I will have to get myself a copy of that book. I have always been interested in the local history of Shanghai in relation to the various foreigners who have lived here.

In the period of the foreign powers here it was not the done thing to get married to a Chinese lass. Some did and were ostracized for it, no longer welcome at the club....

Therefore many men kept a Chinese mistress as well as a wife. Naval personnel were mostly confined to ship when not ashore at liesure therefore it was hard to set up a home from home. Additionaly if they were not of independant means they rarely could afford a mistress.

Therefore they often persued the Chinese lasses at the so called Taxi Dances. The Taxi Dancers and Sing Sing girls (rent a sampan sort of job) were later in competition with the many White Russian women who fled the Russia during the revolution and came to Shanghai.

Some of the White Russian women of better upbringing then set themselves up as mistresses of well to do businessmen.

In todays Huai Hai Lu(Formerly Avenue Foche) and the Fuzhou Lu(Fuchow Road) you can still see many of the old buildings which were places of 'nightly' entertainment.

The two places I play in are both in what was the old French Quarter of Shanghai, both are old buildings and would have been there in Hamish Maclaren's time. It was in the French Quarter that many of the White Russians and Jewish exiles lived. They were stateless people and the French were more accomodating that the British and American Quarters.

Not for nothing was Shanghai known as 'The Whore of The East'

Any catters coming this way I am happy to provide free guided tours of the pubs.