The origin of a word
Chinese
According to Ci Hai, "the house of men and women who were called sinners in ancient times was not slaves in the government", that is, men were slaves and women were maids; Later, "generally refers to men and women who lost their freedom and were enslaved by others" [1]. It means that in ancient times, criminals and their families were called slaves. Later, men and women who were enslaved in the government or among the people were generally called handmaids, while handmaids were called female slaves, so they were called handmaids. There are other names, such as servant girl, servant concubine, slave girl, servant girl, tsing yi, servant girl, barefoot and so on. , each has its own origins. For example, young maids often wear round double buns, which look like branches, so they are called "maids".
English
Maid (girl) is added to domestic servant, domestic servant and domestic servant (all meaning domestic servant), and the word maidservant is derived. Later, the word servant, maid alone also means maid. In the subculture of Taiwan Province Province, it is also called "Sister Fight", which is the transliteration of maid.
Current address
Compared with handmaiden and servant in class society in the past, employment and helper (hired worker) mostly use neutral words, and female helper is called servant girl for short. In Chinese mainland, maids are called nannies, and now they are also called domestic servants. In Hong Kong, maids are divided into local helpers and foreign helpers according to whether they live locally or abroad. Maids who do housework in Hongkong are usually called domestic helpers, and they are also called administrators in Taiwan Province Province.
Source and demand
Modern Times
China
China used to be a feudal society. In feudal society, the concept of class was very heavy. Except scholars, farmers, workers and businessmen (good citizens), all others are untouchables, and handmaids are among them, so they are forced to sell their labor and do all kinds of chores.
As its etymology, the word handmaid comes from slaves, and its original source is slaves. Some prisoners in the war became prisoners and became slaves under the rule of enemy countries. In other words, being a handmaid is a kind of punishment, which applies to criminals and is also one of the original sources of handmaids. Some neighboring countries also made contributions to the Central Plains regime.
In addition, human trafficking is also the most common and common source of handmaids. Some husbands living in poverty were sold, some were abducted by bandits and sold (mostly children), and some even trained young men and women and sold them as servants after a period of time.
What's more, some people will repay their kindness and volunteer to be maids. Mostly after the disaster, the benefactor felt that he owed too much to others and had nothing to repay himself, so he volunteered to be a servant girl. Children born of domestic slaves married to domestic servants are passed down from generation to generation as domestic slaves. But handmaids are generally not allowed to get married.
With the "slavery" initiated by different handmaiden groups in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and the exposure and criticism of the handmaiden system by people of insight, the handmaiden system gradually weakened. Although it could not be completely overthrown in the end, the unfair treatment of handmaiden had been improved in many places in Kangxi period, and some people who were exempted from being handmaiden began to register independently with their surnames in Yongzheng period. However, the abolition of the handmaiden system and the freedom of handmaiden were truly completely liberated after the revolution of the Republic of China.
Britain, England
Before the invention of household appliances, there were a lot of housework to be handled by people in the family. The upper class at that time was a class that didn't need to work. In order to ensure its luxurious life, it is necessary to rely on servants to maintain complicated housework. /kloc-after the 0/9th century, the rapid development of industry made the middle class rich. In order to show their social status, they also began to hire servants, greatly increasing the number of servants. 1777, Britain stipulated that domestic servants should be taxed, and maids could do jobs that male servants could not do, which prompted the need for more maids.
At that time, women relied more on their fathers before marriage and more on their husbands after marriage. However, in the Victorian era, the expansion of the British Empire led to frequent wars, and the social atmosphere gradually delayed marriage, which affected some women not to get married and had nothing to rely on. At that time, only some charitable schools educated the working class, but especially the children from poor families had to go out to work to help their families, and most of them had no education. Working-class women have few jobs to choose from, which also encourages more women to work as maids.
There are also women from the upper class or middle class who go to work as maids to learn etiquette and communication, which is regarded as a social education to exercise their body and mind.
1870 after the second wave of feminist movement, women's working ability was concerned. At the same time, education spread to ordinary people, colleges and universities began to accept women as students, women began to get more job choices, and maids gradually declined from their heyday.
Hiring a maid requires a certain income.
France
At first, most of them were employed by nobles and monks. However, due to the French Revolution, the aristocratic class declined and was gradually employed by the rich class.
The purpose of hiring maids by the rich class is mainly to show their identity and status, so there is not much demand for maids in essence. Most of them are handyman, and there are fewer and fewer professional maids. After the 20th century, professional maids have been rare.
Germany
Originally a public servant under the feudal system, although it has been replaced by domestic servants in the form of contracts in most European countries, Germany still retains public servants engaged in agriculture.
Servants are considered family members. Belong to the lower class in the family.
United States of America
/kloc-in the 0 th and 8 th centuries, most of them were Irish women who were new immigrants.
65438+The first half of the 9th century was a white woman of American descent.
Later, with the rapid economic development, white women had more employment opportunities.1In the late 9th century, most of them were black women.
Modern Times
Today, many upper-class families and even middle-class families employ domestic workers, especially those with double salaries. Since both husband and wife need to go out to work and have no time to do housework, many people will hire maids.
Most women come from developing countries with low education. They leave home to work because they can earn more wages by working in places with high living index.
Scope, status and conditions of work
Modern Times
Britain, England
In Victorian social concept, women should do housework at home. But upper-class women can't get their hands dirty because of housework, so they hire maids to help with housework.
There are many troubles in housework, and under the division of labor, the maids in the upper class have also produced various grades.
hostess
housekeeping
housekeeper
Mainly responsible for hiring and supervising maids, food purchasing and managing the storage of food, high-grade fabrics and porcelain, and assisting the daily needs of the hostess.
As the highest-ranking maid, most maids obey her (except in bold below).
Because you want to command all the maids, you must have all kinds of maid etiquette, knowledge and experience. Therefore, most housekeepers are well-born maids. If other maids don't satisfy the master, the housekeeper should take responsibility and teach the skills herself.
Living room maid (Pariour maid)
Mainly responsible for receiving visitors and serving food during meals. Most of the previous jobs were footmen, but later they were gradually replaced by maids. And some jobs that originally belonged to personal maids, such as delivering letters and coping with advance and retreat, were replaced by living room maids in the later stage.
Because the maid in the living room is responsible for receiving guests, and the appearance of the maid is a representative of showing the majesty of the employer, it is more gorgeous than other maids.
The requirements for looks are relatively high, requiring good looks, tall, soft, and good reception ability.
Lounge maid
Assist the housekeeper and be responsible for the preservation of the distillation room (where food is sterilized and stored, and snacks are made) and ceramics.
Only restricted people can enter the distillation chamber, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter casually. For other maids, it is special.
Maid (maid)
Responsible for the cleaning and service of the whole family. Clean the room, living room, dining table, gate and other places except special maids, make the bed, patrol the room, ensure that there are enough daily necessities and provide dining services.
The most typical maid image is that this level existed as early as 18 century. There are also grades among domestic servants, and higher-ranking waiters can be responsible for lighter work.
Need to have all kinds of housework knowledge and skills.
Between maids (between maids)
Assist housekeeper and distillation room.
In a small family, she also works as a domestic servant and a dishwashing maid.
Laundry girl
Cleaning, bleaching, drying and repairing clothes, sheets, quilts and rags in furniture.
Different from other maids, because big house families don't like the smell of washing clothes, they need to work in the basement or the laundry room a little far from the house. It's a group of maids who work independently. Only a few families will need a laundry maid (usually a domestic maid).
Need to have all kinds of professional knowledge related to washing.
take care of
cook
A servant in charge of all the master's food. Responsible for the procurement and management of cooking, ingredients and condiments. Be responsible for serving when the host is eating. It is also necessary to measure and teach cooks.
Servants employed by most families. The position in the family is second only to that of the housekeeper, but most of them will not obey the orders of the servant girl's family.
Need good cooking and good character.
Kitchen maid
Mainly responsible for the servants' diet. Need to help the chef, prepare cooking materials, take care of the kitchen and prepare food for children, servants and pets.
Generally, dishwashers get promoted. If you learn good cooking skills from a chef, you will have a chance to be promoted to a chef. On the contrary, cooks with poor cooking skills will not be welcomed by servants because they are responsible for their own diet.
Need to know ingredients and cooking skills.
Nvbangchu
Need to clean utensils and deal with prey.
Mostly trainee maids.
accompanying
Close maid
A servant who is directly subordinate to the hostess and is responsible for all her needs. Responsible for dressing, dressing, making up and managing clothes and decorations for the hostess. And you need to go out with the hostess. Know how to please the hostess.
Maids generally come from the upper class or the middle class. It feels like a group of ladies. You can wear beautiful clothes that the hostess doesn't want, and you don't have to work hard at all, and your income is not bad. Many maids will aim to become personal maids. However, being a maid needs to be young and beautiful, and you can't be a maid all your life.
Because you want to dress up the hostess, you should understand fashion and have knowledge of clothing, cosmetics and medicines. You also need to be tall, young and beautiful.
child-rearing
Nanny (divided into wet nurse and godmother)
Responsible for raising the hostess's children. Need to take care of children and manage children's rooms, as well as supervise the work of childcare maids. Breastfeeding mothers also need to feed their babies, so they are generally younger.
Because she takes care of the children directly and is more intimate than her mother, her personality and behavior can have a very important impact on the physical and mental development of the children, so the hostess often maintains a good relationship with the nanny, just like a family.
Need to have parenting experience and know how to take care of and discipline children. The average hostess will ask for strict guidance. The wet nurse also needs good health and breast milk.
Maid nurse
Responsible for playing with children, walking, helping children get dressed, cleaning children's rooms and helping nannies.
Compared with the image of a nanny like a mother, a baby nurse is more like a sister and is popular with children. Just like a nanny, the hostess will always maintain a good relationship with the nanny.
Usually young, lack of parenting experience. It is necessary to take care of children carefully and patiently and always pay attention to their health.
education
tutor
Mainly responsible for teaching rich children, including language, music, art, needlework and so on.
At first, they belonged to a group that respected their status. However, in the Victorian era, due to the increase of the upper class and middle class, the demand for tutors also increased, and some teachers with poor quality also mixed in, making the profession of tutors less noble than before. However, compared with other servants, they still get more generous treatment. Because it is not as good as the hostess but higher than the average maid (and does not need to follow the instructions of the housekeeper), it often becomes isolated.
According to the content to be taught, a tutor must also know etiquette, be proficient in language and music, and be experienced in embroidery is preferred. Also, in order to prevent housewives from becoming the object of their son's love, the average hostess will hire a tutor who is not very good-looking.
The maid class has the opportunity to be promoted by category.
The middle class only employs a few maids, and there will be no detailed grading.
France
There are mainly maids who cook, take care of children and clean, and there are also more advanced maids in charge. The maid in charge of the designated room has a close relationship with the hostess and is superior to other maids.
Germany
Mainly divided into managers and kitchen maids, nannies, domestic maids and so on. In the family, the manager's position is lower than that of the employer's family, but higher than that of other servants.
United States of America
Domestic servants * * * do the same work, and without division of labor, they may not be as efficient as European maids [6].
Modern Times
Engaged in house cleaning, cooking food, daily care of family members or other work related to family services in private homes. Engaged in daily life care and other related affairs for people with mental and physical disabilities or patients in private families. As far as domestic helpers are concerned, Hong Kong stipulates that each family can only hire one foreign domestic helper, and only under very special circumstances can they hire more than one, and they are not allowed to engage in work other than housework; Taiwan Province Province also stipulates that each family can only employ one FDH, and domestic helpers can only do housework. Foreign maids are usually invited to work. Because of the complicated procedures, they are usually recommended by maid agencies. Large foreign maid agencies will have professional training courses for maids to learn vocational skills such as cooking, child care, language learning and communication skills. Housekeepers who work by the hour will only go home to do cleaning work when their employers need it.
deal with
Modern Times
China
Although there are many similarities between slavery and slavery, for example, slaves are also sold, enslaved and even abused, and slaves are even raped. However, the handmaiden system still has certain personal protection for handmaids, and unlike slavery, slaves can be killed or buried by their owners at any time without legal responsibility, and there is still the minimum freedom of survival in law. However, how to treat handmaiden, or out of the master's mentality.
There are many unfair treatments for handmaids under the handmaiden system. In the past, there was a tendency to lock up maids, that is, they were forbidden to marry. Maids-in-waiting are typical. Except for those favored by the emperor who have no names, they can only be slaves all their lives and are not allowed to get married. Another example is Zhejiang, according to the Ming Wanli's "Xianju County Records", the county is "the home of scholars, private livestock and private servants, hanging white without a husband ... robbing people of their parents' wishes and ignoring people's desires for men and women" [7]. In other words, many private handmaids in Xianju County don't get married when they are old [8]. When a servant girl is not allowed to get married, what's more, she is insulted and raped. For example, in Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy, when Wang Qi was young, he was lustful and frivolous. Every winter, instead of baking charcoal fire, he puts his cold hands in the arms of female slaves at home and "warms his hands" by touching their breasts and skin [9]. There is also because the master raped the servant girl, Xiao San was angry and cruel, and regarded the servant girl as an "anger valve" to vent her anger.
There are also masters who are kind to their handmaids. According to the paper money of Qing Dynasty? Generous class ",Xu Jia has two maids to celebrate, and their mother treats them with" food and clothing, occasional illness, constant medical treatment, teaching them to read in the light, stressing the main idea, and only reprimanding them without flogging. " "Some educated and compassionate scholars oppose the traditional concept of handmaiden system and release handmaids. Let your handmaid marry a good family and have a good home.
Britain, England
Maids in upper-class families have a detailed division of labor and only need to do special work. Middle-class families can only hire a few maids, and maids may be very busy.
The rank and promotion opportunities of maids are determined according to the character evaluation (recommendation letter sent to maids by former employers). Many families attach great importance to character evaluation books, and recorded maids often give priority.
Have a certain salary. There will be different salaries according to the grade and the nature of the work. There are also different salary methods according to different employment conditions.
The rest place is the servant hall. According to the treatment of different owners, some will only set up simple tables and chairs and makeup tables, while others will have comfortable old sofas or books and pianos. Built-in bell for summoning servants.
Except the housekeeper has a private room with a good environment, most maids live in rooms with poor environment, and even can only sleep in the corner of the workshop.
In order to avoid neglecting housework, maids are generally forbidden to fall in love. The woman who opposes the maid's love will be fired if she finds out that the maid is dating a man.
Some maids will work in big houses all their lives. But there are also some maids who work as maids in the first half of their lives and choose to get married in the second half. Some good employers will give a sum of money according to their performance when they leave their jobs.
Food is generally based on simple cooking. Better employers will provide better meals. For example, upper-class families mainly eat meat and can share minced meat and stew. The average family only gives priority to vegetables, and some even give only a piece of bread as the owner of a day's diet. If the kitchen maid is not good at cooking, some maids will choose to eat the leftovers of the master.
Although it is stipulated that there is a holiday every week and a few days to ten days' holiday every year to visit relatives in their hometown, it is not easy for low-ranking maids to have a holiday. On the other hand, a maid is usually too busy to take a vacation because her job is to wait on her with the hostess.
France
Poor treatment, usually working all day, was treated very harshly.
Germany
Because it belongs to family members, it is nominally protected by the employer.
Under the protection of the law, some employers will be violent to maids. Although there are laws that can sue employers, employers often use character evaluation as a threat to make them yield.
United States of America
During the colonial period, it was mostly annual or quarterly. During the contract period, all housework should be done, and after one year or one quarter, land or equivalent salary can be allocated. Short-term workers who are paid monthly in the future can be dismissed at any time after one month without prior notice.
Without the dominance of the family, maids all share the work.
Modern Times
Because employers who apply for hiring maids all require a certain amount of bank deposits or fixed income, the stable salary of maids is guaranteed.
The employer must provide the maid with a private and safe lounge and a good living environment.
There are minimum wage restrictions, annual leave for visiting relatives, medical allowance, severance payment, employment insurance and air tickets, as well as catering and transportation subsidies.
There is a relatively complete legal system guarantee.
Maids in Japanese subculture
ACG's maid
In Japan, maids are regarded as one of the objects of worship. Usually, young women wear maid aprons, so-called maid clothes.
It has many uses in ACG works or cosplay materials. Even the technique of putting irrelevant female characters around the protagonist of the work will be used. When addressing the employer, it is generally the owner (ごしゅじんさま) or the adult xx (xx, xx is the name of the addressed person.
Maid clothes
Except for the senior maids of housekeepers and ladies-in-waiting, most maids in big houses must wear uniforms. It is said that it is because guests should know how to distinguish themselves from their hosts.
Generally simple and low-level maid clothing, most maids wear this kind of clothing. Clothes are characterized by soft hats, which are for women only, like headscarves. Because of its practicality, even if the indoor hat was abolished later, some maids continued to use it. Classical one-piece skirt was a popular dress for women at that time. The triangular thin cloth hanging down from the skirt is called the drop belt; The sleeve edge of the sleeve will be folded flush; Long aprons were originally worn to avoid soiling clothes, usually used by housewives or craftsmen, and later used by maids in the upper class, becoming a major feature of maid clothing.
The common maid clothes in animation belong to the maid clothes in the living room, which are more gorgeous. Because the maid in the living room is mainly responsible for receiving guests, she pays more attention to appearance than practicality. The hat was more decorative and later became a ribbon; Wear a dark one-piece skirt except black, and there will be lace on the edge of a more gorgeous apron; The sleeves are folded and matched with white-collar workers, and gloves are worn to protect their hands; White aprons are generally shorter than ordinary maids, and skirts without breast pockets are generally embroidered.
Wikipe tan's maid dress is similar to that in the living room, but the production and decoration are different. Perhaps because of the double ponytail, the ribbon on the head disappeared, and the long skirt was replaced by a modern one-piece skirt. The sleeves folded up like a white apron have the characteristics of a standard maid.
Maid cafe
In recent years, restaurants catering for maids have mushroomed. Most of the waitresses' clothes are based on ACG maids, and the maid cafe takes people who are interested in maid clothes and ACG as customers. Starting from Akihabara, there are imitations in good places of ACG now.
Comic works
This is a dynamic unfinished list, and its contents may increase at any time, so it may never be complete, but you are welcome to modify and list the sources at any time.
Magic housekeeper (Nakayama Bunshiro? ぢたま (1), 1998 -2004)
Huayoujing Attendant Team (もりしげ, 1999)
スーパーメィドちるみさん (learning from Dongzi, 2000-)
ぷぎゅる (コンノトヒロ, 200 1 year-)
Emma (Mori Zhou, 2002-)
My master likes practical jokes (まっつー? ぁす, 2002-)
Maid メィ
Steel angel walnut
Masked footman
A Little Princess
《メイドをねらえ! ~ まっつー President Lin Zhong's earnest hope? ぁす, 2006-)
Magic girl
Under the rose (in the name of the ship)
ろり 124 13∞ (ょさんじょ)
The president is a maid (Fujiwara)
Mechanical maid (みづきたけひと)
わたしのぉ様 (tree)
Animation works
A trained maid