Title: The Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai Author: Han Bangqing (Revised & Edited by Eva Hung) Publisher: Columbia University Press Publish Date: 2005 Pages: 554 Genres:: Fiction,Reviewer: J. Henry

Rating:

The Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai was written by Han Bangqing over a century ago and was available only in Asia; it is only recently that the translated version was made available in America. In the Foreword, Asian literature researcher & author David Der-wei Wang notes that this book has not been “popular with general readers” because of Han’s “matter-of-fact style” of writing the characters and their environment. His overall exposure of the reader to the life of a courtesan and her clientele is interesting and definitely an intuitive look at a time and culture many are not aware of.

Sing-Song Girls has numerous characters to follow; thankfully, there's a breakdown of who’s who that goes on for several pages before the novel begins. This is quite helpful as the chapters tend to go back and forth from one courtesan and her client to another. Each chapter is quite brief, some amounting to no more than three pages, some over 10. The dialogue is heavy and the omniscient narrator does not delve into the minds of the characters; instead, the reader is told of physical reactions. In one chapter it is the footnote that provides the essential information when it comes to the courtesan Green Phoenix trying to juggle a new wealthy client along with an older reliable one in an evening. The fact that the new client, Prosperity, notices Green Phoenix has left their bed before he awakes is noted at the bottom of the page that she is in with Mr. Vigor Qian. While this information may have been easily recognized when Sing-Song Girls was first published, the lack of back story and relevant information as to Green Phoenix’s reaction to having to hide each man from the other in the same brothel is easily lost on a reader who may not take notice of the note provided at the bottom of the page.

There’s nothing overtly sexual in this book; scenes of intimacy between paramours is not detailed. Bangqing focuses on the way in which the male and female characters use one another for their own gain. For courtesan characters, like Green Phoenix, Jewel, Little Rouge and Constance, some of them follow their hearts, others feel entitled in their roles as the highest level of courtesan for their patrons and others are seeking the best gain they can have from wealthy men. In some instances, the males have strong feelings for their courtesans and others fear them as they would their wives. Since word travels quickly in this community, the fact that one man may be courting two women with expensive gifts could cause quite a stir between two brothels, one in which the reader is introduced to is elegantly termed as “The Hall of Beauties."

Currently, novels like Memoirs of a Geisha entice readers into the life of a courtesan in a foreign land, while Sing-Song Girls does not reach the emotional depth and growth of a character over a long period of time, it does provide a difference in point of view from the client to the high- and low-class courtesan to the hostesses of the tea houses and the young women being reared into this tradition. There’s an extensive amount of history provided by the author that consistently draws attention to the various games, food, drink, customs and the character’s clothing reflecting their status. These elements can entice the reader to move further through the novel to find out how the story will conclude for the numerous characters. However, the numerous characters and lack of emotional connection may deter readers from finishing Han Bangqing’s fiction of the late Qing dynasty.