Old Hong Kong: The Pearl of the East

Author: Cheng Nai-sun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: In the North Point area of Hong Kong, there is a "Seven Sisters" Road. The transformation of this piece of land is among the most significant in Hong Kong. Originally, it was a bay. The urban area of Hong Kong was primarily formed by land reclamation, and "Seven Sisters" Road was created after World War II. In fact, the name "North Point" was given by the British. The area has always been known by its local name, "Seven Sisters." The name "Seven Sisters" sounds romantic and alluring, but behind it lies the story of a fierce woman who defied feudal oppression. In the southern part of China, there was a custom called "self-combing," which was particularly common in Shunde, Guangdong. "Self-combing" referred to remaining unmarried and living as a single woman. Self-combed women usually wore a large braid, and in Hong Kong, they worked as maids, with Shunde maids being especially popular. It can be said that self-combed maids were some of the most experienced professional women in Hong Kong. They did not rely on husbands and often formed sisterhoods, showing great loyalty to one another. In the 1950s, the author lived in Hong Kong and employed a self-combed maid named A-Rui. She was just in her late teens at the time, with a long, glossy, dark braid at the back of her head. She wore a crisp white Chinese-style top and black Xiangyun silk trousers, with a pair of street sandals (slippers) on her feet. This was the typical attire of self-combed women. Self-combed maids were also known as "one-foot-kicks" because they could handle chores like buying, cooking, washing, ironing, and taking care of children all by themselves. Self-combed women lived frugally and often pooled their resources to buy a simple room—known as a "granny house"—to take care of elderly self-combed women or for their own use in old age. There was an unwritten agreement among self-combed women: the younger ones were obligated to care for the elderly and even attend their funerals. Historical records show that Hong Kong had maids since the Taiping Rebellion. At that time, wealthy merchants and families in the south moved to Hong Kong for safety, and naturally, they did not do household chores themselves. Thus, the profession of maids flourished, becoming a primary occupation for working women. Most self-combed maids came from Shunde. The reason was that Shunde was rich in silk production, and rural women could support themselves solely by weaving silk. Under the pressure of patriarchal authority, many Shunde women preferred to support themselves rather than marry without their consent, so they chose to "comb themselves" instead. Shunde was the earliest place to originate the custom of "self-combing." This shows that a woman's independence depends first on economic independence. Without financial independence, how can one seek personal independence? By the early Republic of China, the silk industry in China collapsed, and self-combed women struggled to make a living. Unable to endure mistreatment, they flocked to Hong Kong to work as maids. They helped each other by introducing their younger sisters to come to Hong Kong as maids, making "self-combed live-in maids" a specialty of Shunde. Coincidentally, in the early days of Shanghai, many high-quality maids came from Huzhou and nearby southern regions, where silk production was also abundant. Mao Dun, a native of Huzhou, vividly depicted the life in silk-producing areas in his novel "Spring Silkworms." Huzhou had many silk factories, and most silk reelers were rural women, who had long been aware of economic independence. As silk merchants from Huzhou set up factories in Shanghai, a large number of Huzhou and Nanxun women flocked to the city, known as "Huzhou silk sisters" by the Shanghai people. Later, perhaps due to the oversupply of labor, silk factories could no longer accommodate so many workers. Since Huzhou and Nanxun were prosperous rice and fish regions, and Nanxun was the center of wealth in Jiangnan, it was the hometown of many wealthy Shanghai families. Generally, Huzhou and Nanxun women were skilled in cooking and had elegant manners, making them highly sought after by wealthy Shanghai households. Thus, in the old days, the best maids in Shanghai were mostly from Huzhou and Nanxun. The difference was that Jiangnan women were less bold than southern women. They usually married within their hometowns before working as maids. Many worked together, with mothers and daughters or mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, for decades, almost like a hereditary profession. In Shanghai, maids were called "aunties," likely because of their marital status. How could an unmarried woman be called an "aunt"? In Hong Kong, maids were called "aunties" as well. In the 1940s and 1950s, after the liberation of the mainland, it became difficult for Shunde women to come to Hong Kong. However, there were still many self-combed maids in Hong Kong streets, most of whom were now in their middle age. The decline of self-combed live-in maids was mainly due to the lack of new recruits. At that time, Hong Kong's industry, especially the garment industry, was booming, and young women preferred to work in factories, which offered better pay and treatment than being a maid. Therefore, in the 1970s and 1980s, these experienced, self-combed maids became highly sought after and expensive. In such a situation, they demanded strict conditions from their employers: a private room, a television in the room, and two annual vacation days. During the golden age of the 1970s, self-combed maids even organized trips to visit the mainland for sightseeing, returning home in style. Today, the older generation of Shunde self-combed live-in maids have retired, replaced by Filipino maids. Similarly, Huzhou and Nanxun nannies are rare, mainly because the quality of life in those areas is high, and girls do not want to leave their hometowns—except for some families that still follow the tradition of having the daughter or granddaughter of an old nanny "take over." Generally, it is now the world of Anhui maids. Whether in Shanghai or Hong Kong, under the circumstances where women had very few educational and job opportunities, maids were indeed pioneers in the path toward women's independence. In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, Hong Kong was more open than inland northern China, but even then, respectable women were not allowed to sing in public. Therefore, it was the prostitutes who stepped in. This shows that prostitutes were the pioneers of Cantonese pop music. Only with their efforts did the market for singing open up, gradually giving way to professional singers. Initially, the singing on the stage was Cantonese opera, similar to excerpts from the opera, featuring the most exciting singing segments. Prostitutes were generally skilled in singing and playing musical instruments, making them very popular. At that time, there was no term like "diva," but the red-light singers from Sheung Wan were the most famous. The singing stage was set in entertainment venues, and from the moment it was launched, it had the blood of the common people. No wonder it has endured for over a hundred years, surviving two world wars and countless political storms. Cantonese pop music remains vibrant today, appealing to people of all ages. As long as you are Chinese, you can find solace in it, thanks to its folk consciousness. In its early days, the singing stage was very popular with Hong Kong citizens because of its accessibility: tickets were cheaper than those for formal Cantonese opera in theaters, and tea was served with the ticket, just like today's free bottles of Coca-Cola or drinks at the entrance. The common people were easily moved by such gestures. Moreover, most ordinary people did not have enough money to hire famous red-light singers like the ones in Sheung Wan for drinking and singing. Nowadays, a few coins can allow people to enjoy the company of such singers, which is also a form of satisfaction. In the 1920s, electric fans became popular, and tea houses in Hong Kong installed ceiling fans to attract customers, creating a cool and inviting atmosphere. The singing stage then moved from outdoor entertainment venues into tea houses. The first tea house in Hong Kong to have a singing stage was Fu Long Tea House, which was also the first to install ceiling fans. Its traces are now lost to time! After the completion of the Sun Company Building in Central in 1900, to cater to the entertainment market, its rooftop was decorated as a garden with pavilions and towers, called the "Rooftop Amusement Park," which also had a singing stage. The biggest difference was that the singers were no longer prostitutes but talented amateur Cantonese opera enthusiasts, elevating the stage to a higher level.