Chinese Beauty Standards 中国审美

Beauty standards in China is a well discussed topic on the Internet, and this post is by no means attempting to offer a final say in the matter, given cultural perceptions are constantly shifting. However, I hope I can shine some light on a few of China's well entrenched and newly ensconced beauty standards through my own experiences and study, and readers comments and views are welcome!

White Skin 皮肤又白皙又滑

It seems from the very beginning of Chinese history, fair skin has been desirable in women, and men too. The reasoning behind its allure is a bit of a platitude; fair skin represented (and represents) wealth, it implies one does not need to labour outside. The same ideology existed for centuries in Europe, where the aristocracy would powder their faces deathly white for this effect. In China, India, and many other East Asian and South East Asian countries, an endless array of products promise to 'whiten' your skin. It is the same pursuit of paleness. As the sun has come out in Qingdao, so have the umbrellas. These are UV reflecting umbrellas, designed to keep those dastardly rays of sun off you. And then there's the 'facekini', which, let's face it, is just a balaclava. On the flip side, some women in the West give themselves skin cancer through overusing sunbeds in order to get a tan. Excesses exist on both sides of the scale.

A couple of years ago during a home-stay in China, I met a young girl who said to me, "it doesn't matter what my grades are, my skin is very white, so I will be fine." While this shocked me, as most Chinese students I know seem determined to succeed through study and hard work, it did highlight the extent to which the Chinese value fair skin. In fact, a recent term depicting the perfect woman has arisen, a 白富美, literally 'white, rich, and beautiful' lady. If I mentally list all the female Chinese stars I know, they all exhibit the same dewy white complexion. All except Jie Ke Jun Yi, who recently came third in China's version of 'The Voice'. She is probably the first "tanned" star to find favour from the Chinese public. 

Considering the Chinese language, it's no surprise the ideal of pale skin hasn't faded. The idea of a 'white beauty' is embedded in its very words. Take the idiom 冰肌玉骨 bingji yugu, meaning 'ice flesh and jade bones'. Sounds like a stone-hearted, cold-blooded person, right? It actually refers to a beautiful woman, 'jade' and 'ice' both being white and pure. Beauty and fair skin are hard ideas to divorce when they are synonymous. 

Face shape 脸形

Just as Brazil has over 100 different words for shades skin tone in order to describe its multi-ethnic population, China has a vast range of words to describe the shape of a person's face. For example, 烧饼脸 'pancake face' obviously describes someone with a round flattish face, and 苹果脸 'apple face' describes someone with round rosy cheeks. 国字脸 is the Chinese for square face, and is the ideal face shape for a man. 

The ideal features for Chinese women, however, are 瓜子脸 a 'melon seed face' (the English translation would be an oval face, but with a pointed chin) and 鹅蛋脸 a 'goose egg face'. Dating sites even list face shape as important information alongside build, age, etc. 

Fan Bingbing has a 'melon seed face'

Gong Yuanyuan has a 'goose egg face' 

Actress Gongli has a 'goose egg face'

This is perhaps one aspect that has seen traditional characteristics recede. From what I have read and seen in classical literature and artwork, rounder faces seemed to be preferred. However nowadays, if there's a body part you dislike, there's a surgery out there to correct it. Liposuction can be performed on the lower areas of the face to slim down the jaw, to the more extreme option of shaving away the jawbone to give a 'V' shaped face. 

Slim Figures 苗条身材

I've read some blogs complaining about how China's predisposition towards thin women must be a vestige of Western advertising, forcing Chinese women to become unnaturally thin. This is a one-sided approach to a many layered phenomenon. 

Genetically, asian bodies are less able to store fat than, say, western bodies. Also, the average Chinese diet is healthier than those of their western counterparts. I would say the average Chinese woman is just naturally thinner than the average western woman. But, the times they are a-changing. In a couple of decades, it is possible obesity could be a real problem for China, as its swelling urban population gorges itself on Macdonalds and KFC. Being overweight is starting to be an issue for children, as parents and grandparents lavish all their attention and love on one child. However, there is virtually no one here my age who I would consider overweight or obese, by my UK standards. In fact, most of the time, I walk around being jealous of 99% of the girls I see. 

So the issue is perception. After a meet-up with one of my language partners, I said I was going home to eat dinner. She looked at me with surprise, and said, "you eat dinner? But you're so thin!" She then confessed that after going home for Chinese New Year she had gained a kilogram or so. Therefore, when term restarted, she had stopped eating dinner. It was my turn to be shocked. My language partner is by no means fat, or even pudgy. She would have no trouble fitting into a UK size 8. So yes, there is a pressure forcing girls to be thin. 

However, placing the blame for this at the door of Western media is to overlook China's own literary and historical ideals. The Chinese have favoured a wide range of female figures over history, often linked to the preferences of the emperor at the time. The sentiment is summarised in the saying 燕瘦环肥 yanshou huanfei, referring to Empress Zhao Feiyan who was slim (瘦) and Imperial Concubine Yang Huhuan who had a fuller figure (肥). Regardless of their silhouette, both are regarded as historical beauties. Moreover, one of the most important female characters in the Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber is famed for being incredibly waif-like. Lin Daiyu 林黛玉 is so painfully thin, that when she is sick and bed-bound, it hurts to lie down because her bones protrude so much. Yet she is still one of Chinese literature's most beautiful women. Lin Daiyu's love rival is Xue Baochai, and each embodies different a facet of Chinese beauty; Daiyu is slender whereas Baochai is shapely. 

Comely figures were not frowned upon, and when I was young I remember being told that if a Chinese person called you 'fat', it was meant as a compliment. But I can't help but feel this notion has turned on its head. My slim language partner represents a new generation of girls who can't stand to be over 50kg. It seems they have forgotten the essence of 燕瘦环肥 yanshou huanfei, that 'beauty comes in all shapes and sizes', and would rather skip dinner. The women I see at my gym never run because they are afraid it will give them muscle, so they just walk. Taking up all the treadmills.  

Those who have studied Chinese culture know that the Chinese are typically very upfront about someone's appearance. Especially weight. I made a trip to one of my favourite clothes shops, and the shop assistant said to me, "Oh, you've put on weight." Which isn't the best way to make your customers feel great about themselves. Anyway, my point is that chinese people don't skirt around the issue of weight, especially parents. Having your appearance, and more acutely, your flaws pointed out to you by your family, friends and even strangers can be hard going. Competition here for jobs and partners is fierce, and society is judging. The question is, whose standards are Chinese society judging by? There is both a precedent for thin ideals, and an influx of thin idols from South Korea and the West.  

Big Eyes and Small Noses 大眼睛，小鼻子

The pursuit of large eyes through double-eyelid surgery (known as blepharoplasty) is perhaps the most controversial, as it is the pursuit of a feature that is unnatural to Chinese and Asian aesthetics, instead of the enhancement of an existing trait (like skin whitening). That said, many Chinese people do naturally have double eyelids. For those unwilling or unable to get the surgery (I've heard in Korea some girls get double eyelid surgery for themselves as a present for graduating high school), there are 'eyelid tapes' available in pharmacies and beauty stores. 

We could approach this issue of larger eyes from psychological perspective, as humans have an innate preference for things with large eyes, small noses and chins (think kittens and babies). These features in women often emulate youth, which in turn signify fertility. But this perspective oversimplifies the matter. Single eyelids were a desirable feature in numerous dynasties, but now you would be hard pressed to name a female celebrity without double-eyelids. The entertainment industry has a full time job suspecting who has and who hasn't had it done. To Westerners, this procedure often seems farcical, like MJ's sudden race change. However, to some Chinese and other East Asian women, that small fold in the skin is a huge deal. It's not about making yourself look Western, but about keeping up with your friends, giving yourself a fighting chance in a job market where you have to attach a photograph to your CV, and living up to the new beauty standards of the modern Asian woman.

 "From having performed double eyelid surgery since 1981, and teaching the surgical techniques to other doctors for the same period, I honestly do not believe that most of the Asian patients are wanting to look like Westerners or their Caucasian friends. Rather, they want to retain their Asian features with the addition of an aesthetically pleasing Asian eyelid crease, just like their Asian friends or siblings." {Dr. W.P.D. Chen, M.D., F.A.C.S.}

Another feature which is highly coveted is a small nose, with a high nose bridge. Words used to describe this type of nose include 'noble' and 'elegant', compared to the relatively flat noses with wide bridges and nostrils that are a common Chinese trait. I've received some atypical compliments during my time here, including "you have a small face" and "your nose is so high". At first I didn't know what to make of those comments, because I didn't understand the desirability behind those features. 

Lucky old Fan Bingbing, owner of large eyes and a prominent nose.

Body Hair

If you really want to watch Western standards imposing themselves on China in action, you should start looking at ladies' body hair. I'm serious. I remember going to Yantai, Shandong, two years ago and getting on a bus. I remember a rather attractive lady got on at the same time as me, we both paid, and then she reached up to grab the rail and - OMFG WHAT IS THAT?! Yes, her armpit was growing a  veritable shrub and her short sleeved top was doing nothing to hide it. I had literally never ever seen armpit hair in my life. Not that I don't have my own, but it is regularly decimated for personal and public reasons. Everyone I know does the same. In the UK, if ladies haven't maintained their own pits, it's polite to cover it up. So seeing not just any old armpit hair, but a such dense crop was a culture shock. I later went to an English corner and raised the topic of body hair, and I was told that if a Chinese person sees a hair-less armpit, then that is considered weird. I like the thought of that lady and I standing on a bus together, both appalled by each other's armpits. 

But Yantai is a small, third-tier city, how does it reflect changing tastes? Currently in Qingdao, a second-tier city of 8-million with a large foreign contingent, I cannot get a wax. But I can buy hair removal devices such as razors and waxing strips, which were very hard to find/impossible to buy in Yantai. There is also much less armpit hair on show. Yet in Beijing, there are a handful of places offering a full scope of waxing services, for foreigners but also for rich Chinese customers. 

It is sensible to conclude, the more interaction with foreigners and foreign habits, the more likely average Chinese women are to adopt Western hair removal practices. Who knows, maybe in ten years time, it will be possible to get a wax in Yantai.