A Face of Chinese Beauty

www.ezychinese.com

We’re going to take this chance today to talk a little bit about fashion. But, as the modern fashion world changes as quickly as the seasons, we thought we’d talk about another form of Chinese fashion: the classical form of female Chinese beauty.

There are many descriptions of the standards of beauty in classic China. Today we’ll focus on the face, as it’s the place that seems to get the most attention. Though we shouldn’t be fooled into believing that such things as speech, skin, gait and even the feet did not receive ample attention. But there’s something special about the face in these treatises. They are frequently compared to some kind of food, and always, it seems, to some kind of living plant, which I find to be interesting. So, let’s begin our meal today with the window to the world, the eyes:

Chinese traditionally valued what they termed “apricot-eyed” women. Unlike the view of beauty today, which is in favor of large, round eyes, traditional female beauty in China consisted of long, thin eyes with smooth upper eyelids. Also in opposition to today’s standards was the appreciation of eyelids with only one fold, as opposed to the more common twice-folded lids (Westerners almost always have twice-folded eyelids).

To frame the eyes it was important to have “willow-eyebrows”: eyebrows that are beautifully arched, like a new moon. Long and skinny, with dark hair. The mouth was compared to cherries, and “cherry-lips” were the most desired. Not only were the most beautiful lips small like cherries, but they were also bright red, like the fruit itself.

Finally, we finish off the treatise on the beauty of a woman’s face with “peach-cheeks”. The cheeks are the most beautiful when they present a healthy ruddiness, like a beautifully ripened peach.

Now, if that’s not a thing of beauty, I don’t know what is.


Related Vocabulary

双眼皮shuāngyǎnpí: double-folded eyelids (most Westerners have this kind of eyelid)
中国人双眼皮的比较多。
zhōngguórén shuāngyǎnpí de bǐjiào duō。
Most Chinese people have double-folded eyelids.

单眼皮dānyǎnpí: single-folded eyelid
我只知道她新的男朋友是个单眼皮男生，挺帅气的。
wǒ zhī zhīdào tā xīnde nánpéngyǒu shìgè dānyǎnpí nánshēng，tǐng shuàiqì de。
I just know that her new boyfriend has single-folded eyelids, very handsome.

眼睛yǎnjīng: eyes
她的眼睛总是水汪汪的，惹人怜爱。
Tāde yǎnjīng zǒngshì shuǐwāngwāng de，rě rén lián’ài。
Her eyes are always watery, the make people both pity and care for her.

眉毛méimáo: eyebrows
你的眉毛已经很浓了，我的才是稀呢！
Nǐde méimáo yǐjīng hěn nóng le，wǒde cái shì xī ne。
Your eyebrows are already thick, my eyebrows are what you’d call thin.

嘴唇zuǐchún: lips
她的嘴唇最性感了
Tāde zuǐchún zuì xìnggǎn le。
Her lips are the sexiest.

腮帮子sāibāngzi: cheeks
我的腮帮子肿了。
Wǒde sāibāngzi zhǒng le。
My cheeks are swollen.