Gējì

A Gējì or Geji (Chinese: 歌妓、歌伎) is a female professional performer of song and dance in ancient China. The modern term "Yiji (艺妓)" is not used in ancient Chinese sources. The modern expression "Yiji (艺妓)" in Chinese may have been first seen in the novel "The Ancient House" by Wang Xiyan.The modern expression "Yiji(藝妓)" in Chinese may also have appeared earlier in Taiwan's Alias for Yidan(藝旦) during the Japanese occupation.

Like other entertainers in ancient China, Gejis had a low social status, but Gejis generally did not engage in prostitution. Their profession was that of entertainers and was not equivalent to sex workers. In ancient Chinese, the word "Ji (妓)" can refer to both female art performers and female sex workers. The word "Ji (妓)" in Geji (歌妓) refers to female performers, not sex workers. The word "Ji (妓)" in Chinese only refers to women. In Chinese, the word "Ji (伎)" refers to both male and female performers, but "Geji (歌伎)" only refers to women. In addition, "Ji (伎)" does not only refer to performers. The word "Ji (伎)" is also used as the word "Ji (技)", which refers to skills, talents, techniques, etc. It can also be used to refer to people in other fields. For example, "Fang Ji (方伎 or 方技)" refers to the old general term for practices such as medicine, divination, astrology, and fortune-telling. Geji is also called a “Geji (歌姬, Pinyin: Gējī)”, a singing girl (歌女), or a “Geji (歌伎)”. In modern Chinese, the word "Ji (妓)" is often associated with sex trade, and the word "Geji (歌伎)" is also commonly used to avoid taboos.

Gejis made certain contributions to ancient Chinese music, dance, poetry, painting and other arts and literature. Some Tang poetry and Song Dynasty lyric poetry was also sung by Gejis. The Gejis sang the poems in the form of songs, which also played a role in the dissemination of ancient Chinese poems and lyrics.