Introduction: A Star-Studded Evening at New Xianlin Ballroom
On the evening of August 20, 1946, Shanghai’s New Xianlin Ballroom buzzed with unprecedented excitement. Among the city’s four premier dance halls – including the legendary Paramount and Ciro’s – New Xianlin distinguished itself not through opulent interiors but through its expansive outdoor garden. That night, this very garden swarmed with over 3,000 attendees, each having paid an astonishing 20,000 yuan in rapidly depreciating Nationalist currency – enough to buy 80 pounds of rice at summer 1946 prices. The crowd comprised Shanghai’s elite, but they hadn’t gathered to dance. They came to witness a spectacle unprecedented in Republican China: the first large-scale public beauty pageant in modern Chinese history.
The Perfect Storm: Floods, Refugees, and Political Calculations
The pageant’s origins trace to spring 1946, when catastrophic floods devastated the Jianghuai plains. With “boats sailing across flatlands” in submerged villages, three million refugees fled to Shanghai from northern Jiangsu. The Nationalist government, already diverting resources to its looming civil war against the Communists, lacked funds for relief. Desperate officials turned to private philanthropy, requiring someone with both influence and organizational prowess.
Chiang Kai-shek identified the ideal figure: Du Yuesheng, the so-called “Emperor of Shanghai.” A former gangster turned philanthropist, Du had mediated between foreign concessions and Chinese authorities during the pre-war years. Yet postwar Shanghai, with its vanished foreign concessions, diminished Du’s utility to Chiang. When Du subtly conditioned his involvement on the participation of Wang Baoxuan – a protege of powerful CC Clique leader Chen Lifu – he revealed his waning political capital following the March 1946 death of his ally, spymaster Dai Li.
The resulting “Northern Jiangsu Refugee Relief Association,” chaired by Du with Wang as director, initially raised funds through benefit performances (raising 200 million yuan from opera and film events) before settling on a more audacious scheme: a beauty contest promising to combine philanthropy with spectacle.
Beauty with a Purpose: Launching China’s First Modern Pageant
On July 26, 1946, Shanghai newspapers announced the “Miss Shanghai” competition, with proceeds funding refugee relief. Despite precedents like 1917’s “Flower Nation” courtesan contests, the notion of respectable women participating remained scandalous. Early recruitment faltered until Du implemented three strategic moves:
1. Celebrity Endorsement: Enlisting stars like singer Zhou Xuan and actress Wang Danfeng to legitimize participation
2. Charity Reframing: Emphasizing the event’s humanitarian purpose
3. Virtue Signaling: Highlighting criteria beyond physical beauty – including “moral character” and “conduct”
The strategy worked. Seventeen-year-old high school student Gao Qingyi became the first volunteer applicant, followed by民政局 female clerks (likely pressured) and celebrities like:
– Han Jingqing: 14-year-old singing prodigy
– Yan Huizhu: Peking opera star and Mei Lanfang disciple
– Xie Jiahua: Fudan University student and chemical heiress, the crowd favorite
By August, over 3,000 women had registered – a staggering number given contemporary social mores. The pageant introduced revolutionary elements like swimsuit competitions (modest by today’s standards but scandalous then) while dividing contestants into four categories: Socialites (“Miss Shanghai”), Peking Opera Performers, Singers, and Dancers.
The Big Night: Money, Politics, and Engineered Outcomes
The August 20 finale at New Xianlin became a masterclass in financial engineering. Beyond the 60 million yuan from tickets, the real revenue came from vote-buying:
– Blue tickets: 10,000 yuan = 10 votes
– Yellow tickets: 50,000 yuan = 50 votes
– Pink tickets: 100,000 yuan = 100 votes
The results revealed blatant financial manipulation. In the marquee “Miss Shanghai” category:
1. Wang Yunmei: 65,500 votes (6.55 million yuan) – a relatively unknown dancer
2. Xie Jiahua: 25,430 votes – the presumed favorite
3. Liu Deming: 8,500 votes
Wang’s victory stemmed from her patron – General Fan Shaozeng, a Sichuan warlord and Du ally – who allegedly spent 40 million yuan on votes. Du himself reportedly raised another 20 million through gambling proceeds. Other categories showed similar disparities, with winners like opera star Yan Huizhu (37,700 votes) dwarfing competitors. When silver medalist Xie Jiahua burst into tears onstage, it underscored the contest’s transactional nature – prompting critics to rebrand it the “Mrs. Shanghai” competition.
Aftermath: Vanished Millions and Fractured Lives
While organizers claimed to raise over 200 million yuan, the funds’ actual distribution remains murky. Rumors swirled about Wang Baoxuan receiving a 20 million yuan “gratuity” from donations (later returned). The contestants’ fates proved equally checkered:
– Wang Yunmei: Disappeared after Fan Shaozeng’s 1949 defection (though historical records suggest Fan actually surrendered to Communists). Some speculate she inspired the protagonist in Wang Anyi’s Song of Everlasting Sorrow.
– Xie Jiahua: Entered film but committed suicide in 1948 after an oppressive marriage to businessman Rong Haixing.
– Yan Huizhu: Continued performing until her 1966 suicide during the Cultural Revolution.
– Han Jingqing: Found success in Taiwan’s music industry before marrying 72-year-old scholar Liang Shiqiu in 1974.
Legacy: Between Empowerment and Exploitation
The 1946 pageant represented a paradoxical moment in Chinese modernity. While ostensibly advancing women’s public participation, its financial mechanics and subsequent scandals reinforced patriarchal structures. Yet it pioneered fundraising strategies later adopted by NGOs and prefigured contemporary debates about femininity, philanthropy, and performative activism. As Shanghai reclaims its global stature, this forgotten episode reminds us how beauty, power, and charity have always been uneasy bedfellows in the city’s restless history.