“We sell our songs but not our bodies.”
This saying defines an attitude which has often puzzled the cynical West. Still it sums up the code that most of the courtesans used. A courtesan was a professional hostess. She was available to entertain patrons at their social functions with her singing, dancing, playing, and sex-appeal. She would converse with the men wittily and intelligently, and also flirt with some. However, intimate relationships were discouraged. A courtesan was not to be had for the asking. Contrary to what many westerners believe, the role of courtesans was primary a social one. Sexual aspects were of secondary importance.
Reason for this development were the underlying Chinese philosophies. Only the higher middle class could afford to have relations with courtesans. And as we saw before, they already had a big amount of women at home. According to Taoism, it was the duty of these men to give his women complete sexual satisfaction, since this was thought to ensure male offspring. Therefore Chinese literature tells us for the need of unconstrained friendly relationships with women. Relationships that did not result in the sexual obligations that awaited at home. With a courtesan, a man could develop a certain kind of intimacy without having to result in actual intercourse. And if he grew tired of the relationship, he could end it as easily as it started.
Apart from entertaining, courtesans also played a very important but less known role in the daily life of middle and upper classes. For instance, an official could ensure promotion by introducing his superior or an influential politician to a discreetly chosen courtesan, and a merchant could by the same means obtain a much-needed credit or an important order.
After the 13th century Neo-Confucianim and the Mongol occupation of China caused an increasing separation of the sexes. With the women locked away at home, there grew an even bigger demand for unattached female entertainers at private and public parties.
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