In fact, the "eight hutongs" mentioned by old Beijingers do not refer exclusively to these eight streets and alleys, but generally refer to the Dashilan area outside Qianmen, because there are nearly 100 brothels of different sizes in the hutongs outside these eight streets and alleys. It's just that the brothels in these eight hutongs were mostly first-class and second-class, and the prostitutes' "grades" were relatively high, so they were so famous.
Brothels in old Beijing are divided into several grades. The earliest brothels were distributed in the inner city, mostly official prostitutes. Now there are several hutongs east of Dongsi South Street Road, which used to be the seat of official prostitutes in Ming Dynasty, such as Le Yan Hutong, where official prostitutes played music.
The street in the Office of Internal Affairs was called Goulan Hutong in Ming and Qing Dynasties, which was interpreted by prostitutes and artists holding railings and singing. In the future, "Goulan" became another name for brothels. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, officials and rich people invited prostitutes to accompany them to wine, play music and sing at banquets, which was called "posting", while on the side of prostitutes, it was called "posting".
By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, brothels were mainly concentrated in Qianmenwai Street. First, it is more convenient for officials to go out to play because they are close to the inner city. Second, there is a railway station here, and there are many passengers coming from south to north; Third, Qianmenwai Street is a famous commercial street in Beijing, which is quite prosperous. Fourth, this area is the center of theaters, teahouses and restaurants, where eating, drinking and having fun can be integrated into one.
According to a statistical data in the late 1930s, there were 1 17 brothels registered and allowed to operate in eight hutongs at that time, and there were more than 750 prostitutes, which was only officially listed, not counting "wild prostitutes" and "secret prostitutes".
Prostitutes in old Beijing can be divided into "southern class" and "northern class". Generally speaking, the prostitutes in "Nanban" are mainly Jiangnan women with high grades, which are not only colorful but also talented. Most of these prostitutes are accompanied by powerful people, such as Beijing famous prostitutes Sai Jinhua and Fengxian Xiao. Prostitutes in the "northern class" are mainly women in the north of the Yellow River, who are good-looking, but have poor cultural literacy. Most prostitutes in "Eight Hutong" are "Nanban", so they are mostly first-class and second-class brothels. Most brothels in other areas are "northern classes". At that time, most of the officials and businessmen in Beijing were southerners. As a result, the "eight hutongs" have become the boundaries that these dignitaries often come and go.
A jingle in the late Qing Dynasty alluded to these eight hutongs in Beijing:
Eight hutongs have been famous since ancient times.
Shaanxi Bai shun Shi tou cheng
Hantanjia Panxian Geza
Wangguang Xiejie is brightly lit.
In front of the Wanfo Temple, the car is beside.
There are two roads outside the camp.
How much do minks and fur vendors know?
Cluster red slope rising
From Bada Hutong to Liulichang
Jubao tearoom
Today, there are different opinions about which eight hutongs are. Generally recognized are Shaanxi Lane, Baishun Hutong, Shitou Hutong, Hanjiatan, Wang Guangfu Xie Jie, Rouge Hutong, Wailangying and Pitiaoying. Since the Qing Dynasty, Bada Hutong has been a famous gathering place of weathering industry in Beijing. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, it was also a gathering place for many officials, dignitaries and literati. Although Emperor Kangxi in the early Qing Dynasty had many restrictions on courtiers, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, especially after the Gengzi Incident, the eight hutongs had become the best places for drinking and eulogizing.
Fireworks industry was originally another name for the old-fashioned special weathering industry. The brothel here can be divided into four grades according to the elegance of decoration and the talent and quality of women. "Yin Qing Small Class" is the first class in Grade Four. These fireworks women are good at playing chess, painting and calligraphy, and singing poems in pairs. Their bright eyes and deep smiles often make celebrities, gentry and wealthy businessmen flock to them. Xu Qingyuan, located in Hanjiatan Hutong, was a famous small class in Yin Qing at that time. The "tea room" is the second-class gathering place after the small class. The teahouse is also a noble weathering place, and the interior decoration and sculpture are quite exquisite. Today, we can still see the splendor and exquisiteness of the tea room at that time from Jubao Tea Room in Zhumao Hutong, Lin Chun Building and Fushun Tea Room in Zhujiahu Hutong. At that time, the teahouse Yingying Yanyan was good at painting and singing. Although she is not as good as a small class artist, she still has the qualities of being young, beautiful, educated and artistic. The third-class "lower place" is not as beautiful as the first two buildings. The interior decoration is simple, and the fireworks girl is older and looks ordinary. As for the lowest class, commonly known as the "kiln", the houses are extremely simple, and there are no long tables, square tables and various vase paintings that are common in the small class in Yin Qing or in the back room of the teahouse. Generally, only simple tables are used to lay kang, and most of them are porters; Turner and coolie.
Although the vicissitudes of the eight hutongs are closely related to crime, degeneration and drug abuse, they also witnessed the atrocities of foreign powers' invasion in the late Qing Dynasty and the sorrow of regime change in the early Republic of China. In this sad historical process, several touching anecdotes and feelings happened in the eight hutongs. The legendary life experience, controversial experience and poor ending of the champion's wife Sai Jinhua left a lot of imagination and controversy space for her tortuous and bizarre troubled life, from Ceng Pu's "Evil Sea Flower" to Liu Bannong and Shang Hongkui's "Skills of Sai Jinhua". With regard to Fengxian Xiao's love affair with General Cai E, commander-in-chief of Yunnan Army, and the legend that she helped Cai E escape from Beijing, Fengxian Xiao, a brothel woman, had a touching love affair with this admirable general in eight hutongs. When Cai E was in Fengxian Xiao, the title association once wrote:
I don't believe that beauty will die, since chivalrous women have come out of the dust since ancient times. This place is rare, and its people are like fairy beads. It is not difficult to see from this poem embedded in Feng Xian's taboo that the image of Fengxian Xiao, a chivalrous woman in eight hutongs, occupies an important position in Cai E's mind.
Walking in the eight hutongs, winding alleys, is like shuttling through endless just visiting. Walking through Cherry Street, just a foot away from Liulichang, which is separated from the eight hutongs, I came to another completely different world. The origin of Liulichang can be traced back to the Liulichang established here in the Yuan Dynasty. After Yongle, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, moved to Beijing, a large number of glazed tiles and related components were needed for the construction of Beijing. Therefore, on the basis of the original Yuan Dynasty, the scale of glazed tile kiln factory was expanded. For hundreds of years, Liulichang has been silently playing an insignificant historical role. Even in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the production of glazed tiles moved from here to the Liuliqu in Mentougou, and the Liulichang was only preserved under a place name. [Edit this paragraph] The area of eight hutongs has developed considerably in the vicinity of eight hutongs, and the saying of "ten hutongs" has become popular in society. Namely: Wang (Hutong), Cai (Hutong), Zhu (Hutong), Bai (Baishun Hutong), Liu (homophonic: staying behind), Shi (Stone Hutong), Guang (Fire Temple), Yan (Hutong) and Sha (Xiao Li Shamao Hutong). Although these ten hutongs are not as famous as the "Eight Hutongs", they are true.
In addition to brothels open to the public, there are unlicensed prostitutes and vagrants in this area. 1949, according to the investigation of Beijing Public Security Bureau, there were 17 female sex workers, who were distributed in yanshou temple, Shi Jia Hutong, Zhangfan Hutong, Hufangqiao and other Hutong 12 Hutong. So in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, there were more than 30 brothels in the hutongs around Dashilan.
There is also a kind of prostitute who takes the hotel as the activity place. During the Republic of China, there were large and medium-sized hotels1/kloc-0 in Dashilan, such as Zhong Hui, Xie Ying, Guo Min, Guangming, Chunhua, Liuxiang and Far East, medium-sized hotels in China and America, Lin Chun, China and the West, Qing 'an, Yuhua and Yunlong, and medium-sized hotels in Yangliuchun, Yuelai, Yongyu, North China and Yunlong.
During the Republic of China, there were also a large number of prostitutes in Tianqiao area south of "Eight Hutong", such as Dasenli, Lianhuajian, Sisheng Temple, Huazhi Hutong, Zhaozuizi Hutong, Jinyuchi Street, Huanghualou of Puhuangyu, and Dongsanli and Lu Shen Street outside Chaoyangmen, all of which were second-and third-class brothels.
At that time, there were brothels in all districts of Beijing, but there were many outside the front door, and tianqiao district was separated from the eight hutongs by a street.
In addition, Xiaoguan Hutong (now Haojing Hutong outside Qianmen), Xixinglong Street, Ciqikou Xinsheng Lane, Peileyuan and Huangtukeng outside the southwest gate were once the gathering places of four-level brothels.
Because the eight hutongs in Dashilan outside Qianmen are the most typical areas, we chose this place as the focus.
Eight hutongs should be laid in the early Qing Dynasty, rose in the middle of Qing Dynasty, and finally became famous in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.
An important reason for the embryonic form of the "romantic field" in the eight hutongs is that Huiban entered Beijing during the Qianlong period and settled in Hanjiatan and Baishun Hutong in the eight hutongs. Since then, troupes such as Sixi and Chuntai have come to Beijing one after another, staying in Baishun Hutong, Shaanxi Lane and Li Tieguai Xie Jie among the eight hutongs respectively. Therefore, there is a saying in old Beijing: "People don't care about the road, tigers don't care about the mountains, and singers don't leave Baishun Hanjiatan."
It can be seen that the eight hutongs are inextricably linked with the formation and development of drama, especially Peking Opera. Some of them also make a living by "xianggong"
"Clear Money" records in detail: "The actor lives in Xia Yue, and hangs a sign at the door of a certain hall, and hangs it in the first class. As soon as the guest entered the door, the porter stood up, asked a few questions, and put his hand down in a low voice. "
Chinese Dream: "The theater is divided into upstairs and downstairs. The upstairs nearest to the stage is divided into three or four rooms on the left and right by the screen, which is called the official seat and the place where vendors gather. The second seat below the official position is the most expensive ... "Before another play starts, the theater has a bad habit of" standing on the notes "(or" platform "). Dan, the male host, stood on the stage dressed as a costume and let the "old fighter" (referring to the party) judge. Once they see old acquaintances on the stage, they will flirt with each other, make gestures and go directly to serve them. At that time, in the performance arrangement, the popular male actor Dan played the "finale", and then the "big axis" (the big martial arts drama of seeing off guests) was about to break up. After Dan dressed up, he got on the bus with Lao Dou and went to a nearby restaurant or the next place to "ecstasy".
In the twenty-first year of Qianlong, brothels were forbidden in the inner city of Beijing. As a result, the brothels in the inner city moved to Dashilan outside the front door. This place is close to the inner city, and it is also the throat of other places entering Beijing. It was originally bustling and lively, and the embryonic form of the romantic field was formed here.
During the reign of Qianlong and Jiaqing, Beijing's brothels were mostly located in the east of dengshikou. Salt, in the same year, is mostly outside the city. [Edit this paragraph] Exploring the Eight Hutongs in Beijing The Eight Hutongs in Beijing are the places where men must go when they are looking for flowers and asking for willows. In the past, if a man whispered that he was going to visit the eight hutongs, he must be lustful. Eight hutongs, also known as eight ports, are located near Qianmen Street and Dashilan in Beijing, not far from the Forbidden City and about 1 km from Tiananmen Square. These eight hutongs include Baishun Hutong, Rouge Hutong, Hanjia Hutong, Shaanxi Lane, Shitou Hutong, Palm Tree Xie Jie, Zhujiahu Hutong and Dali Hutong.
In the Qing Dynasty, brothels were forbidden in the inner city of Beijing, so eight hutongs opened brothels one after another, all of which were quadrangular buildings, which rose in the early Qing Dynasty. Because it is a high-class brothel, it became popular in the late Qing Dynasty, and even the officers and men in Eight-Nation Alliance became guests to satisfy their animal desires.
The most famous woman who lives in eight hutongs is Sai Jinhua. She was born in the 11th year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1872). She went into the sea because of poverty, and later married Hong Jun, the top scholar, and became a third aunt. She once accompanied her husband to Germany, Russia, the Netherlands and Austria, and became the wife of an ambassador, dealing with the upper class.
By fate, Sai Jinhua moved to Beijing in the 25th year of Guangxu (1899), lived in Shitou Hutong, and was listed for business in Gaobei Hutong and Shaanxi Alley. She was poor in her later years and died in Beijing on 1936. Yixiang Garden, where Sai Jinhua lived, is located in Xixiang, one of the eight hutongs. It is a two-story red monument, and its structure has not been moved so far.
Not everyone can find Shaanxi Lane, even taxi drivers don't know or have heard of it. The reporter tried his best to find this secret place. The courtyard is surrounded by quadrangles with red lanterns and red pillars and Zhu cloisters. The door of every room in the whole building faces the central government. There is a pool of Taihu stone in the courtyard, which is full of turtles and fish. It is chic and ancient, and now it has been transformed into a small hotel that backpackers love, which is loved by European and American tourists.
Walk through the Sichuan corridor of the hotel, and there is a computer room and a restaurant behind it, which are fully equipped. Although Sai Jinhua's room is no longer available for inspection, sleeping with Sai Jinhua still has a surreal feeling, transcending time and space.
The only preserved ancient building in the eight hutongs is the Xiangyi Courtyard where Sai Jinhua lived in Xixiang, which has important historical significance and value. Because of the particularity of the eight hutongs, even though Beijing began to build and renovate everywhere, the eight hutongs remained, but the demolition or not caused great controversy, and finally the eight hutongs did not become high-rise buildings. If you have the chance to go to Beijing, you might as well look for the eight secret hutongs that once made men very HIGH, but now they are very simple.