The Story of a Suzhou Courtesan

Last month (September 2015) saw the release of The Courtesan, by Alexandra Curry. The book is a historical novel, essentially a fictionalized account of the life of the Suzhou courtesan known to history as Sai Jinhua. I haven't yet read Ms. Curry's book, but I have already purchased a copy and will certainly be reading it shortly.

I wrote about Sai Jinhua in Beautiful Su (Chapter 8, pp. 282 - 283). Born Zhao Caiyun in Suzhou in the waning years of the Qing Dynasty (1874, to be specific), Zhao was sold at age thirteen into concubinage to Hong Jun, a government official thirty-four years her senior. Following her husband's sudden, premature death after just six years of marriage, she relocated to Shanghai, changed her name to Sai Jinhua (variously translated as Golden Flower or Golden Lily), and rose to fame as the madame of a high-class brothel. Her earlier travels to Europe with her diplomat husband Hong Jun had brought her into contact with Europeans who marveled at her beauty and her reputed facility with foreign languages. Historical legend has it that Sai Jinhua was later instrumental in Beijing in negotiations with the Western "Eight Powers" over compensation for losses associated with the Boxer Rebellion; some of the legends claim some rather prurient behavior on Sai's part.

Surprisingly for a work of fiction, Ms. Curry has provided a bibliographic list of sources; understandably for a novel, there are no photos. As a supplement to her novel, I offer below a few pictures I took in Suzhou at the former home and now family museum-house of Sai Jinhua's first husband, Hong Jun; the residence is located at #29 Xuanqiao Xiang (Xuan Qiao Alley) in Suzhou's old-city area, about a block west of Pingjiang Road.

 Pingjiang District plaque outside the residence

 Informational sign at the residence entrance.

 Interior courtyard -- entrance to the Sai Jinhua "museum" is on the right.

Photo of Sai Jinhua on display in the Hong family museum.

 Another photo - this one labeled "Sai Jinhua and her sisters."

Photo of Sai Jinhua from a Chinese language work on display.

The courtyard entrance as seen from the lane outside. 

The small blue sign on the upper left of the door displays the residence address.

A Suzhou City historical information sign for Xuanqiao Xiang. 

Similar signs are scattered throughout the old city at the heads of many of the smaller lanes. This sign mentions Hong Jun's former home and notes that he was a zhuangyuan, one of Suzhou's many number one (highest ranked) finishers in the imperial civil service examinations.