How did Sai Jinhua die?

Among the many famous prostitutes in the late Qing Dynasty, Sai Jinhua should be the most legendary. In addition to "The Flower of Evil", which was ranked among the "Four Most Condemned Novels in the Late Qing Dynasty", there are also many notebooks and novels involving her story.

According to relevant historical data, the historical experience of Sai Jinhua is roughly as follows:

Her first name was Fu Yulian, also known as Caiyun, and she was a native of Yancheng, Jiangsu (some say she was from Anhui) Born around 1872. She was sold as a prostitute on the so-called "Flower Boat" in Suzhou when she was young. In 1887 (the 13th year of Guangxu's reign), Hong Jun, the former champion, returned to his hometown to observe filial piety. He fell in love with Caiyun at first sight and took her as a concubine. When Hong was 48 years old, Fu Caiyun is only 15 years old. Soon, Hong Jun was appointed as the minister to Russia, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. His first wife was afraid of Chinese and foreign customs, so she lent Caiyun clothes and ordered her to accompany Hong Jun on his overseas trip. In the early 1990s, Tong Hongjun returned to China, and Hong died of illness soon after. In 1894, Fu Caiyun was on his way back to Suzhou after sending Hong's coffin south, and fled to Shanghai to work as a prostitute and changed her name to "Cao Menglan". Later he went to Tianjin and changed his name to "Saijinhua". When the Eight-Power Allied Forces captured Beijing in 1900, she lived as a prostitute in Beijing's Shitou Hutong. She had contact with some German military officers and also changed into men's clothes to visit the Imperial Garden Xiyuan (today's Zhongnanhai). In 1903, he was imprisoned in Beijing for abusing a young prostitute to death. After returning to Suzhou, he was released from prison and then went to Shanghai. He lived in poverty in his later years and died of illness in Beijing in 1936.

Judging from some of the existing old photos today, Sai Jinhua himself did not have stunning beauty, but only because of his unusual experiences, he became the protagonist of a series of legendary stories.

Being able to marry the number one scholar was first of all an unusual encounter with a prostitute, which led to another legend that was quite popular at the time. It is said that before Hong Jun failed to win the first prize, he was sponsored by a prostitute, who was called Xiaoqing in some works. Like all the heroes and heroines in the story of "a young man in trouble and a beautiful woman rescuing him", Hong Jun and Xiao Qing made a lifelong promise, but they also did not break out of the routine of this kind of story: Hong Jun, who won the top prize, felt that marrying a prostitute as his wife would be detrimental. Because of his own dignity, he abandoned his former alliance. Xiaoqing, who did not know the inside story, was initially immersed in the joy of being called the "No. 1 Lady". After learning the truth, she angrily hanged herself. Therefore, in "Nie Hai Hua", Fu Caiyun, the "No. 1 flower list", has a ring of red silk around his neck when he appears, which is enough to make the male protagonist Jin Wenqing (Hong Jun's courtesy name Wenqing, the allusion here is obvious) Knowing that she is Xiaoqing's successor, she felt like we were reunited after a lifetime. Because of this unsettled past life debt, many works attributed Hong Jun's death to Xiao Qing's revenge on him: Caiyun later had an affair with a young servant, played with an actor, and finally made Hong Jun angry to death. Even Caiyun later had an indissoluble bond with the actor Sun Xiaosan. There were rumors that because Sun Xiaosan's predecessor had complained for Xiaoqing during that previous marriage, Caiyun repaid her in this life. However, Zeng Pu's "The Flower of Evil" is not satisfied with the above simple story of karma. The novel processes Caiyun's personality in more detail, making it easier for people to believe in the extraordinaryness of this No. 1 scholar's wife. While serving as the "Mrs. Minister", Caiyun not only quickly learned European language, but her beauty and intelligence also caused a sensation everywhere. Even the Queen of Germany took a photo with her. In contrast, Jin Feiqing, the Minister of the Qing Dynasty, was everywhere. He was pedantic and incompetent, and even asked for help from his wife in times of crisis. And in Fu Caiyun's confession of requesting to leave the Jin family after Jin Wenqing's death, his frankness and courage are commendable:

"Why don't I want to give the master some words? What about a good name? But I am born with a bad temper that loves fun and fun, and I can’t make the decision when things happen... If you insist on keeping me here, you may make a bad joke. At that stage, I will be even more sorry for the master! Besides, I am used to being careless, and I have never learned the principles of being a good person since I was a child... I can't retract my generous hand for a while, I'm afraid that the master will leave this thing behind. A little bit of dead property can't support my squandering, so I thought about it thoroughly. Instead of pretending to be fake and fooling around, and ending up hurting the master's feelings and harming his descendants, it's better to be straightforward and let me walk. I will live and die at least, and don't work for someone named Jin. At most, I have to bear the charge of having no conscience, and I feel that conscience is much safer."

In fact, if Fu Caiyun was willing to keep Hong Jun's integrity after his death instead of going down. If Tang Qiu goes back to his old career, the reputation of "The Number One Scholar" cannot be used as a capital to become famous.

In Sai Jinhua's era, a prostitute like Dong Xiaowan, a famous prostitute in the late Ming Dynasty who was willing to become a virtuous woman after being a good woman, was better than nothing. Many prostitutes in the late Qing Dynasty often relied on marriage to get rid of their debts due to excessive squandering and debt. Within March, May to a year, they would find ways to leave their husband's family and make a show of their splendor, called "bathing". Although Sai Jinhua was not exempt from the secular world, she only went to court to ask for help after Hong Jun's death, which was quite upright. Therefore, in Old Man Yan Gu's "Continuing Sinful Sea Flowers", in history, Sai Jinhua fled to Shanghai on the way to send the soul back to the south. It was described as an act with the tacit approval of Hong Jun's first wife, because in this way, both parties were not indecent.

After returning to Shanghai, Saijinhua opened a business to pick up customers, and the effect was quite good, and it became famous. Wu Jianren, a famous novelist in the late Qing Dynasty (author of "Strange Situations Witnessed in Twenty Years"), listed her as one of the "last two monsters" among the famous prostitutes at sea because of her legendary experience. Another author deliberately dismissed one of the original "Four King Kongs" of famous maritime prostitutes, and ranked this "No. 1 Lady" first among the "King Kongs". In Beijing, she is called "Second Master Sai" because she likes to wear men's clothes.

However, it was the Gengzi Incident that made Sai Jinhua famous again. According to legend, after the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing, Sai Jinhua was favored by the Westerners because of her knowledge of European languages. She had met the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, Wade West, when she was in the West. This time the old relationship rekindled and they became extremely close; Sai Jinhua had a special relationship with her, and Sai Jinhua once advised Wadesi to stop intruding on the people. The success of Xinchou's peace talks was largely due to her, so the people in the capital were very grateful to her and called her "Second Master Sai, the person who negotiated the peace." This kind of legend is also the most controversial part of Sai Jinhua's story. Historically speaking, Vadersi, who was born in 1832, was already 68 years old, and it seemed unlikely that he had any personal relationship with Sai Jinhua. However, among the many prostitutes in Beijing, proficiency in European language can indeed make Sai Jinhua stand out and provide convenience for "marrying the country." As for whether Sai Jinhua had any influence on the Xinchou Peace Treaty, there is no historical evidence, but the folk narrative is another matter. According to the records of most people at that time, Sai Jinhua, who was riding in a car and strutting around the city with Europeans, at least did not arouse the resentment of ordinary people. "Secretary of the Peace Conference" was actually famous throughout the nine cities. The legend may not necessarily have the authenticity of the details, but it does not rule out a certain degree of rationality.

This unpredictable public case provides novelists with enough room for imagination. Another late Qing Dynasty novel "The Nine-Tailed Turtle" narrates the matter like this: Sai Jinhua went to the Forbidden City to reminisce with Wade West. , seeing that the sacred royal palace in the eyes of the Chinese people was occupied by the allied forces, changed beyond recognition, the instinctive patriotism was aroused: "Although I am a prostitute, I am Chinese after all. When I encounter a place that can help China, I naturally want to help." . Because Watson (alluding to Waldersee) asked her to be a translator, Sai Jinhua used this to persuade Watson not to abuse the Chinese and to release the imprisoned Chinese officials. What is even more commendable is that she used her coquettish methods to help China's peace minister Hong Zhongtang (alluding to Li Hongzhang) persuade Watson to sign the peace treaty. When praising this period of merit, ordinary literati like to be very literal-minded, saying, "In the midst of the hail of bullets, he talked and laughed to persuade the enemy commander, pointed his finger at the slaves, and scattered the mandarin ducks. Because he relied on him to be a golden bell, he was noble." "Every prince and prince relies on his bright stick." A more realistic imagination is probably more in line with the identity of the protagonist. We can imagine Sai Jinhua using a tactful Su Bai to express her simple motives to others: "Thank you. It doesn’t matter if you thank me, I just want to show everyone that we, the people who eat the food, are not useless at all. Others say that there are no good people in the hall, but it is not necessarily true.”

When the peace agreement was concluded, the coalition forces retreated, the two palaces returned to Luan, and there was a commotion about merit and rewards, naturally Sai Jinhua did not have a share. On the contrary, although the reputation of "Second Master Sai, Minister of Peace Negotiation" has increased a lot of "business", he still only lives a career of relying on the door to make a joke. As for the subsequent death of the prostitute who was tortured to death, Sai Jinhua was not without responsibility, but she seemed to have some hidden agenda. For example, Wu Jianren believed that she was returned to her place of origin because of her ostentation. The word "ostentatious" seems to have a profound meaning. In troubled times, a prostitute's identity rises and falls. The huge contrast can easily reflect the harshness of the world. Therefore, "Nine-Tailed Turtle" boldly fictionalized a despicable Bubu Lang. Sai Jinhua couldn't stand his philistine behavior and offended him. Later, he made a big fuss about abusing prostitutes in revenge, which made Sai Jinhua Hua was eventually forced to return south.

Afterwards, although Sai Jinhua regained her fame in Shanghai, Qiuniang was old and the legendary story also left her.

However, a person with a low status in the world met the historical turmoil twice in his life. Even though it was just a flash of a meteor, it was enough to arouse the yearning and sighs of the world. Therefore, people at the time once predicted:

" With his chivalrous and uncanny temperament, he is not only better than Su Xiao and Xue Tao in ancient times, who were only famous for their songs, dances and poems, but he is also different from those of the same age. When Wen was born, there was a difference between a bed and a bed, and he would be a descendant of the next generation.