**Origins and development**
- It began as a system for entertaining and comforting soldiers under King Goujian of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period: “He sent widows to live alone on a mountain, where they mingled with the soldiers” (Book of Yue’s Lost History).
- It became an official institution during the Han dynasty: “There were no prostitutes in antiquity; they were first established in military camps under Emperor Wu of Han” (quoted in the annotations to the Book of Han).
- It became a form of punishment during the Ming dynasty: the female relatives of Jianwen Emperor’s loyal ministers “were reduced to camp prostitutes and abused by numerous soldiers each day” (Unofficial History of China).
