#my translation spells it kisaeng. i think. but imo that consonant makes more sense romanized as g

[skalidris]

i read some of kim yideum's gisaeng poetry and it got me to thinking

so, in ancient greece, and also arguably in edo japan, and so on, prostitutes were... skilled? as in, it was normal for them to have some actual ability or hobby-like supportive income, or extra selling-point, or whatever--

i'm specifically thinking of an article about, i think, athenian prostitution, that actually was about how prostitutes were wool-workers. they made & also sometimes sold small weavings and yarns and such--work you can do on the move, and put down easily, once you get a client.

and i know even tea-house prostitution tended to involve some degree of cultural entertainment, like, it wasn't all The Flesh Itself or whatever. which probably indicates another serious lacuna in mxtx's writing of sex-workers/women (shocking /sarcasm)

i understand that the issue with meng shi is written to be something that can extend to her son, where they are both performing a gentry-like education, which is just... not any level of prostitute class-ranks, if they exist in this setting, which i can't say either way due to lack of evidence.

the key traits for that are guqin (which is a very high-society instrument. although in JP contexts, i'm certain some female entertainers played it.) and of course reading/writing/classical education (with the intent of being a cultivator, too). imo, that's the big one; nobody wanted women to do that really. or a-yao. sorry a-yao.

side note for painting, which i think jgy did not pick up? that means meng shi is, in the context of this story, classed only with wwx, nhs, and lxc... this is fine. moving on.

what i'm saying is, i feel that there should have realistically been some concrete pursuits, even very high-level skilled ones, that would not have marked meng shi & her son for the kind of bullying they received. ones that, in fact, other prostitutes at the brothel were also versed in, depending.

and i just wish i knew what those were. and if meng shi and/or jgy learned any of those, or if they completely refused to. i want brothel lore, is what i'm saying.