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Course Adoption. Contact Form. The celebration of the millennial anniversary of Hanoi in reminds us that this city has a very long history. Even though Hanoi was an important city and prostitution was not a colonial invention in Vietnam, studying the precolonial period is difficult because sources are quite scarce. In addition, the available sources do not explicitly mention prostitutes but generally discuss songstresses and courtesans.
They were morally condemned and relegated to life outside the city. The same ambiguous distinction between courtesans, songstresses, and prostitutes can be found in Vietnamese imperial law. The attitude of the authorities towards prostitution was ambiguous as well. Article , and in particular the notes and comments of the legislator, mentioned prostitution as a social category, and yet the same article forbade civil and military servants from interacting with prostitutes and songstresses.
Further complicating the issue was article , which prohibited prostitution as well as other illicit sexual relations, such as extra-marital sex and homosexual relations. The colonial period was a turning point in the history of prostitution in Vietnam because it was no longer forbidden but authorized and regulated.
