The Courtesan by Alexandra Curry

This is a true story of Sai Jinhua, who is orphaned at the age of seven and sold to a brothel during a time when Chinese view Westerners as barbarians, who bring opium and want to convert them. At the brothel, she receives the first cruel treatment of foot-binding. Custom of applying painfully tight binding to the feet of young girls to prevent further growth. A symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. 

At the age of twelve she is taught the “Art of the Bedchamber” as “all men want a virgin who is 12 years old.” 

At the age of thirteen she becomes a concubine to a troubled scholar, who receives a position at the Chinese Embassy in Vienna. He takes Jinhua to accompany him. Being in the Western part of the world as an emissary to the barbarians feels like punishment to him. Where he is not happy with opposite traditions, “here the soles of men’s boots are black instead of white, that vests are worn inside a man’s jacket instead of outside; that women bind their waists instead of their feet, and people read from left to right.”

It is interesting and entertaining to see Europe through the eyes of an Asian person in the late 19th century: “…chopsticks, which the foreign devils do not use…”; “…barbarian bow, putting one gleaming boot behind the other and bending her knees, which Wenqing says is a symptom of an uncivilized culture in the Western countries: a bow of only a few inches.” Not as deep and gracious as Chinese.

She on the other hand embraces the differences and even tries to learn the German language from her servant Resi, who is quite a character herself.

Upon her return to China, she experiences the so called Boxer Rebellion. An uprising against the growth of foreign forces. Her Western experience becomes a danger to her and those who are dear to her.

The information available about Sai Jinhua is conflicting; therefore the author had to take some liberties in creating this story. The story is fast paced with no prolonged descriptions. It may not be to everyone’s liking. However, I enjoyed this book tremendously.

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