Big reveal: How ancient prostitutes used contraception

　　Before the advent of modern contraceptives, how did brothel women in the past take contraceptive measures?

　　It is rarely recorded in history books, rarely seen in unofficial history, and is downplayed in movies and TV dramas. There is a plot in a movie starring Gong Li: a prostitute drinks a decoction before picking up a client, saying that she will not get pregnant after drinking it. Of course, there is no way to verify what ingredients this medicine contains, and there are different opinions on the method of contraception used by prostitutes in ancient times.

　　It is said that putting musk into the navel of prostitutes can prevent pregnancy. For example, the two sisters Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede, who are considered the most "famous women" in China, have recorded using such contraceptive measures. Of course, the two sisters Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede cannot be called prostitutes, but they reach the same goal. This kind of belly button sticking is called "belly sticking". By sticking it on the belly button, the fertilizing function of a woman's belly can be terminated, and she will no longer be able to get pregnant. However, this "belly patch" has been lost.

　　There are also records among the people. It is said that saffron is a secret contraceptive recipe passed down from the palace. It is said that if the emperor does not like a favored palace maid, he will ask the eunuch to hang the palace maid upside down and wash her lower body with saffron liquid. It is said that this can cleanse the semen in the palace maid. There are also some unofficial histories that say that after the emperor favored a concubine, if he said that he would not keep it, the eunuch would massage the woman to ensure that the emperor's semen could not stay in the woman's body, which could have a contraceptive effect.

　　However, even now, there is no 100% effective contraceptive method, and Wei Xiaobao is the product of contraceptive failure. In the past, many women in brothels were sterile for life after they became prostitutes. They drank a decoction that destroyed their fertility for a long time, leading to sterilization. It was said that taking a contraceptive medicine called "cool medicine" also contained musk, which would affect fertility, but it did not necessarily lead to sterilization.

　　There are also records of the use of "condoms", which were made from animal casings. Some said they were from sheep, and others said that pig bladders were early "condoms." However, according to true historical records, the "condoms" used in Western medieval palaces were animal casings, and they also have a nice name.