Wan, Xianchu. Translation: Poon Shuk Wah. "Sai Jinhua." In: Lee, Lily Xiao Hong and A. D. Stefanowska (editors of entire work). Ho, Clara Wing-chung (The Qing Period Editor). ''Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women'' () ''The Qing Period, 1844-1911''.

M.E. Sharpe M. E. Sharpe, Inc., an academic publisher, was founded by Myron Sharpe in 1958 with the original purpose of publishing translations from Russian in the social sciences and humanities. These translations were published in a series of journals, the ...

, January 1, 1998. , 9780765618276. * Wang, David Der-wei. '' Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911''.

, 1997. , 9780804728454. * Zhang, Wenxian. "Sai Jinhua." In: Ditmore, Melissa Hope (editor). ''Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work, Volume 2''. Greenwood Publishing Group, January 1, 2006. , 9780313329708. * Zurndorfer, H. et al. (editors) ''Nan Nü: Men, Women, and Gender in Early and Imperial China, Volume 1''.

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes ...

, 1999.

Notes

External links

*
勾栏胭脂：赛金花两句话拯救故宫天安门
"

Sina Sina may refer to: Relating to China * Chin (China), or Sina (), old Chinese form of the Sanskrit name Cina () ** Shina (word), or Sina ( ja, 支那, links=no), archaic Japanese word for China ** Sinae, Latin name for China Places * Sina, Alb ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sai, Jinhua 1872 births 1936 deaths Boxer Rebellion Chinese courtesans People from Huangshan Burials in Beijing