The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  When the two of them arrived at the door, a young man charged out as if the devil were after him and dashed off with his head down. It was Lotuson Wang’s nephew. They had no idea what it was about. The two of them pushed the door open and went in. It was all quiet inside, with no one around. They had gone as far as the parlor when Talisman came out from the back of the house. On seeing them, he held up a hand to indicate that they should not come in, so they stood still. Pearlie asked in a low voice, “Is Mr. Wang in?”

  Talisman nodded.

  “Has anything happened?”

  Talisman approached her and was about to whisper into her ear when the sound of whacking came from upstairs. Then all hell broke loose, and they heard shouting and loud crying. The two women could tell it was Constance’s voice, but they did not hear Lotuson Wang. Next came the sound of running feet—bound and natural. They ran into the center room, and then another bout of whacking followed. Constance was shouting incessantly, “Help! Help!”

  Pearlie could stand it no longer. “Go and intercede,” she urged Talisman.

  He hung back, not daring to go. Then came a thump that shook the ceiling, sending the dust flying down. They knew it was Constance falling on the floor. Lotuson Wang never uttered the slightest sound; he beat her in complete silence. Constance rolled and writhed all over the floor. Pearlie wanted to intercede but felt she was in no position to do so, so she did not dare go, either. As there was no one else present, Lotuson Wang could beat her to his heart’s content. Gradually, Constance’s voice became hoarse, and she no longer had the strength to roll around or call for help. Only then did they hear Lotuson Wang stop. He heaved a long sigh and then withdrew into the inner room.

  Pearlie surmised that it was best not to disturb him, so she whispered good-bye to Talisman. Goldie, still transfixed, only came to her senses when she saw Pearlie leaving. As they slipped out the door hand in hand, they again heard Constance howling a couple of times; it was a really chilling sound.

  Goldie could not help lamenting, “I wonder what brought this about?”

  “What do we care! Let’s go and have a cup of tea.”

  This cheered Goldie up no end. They went out of the alley, turned a corner, and made their leisurely way to Splendid Assembly Teahouse on Fourth Avenue, where they went upstairs. It was the peak hour, so tea drinkers were coming and going in droves. They chose a table that overlooked the street and ordered one pouring cup to share. They drank slowly and chatted.

  “We all thought Mr. Wang was such a nice person, but now he’s beating his concubine! Isn’t it strange?” Pearlie smiled and said.

  “It would’ve worked out well if our maestro had married Mr. Wang when he was in love with her. If that had happened, would he have dared beat her?” Goldie responded.

  “But Little Rouge is not cut out to be a respectable woman, is she? There’d have been even more of a hullabaloo,” said Pearlie.

  Goldie sighed. “It’s all our maestro’s fault. One can’t blame Mr. Wang for marrying Constance. To think that she was a top courtesan in Shanghai, and now she’s come to this!”

  “Well, this isn’t the end of the road for her yet,” Pearlie said with a sneer.

  As she spoke, the waiter came to pour more hot water into their cup. He showed them a ten-cent coin in his hand and pointed to a table further back, saying, “Your tea is paid for. They’ve paid.”

  The two women craned their necks to look. There were four people seated at that table, all unknown to Goldie. Pearlie thought they looked familiar; she seemed to have seen them a couple of times in Conical Hat Garden, but the only one she recognized was the young man, Second Treasure’s brother, Simplicity Zhao. Since Simplicity was dressed in a formal, wide-cut robe, looking uncommonly distinguished, Pearlie refrained from greeting him. She just nodded in acknowledgment and smiled.

  A moment later, a smiling Simplicity came over to their table. Pearlie invited him to sit down and handed him a water pipe. After an appraising glance at Goldie, he made conversation with Pearlie. “Your maestro is at Rustic Retreat. How come you’re back here?”

  “I’m going there now.”

  Simplicity turned to ask Goldie, “Who do you work for?”

  Goldie replied that it was Little Rouge.

  “She’s looking for a job right now,” Pearlie cut in. “If you know anybody who wants a servant girl, please give her a recommendation.”

  Simplicity was all ears. “Flora Zhang of West Civic Peace Alley mentioned that she wanted another servant girl. When she comes back, I’ll ask her about it.”

  “Fine. Thank you,” Goldie said.

  After asking for her name, Simplicity made an appointment to give her an answer on the twenty-ninth. “You might as well wait a couple days,” Pearlie said to Goldie. “If it falls through at Flora Zhang’s, then you can go to Mr. Wang’s.”

  Goldie was full of gratitude. Simplicity took a few puffs on the water pipe and then returned to his own table.

  Soon it was getting dark. Pearlie and Goldie went to say good-bye to Simplicity before they left. As Simplicity and his friends were also going, they walked down the stairs of Splendid Assembly Teahouse together and went their separate ways.

  ::

  1. [Despite Qi’s earlier claim that he could have brought a happy ending to Jade Tao and Water Blossom by adopting the latter as his daughter, here he shows his true feelings about the proper position for a courtesan. E.H.]

  2. [It is believed that the spirit of the dead revisits her old home on the twenty-first day after her death. That day marks the end of the rituals of mourning. E.H.]

  3. [The bride and groom are not supposed to have any say and would be considered extremely immodest if they did not absent themselves during such discussions. E.H.]

  CHAPTER 55 :: Second Treasure is plagued by doubts despite her lover’s promise of marriage, and Verdure Xu is embarrassed for sharing a whore’s bed with his friends

  Simplicity Zhao returned home to Tripod Alley, where he told his mother that Second Treasure said they should give a farewell feast for Third Young Master Shi and also prepare a dinner for him to take on the road. The food had to be exquisite and plentiful. Having made his report, Simplicity went in search of the servant girl, Clever. Taking advantage of Second Treasure’s absence, they flirted outrageously, engaging in mock fights and uttering playful curses. Seeing that recently Simplicity had been smartly dressed and flush with money and looked quite the rich young gentleman, Clever gave her all to play up to him. This put an end to his affair with Second Wang. He had even dropped his friends of former days; Little Wang being the only one he was close to now. They promised to be sworn brothers, and through Little Wang he got to know Loyalty Hua and Felicity Xia. The four of them often went out together.

  On the twenty-eighth of the eighth month, Simplicity knew Little Wang would be in Nature Shi’s entourage, so he asked Loyalty Hua and Felicity Xia to a dinner in Wang’s honor. It would also serve as a farewell feast. The sound of horse bells did not approach their door until sunset. When it did, a flustered Mrs. Zhao and Simplicity went out in welcome. They saw that Third Young Master Shi and Second Treasure had alighted from their sedan chairs in the parlor and were coming in. Simplicity stood to one side. Nature Shi smiled slightly at Mrs. Zhao and then went up the stairs in slow measured steps.

  Second Treasure greeted her mother and then pulled her into the little room at the back, closed the door, and quietly instructed her, “You mustn’t act this way, Mother. You’re his mother-in-law now! He hadn’t even invited you to come out, and yet you dashed out there of your own accord; isn’t it embarrassing?”

  Mrs. Zhao just grinned and kept nodding her head.

  Before leaving her, Second Treasure gave her further instructions. “I’m going up now. Later, if he asks to see you, I’ll tell Tiger to wait on you. When you see him, just greet him as ‘Third Master’ and that’s that. Don’t say anything else. If you say the wrong things, you’ll make him laugh at you.”r />
  Mrs. Zhao was all obedience. Second Treasure left the room, and at the staircase she ran into Simplicity helping Little Wang carry bundles of clothes and miscellaneous things.

  “Just leave them to it. You’re fawning in all the wrong ways!” she said in a low growl.

  Simplicity hurriedly handed the things over to Tiger to take upstairs. Second Treasure also went up to get changed into more comfortable clothes, after which she went to keep Nature Shi company. She sat opposite him, talking and laughing, and no mention was made of Mrs. Zhao.

  Presently the banquet was served in the study across from Second Treasure’s room, and Tiger came to invite them over. As Second Treasure had intimate things to say to Shi, she did not invite a single guest for company.

  “Ask your mother and brother to eat with us,” said Third Young Master.

  “They’re not up to it. Here, I’ll keep you company.” She asked him to take the seat of honor and poured three cups of wine for him and a small cup for herself before she sat down by his side.

  When he had drained the three cups, she said unhurriedly, “You’re going home tomorrow. I want to ask you something: what you’ve been saying all along, can it be done? You may be happy talking about it now, but what if when you get home, your family won’t allow it? Isn’t it going to be awkward for you? You might as well speak plainly; I won’t mind.”

  Third Young Master stood up, looking very perturbed. “Don’t you trust me?”

  Second Treasure gently pressed him back into his chair and said with a smile, “I do trust you. But I have become a courtesan because my brother is a good-for-nothing and got us into dire straits. I’ve frequently thought to myself: how could there be a happy ending for me? You want to marry me as your wife; that’s something I never even dreamed of. But you already have a wife at home, so how can you take another wife as if she doesn’t exist? Don’t let’s get carried away and then see it all come to nothing.”

  “Don’t worry,” he consoled her. “If I myself wanted to take three wives, then maybe it couldn’t be done. Now, it’s my adopted mothers’ idea for me to take two more wives,1 so who’s to object? I might as well tell you: my adopted mothers had their eyes on a match quite a while ago, but I didn’t take it seriously, so no matchmaker has been sent. Now, once I get home I’ll ask a matchmaker to see to that match, and when it’s settled I’ll come back to fetch you for a joint wedding ceremony. It’ll just take a month; I’m sure to be back in the tenth month, don’t you worry.”

  Second Treasure was overjoyed when she heard this. She sought further reassurance by saying, “Then you must come back in the tenth month. When you’re gone, I’ll keep to myself, stay in the house, and refuse all clients, and I won’t feel at ease until you come back, so please don’t put it off on any account. If your lady at home won’t let you take me as a wife, I’ll be willing to marry you as your concubine.”

  As she said this, Second Treasure burst out crying; tears streamed down her face. Looking into his eyes, she clung to his shoulders and said, “I’ve made up my mind to be yours for life. However many wives and concubines you take, don’t you ever cast me off. If you do, I …” Choking, she could not finish what she had to say and instead started crying again. Unnerved by this, Third Young Master folded her into his embrace. He wiped her tears gently with his own handkerchief as he tried to console her. “Don’t talk nonsense. What you should do now is be happy, shop for all the small items you’ll need, and get things ready. If you cry again, it’ll just be silly!”

  She took the opportunity to snuggle into his arms. Holding back her tears, she said plaintively, “You don’t know my predicament. People in my home village have been bad-mouthing me. Now you say you’re going to make me your wife, but these people won’t believe it; they’re laughing at me. If this falls through, the shame will be so great, I’ll have nowhere to hide.”

  “How can it fall through? Not unless I drop dead,” he replied.

  She sat up immediately and covered his mouth with her hand. “Don’t say that! Now I won’t talk to you anymore.”

  With a smile, he brushed the matter aside.

  She poured a cup of warm wine and handed it to him. Having drained it, he diverted her attention by asking her about sights in her home village. She understood his intention and cast off her melancholy to joke with him.

  “We have a temple of the warrior god in our village, and in the ninth month, opera performances are held there,”2 she said. “Countless people come to see the show, so much so that the tree branches are hanging with people. I’ve just seen it once, with Flora Zhang. We built our own viewing podium and then climbed onto the wall. With the sun beating down, it was hot as hell, but everybody said, ‘Wonderful show!’ It was so unlike how things are at Panorama Garden, where it’s nice and quiet and you’re all by yourself in a box. Now, if you ask me, I’m not interested in that!”

  The Third Young Master nodded in agreement.

  She offered him two more cups of wine. “I’ll tell you a joke. Next door to the temple lived Blind Man Wang; he was said to be awfully good at telling fortunes. The year before last, my mother called him to the house to study the birth dates of the three of us. When he saw mine, he said I’d be a lady of the highest official rank and that but for a small flaw I’d get to be empress. We thought it was all nonsense, but it seems he came pretty close, right?”

  Third Young Master smiled and nodded in agreement.

  The two of them drank sparingly as they poured out their feelings to each other, and dinner was over only when they had fully enjoyed themselves. Third Young Master walked over to the bedroom and called out, “Little Wang.”

  Second Treasure, who came in behind him, interceded, “With me here, what d’you want them for?”

  “Is Little Wang here?” he asked.

  “My brother has invited him to a restaurant for a farewell dinner. What d’you want him for?” she said.

  “Nothing, except to tell him to go back and pack and to come early tomorrow.”

  “We’ll tell him later.”

  He did not say anything. After a long rest, they retired for the night.

  The next day, Second Treasure rose extremely early. She performed her toilet in the center room and dispensed with all makeup and jewelry. She then changed into clothes of subdued colors. When Third Young Master got up, she asked him, “Do I look like a respectable woman?”

  “That looks nice and neat,” he replied.

  “From today on, I’ll always look like this.”

  She had breakfast with him, after which he told Tiger to ask Mrs. Zhao to come upstairs. He took a money order from his purse and handed it to her, saying, “I have to make a trip home and will be back in a month. I’ll see to the gifts for the bride when I get home. Here’s one thousand dollars for you to buy whatever small items she’ll need. The trousseau can wait until I come back.”

  Mrs. Zhao dared not accept the money. She looked at Second Treasure.

  Second Treasure snatched the money order and asked, “What’s this for? If you were paying the season’s bills here, then all I could say would be ‘thank you.’ But you said you’re coming back to marry me, so why are you giving us money? Though we’re poor, we can still afford to buy whatever small items that’ll be needed. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  When he heard her put it like this, he bowed his head thoughtfully. Mrs. Zhao chimed in, “Third Master is so mindful of etiquette! We’re family now, so we can be more relaxed.”

  Second Treasure immediately signaled her with a glance to stop her talking. Mrs. Zhao took her leave and went downstairs.

  He had no choice but to put away the money order. He then called out to Little Wang to have the sedan chair ready. Second Treasure also took a sedan chair to see him off. They first went to his residence to dispatch his luggage. When lunch was over, a stream of people came to say farewell to him. This kept him busy until four o’clock, when he finally got ready to board the boat.


  Second Treasure went aboard with him and saw that her brother, Simplicity Zhao, was looking after the luggage in the cabin for Little Wang.

  “Has the dinner for his journey been delivered yet?” she asked in a low voice.

  “Yes, it’s here,” he reported.

  She knew there wasn’t anything else for her to do and thought she’d go home. Firmly holding Third Young Master’s hands, she bade him, “Write to me when you get home. Though I’m physically still in Shanghai, my heart is going home with you. Don’t you go and tarry anywhere else.” He gave his promise. Then she continued, “When are you coming back in the tenth month? Write to me again once you’ve settled on a date. Best if you can make it early. Your early arrival will make my whole family breathe easier.”

  He again gave his promise. She was going to say more when the boatman, ready to set sail, hurried them, so she had to let go of his hands and climb ashore. They looked at each other with tears in their eyes as the boat pulled away, with Nature Shi standing at the bow and Second Treasure sitting in her sedan chair. Not until the mast was lost to sight did Simplicity Zhao order the sedan-chair bearers to go home.

  Second Treasure was a proud and willful woman. Ever since Nature Shi had talked about the idea of marrying three wives, she had set her mind on marrying him. Afraid that he would look down on her, she had tried hard to put up a facade of respectability. She had refused to let him settle his bills at her house, on the basis, “since you regard me as a wife, I won’t regard myself as a prostitute.” Immediately after the Midautumn Festival, she had her name slip removed from the door and refused all clients but Nature Shi. When he left, saying that he’d come and fetch her in the tenth month, she had checked that she still had four hundred Mexican dollars at home, which was plenty to live on, so she felt completely at ease.