Becoming a Comb Sister took great bravery, not least because the designation cast one’s afterlife into uncertainty. Most Chinese villages imposed constraints on where women who had never been married could live if they were old, sick, or dying. It was thought ill-boding to be proximate to the death of a woman who lacked affiliation to a male descent line. A “hostless” daughter, as a Comb Sister was called, was not allowed to die in the main house of her natal family, but was removed to wait for death elsewhere, alone, usually in an outlying building—a shed, or an empty house at some distance from her kin. These “death houses” still exist; I visited one in a small village in Sanshui County — a modest brick structure, just 20 square meters in size, located outside the village territory. I saw through a window three photographs of deceased Comb Sisters who presumably died in the house.
A former “death house” for Comb Sisters without access to a gupouk, in Guangtou Village, Baini Town, Sanshui County, 2023.
The interior of a “death house,” with portraits of three women who presumably died there, 2023.
Dialog with a neighbor of the “Death House”
Have a lot of people lived here before?
There have been some, but I wasn’t familiar with them.
Did they come here when they were young, or did they only live here when they were old?
Everyone only came here when they were close to dying. When they were young, they would buy a spot here for the future. When they got old and were near death, they’d be brought here to be taken care of. At that time, their parents didn’t want them to die at home, so they’d gather some money with others, buy a small house, and live there when they got old. Nowadays, they say people go to a large Gupouk.
Is there a Gupouk here?
No, you have to go to Guanshan Town of Xiqiao for that. There’s no such house here. In the past, there was a place called Flower Fruit Temple, where some old Comb Sisters would gather and live together.
Where is this Temple?
It’s just above the market, near the Guan Di Temple—right above where the new Guan Di Temple is now.
Is that still in Baini Town?
It’s exactly in Gangtou Village. Back then, it was packed with people, very lively. There were people living on both sides. Inside, there were statues of the Eighteen Arhats and many other things. But they tore it all down during the Cultural Revolution.
What about here? Was this place affected during the Cultural Revolution?
It’s just a small house, not much to mess with.
The last person to live here renovated the whole place, added two doors—one at the back and one facing the street. Before that, there was only a door at the back, none facing the street.
Do you know who built this house?
It was some girls from Shangcun (Upper Village). Further up from the old market. They were seamstresses, and they didn’t marry.
What kind of work did unmarried women do back then?
Mostly sewing clothes. Some managed households or worked as housekeepers. Others worked in the silk industry, or weaving.
I heard from other villagers that there used to be a big silk weaving factory here. Is that true?
Yes, there was.
Did many unmarried women work there?
Yes, many of them did.
What did your eldest aunt do? (Earlier you mentioned she was unmarried and combed up too.)
When we knew her, she was already very old, in her seventies or eighties.
How old are you now?
I’m 81.
Wow, but you speak so clearly—I can understand you perfectly.
The Gupouk you mentioned in Xiqiao, is it called Good Virtue Hall?
That’s the place where they followed a vegetarian buddhist diet. When they got old, they’d pool their money and move there. They’d spend thousands, even tens of thousands, to buy a spot.
That’s quite a lot of money.
It was for those who had no children and no marriage. All those women, without any family left. That’s what a Gupouk was for.
Would the elderly women here really travel as far as Xiqiao? How did they even know about that place?
If they had money, they’d go there—it was nicer. If not, they’d stay here in this small house. Some wealthier families would even build a small house for their daughters when they got old, just like this one.
Oh, so there were a few of these small houses here?
Yes. But only those who had bought a spot could live here. If you didn’t have one, you couldn’t come in.
Do you know of anyone who bought a spot here?
I don’t know, it was so long ago. By the time we knew about it, the people living here were already in their sixties or seventies.
But I only know from what others have said. How would I know firsthand? I got married and moved here over 50 or 60 years ago.
Have you ever seen anyone live here? Must have been a long time ago?
It’s been a long time. I’ve lived here for 50 or 60 years, and I’ve never seen anyone live here. Just heard stories from others. But I do know some people rented this place to work in, not to live in. No one’s really lived here.
It’s the gray house that’s the one, not the red one, right?
Yes, the gray one with the green bricks. The red one belongs to someone else—it’s just a storage shed.
I’ve never seen anyone live here. As I said, when they were near death, they’d be brought here to be taken care of. But only those who had bought a spot could move in.
Guangtou Village
Baini Town
Sanshui County
Yingjia Tan, December 8, 2023