China Expat is a cultural and literary forum for expatriates interested in China and has been published by Asia Briefing Ltd since 2001. The sites resident China culture writers have included such expatriate luminaries as 
Chinese Beauty – Then & Now
A little time in China will give you the correct impression that what’s beautiful to the western eye isn’t necessarily so to the Chinese, and vice versa. It’s to be expected. After all, western men and women can’t agree on who’s beautiful. There are those female icons whom only women are attracted to, ala Julia Roberts, and objects of male fantasy, ala Pam Anderson (circa ’93), who never fail to draw the criticism of any woman with an ounce of respect for her gender.
Then there’s the fact that concepts of beauty change with the times. The standards of feminine beauty have morphed with the ages, and have as much to say about the admirers as the admired.
More than a few antiquated scholars took time off from chronicling dynastic intrigue to describe what constituted true hotness. Confucian strictures and the absence of Maxim made the world a much more innocent place. For the ancient Chinese, as for the readers of Women’s Health & Beauty, smooth skin, a slim and delicate shape, shining eyes, and pearly white teeth were all a woman needed to be the village babe. The most widely-quoted description of classic beauty can be found in Shuo Ren, the 57th poem in The Book of Odes:
Her fingers were like the blades of the young white-grass ;
Her skin was like congealed ointment ;
Her neck was like the tree-grub ;
Her teeth were like melon seeds ;
Her forehead cicada-like ; her eyebrows like silkworm antenne;
What dimples , as she artfully smiled !
How lovely her eyes, with the black and white so well defined !
Soon enough, however, a woman needed more than an insectile neck, forehead and eyebrows to win admiration. By the Han Dynasty, a dancing component was required of any woman who wanted to think of herself as truly attractive. Han empress Zhao Feiyan had little of the strong moral sense and virtue expected of a royal. In fact, she was famous for prurient misdeeds, like smiling without covering her mouth, giving all and sundry a gander at her melon-seed teeth.
She made up for such sluttiness with unparalleled skill at the Zhangzhong Wu, or Palm Dance, performed on a crystal plate held by two attendant maidens. Needless to say, the empress must have had a physique tiny enough to shame a gold-medal gymnast. Zhao’s child-like form impressed Emperor Cheng enough to make royalty of her.
On the other end of the scale stands Tang Dynasty beauty Yang Guifei, aka Yang Yuhuan. A towering (for Tang times) 1.64 meters, a thundering 69 kilos, Yang burst with the kind of proportions that make men drool and make women carp “you should lose some weight”. Yang was one of the four legendary ancient Chinese beauties, and contemporaneous poets declared that flowers wilted when she passed by, in deference to her comeliness . A poem describing her love affair with Emperor Xuanzong, Chang Hen Ge, A Song of Unending Sorrow, proves that beauty by no means protects from life’s slings and arrows.
Revolutions in turn foment revolutionary perspectives, and China’s standards of beauty were turned on their head after the founding of the PRC. Any signs of being a fading lily, whether slender or full-bodied, were counter-revolutionary and to be ruthlessly suppressed. How could a woman concerned with keeping her fingers like blades of grass and her teeth whiter than melon seeds help build a proletarian paradise?
Chinese women from Shanghai to Shangri-la were enchanted. Here was their chance to be as masculine as the folks who had been waving around manhood as the prime virtue, and the prime reason why a woman was essentially a slave. Health and strength became most desirable in a prospective wife. Naturally, any indication of peasant stock was a plus, leading to the trend in ruddy cheeks and stout wrists and ankles. A lucky thing, as that was about all men got to see under the baggy military uniforms their female cadres sported en masse.
China’s much over-referenced Opening Up led to a quick erosion of socialist commitment, and its concomitant aesthetics. The West, as one may well guess, was the prime influencer of Chinese fashion in the eighties and nineties. The still jeri-curled heads of many late thirty to forty-somethings have their roots in Jacksonmania, which penetrated to the very heart of theChinese hinterland.
As we rocket into the age of anonymous internet relationships, gender neutral has become the rage, and feminine appeal means always leaving them guessing. Li Yuchun, androgyne extraordinaire and winner of Supergirl 2006, still pulls serious numbers on Chinese internet beauty polls. Most of those voters are probably female, though. Forget East and West. When it comes to describing the perfect female, he is he, she is she, and never shall the twain agree.
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Wow,Touch, you could have had your comment made a post, if you contacted us first, then left out the juvenile effrontery. Sounds like you have a firm if heartbreakingly cynical handle on sexual politics in China. The one part beyond you, re: jeri-curls and jacksonmania, is from the observations of the incomparable Paul Theroux, in his seminal 1988 Riding the Iron Rooster.
After public outcry, political figure, Yuan Jing, decides to quit the ongoing “Miss Chinese International” beauty pageant.
some great information about chinese beauty. though different ppl have different opinion about beauty. some care about inner beauty and some outside beauty.
After a lot of head scratching, looking around idly, meditating and hesitating, most interviewees would answer: Well, you know, there are many standards for beauty…
The concept of beauty as represented through Chinese symbols truly captures its essence. This is because the art of constructing Chinese characters is in it self so beautiful that irrespective of what symbol you draw beauty seems to be the over riding factor as it is.
Some more liberated ladies begin to explore an alternative avenue: campus life. In their eagerness to carve out a clear distinction from their painted sisters, these women fashion an austere look: white blouse, black skirt and no cosmetics.
Who is the most beautiful Chinese woman?
Zhang Ziyi, the popular actress? Luo Yan, the super model? Or more established figures such as Maggie Cheung or Gong Li?
We claim to be different individuals; we strive to be unique; yet we seek the same goals in life. A unified goal of all human beings is to find beauty; to enjoy it, to own it. Indeed, to each his own, but there seems to always be a unified major “theme” for what makes something beautiful.
Mmmm. I always thought that nothing could top the thought of dating a woman whose chest has been sliced open and stuffed with plastic sacs of viscous goo. But now, I can dream of kissing a bulimic on lips plumped up with executed-prisoner extract. Anyone who thinks the idea is gruesome probably just need a makeover. Two years in a Chinese prison should do it.
Who is the most beautiful Chinese woman?
Zhang Ziyi, the popular actress? Luo Yan, the super model? Or more established figures such as Maggie Cheung or Gong Li…….these are not true, it has been updated.
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They say “beauty is only skin deep,” but maybe they are wrong. A glance at the surface can tell a person a lot about the suffering soul of women in Chinese society.
In Chinese contemporary popular culture, no one female beauty ideal exists paramount. Bloggers and cultural critics alike have attested to the fact that regional (“Asian”) and Western images of beauty impact Chinese beauty norms.
Yang Guifei, the concubine of the Tang-dynasty emperor Xuanzong (AD 685-762), was renowned for her beauty. The poet Li Bo compared her to the peony, considered the most lovely of all flowers, and to female deities and immortals.
They say “beauty is only skin deep,” but maybe they are wrong. A glance at the surface can tell a person a lot about the suffering soul of women in Chinese society.
you have done a terrible comparison here ! so it seems to you are coming with your article name “Beauty with the Beast” next time i think but you showed us here a lot of beauty in this article with your great article$$
After a lot of head scratching, looking around idly, meditating and hesitating, most interviewees would answer: Well, you know, there are many standards for beauty…
What really make a difference are preferences about temperament and character. Most Chinese nowadays may still not like Western assertiveness and activity.Regards
Great work by Chinese artists !! Chinese are very well known for their art work. Chinese people have magic in their hands as they nicely chop the vegetables, their hands on art as well is really commendable.
well it not about the time its about the opinion of different people in different times, some thought they wer beautiful and some think they still are
beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
beauty is a phenomenon which can not be defined it lies in the eyes of the beholder , different people see thing differently .
so beautiful now or then , it depends who is actually , witnessing it.
the perception of the person who is the witness matters the most , in describing what is and is not beautiful.
everything in its own is a beauty but we see it in thway w want to.
Standards of beauty obviously have changed in China. Traditionally, looking at past Chinese dynasties, small eyes, almond eyes, bound feet and being fat were beautiful.
Thanks great post
before we start commenting on what is beautiful and what is no ti think w should be clear about the core meaning of beauty.
i guess the first thing to do is to define beauty , but what ever may be the fact beauty is beauty , either now or then.
its just about the opinion .
this is avery complex topic and we need to pay more attention to this article to understand even what is talked about here.
beauty means different things to different people.
Great post
Thanks
Art consisting of representational, imaginative, or abstract designs produced by application of coloured paints to a two-dimensional, prepared, flat surface.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It also comes in different shapes and sizes, yes sizes. There are those women that even no matter how huge or skinny they are remains beautiful. Everyone also has different views about beauty that we should all respect no matter how modern or old it is.
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In the pursuit of beauty, women often rely on themselves. In the beauty creation movement developed in China in 2003, the Beijing-born Hao Lulu became the first Chinese woman to achieve beauty through artificial means. She underwent more than 200 days of cosmetic surgery. It cost her about 300,000 yuan.
Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder. It depends on the person how they see the person or the thing. Beauty is not to spend thousands of dollars on anything. It is something from your inside.
great..Some more liberated ladies begin to explore an alternative avenue: campus life.
Really good. Like the work ! Thanks for your efforts to share this.
Thanks for reading!
American film director and screenwriter Oliver Stone – 奥利弗.斯通 who got Academy Award for Best Director twice poses with Chinese actress Fan Bingbing – 范冰冰 hand in hand for a magazine – February of i LOOK. This is the first time for Chinese mainland actress to get close cooperation with top-class director from Hollywood.
there is definitely a great beauty here. thanks for the great read.
there is definitely a great beauty here. thanks for the great read.
i will read your blog everyday
we seek the same goals in life. A unified goal of all human beings is to find beauty; to enjoy it, to own it. Indeed, to each his own, but there seems to always be a unified major “theme” for what makes something beautiful.
Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder. It depends on the person how they see the person or the thing. Beauty is not to spend thousands of dollars on anything. It is something from your inside.Beauty means different things to different people.
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
World Music
it must be different women beauty perception, when the age are change. It depend on the knowledge about beauty on each era.
there is definitely a great beauty here
great work, well done. Thanks for your efforts to share this.
great on, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
wow, thanks for sharing…
i have ever seen the Chinese film in my house…. thy are really cute…they have beautiful skin… straight hair…. i admire to their appearance… they have a great style that suitable to their skin…
reborn doll
I agree with you, the standard of inner beauty has changed over time. You can not keep the perception of inner beauty for time to time, Because its has changed depend on the era.
Yes,
At that time few surprises.
Your comment is quite strange but on the other hand, it is quite true..
your blog post seems quite strange but i think its true as well