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Enigmas of Chinese beauty come to puzzle many
(Various Standards)
Updated: 2005-09-14 08:25
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?
(L-R) Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, HK actress
Maggie Cheung, mainland super model Luo Yan [Shanghai
Star] |
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...
True. That's why in an online debate held by www.sina.com on the standard of
Chinese beauty on September 6, it took the three guest speakers, a famous writer
and two editors an hour to reach the conclusion that it is not easy to reach a
conclusion about Chinese beauty.
It's even harder for Westerners and Easterners to agree to the same
standards.
As a prelude to the fourth China International Beauty Week 2005 to be held in
Beijing this October, discussions about Chinese beauty have been organized on
big websites, such as Blogcn, Sina and Sohu.
Diverse views
Doufu, a registered user at Shanghaiexpat.com, opened a debate about Luo Yan,
one of the most hotly discussed subjects when talking about different ideals of
beauty.
![Li Yuchun sings and dances at the 2005 Super Girl contest finals in Changsha, Hunan Province August 27, 2005. Li got more than 3.52 million votes in support of her. Zhou Bichang, the second place winner, and Zhang Liangying, the third place winner, received more than 3.27 million and 1.35 million votes respectively. [Xinhua]](xin_0608022710043121866711.jpg)
Li Yuchun sings and
dances at the 2005 Super Girl contest finals in Changsha, Hunan
Province August 27, 2005. Li got more than 3.52 million votes in support
of her. Zhou Bichang, the second place winner, and Zhang
Liangying, the third place winner, received more than 3.27 million and
1.35 million votes respectively.
[Xinhua] |
"Lu Yan is a Chinese model. she won
international fame in Paris and it's said she's very popular there, but she's
only considered so-so in China," said Doufu. "Big round face with small eyes,
big thick lips."
Blogcn explained at www.blogcn.com that Luo is popular in the West because
she is a typical Chinese in foreigners' eyes, yellow skin, small eyes,
flat-nosed.
But she is less popular in China because Chinese don't accept this kind of
beauty as characteristic of China.
Jia Ming, an aesthetician at Shanghai Normal University, agreed.
"Chinese and foreigners have different understandings of beauty. The beauty
we Chinese appreciate is Western-styled," said Jia, "Look at the dolls our
children are playing with."
Yu Hai, a sociologist at Fudan University, said the difference should be
viewed on two levels.
"The ideal of external beauty is similar between the West and the East," said
Yu, and the standard of Chinese inner beauty is also changing.
In the public's eye
According to an online survey by www.sina.com about the standards for Chinese
beauty, the majority of more than 5,000 people surveyed reached a consensus on
20 items like height (165 to 170 cm), oval face, long and thick eyelashes,
willowleaf-shaped eyebrows, long black straight hair, slender legs and smooth
skin, among other features. Yet none of these characteristics are distinctively
Chinese.
The revealing "S
figure" of Sister Furong dressed in red
[baidu] | "What really make a difference are
preferences about temperament and character. Most Chinese nowadays may still not
like Western assertiveness and activity," said Yu.
The best example of this might be Zhang Ziyi, one of the most promising
actresses in China.
In 2001, Zhang was voted one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in
the World, but many Chinese would disagree.
Peng Bo, president of Shanghai Time Cosmetic Surgery Hospital, refused to
give a direct answer to the question whether Zhang was beautiful, "I would only
say her face is up to the standard of beauty. Zhang's job requires that she has
to be assertive," said Peng.
On the other hand, Tomio Geron, a 30-year-old American, said Zhang Ziyi was
the most beautiful Chinese woman.
"Zhang is tough, elegant, tall and thin," said Geron. But he also agreed that
Zhang might be more similar to the American ideal of beauty.
Yu said that the standards of physical beauty didn't change a lot, but he
accused the media of pushing a skewed standard, for instance the pursuit of
slenderness.
"There can be more than one standard for external beauty," said Yu, "One
standard would dull the world."
Evolution of Chinese beauty
The standard of inner beauty, however, has changed over time.
The earliest standards, which appeared in the classics, date back to the Zhou
Dynasty (1100 BC - 22 BC).
According to the Nu Er Jing (Girls' Classic), which provides a complete set
of standards for women's beauty, a traditional beauty should be tender,
obedient, quiet and timid.
One representative of this kind was Xue Baochai in the classical novel "Dream
of the Red Mansions," the most popular figure in the novel among older people.
Preferences changed dramatically in the 1950s and 1960s after new China was
established.
"Women at that time were like men," said Jia.
Jia once attended a poetry reading activity. A woman there wrote a poem as an
ode to the women of the new age. The poem was full of images like scaffolds,
axes and working women.
"At that time, people thought women with bushy eyebrows and big eyes were
beautiful," said Jia.
Now the trend is back to the normal appreciation of feminine beauty, he said.
Yet the change goes beyond that.
The appearance of Furong, a woman famous for putting her own pictures and
narcissistic articles on the Internet, bred new fire among supporters of the
beauty of self-expression which takes confidence and courage.
And with cool performances and transgender dressing, the top two winners in
the latest "Super Girls" singing contest aroused interest in androgynous beauty.
Jia said the trend was positive in that the old standards were products of
unfair male supremacy, so the new trends were liberating.
Yet even if the standards seem more diverse, Yu said the major principles
were the same.
"Li Yuchun (the winner of the "Super Girls" singing contest) simply satisfied
the fantasies of some young girls," said Yu. "If they are to find boyfriends,
they will still have to dress up and behave like a traditional girl."
It is said that a list of the basic standards of beauty will be compiled for
the fourth China International Beauty Week 2005, but Jia, Yu and Peng said that
would just be for show.
"I don't think it's necessary," said Yu. "Just as most people would say,
there can never be a single standard of beauty."
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